BIG WORKDAY (Tuesday, May 7)

A passing storm

Before breakfast, Mike took Bess and Primo and walked down the lane to light the slash pile he made last week. He continued to check it periodically until it was out. We ate a light breakfast so that we could get right to work.

Hallie finished cleaning and configuring the pantry shelves and then started on the kitchen cupboards. The lower cupboards now have pull out shelves, and those aren’t so easily adjustable, but she did it, even sanding one of them. The previous cupboards didn’t have these pull-out shelves, and while they have their benefits, storage space is lost. For instance, in the previous kitchen, the cake pans shared space with the pots and pans, but now they will have to live elsewhere. And it’s abundantly clear that some things I have kept for love of the vintage feel should probably go away. 

We also discovered that we don't have a built-in cutting board. The plus side of that is that the drawers are a little deeper.

I’ve been pretty good at finding the things we need, but I have no idea where the kitchen clock or the toaster are.

Eventually, as she worked, Hallie discovered water under the refrigerator. Long story short, new fittings had not seated properly. If we don’t draw water from the fridge, we have no problem.

Mike mowed and trimmed. He also set up the clothesline so that I could run a load of laundry, and the washer worked well even though I used the wrong detergent and had way too much suds. When the yard work was finished, Mike cleaned some windows – a frustrating task since they are so dirty. Just can’t get rid of those streaks. Discussion ensued on how our mothers washed windows. Mine used an ammonia solution, not a spray; Mike's wiped hers with newsprint.

It was a beautiful morning, but early afternoon, a storm passed through -- thunder and lightning and a brief rain.

Once Hallie finished the kitchen, she moved on to the mechanical room. I wouldn’t wish that job on anyone’s daughter, let alone my own, but she stayed on task until the room was clean and organized. Then she took Primo and went for a run. Makes me tired to think about it.

About 3:45, son Clint rode in on his motorcycle to check on our progress and offer assistance. He helped me access a buried box or two, and we discovered that they contained more food items. One of them was DISGUSTING -- pasta completely obliterated by the pesky mice. Unbeknownst to me, they had gnawed a hole in a bottle of cooking oil, and when I picked it up, oil spilled all over the box and the floor. The evil little critters had even eaten through the plastic bottle! Clint quickly grabbed the box and headed outside, where I pronounced it a TOTAL LOSS! Clearly, the mice had won this round.

We still had plenty of lasagna, so we agreed to have that for supper rather than take time to cook a big meal. I did, however, make pecan pie bars, which everyone enjoyed. And then Clint left to return to the Valley. KW