There are two things in my kitchen that are lacking : (practical) working counter space and electrical outlets. So when we first moved in, the toaster had only one home--tucked underneath the counter right beside the stove. I'll get back to the toaster details in a moment.
The people who lived in this house before us, "fixed it up." There were two shades of carpeting throughout the house--baby blue and rose pink. And no two switch plate covers were the same--cows, sunflowers, hummingbirds, morning glories, pigs, pineapples. There was lots of gold and oddly ornate (gag) mantle pieces. And we won't discuss the "hillbilly wiring" that ran all around our farm--bare wires tucked into PVC pipes and run underground out to barns, sheds and workshops.
So their kitchen "remodel" involved lots gold knobs and white-plastic-y covered cabinets.
We discovered the plastic covers on our cabinets thanks to the location of the toaster. After several weeks of use, the toaster heated the cabinet doors, which in turn melted the plastic laminate covering on the cupboards and caused it to pull away from the wooden cabinet frame underneath.
Soon, I began to discover places all around my kitchen where this white cover was peeling away from the cabinets. It was like a nasty hangnail--so tempting to pull off, but painful (to look at) if you did.
Dan would often casually mention that he could probably heat the covers off the cabinets and paint them any color I wanted. Some day. I knew this wasn't high on the "to-do" list--seeing as the basement is so wet it causes our living room books to mildew, I still turn on my shower with a wrench and pair of pliers, the door on the chicken coop is about to fall off, and we still don't have enough firewood for winter.
But it never fails that if the girls and I disappear for a day or two, Dan always gets into some project, like the headboard he made me one weekend when the girls and I slipped over to my mom's house for a visit.
It is always exciting to come home and see how he's rearranged furniture, what pictures have been added to the family wall, how much of the laundry he's gotten done, or what toys have "mysteriously" disappeared.
But this weekend, while I was rediscovering my family's history and he was taking care of three girls, the house, the animals and the cleaning...he also managed to melt off the ugly white plastic laminate and repaint ALL my kitchen cupboards.
I don't know how he does it.
And even though my kitchen still has no great counter space, vinyl floor that always looks dirty even when it's clean and popcorn-textured ceilings, I'm in love. With my husband, of course, and my new happy kitchen.
