If you looked closely around the house, you could see it was coming. Like the other day when I walked by the fruit bowl and thought, “That’s strange, there’s [...]]]> To be exact, it’s been more like “remodeling three months” or (as it feels) “forever remodeling,” but we’re just now getting to the big, exciting things.

If you looked closely around the house, you could see it was coming. Like the other day when I walked by the fruit bowl and thought, “That’s strange, there’s a big gaping hole in my pile of fruit.” Because I notice these things.

So where did my bananas disappear to? Oh. They are propping up a flashlight. Obviously.

There are those few things that hang on. Painting. A vent piece. A freezer door [...]]]> Okay, that’s a negative title. I should say that this remodel went exceptionally fast, and for that I feel lucky. Had Matt and I done this on our own, we would still be tearing up floor and ripping at wallpaper.

There are those few things that hang on. Painting. A vent piece. A freezer door that doesn’t open all the way. Missing shelves. A mostly unusable living room full of junk we need to give away. A couch masquerading as a coat closet.

But oh, the results. Double the counter and cabinet space. A sink faucet that doesn’t drip (yes, we collected and recycled this water for the last six months). Cabinets that are not missing doors. No wallpaper. Energy efficient appliances. A double oven.

I put up some of the highlights in our new photo gallery. It’s in reverse chronological order, so start here and click “previous” to see five of the latest photos.

Worth highlighting all on its own is my favorite feature—my new spice drawer. I can see everything I own at a glance because… it’s alphabetized! What else would you expect from librarian who loves to cook?

What—you wanted pretty photos of Easter Island? Not a chance!

In our infinite wisdom, Matt and I (unanimously, without debate) scheduled our kitchen remodel to start 44 hours after returning home from vacation. (A return trip that included 3 flights, 4 airports, and an 8-hour layover.) Did we [...]]]> There’s a hole in the wall…

What—you wanted pretty photos of Easter Island? Not a chance!

In our infinite wisdom, Matt and I (unanimously, without debate) scheduled our kitchen remodel to start 44 hours after returning home from vacation. (A return trip that included 3 flights, 4 airports, and an 8-hour layover.) Did we fully consider the task of moving out of our kitchen—without boxes!—during those 44 hours?

Not our best move, but after 1 broken plate, 3 heavy trash bags, and a mental list of things to donate to the Lupus Foundation, the job is done and demolition was completed this afternoon.

Along the way, we found a few strange things about living in an old house:

• We didn’t bother to clean out the inaccessible cupboards above the refrigerator that we never used… and they contained a set of china from the previous owner.
• The hole we cut in the wall is 4 inches smaller because of a random pipe in the wall… that the previous owner had barely missed when installing the (old) pantry.
• There were two full linoleum floors under ours, brown and puke green (the original, probably). Aside from ugliness, the underfloors were in decent shape.

The hole in the wall is going to startle me for awhile. Tomorrow: tile and cabinets.

On the plus side, we have already doubled our counter space, and I think the primer is a big improvement. [I'm tired; is this whole [...]]]> Finally, evidence that ajmatt kitchen is getting a facelift. Last night Matt and I moved halfway out of our kitchen, and we had our ugly kitchen wallpaper removed today.

On the plus side, we have already doubled our counter space, and I think the primer is a big improvement. [I'm tired; is this whole post littered with typos?]

The downside—our living room just got crowded… though it looks like a great opportunity to multitask, doesn’t it? I need a coffeemaker that close to my laptop all the time.

And now we will take a break from housework to travel to another hemisphere. Kitchen phase II will commence in a few weeks.

Today, while blending ancho chiles, I: