For the past couple of months I have been flailing. There’s no more dignified word I can use to describe it. I dislike change – if it isn’t actually broken I see no reason to mend or replace it. Why wallpaper when bookcases and paintings cover the walls much more cheerfully? Why replace tried and tested systems at work with something described as ‘dynamic’ and ‘use friendly’ that actually takes 4 times as long? I grieve when a pen runs out and has to be discarded. Silly, I know, but that’s the way I am.
So you can imagine my horror when I was told that my kitchen didn’t just have to be redesigned but the whole building had to be demolished. It wasn’t a fancy kitchen – it was shabby and battered and leaked a bit but I knew where everything was and everything sort of worked. I convinced myself that dodging drips when it rained was good exercise. But the leaks got worse and we had to bite the bullet.
Over the past week we have gone from this:
Excuse the mess. we were at the ‘taking every single thing out of every cupboard’ stage
To this:
And now there’s a big hole:
But OMG the toys!!
Unfortunately I haven’t managed to get the builders – 2 twenty-somethings with no discernible body fat – in shot. But I’ll keep trying.
So – as I meant so say – if I’m a bit distracted or distraught – this is why and I apologise for it.
Elin Gregory 
In the U.S. all remodeling is considered an event worthy of the worst the devil can inflict on you, but kitchen remodels are horrific. First of all: kitchen! Most families spend time there, and of course it’s where you prepare and cook food. My condolences.
The silver lining is that I’m spending time down at my mother’s house to cook, there and ensure she’s getting a good meal too, and its shown up how much she has deteriorated over the past six months. She had been coping very well until recently and on my regular visits always made sure she was sorted out. With me there every day she can’t hide it and I can get her help. It’s so difficult to help the elderly without hurting their pride.
True. My mother insisted on living alone after my dad went to assisted living, and I already knew she was having a difficult time getting some things done. The big problem was 1) I don’t like her (she’s a nasty bigoted racist, and 2) she lived four hours away, making it financially unfeasible to visit often.
She solved the problem when she had a stroke and ended up in the hospital two weeks before I moved south. Now my brothers are taking care of her. She’s in MN and it’s even more unlikely I can help from Florida. 😉
Ahhh siblings! Handy things to have. I’m a singleton, but Mum’s only 5 minutes walk away and I can drop in on the way home from work.
Honestly there’s no meeting of minds between us – I’m not nearly girly enough – but we do well enough as long as I let her lead the conversation. 😀 the non sequiturs can be quite amusing. On saturday she was talking about the garden then suddenly announced that the Duchess of Cornwall is a whore. Not quite sure what prompted that
When I read “OMG the toys” I confidently expected to see your builders! But I do agree that little mechanical diggers are sweet. Good luck with it all!
I share your dislike of change for change’s sake (“replace tried and tested systems at work with something described as ‘dynamic’ and ‘use friendly’ that actually takes 4 times as long”). Sometimes it’s done to justify having paid a ridiculous amount to consultants employed to fix something which was working fine. It’s infuriating, and if one tries to point out it’s unnecessary one is accused of refusing to move with the times, work in a team, and on and on…
My uncooperative dinosaur credentials are well established as is my reputation for NEVER saying I told you so when the new system crashes and we have to get the quill pens and ink wells out. 🙂
At last you will have a nice new kitchen soon. I cant wait to see the new one my house is demolished too we are remodelling the inside tearing out old stairs putting in new i dont have the 20 something builders though sigh so I am waiting on those photos of your toys… LOL
Check that excavated trench carefully. Never know what treasures you’ll find. And tell the pretty builders to keep an eye out for uncovered gems. 🙂 Good luck with the kitchen rebuild. It’s a hassle but the end product is well worth it!
Oh I’ve been down the hole to check but it’s old meadow land with glacial moraine at the bottom of it. We’re pretty sure of the area where the villa site is, just not the exact location, and there’s another somewhere upstream from where we are because I’ve picked up bits of tegulae on the river bank. No idea how far they’ve washed down, of course.