My Christmas without a kitchen

So as of last Friday, I am sans kitchen. I’m ecstatic, joyful, giddy and, quite honestly, a bit shocked. The Great Kitchen Renovation project has begun. I’ve lived with Functional Kitchen for ten years, and now I’m getting Beautiful Kitchen. To heck with function. I want to look at pretty cabinets and a nice floor.

With the rest of the house wrapped snuggly warm with insulation, we simply had to do something with the drafty, cold kitchen. Minimalist Kitchen, no insulation. Lovely Kitchen, top to bottom insulation to keep winter’s chill outside where it belongs.

Besides insulation we’re adding more cabinets, new paint, new windows, and ripping out the Ugliest Kitchen Floor in the Northern Hemisphere (it’s true, I have the trophy to prove it.) An oven vent, friends! Hallelujah!

Oh, goody yea. Santa has a credit card with Home Depot.

Okay, enough talk. Have a go with these pictures to get the full effect. (Can you tell I’ve been watching Crocodile Hunter?) This first picture features the fake dance floor and bare light bulb. Looking closely, one can see where the cabinets previously hung to the left of the stove. Dang, that wall is brown. *sigh*

More nasty walls again. Feeling slightly embarrassed I’m going to post this to the Internet. Notice old windows, glad to see them go. Yes, that’s Doc’s backside. Please ignore.

So that’s the old kitchen.

As much as I love what’s happening in my kitchen currently, there is a slight bummer in all of this: my refrigerator is in my living room, parked next to the Christmas tree. Behold, truth in blogging – my living room as of December 24, 2008:

Not exactly the holiday atmosphere I was going for this year.

Friends: do you say no to the Great Kitchen Renovation Project of 2008-09 just because it’s the week before Christmas? No way, Santa baby. You store all your dishes in the dining room, shove the table and frig into the living room and start ripping sheet rock from the walls. Besides, it’s the most logical time to do it; Doc’s company shuts down for a week between Christmas and New Year’s. No brainer. Gimme my new kitchen. Please.

It’s a good thing I’m not in the habit of cooking a traditional dinner on Christmas day, because no way is it happening this year. I’m thinking Chinese take-out will be on our menu Thursday.

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I’m going to take a take a break from updating here until after the new year. May you have a blessed celebration of our Savior’s birth with your family, with lots of books from Santa.

Don’t drink too much eggnog, cause it’s really fattening, plus drinking too much eggnog is just gross. Eat more chocolate instead. (Is there such a thing as chocolate eggnog? Hmmm.)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Don’t read this if you haven’t had pumpkin pie yet

We had a lovely walk on the beach today, which I captured on video. After our holiday dinner, I edited it, adding lovely special effects, title and end credits. So easy! Saved it with no problems.

What isn’t so lovely is that I can’t upload it to YouTube because the file isn’t recognized, or some such Windows Movie Maker nonsense. The kitchen still wants cleaning, the kids are playing “I’m not sleepy, I’d much rather wrestle,” and Doc is no where to be found. He disappeared an hour ago with a belly ache.

Not good. Considering my youngest threw up earlier.

Other than that, it’s been a lovely holiday.

How was your Thanksgiving?

I declare this “Hug Your Pastor” week

Because ours is in a hospital tonight suffering with a brain aneurysm.

This is Dennis, with his lovely wife Kathy. I’ve had this picture on my refrigerator for months. Why? To remind me to pray for them, their marriage, their ministry, their relationship with the Lord to be strong. I never thought I would post the picture here, asking you trusted friends to agree with me in prayer, to intervene for our beloved pastor.

We never think these things will happen, do we?

So hug your pastor. And while you’re at it, pray for him too.

UPDATE: No evidence of an aneurysm was found. Thanks be to God! I’ll keep you infomed, please continue to pray as the doctors look for the source of the problem.