I’m embarrassed to say how long it’s been since I’ve cooked a meal. We’ve had a super busy schedule of late, with various meetings, events and work obligations filling our evenings. But the bigger reason, actually, is because our kitchen has been torn up.
We recently opted to pursue a few upgrades and once we booked the contractor, the punch list continued to grow. You know how it goes. ‘Well, if he’s here already, might as well …’ And that’s how the list grew.
My top priority was light fixtures. The light fixtures in our kitchen have not worked for some time – so long in fact that I can’t remember how long we’ve been without lights in the kitchen. I’d gotten so used to it that I hadn’t really thought about it until Christmas when my Mother expressed wonder that I’d prepared the entire Christmas dinner in the dark.
We chose to replace our kitchen sink and faucet, primarily to remedy that pesky leak we’ve had for a while. Also on the list was the relocation of our washer and dryer to the garage, freeing up that space to become a new pantry with floor to ceiling shelves. This is a project we’ve talked about for years and I’m excited that it’s finally becoming a reality.
While I’ve always loved the color blue, I have never desired a blue kitchen. Yet that’s what we ended up with when we bought our humble abode 16 years ago – royal blue faux marble formica countertops. I’m not joking. They looked straight out of the 1970s but I knew that was impossible because the house wasn’t even built until the late 1990s. When Hubby suggested replacing them, I jumped at the chance. I wasn’t wild about them, but I’d never even considered replacing them. We picked out a nice white, quartz with just the faintest speckling in it. It’s amazing how much brighter it makes the kitchen, going from royal blue countertops to white ones. And don’t even get me started on the new light fixtures. It’s now so bright and well-lit that I almost need sunglasses when I enter.
The project has been underway for a little over a week and it’s coming along nicely. But what does a food columnist write about when they can’t even remember the last meal they cooked? Though we’ve moved the Keurig to the bathroom where we make our coffee each morning, I just couldn’t embrace the idea of washing dishes in the bathroom. So you see the dilemma.
The backsplash is being installed as I type this. Then the crew will finish the pantry. That’s going to be a joyful activity – moving everything into it and organizing it all just so. I’ll even get to consult my Pinterest folder of pretty pantries.
Fingers crossed, everything should be finished by the time you read this. But if not, we’ll probably start fixing peanut butter sandwiches for supper. The wait staff at our favorite local restaurants are probably tired of seeing our smiling faces. We’ve been such frequent guests lately, they’re probably wondering if we’ve started receiving our mail there.
I think the bright, new updated kitchen will provide just the motivation and inspiration I need to jump back into cooking. In fact, I’ve already made a list of recipes I want to try in the days ahead, as well as my grocery list. I’m including a few photos as a tribute to the old blue countertops. They served us well, but I won’t miss them.
