A Functional Kitchen

The kitchen, to me at least, is the most important room of the house. The kitchens we saw in all our house hunting adventures where never quite right (usually too small), so they didn't make the cut. The size of the kitchen in this house was basically what sold it to me. The kitchen has always been where I spend most of my time. Meals are prepared and shared with family and friends in our kitchen. We usually do our school work and Bible study at the kitchen table. The kids gravitate toward the kitchen as that's where I'm usually to be found. Of course when we have people come to visit, we almost always end up in the kitchen. The old saying is really true, "No matter where I serve my guests, they seem to like my kitchen best."

When Matt and I signed papers to buy this house, I knew the flat top stove would have to go. You're not supposed to can on flat tops as they can't handle the high and sustained heat that canning requires. I also wanted another oven. When we lived at our old house, my "second oven" was across the street at my neighbor's house. Marg would always let me borrow her oven when I had too many dishes to squeeze into my own. So I knew I would want to replace the stove top and cabinet underneath it with a standard range/oven.

Yesterday Matt and our friend Brian did exactly that. Brian's wife, Julie and I went to yard sales and Grace and Elizabeth watched all the kiddos while the guys worked. It took longer than they expected (don't all home projects?), but I do now have a range. Hurray!

After living here for two months, we realized the kitchen sink was really too small to be functional for our family. We had the old one replaced on Friday, which included having to move the drain to a lower location, so we hired a plumber to do the job. Good thing we did, too. It took a professional four hours to complete the work. It would have taken Matt several days and caused marital strife to boot. We had gotten our replacement sink used and even with the cost of the plumber, it was still cheaper than the sinks we had seen on clearance at Lowe's.

The sink, oven and dishwasher have now all been replaced in our kitchen. They are all bisque in color, which is going out of fashion, so people are upgrading their kitchens and selling their bisque cast offs for cheap. This has worked really well for us because our "new" appliances blend well with the existing cabinets and counter tops. Matt says there is even room to accommodate my dream Viking stove at some point down the road.

Tonight I'll cook dinner in my "remodeled" kitchen. When I'm chopping and cutting, it relaxes me, kind of like the feeling some people get when gardening. Now I'll be able to cook and bake double batches again like I'm used to doing. Yes, all (or almost all) will be right in the world.