Summertime Living

Not a bad set-up for a temporary kitchen space in the garage.  Don't ask me about it in October!

The Right Crew for the Job

On demolition day, things moved fast and furiously, but the first order of business was moving the last piece of furniture out of the living room, our upright piano that belonged to my Great Aunt Mary.  A ramp from the kitchen, down two steps into the garage, was quickly built out of scrap lumber and supported with chunks of concrete scrounged from the backyard.  The wooden planks were temporarily screwed into the floor.  The piano was pushed on its old wheels through the kitchen door, into the garage and down the homemade ramp with millimeters to spare.  Only one slightly pinched finger resulted.  This whole process took about ten minutes.  The first time we moved that piano was 1981.  We enlisted at least four big burly friends who heaved it up a flight of stairs and around a corner.  Youth had brawn but age has brains.

There's Always a Bargain

After a day of sorting through all my old speech pathology books and notes, and finally making some space on the bookshelves upstairs, I find my mom thoroughly engrossed in an old language text sitting next to a huge pile of dumpster items at the side of our garage.  She ended up "rescuing" a handful of tossed books for bedside reading.  I guess it beats a trip to the library.

Sorting, Tossing, Packing, Storing

Emptying the living room, dining room and kitchen was relatively smooth thanks to my mom who came for a few days to help and motivate!  What we did discover was that clearing the living room meant making a space for the furniture in the upstairs family room, which meant figuring out what to do with the old couch upstairs and the toys of yesteryear.  So, that lead to a purge of the shed.  Emptying the glassware and family collectibles from the dining room hutch meant finding a space in an empty (empty?) bedroom out of harm's way.  Moving the kitchen to the garage meant cleaning out the garage, and so you get the point.  The more we worked to pack the worse things got!  Finally, it was down to a few stray boxes and an empty living space.

1960's Era Dining Room Set

I thought our 1960's "mid-century modern" dining set would fit someone's decor via Craigslist but we had no takers.  This table was the place for fancy meals as kids living in Newhall (usually we were banned to the kitchen).  When I inherited the set, it became a nightly ritual to gather together, with lit candles and what I called our dinner music, to eat together no matter home-cooked or take-out.  It was a habit we developed in New Zealand.  But, two generations of families wore out the set so the Salvation Army came to the rescue for the hutch and buffet.  The table and chairs we gave to a family with teenagers that also needed a place to gather and make memories.  We'll build a hutch in the new dining space and purchase a brand new table.

Demolition Days

Demolition - New Kitchen on the way!

July 9th would have been my dad's 83rd birthday. He was the builder and mechanic I relied on my whole life, so it is absolutely fitting that July 9th was also Day 1 of our long awaited kitchen and downstairs remodel! Grandma and Jeff took the first "whacks" at the old drywall making way for lots of new memories to follow the 19 years of great living we've done in this space.