OK, I am doing some stuff. I pulled down one of the kitchen cabinets – we do have plans to redo the kitchen, but it’s mostly been talk. So I figured that I might as well start in that direction, at least slowly, so I pulled down one of the upper cabinets. This is one to the right of the window over the sink, near the side where the table is. There used to be other cabinets cutting off the room, but they came down last year, making the kitchen more open. So this one now just has glasses and stuff we don’t use very often. The only time it’s opened is when I grab a juice glass.
So I emptied it and started to put the stuff inside into boxes, then figured that if we haven’t used all that stuff then why should it sit in the garage, or end up back in the cabinet. So I boxed up all the glasses and coffee cups and plates and put them in the car and they will be dropped off at GoodWill tonight on the way home. I did keep the matching glasses we sometimes use, and the nice soup tourine and matching soup bowls, which we use about every other Christmas when we have lots of guests and I make fancy soup. Those did go in a box and I even put it up in the attic over the garage. Then the cabinet came down.
All of our cabinets were custom made for the house (most kitchens used to have custom cabinets before Home Depot started stocking boxed stuff.) It was rather heavy, but I could kneel on the counter and didn’t have to hold it over my head while I pulled out the screws. After the screws and bolts were out it still didn’t come down, so I searched for hidden nails or something else. I finally decided that it was just layers of paint gluing it to the wall, and used a flat crowbar to pry it off. After a slight effort it just fell away, and now sits out at the curb awaiting pickup. Oh – didn’t look this morning. I usually put stuff out and it magically disappears before the trash guys come.
After that I patched the holes, primed then painted the wall to match the rest of the kitchen. B is good at keeping all of the old paint cans out in the garage, labeled as to what room they go to. Now I’m looking for a picture that might match to hang up in the empty space, but I’ll probably leave it like that and see how long it takes her to notice. Sitting here thinking about it, I think I’ll also take down the upper cabinet to the left of the window – the only things in there are coffee cups and more stuff we don’t use. Perhaps if I take all the cabinets down and donate the things that are just hanging around it might end up that I will not have to put as many back up. How many of you have a stack of plates or something in a back cabinet that were nice when you got them, but now get pulled out every third Christmas dinner, or perhaps never used again?
So some things are being done around the house. I also took all of the leftover E stuff and put it in her bedroom closet. And consolidated all the outdoor toys (car, picnic table, slide, wagon) in the corner by the parked cars then mowed the lawn back there. The kids were trying to be cheap and so rented the smallest truck they could for the Portland move. This meant three days of figuring out how to pack a three bedroom house and full garage into it, rather than a quick fill up and drive away. Now I have to go over there and fill the pickup with stuff they couldn’t fit in. And we have four boxes of E toys and the outdoor stuff that the truck didn’t have room for. I guess it takes experience to find out that it’s best to rent the biggest truck and have room left over (or still have it packed full) than get a small truck and leave stuff behind. So they all drove off Saturday evening around 5. With a two year old with short nap and already for dinner. I’m missing the crowd already. B will probably have a real hard time when she returns in two weeks.
OK, thinking about it, here’s a shot from last week. Mom got some flowers from the kids on her last day of teaching, and E got to carry some home.
This morning I came across some interesting mommy postings. Over at the Joys she discusses spring break, and how it is with a house full of kids again. Sounds like a lot of work. But she did point to a mother that really seems to have too much time on her hands. Take a look at the birthday cake that Michelle created. Oh my, where do people come up with these ideas? And then the time to actually shop for the stuff, and do the work? Impressive.
But before she left E had some time to sit out in the warm sunshine with her friends.
They all went in the little suitcase they came in, and were put in the back seat so that she would have somebody to talk to during the twenty hour drive up to Portland. Yup, can you see three days of sitting next to an almost two year old that loves running around strapped into a car seat? I offered to pay plane fare for Grammy and E and avoid the trip, but dad was adamant. I guess if he had to suffer with driving the truck everybody had to suffer sitting back in the car. Oh well.
Oh yea, the swing came down too. It's in the wagon. I can just attach it to the straps I left in the tree if they visit while she is still small enough to fit it.
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