Catching up
Literally the moment the cookbooks got taken out of the boxes, we were looking at recipes again, discussing what to make next, and getting excited about future meals again.
Each bit of renovation that happens is a triumph. When our contractor brothers opened up this back door area and renovated it, it was like a doorway to the past. My professor husband has been slowly getting windows fixed one at a time, rehanging the window weights, and we have so far opened up 4 windows and two doorways. (2 more windows to go, I think.) Whoever decided to close off windows and doors in a long-ago renovation...maybe in the 1980s or maybe much earlier...really wasn't the brightest bulb.
Here's the re-opened back door area. Below are two high up windows in our new kitchen...both were blocked off but one of them had actually been left open, behind cupboards and walls, to vent a half-bath for perhaps 40 or more years. No wonder why the area was cold and the pipes froze in winter!
We also finally have a working dishwasher, which is a huge deal when feeding a family all winter. We were not surviving on take out or eating out during this time...but we did choose to use paper plates during the kitchen renovation. It was probably the most paper plates we adults have ever used in our lifetimes. It was worth it though, there are limits to what one family can manage...even an eco-conscious one. It's also the first time in 20 some years when we haven't composted at all--because our dog got skunked in September right after we started composting. So you know, we decided to stop composting until we figured out how NOT to attract skunks to the yard. If you have tips on that, let me know in the comments!
Knitting continued as kids keep growing and needing new woollies! This is another version of my "Stripe Freestyle" Sweater- slightly upsized as my kids are now a little bigger than the pattern I published. The yarn for this one was my handspun Cotswold and silk singles. I dyed it as well, the yellow was dyed with marigolds and the red came from a nice dye packet. I wrote about spinning and dyeing this yarn on the blog in 2006. Some yarns just need time to marinate in the stash! In this case, I obviously had to give birth to twins first and then wait 11 years.
Here's another fun photo of kids enjoying the art installations this year--this one was taken at the Forks. This sail turned in the wind while you stood on it...but it also served as a much needed windbreak on a very chilly day.
Finally, I'm adding a much overdue photo of the lovely birthday celebration we had back in January- I had a big birthday, in the midst of all of this. We were stressed out and it went by quietly. However, now that we're "down" to owning only one house, things are somewhat calmer. Still lots of renovations to go and some ends to tie up, but I'm hoping for warmer weather and more time for writing, designing and playing ahead.
Labels: birthday, bread baking, ice skating, knitting design, moving, new kitchen, old houses, renovation, River trail, sewing, Stripe Freestyle, writer's life, writing