Wednesday, August 31, 2011

It's the little things in life. Like seeing your food.

Today I am ridiculously happy.  Happy is a low threshold for me, which you would understand if you saw my house.  Therefore, the things I am over-the-moon about today are things most normal people take for granted -- because most normal people wouldn't put up with *not* having them as long as I did.

Today I have a light in my kitchen.  On the ceiling.  And it works.  I haven't had a functioning ceiling light in the kitchen for at least 2 years, maybe more.  That hasn't stopped me from flipping the "on" switch nearly every day, and then swearing under my breath when it doesn't work.  Surprise!  It's like the gift that keeps on giving.  The bulb burned out a few years ago, and when we couldn't find a replacement, Victor took it down with the intention to install a new fixture.  That was 2008. 

In the intervening years, I've used a tiny little table lamp on the countertop.  It holds a 40 watt bulb, which has been fine because it's kept me from seeing the ceiling -- or lack thereof.

Today, I also have a kitchen ceiling.  (See what I meant about things you take for granted?).  When our trusty old white Frigidaire finally passed away earlier this year, we bought a fancy-pants stainless french-door fridge.  The new fridge is about the size of my first apartment and would not fit into the old one's space.  We figured: "What the hell -- we're tearing the whole kitchen out in 2 months anyway, so we might as well start now."  We tore the upper cabinet off the wall and threw it away.  We hadn't anticipated there would be no ceiling above the old cabinet.  Whoops.

Did I mention my kitchen also now has baseboards and cove base?  Did I mention I was stupid enough to buy a house *without* kitchen baseboards and cove base in the first place?  Why yes -- yes I am.

So we have now spent 2 days putting lights and ceiling and trim into a kitchen that may all end up in a Dumpster by Thanksgiving.  Cuz I'm fiscally responsible like that.

The other changes were needed whether we stay or go.  We replaced the exquisitely ugly ivory-and-brass ceiling fan in the master bedroom that threatened to decapitate our daughter every time she bounced on the bed.  We reinstalled the basement walls we ripped out in August 2007, when the basement flooded 2 weeks after we moved to the suburbs.  (I figured God was trying to tell us something, but by then it was too late.)  And by week's end, we will have bid adieu to both the vintage blue toilet and the evil clown in the basement tile, the latter of which I had exorcised shortly after moving in. 

So work continued at a frenzied pace here.  I still don't know if we're building or buying -- but at least I can see in my kitchen again.



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