Kitchen Update

We’re ready to declare a moratorium on home improvement projects for the time being. The weather is warming up, the sun is shining, and it’s time for golf (for Gerry) and gardening (for me). Gerry has joked more than once that since we retired it feels like every day is a Saturday because we’re always working on something and have made more than our fair share of treks to Home Depot.

The kitchen update has been in the forefront most recently and the finishing touches are just about done. We put a bit of sweat equity into this project as, after the countertops were installed, Gerry and our son Michael spent a busy weekend installing the tile for the kitchen back splash and a few days later I–brave woman that I am–applied the grout.

There were moments when I was laying across the countertop to reach those pesky under-counter areas, and others where I was sitting in the sink applying grout to the window sill. Thankfully there are no photos of those contortions to share with you. I will say that the evening after the grouting was done I was one sore and tired retiree.

Anyway, thought I’d show you the changes. Here’s what the kitchen looked like a couple of days after we moved in:

And here’s a photo taken this morning:

I love the new countertops! They look like granite, yes? They’re actually Formica FX made to look like granite. We raised the level of the one countertop that was, we’ve since found out, built that way to accommodate the short-statured woman who lived here when the house was originally built.

We have a new, much larger refrigerator that I adore; it’s almost the same as the one we had in WA that we originally intended to bring back to Canada with us. Gerry and Michael had to alter the cupboards so the new one would fit. The older, smaller, one that was here when we moved in has found a good home at our kid’s place at the lake. We also put in a new, more efficient dishwasher. I decided to keep the smooth top stove and, though I’m lamenting the loss of my gas range, I’m happy with this one.

Gerry had to talk me into this natural granite composite kitchen sink. I’m so glad he succeeded in winning me over.

Check out the marble back splash that our son and Gerry installed, and take special note of the fantabulous grout applied by yours truly. The windowsill also has the marble tiles and has a cute little ledge fashioned by my talented tile-installing son. That ledge with my pot of herbs, an orchid, and my little Red Rose Tea animal, Bobby, who has watched over every kitchen I’ve had and who I’ve written about here before, make me smile every time I stand at the sink.

One of the things I appreciated about my WA kitchen was that I could look out into our backyard while I was standing at the counter working. Today, the view is different, but I can still stand at the counter working and look out over a spectacular view (the hills are green just now, but they’ll soon be turning brown as the hot Kamloops summer settles in).

So that’s it, the kitchen where I’m spending a lot of time these days trying new recipes and enjoying my home. Inhabiting it, thankful that the dream I had a few years ago has come true at last.