Let the Kitchen Remodel Begin

Today at 3 p.m., after several hours of puttering -- making breakfast, walking Nick the Dog, baking some molasses cookies, contemplating life in general -- the kitchen remodel officially began. Let me warn you now, don't expect any quick progress.

To start, here's the official "before" photo (note that last summer we added the stainless propane-powered fridge on the back wall):

Yes, those are "country oak" cabinets with seriously warped (and sticky) doors. When we moved in, the stainless sink was more of an ashtray than a sink. All of the food is now stored in those green tubs, and the pots, pans, dishes and Tupperware are in the gray tubs. The stove is the very one that once hosted a squirrel's nest in its broiler. We removed the upper cabinets soon after moving in, in a bid to get more light, so since then the mouse-turd infested insulation has been exposed. Also, please also note the pull-chain light bulb in the upper left corner.

Oh yes, it's a fixer-upper, even by Flat Top standards. Today, Mason worked on rerouting and adding some electrical. For the first time in 15 months, I now can flip a switch to get a light over the dining room table, instead of having to plug in the light in the far-from-code plug in the wall. Next up is adding another window to let in more light.

Can't say I look forward to a couple of months of upheaval in the kitchen, but then again, it really can't be any worse than the past 15 months. But then again, even on our worst day, life is good.