Tag Archives: life

Expansions and Contractions

A while ago, I posted about a treasure hunt.

My son and his lovely lady had come for a weekend visit, during which we three took Hubby’s truck and scoured the area for rocks to use in the garden.

During the visit, I noticed a ring on the finger – yes, the indicative finger – of said lovely lady.  It turned out to be a ring of promise.  A promise of more to come, intentions yet unspoken, but certainly in mind.

The ring now resides on the right hand.

In its place is this wonderful family gem:

engagement ring

And next Saturday, this gem will be worn on the finger of my daughter-in-law:  The Beautiful Bride.

A wonderfully matched woman for my son.

A spectacular expansion for our family.

Needless to say, this Dreamin’ Gal has been developing a case of nerves:   checklists and fashion checks and appointments and products and planning and more.

Thankfully, I was able to emerge from the shroud of a depression so deep that it nearly consumed me.  Just in time.

We students of efficiency recognize an opportunity when we see one.

My depression-fed flab was targeted for a 90 day onslaught.  I began to think of prior exercise regimes and nixed them one by one.  Then I put my dreams into action.

  • A remodeled kitchen
  • A permanent garden area with laid paths
  • A toned body

By combining the three dream elements, I’ve been able to drop ten pounds without a single change to my diet.  I notice no more dimples in the back of my arms (and if you see dimples on them, by gosh and by golly, keep yer’ darned mouth shut!), and my energy levels have soared.

Contracted flab, tightened thighs, and now Hubby has made mention of  my improved derriere.

Good things.  Great things.  And more to come.

My other son is engaged too!  And his lovely lady will bring us instant grandkids to boot.

Happy Dreams!  Happy Expansions and contractions!

:)

Overhaulin’ the Kitchen Practically

main kitchen cabinets

main kitchen cabinets

As promised, I’m going to let you in on the “dirt”.  Our version of “this ol’ house”, a 1885 semi Victorian style home with character galore and the underlying dirt to prove it, is getting a kitchen overhaul on a practical budget.

It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I look at the shot above and can sum it up pretty nicely:  I sure do “make do”.

It’s crazy how we don’t realize that our spaces are as compromised, or patch-work utilized as they truly are until the bare truth is exposed by a simple frozen moment in time.

It’s a cramped space, and with three doorways and four windows to work around the options for fixed cabinets are few.

On the plus side, the existing cabinets extend to the ceiling – the wonderful high ceilings that come with this ol’ house.

wall caddy, long shelf, baskets and small cabinet added storage

wall caddy, long shelf, baskets and small cabinet added storage

This corner is too narrow to fit base cabinets, so stand-alone options have been used, with varying degrees of success.

The shaggy wall above the special tile board is remnant of the wallpaper that I gleefully ripped from the room when we first moved in, eight years ago.  Hubby told me not to start a project I couldn’t finish and I retorted with, “this is how I wanted it”.

Yes, I did.

I lived with the paper backing as kitchen wallpaper for eight years.

Stubborn much?  No!

kitchen added storage cabinet

oven-side cart and corner microwave unit, with wall rack

Here is the flip-side corner, which has no fixed cabinets, but has the only plug-in option for the refrigerator.  The fridge shares the outlet with the powerful microwave, so when the microwave is used, the result is a blown breaker.

Old homes come with a special little treat called knob and tube wiring.

Yeah.

Special.

Our home has the entire main level wired on one continuous line and tied to one breaker.

Yeah.

Doubly special.

Family get-togethers have a common theme:  a blown breaker.  Lights out for everyone on the main level.   Sudden TV blackout for the guys in the media room watching the game!

Everyday living is riddled with the exclamation “fire in the hole”, so that the TV viewer is not taken by surprise when the microwave flips the breaker.

rolling island cart and rolling utility cart

rolling island cart and rolling utility cart

The rolling island cart is the key to keeping this kitchen functional.  It houses the pots and pans and serves as the main prepping surface.

I’ve assembled the steps below as we’ve pared this bad boy kitchen down to the bare essentials, now awaiting the electrician to arrive tomorrow and make sense of the nonsensical wiring:

 

There it is, the big bad and ugly.

First lesson learned:  Cover everything in sight when you start pulling and scraping and sanding!  Our first day of tear down we spent two hours working and four hours cleaning the dust out of every nook and cranny!

It was a lot of work to get the walls stripped and prepped, but I sure look forward to the new paint.

I was truly afraid of what was tucked up under those ceiling tiles, so was quite relieved that we only have a small area of old water damage from the bathroom above.  We can handle that.

Thankfully, I didn’t know the extreme situation with the light fixture, or I would not have been able to sleep.  The electrician cannot get here fast enough now.  I turned that switch on this morning and heard crackling, so off it went!

On a humorous note, I have to tell you about the ceiling tear down.  That narrow space was where I was stationed during the ceiling tile pull-down.  Hubby started on the opposite wall.

I had just pried the first tile out and was happily starting on the next two when Hubby calmly stated “my side’s done, how’s yours?”  I turned around to give him my “yeah, whatever” look, just in time to see the whole section of tiles folding down in a wave – and coming right toward me!

The entire main portion of tiles collapsed in less than a minute, with only my little cubby remaining.  It was bizarre!  Easy-peasy!

The beadboard ceiling panels might not be such a simple task to install, but I can just imagine the effect.

And the Winning Kitchen design, a PDF sampling of the ideas I’ve compiled for the finished product.  Also seen here, on my Pinterest board.

These are my inspiration for the finished product.  I’m super excited to see how it all turns out.

Coming soon…

Dreamin’ Girl

Working It Out

Finally!

I was able to spend serious time scrubbing and straightening at home.

It’s just a start, mind you.

There’s a lot of work left to do.

It’s amazing, how taking the time to scrub windows and wash curtains and deep clean a few rooms can also clear out cobwebs in your mind.

Like I said, there’s still a lot of work left to do.  The garage, basement and yard are daily reminders of work left undone.

I’ll get there.  It will get done.

While life was tossing us around like socks in a dryer, there was no time to do more than react and maintain.  I found myself simply unable to give focus to more than one task.  Things that required more than the perfunctory response were simply removed from the list.

Now comes the task of dealing with the complexities that were ignored.  Oh my, that list is a long one.  It’s almost overwhelming to consider.

Which has caused me to take stock.  I’ve been stewing and simmering, my mind a broody and dark place, as I reconsider and reformulate my dreams and goals.   Something has to give.  One person cannot accomplish all of the things that I’ve striven to do without keeping a neck-breaking pace.

I thought I was up to that challenge.

I like to keep busy, mostly.  I certainly enjoy gardens and kitchens and photos and tasks that challenge my mind.

The one huge hang-up is my innermost being.

You see, I’m an introvert.  It’s something I’ve always been aware of, but for which I had not truly considered the implications until recently.

My job, the task that challenges my mind and gives Hubby and I the freedom to live our current lifestyle, forces me to take on more than my comfortable share of people time.  The interactions at work simply drain this introvert.  I had never fully understood why I would feel so wiped out at the end of each shift until I grasped my need for “re-charge” from the people “drain”.

I had the light bulb moment:  clarity of my personal needs and a personal exoneration.

I could stop beating myself up for being a limp rag, and allow myself a period of time each weekday to escape all stimuli and let my inner being rest.

You may notice that this conflicts with keeping a neck-breaking pace.

Yeah.

Something has to give.

So, I’m thinking I may give up the full scale gardens for a while.

I would still be able to do small scale gardening with containers and the perennial flowers and herbs that currently exist.  I already have lavender, hyssop, calendula, chamomile, lemon balm, mint, cone flower, Russian sage, Solomon’s seals, as well as oregano, thyme, sage, wild onion, garlic and rosemary – and the handy trough of strawberries.  These things could get needed attention and I could add containers to grow a few favorite vegetables.

I will gain valuable time if I don’t have so many projects to attend at once.

In compensation, I’ll have to find good local organic sources for bulk produce and plan to prep and store those treasures.  This doesn’t change the required kitchen time, but letting go of the full scale garden might allow me to finish those canning projects before bedtime.

I think it might work.

Still Dreamin’…