::the remodel::

The day after Easter, we began the journey {as my Dad said} of remodeling our kitchen.  The end result will be good--it's already proven to be wonderful but the journey has been a bit.....delayed and slightly painful.  It has been good that we have a refrigerator and stove downstairs.  But do you realize how much we can do away with?  A lot.  We haven't been using half of anything that is currently in our kitchen and our main living quarters include the laundry room, bedrooms, bathrooms, and porch.  That's about half the house!  Also included in the kitchen remodel was the completion of {just about} everything my Dad wanted to do upstairs.  This includes painting two of the three bedrooms, new trim in the bedrooms upstairs, and new closet doors.  Sounds simple, right. HA!

Things are looking up, though.  By the end of this week, the house may be back to semi-normal that is, if it doesn't blow up when we use the gas stove or the gas dryer downstairs.  The smell is so stinkin' potent from the oil-based paint they've been using all day.  There is a weird smell when we use either of these appliances.  Sweet.

Today, the electrician was here and {cross-our-fingers} should be finished by Wednesday.  Our main contractor installed the water {we can only use the hot water} and the Culligan peeps should be here Friday to finish up what the contractor could not do today {water filter, water to fridge/freezer}.

So to entertain you, here's a few pics.  And I canNOT for the life of me find "before" pics. 

The fridge is in a brand-new place; the pantry used to be there.  The light fixture over the sink is new.

This entire area is new.  this used to be a blank wall and on the kitchen side, there was a small dining-room type cabinet.  On the dining room side, there was {and will be} the buffet.

The fridge used to be on the far right.  And the microwave has also been moved out of it's bulky, 80's-ish, wooden compartment.  Oh, and all of those cabs are full.  Hallelujah.  One less thing that is a mess!

The living/dining room area still looks like THIS....

...and THIS.  But that will soon be fixed when the bedrooms are finished being painted.  Well, on second thought, maybe not.  The painters still have to paint in here and we are getting new carpet {most likely but not 100% sure}.  So this will still be a mess for a while.  We are learning PATIENCE and FLEXIBILITY around these here parts.  And that is a gross under-statement.

It is currently 89 degrees in our house.  Why turn on the air when the windows have to be open to air out the place before we pass out from a headache?  And the fan doesn't work on the porch because the electrician isn't done with his work.  But I am rejoicing.  It is {almost} SUMMER.  It is HOT.  It is SUNNY.  Sure beats the cold days!