The kitchen is done!! Almost. It was wonderful to be back in the kitchen after fixing food in the dining room and washing dishes in the bathroom for months. With the appliances installed and operational and all the drawer and door handles attached we were able figure out where to store all our foodstuffs, dishes and utensils in the new space. A few things still need to be done – the pot rack, shelves to the left of the kitchen sink window, two small holes in the drywall that still need to be filled in and painted over, one electrical outlet that was overlooked. We love our cork floor!

The kitchen cabinets are now all in. They are Ikea Nexus Birch veneer cabinets which I assembled and our carpenter installed.
The countertop has been ordered measured and once that is installed the new sink and cooktop can be connected! They will reinstall the wall oven back in at the same time. An operational kitchen will merit a big celebration. (We have a gift bottle of wine for the occassion.)

The big news is that the sheetrocking, including taping and sanding, is DONE! I had hoped we would be closer to finishing by New Year’s Day, but it is great to reach this milestone in the project.

The remodelers have concentrated on the exterior work so we still have our stove and sink.

Access is the big issue. Because the back entrance floor will be raised, even though the doorway is framed in, they have the doorway covered with sheathing. Our only access to the house is through the front door. Because of foundation work they have to do, they tore out the front steps so we have been using a ramp for the last week and a half.

Two weeks into the project and lots of changes.

When I went to work last Thursday work had not yet started but workmen were filling the driveway with pickup trucks. I did not get home until very late that evening. My husband had put up an orange snowfence so that I would not fall into the huge hole between the sidewalk and our back door. In the morning I could see the huge pile of dirt in the backyard and see that the forms for the footings were done. It was interesting discover what was left of the old cistern that was made of red bricks and cement.

We have been considering ways to upgrade our old farmhouse. It was built in the 1880s and remodeled 1940-41.

Now that we own our own home (after renting it for a number of years), I feel torn about what I have wished for and what is good for our budget and what is good for our environment. Do we really need to add more square feet? Can we modify what we already have and still get that breakfast nook I long for? ...that separate shower, rather than standing in the tub with our head hitting the ceiling in the upstairs bathroom in our one and a half story house?