the kitchen painting is done...

Here are a few pictures of how the kitchen looks, before/after... However these picture are taken after the walls were painted... so they aren't really a total before... The original walls were a papered wallboard stuff that was floral and I never really liked it, but I lived with it for 15 years... it was definitely time for a new look!!! As you walk into the kitchen from the dining room this is the left side, where the stove is...

Here is the pantry area... Ugly, huh???

Below is a picture of the the center of the kitchen, while we were working on the island... We added a layer of bead board over the top of the flimsy cabinet facing... The box itself was made well, but the cabinet facing felt so lightweight on it... Doing this not only made the island feel more stable, but after we painted it, it looks so beautiful~!

Below you can see the right hand side of the kitchen after all the cabinet painting was done... you can also see the top of the island in the center, after we got the counter back on... You can see that the island is a darker coordinated color to the other cabinets... and we plan to put a butcher block counter top on the island soon...

Here is the left hand side of the kitchen, and as you can see I used the dark color that was used for the island on the pantry doors... I love the way it looks... We still have counter tops and floors to do down the road... but the kitchen is so much lighter and I really enjoy being in there...

traveling...

I am taking a little break from house renovations... Tomorrow I will be headed over to the White Mountains to visit with some family on mom's side...

I also took part of the weekend off from painting to play with our Princess and her hubby... We got together with the other kids too for desert on Sunday evening... it was fun to see the kids and catch up...

Princess and I did some some shopping with Sir Knight in tow, and took care of a few other things we hadn't planned... didn't do some of the things we had planned and really enjoyed being together... I love my baby girl... and it's so great to have them come and see us... They brought their dogs, and it's always an adventure to have 4 dogs in one house... he he...

I am looking forward to some more family time with some of my extended family, and I am grateful to a local friend for allowing me to hitch a ride over to the beautiful mountains of eastern AZ...

I've gone to Bora Bora in my mind...

This is kind of a running joke with some friends (that are really more like sisters to me)... When life gets crazy, stressful, or boring we take a mental trip to the islands... If nothing else it's great to have a friend to unload on, and pretend to travel with...

Life around here was crazy in July... As I mentioned before our youngest son did not leave for Boot Camp as planned because of some last minute limitations and he is still trying to decide what he is going to do (whether to pursue the Marine idea or do other things with his life...) While he is deciding this he has chosen to live with friends not in his old room... he wants to be on his own, and I understand that... I am ready for him to be away from me more too... We just don't agree with his method of independence...

When he was leaving before I posted a blog entry about my feelings on the day he was to ship... but then removed it because I wasn't sure how he would feel if he saw it... After some more thought I am putting it back up (edited a bit, so as not to focus on the Marine angle...) because the things I wrote about HIM are still true, whether he becomes a Marine or not... so you can read about that wonderful kid of mine below, and see pics of him growing up... He IS a wonderful kid... if somewhat mixed up at times...

I am still cleaning, painting, and renovating the kitchen and most days it feels like I will never be DONE... but I chew away at the tasks in 15 minute segments and I try not to overdo, by resting between the segments... Slow and steady will win my race... and I promise I will share some pictures of the finished kitchen later...

I really cannot believe that it is August... July was a good month, just really busy and a bit crazy...