In my home this week, we've talked to the contractor about the work we want done. We have some things we have to do before we can even think of scheduling him. John is reeling from prices. I was a bit more prepared for something around the figure we were given. I was a little under the estimate, but John had hoped it would come in at a lot less than it did.
We are going to get this all done. That isn't in question. We just need to get our heads together, i.e., we have to go choose cabinets and pick out other things that are needed. Then we order the cabinets and then we finally get to schedule when we start all of this.
It's got us both a bit anxious. We knew we'd need to do the picking and choosing but suddenly we both feel rather anxious about it all. John nor I like to make a mistake. I think we both assumed we'd have to make fewer decisions once we'd found the contractor to work with, lol. Silly us.
It will all sort out in the end, and everything will happen in God's good timing.
I'm trying hard to keep in mind my 4 daily questions:
What's for lunch/supper? I'm adding in "What's for breakfast tomorrow morning?"
What can I produce in my home today?
What can I do in my Zone are today?
What can I do towards my weekly/monthly goals?
I found in my experimenting with these questions last week that I did well enough with figuring out meals, though I definitely needed that daily reminder to think about them. And I do equally well in doing something in my Zone area each day.
Producing something stymied me. Now I'll be honest, I really didn't plan this out before hand, and it showed. If I'd been prepared to produce, I could have done something every single day to create something. I didn't prepare. I didn't look up canning recipes. I didn't practice using my Pressure cooker. I didn't pull out my hot water bath canner or take stock of how many jars I have, etc., etc. This week I'm going to PLAN to produce something each day.
I also couldn't remember what my weekly nor my monthly goals were. Obviously, I need to write them out on a sheet of paper and POST them where I can see them each day. I can keep them on my phone or in a notebook, but I don't often have either one at hand while I'm working. So the most obvious thing to do is put them on the fridge, since I am in the kitchen for a goodly portion of my day.
I'm convinced that these questions are going to be a powerful tool. I just need to work out the kinks.
Work:
Zone 2: Living and Dining Area, Front Entry. Declutter. Dust. Clean the front storm door. Find a wreath for the front and back doors.
I have flowers to pot up and tomatoes and herbs to plant. In my time outdoors with Caleb I hope to get those things done.
Pay our bills and get the checkbook in shape once again. I've got to make this more of a priority once more. I've been so distracted this past month, that I've simply let it slide and I'm afraid something is going to slip through the cracks. I have to pay attention to our financial standing and ensure that we're where we should be. As you all know, I don't want to be obsessive with this, but I do need to be checking in more often just to catch mistakes. My goal is to go online to check what's processed and reconcile my balance one or two times a week; take time to check my bills/enter receipts, etc., on a daily basis. It will only take minutes. I need to just stop pushing it off my list!
Try to get the whole of the bed around the Sweet Gum tree weeded. Do it now or regret it later.
Get a new propane tank for the gas grill.
Order a flag for the flagpole. We ran by Lowe's on Saturday and I bought a new flag. It's already hung and flapping in the breeze.
Kitchen:
This is most likely the number one area where I will be 'producing' something. Of course, it's also producing something to make napkins or curtains or clothes or propagate new plants, but the majority of my focus will be on what I might produce in the kitchen.
I have bread end pieces I need to process this week. I have a quart of fresh crumbs. I could make some croutons for one thing. But what to do with the rest? Must figure that part out.
I have a packet of cucumbers I bought and avocados. One for pickles, the other to be peeled and frozen.
Make up cookie dough for the freezer.
Personal/Leisure:
Mani/Pedi.
Continue to do bare basics makeup every day. I feel so much better when I have on even the minimum makeup.
Lie down for at least 10 minutes every single day. I did it twice this past week and both days it was so beneficial.
Journal. I need to be more mindful of writing out my head full of thoughts every day.
When John is listening to things I can't stand, I'll put on my earphones and listen to soothing music.
Bring some flowers indoors to enjoy. If I have none in the yard, I'll try to buy some.
14 comments:
I’ve found your 4 questions very helpful. Especially the planning lunch and supper early in the day.
Thank you for praying for me! I am very much recovered from my fall thanks to my herbs and taking them to heal.
Here is a simple plan for the canner. Measure out 1/2 cup dry beans for up to five pints. You can mix the jars and do some pinto, some black, etc if you want. Sort and wash the beans and put them in the jars. Add 1/2 tsp canning or non iodized salt. Fill to the bottom of the threads with hot water, wipe rims with vinegar and put on your lids and rings. Can for 75 minutes. If you have a failure with sealing on this maiden voyage you can just freeze the cooked beans but all should go well.
I want to get the screen porch cleaned up enough to use it for meals this week. It can wait for a full out cleaning until we are back from the lake the first week of June. We bought some cheery new cushions for our two chairs today. I need to clean up and fertilize the plants that were overwintered. I found a rack of $5 clearance dresses at Walmart today and bought a bunch. I need to try on and determine what I can actually use and what needs to go back. Some will be perfect for hot days because they are cotton and short sleeves. On Wednesday we are having a new door put on the freezer under warranty. I am still going around and around with myself trying to figure out what to do with the full freezer of food.
I had actual nightmares when we did our new kitchen counters. The job was done and they were all wrong in every dream. In the end I love them and still do but that was a whole lot of stress not to mention having to empty and pack up the lower cabinets. We also had the popcorn ceiling taken down in the kitchen. Never again will we touch a popcorn ceiling! Dry wall dust was through the entire house even thought the kitchen had been sealed off, or so we thought. You have more courage than I do!
French toast casserole for the bread ends?
I SO enjoy your blogs every weekend.
Lana do you have a blog I enjoy and learn from your comments, I'm sure I would learn LOTS from your blog too.
Thank you
Tracey
Rhonda, I'm so glad they've helped you as well. I think it's important to focus and I tend to forget where the focus should be. I keep making plans for tonight's supper and then changing my mind but I do have a viable option and I think I'm settled on it.
Lana, Thank you. I need to get canning salt. I'll keep this recipe in mind.
We like French Toast Casserole, so some of it might end up being made into that.
Tracey, Lana is a fount of information and really would benefit us all if she had a blog of her own.
I know that I am too outspoken to have a blog! I will just keep commenting.
The French Toast Casserole is a great idea! And yes, Lana does need her own blog but I'm grateful she shares enough in comments to learn just as much from her as I do from you Terri! What a lovely group.
Lana, be outspoken it's YOUR Blog.
I'm excited about your kitchen renovation and can't wait to follow along. My sister is moving from Texas to Sioux City, IA in a couple of weeks, and has asked me to help her with renovations in their new kitchen. So many choices! I will tell you that when my turn comes for new cabinets, I will go with all drawers instead of bottom cabinets. I'm too short to easily reach clear in the back on the bottoms, and have to practically lie down on the floor to be able to get all the way in there.
Have fun choosing your new things, and remember that you're the one doing most of the work in there, so things need to work well for you! ♥
Tammy, I haven't chosen a paint color for the walls. My initial thought has been a soft grey all along, but at the moment, it's concentrating on cabinetry. I'd love to do drawers and plan to ask the price difference. The one cabinet nearest the stove he has marked as a 24-inch cabinet with a single door which he said will give me plenty of access in that cabinet and at the same time allow him to accommodate the need to have it butted against the stove. I can't do a lazy susan in that dead area, as it's too deep.
I feel pretty confident in my choices thankfully. After living for 27 years with an all white kitchen (cabinets, countertops and flooring (well the last 6 with a driftwood colored floor), I know that I'll be happy with all white all over again. And with formica. I've had no issues with that at all.
Okay, Terri,
It was **VERY** expensive to do our kitchen renovation 12 years ago, but the renovations allowed us to turn dead space into useful space. And since we cook almost all meals at home, it's been worth it.
We used something similar to this for a blind corner cabinet:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/VEVOR-Swing-Right-Blind-Corner-Cabinet-Pull-Out-for-36-in-Cabinet-2-Tier-Swing-Tray-Soft-Close-Cloud-Blind-Organizer-CGLLSNGFDX36YCYB1V0/323355221
And something like this for an upper cabinet that was difficult to access:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rev-A-Shelf-18-87-in-H-x-21-75-in-W-x-10-25-in-D-Small-Wall-Cabinet-Pull-Down-Shelving-System-5PD-24CRN/313906483
And a turning susan in another lower corner cabinet:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rev-A-Shelf-26-in-H-x-32-in-W-x-32-in-D-Wood-2-Shelf-Kidney-Shape-Lazy-Susan-Set-4WLS472-32-52/313915196
We also went with drawers for most of the lower cabinets. Vast difference is usability.
Eye-watering price tag, but so much easier to use the kitchen.
BTW, our previous configuration had CARPET in the kitchen, so you know the kitchen wasn't built with cooking in mind!
Slughorn, thank you for thinking of my reno and showing me what you used in yours. My son has two of those units in his kitchen and I can see their value. The way my kitchen is set up though the dead space is true dead space. You simply cannot access it at all. It's a full 24 inches deep and the stove prevents any possible use of the space. In fact, because of this we will have two 24-inch cabinets, but one will only have the right-hand door and a blank front on the left so that it can be pushed in by the stove. In this way, I can access a little more space and not lose so many items.
I am going to see what drawers run but we do have limited funds, so I won't be splurging over much on cabinets.
I cannot even IMAGINE carpet in the kitchen! Or the bathroom. Ugh.
Yep. The bathrooms were carpeted too! And this house is older, smaller, and has fewer features than our house in the Midwest. More expensive, too. But you go where the job is.
There were lots of things I would have liked to do to make this kitchen more useful, but, as always, money was a factor. And there are things that I wish we had prioritized a little more. And things that I wish I had insisted the contractor do. But having a hard surface floor, better lighting, and useful cupboards are terrific upgrades.
Now I'm saving up for the 2nd bathroom ... we still have carpet in there right now.
We had to go with two 'blank' drawers as well.
Slughorn, worst bathroom I was ever in had carpet...and the lady of the house had a rug atop that and a toilet seat cover and a toilet seat topper in a house full of men. One visit and I planned never to go potty in her house ever again, lol.
I have been thinking about my new kitchen a lot and wondering how to arrange things once it's all done. It's not as efficient as it might be at the moment, but the arrangement suits the storage I have. However, I'm hoping for a more efficient arrangement overall even though the footprint isn't changing. The storage options will be better, I think adding an additional 12 inches to one counter and an additional 24 to another will mean more space. And the contractor planned in two pantry cabinets in my current space on the fridge wall that will help a lot, too.
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