[Rainey]

While I'm sitting here vibrating waiting for this &%^%$ thing to get started, I went out and got a camera and tried to start a photo journal of the whole thing.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75667634@N00/

I am hoping that will take you to a look at where we're starting. Perhaps someone will have some brilliant idea that hasn't occurred to me. I tried to put some notes with the photos that describe what the plan is.

Cross your fingers and hope it works. Then wish with me that the contractor and the cabinet guy will show up soon with their crowbars and MY NEW KITCHEN!!!

PS. YES! It probably is the worst housekeeping you've ever seen. Any ideas about that are, alas, useless as I'm a hopeless case....
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God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

[madameshawshank]

Rainey..what fun...we will travel with you! merci for the thought..

is that a pumpkin Le Creuset casserole I see....ah....fun and food...nothing quite like it..

may the Kitchen Angels be in evidence throughout this time in thy life!

before I enlarged the photo, the lights on the chandelier looked like little sailing boats!

kictchen-joy hugs
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"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

[Barbara]

Such a good idea to turn it into a photo essay. I'm looking forward to more Rainey.
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Barbara

[Rainey]

Barbara- We'll watch together as things develop. I'll be holding your hand from far away as things change and become new again.

I wish the distance were shorter. And the work easier. But I'm glad for your company.
_________________
God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

[madameshawshank]

ya know something gals...here it is 12.53pm ..'n I'm cooking for the openair Sydney Symphony picnic concert this evening...well I actully took a wee break to check emails and such..

I read Rainey's last post...and here I is....weeny tears flowing at the thought of these wondrous cyberspace friendships...

very very big hugs
_________________
"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

[georgia]

Rainey, what wonderful ideas you have...and what great space potential. When I redid my kitchen, I had few options for reconfiguring space/size, etc. Seven years after the fact, I'm still trying to figure out where and how I can tuck in a baking area. Smart thinking on your part. The result pleases me greatly, but there were so many things I couldn't do (i.e. breaking through the wall from kitchen to dining room would have taken out the original built-in eucalyptus wood cupboard in the dining room...not an option for this girl...). Just keep reminding yourself what you'll get at the end of all of this. Sort of like being pregnant, y'know?

And the vinegar jug will live where?

p.s. nice spider web quilt...your work?

[Rainey]

Thank you, yes. We call it broken dishes given it's place in the dining room. But, you're very right, they're also called spider webs. It's quilted (at least so far as it is quilted...) with figures of teacups in the centers of the red stars and will "one day" have crossed knives and forks around the border.

The vinegar jug actually is in there on the counter next to the sink. Don't know if you can make it out amid all the clutter....

I LOVE the intimate spaces of these California ranches and came slowly and reluctantly to the idea of taking out that wall. But the time for renewal came many months ago and the time to sell will come in some few years and we'll have to make the house work for the people who have that model of the bigger open spaces. This is our compromise.

If anyone sees the best place/kind of storage for knives, that's one aspect I don't have a handle on because there won't be a wall for a bar where I expect to be working on that peninsula. Drawers will probably not be the ideal because I'll be losing some of that kind of storage so I'll have to make the most of what remains.

Thanks for taking a gander and passing on ideas, folks!

I'll try to get out and photo the stuff that I'm giving away too.
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God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

[birgit]

Just a thought: what about safely fixing one of those magnetic sticks (? don't know the correct expression) onto the inside of one of the cabinet doors nearby? There is mostly some space between door and boards Drawers are not that good because knives shouldn't touch each other as I've been told.

[msue]

Oooh, I am sooo envious that your kitchen project is actually off the ground!! We almost took the plunge to build a new kitchen last spring, but one of us (not me ) got cold feet. It still isn't "off the burner" so to speak, but not happening as fast as I'd like.

At any rate, there was a VERY helpful forum discussion regarding the kitchen options. Here is the link:

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=880&highlight=

Maybe it will have some info that would be meaningful to you.

Your knife question is one that I've had to manage in my current tiny kitchen. You said that you don't want to sacrifice drawer space, so you probably can't use what worked for me - somewhere I found a wooden knife block that fit perfectly into one oddly shaped drawer. Voila'! Knives safely stored without taking up space on my small countertop.

I used to watch Julia Child in one of her early PBS shows (oh, how I miss her voice!). She used a peg board on one wall (pans, ladles, etc.), plus had the magnetic strip along the backsplash for knives. Seemed to work for her, plus both took up minimal space.

Anyway, best of luck with your remodel. (And save a little new kitchen fairy dust and blow it my way!)

[madameshawshank]

msue...ah, Julia! somewhere I have an old American magazine with a article on Julia and the kitchen...the outlines of the pots and pans were drawn on the peg board...everything in its place...one of the great thrills of my kitchen life was to see that kitchen at the Smithsonian...

as for kitchen fairies...I've a fairy holding a waffle pan...she lives on the wall in our kitchen..I'll take her outside today and ask her to send thee rather fabulous dust

all the best kitchenwise..
hugs
_________________
"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

[msue]

Madame, thanks so much for the puff of fairy dust coming my direction. I'll stand out in the brisk breeze today and wait for it to settle all around me.



Meanwhile I'll be dreaming of Rainey's new kitchen digs!

[Rainey]

Several good indications this morning. The contractor finally came over to discuss the nuts and bolts of getting it started. He says he sees the demo starting in 2 weeks when he finishes the project he's on now and the cabinet maker gets him the drawings. This is heartening. Of course, so as not to set myself up for big frustration, I'm factoring in that all through the holidays I kept myself going on the promise that "as soon as the new year comes we'll get going."...

He expects to be able to save the pine cabinets he's taking out of the kitchen. It should help a lot if they can get cleaned up and put back to use in the laundry/sewing room where they won't need to impress anyone. And the particular lucky stroke will be that he's making getting the laundry room operating his first priority. So that will give me a room with a big sink and an expanse of counter to set up as my temp kitchen for the duration.

Meanwhile, nice man. And the cabinetmaker is a character. He's about 30 with spikey hair and a German accent and massive silver jewelry of skulls and vipers wrapped around his wrist. But he's got a cool enthusiasm and I'm in his hands now.

Whoopie! Let the fun begin!
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God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

[madameshawshank]

oh my, aren't we having fun!
_________________
"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

[Donna]

I always say, there's nothing I like more than large men in dirty boots tearing things down in my house!

In the middle of our kitchen remodel - Sam had a surprise birthday party for me! I had the fridge and a hot plate and microwave in the dining room, the old island was sitting out on the deck off the kitchen - waiting to be carted off, plastic sheeting a duct tape over everything and a surprise party. the miracle was that I didn't just DIE of mortification!

And Birgit may have an idea there with the magnetic knofe strip inside and upper cabinet door. Talk to your cabinet guy and see if he can come up with something creative.

My next kitchen I want something designed to hold not just the pots, but the pot LIDS! I have pull out drawers under the cooktop - and I love that, but the lids bedevil me. I know there's a solution, but I can't grandfather anything in here. So - next time!

Rainey - this is getting EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!!
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L'appetit vient en mangeant. -Rabelais

[georgia]

My next dream kitchen will have an entire ROOM devoted to those plastic, "disposable" storage containers AND their damned lids. Can't live with 'em; can't live without 'em, and certainly can't find any two that match on any given day. What else could we use to store leftovers at the rear of the refrigerator shelves for several months until they are inedible and must be tossed?

This is my particular talent.