I have pondered and studied and pondered some more. I’ve window shopped, priced and bargain
hunted… I’ve looked at my “before” and envisioned my “after”… I’ve studied my
bank account and came to the conclusion that I have no money… The ONLY possible way to get away from my
“before” and obtain the “after” I have in mind requires time and elbow grease…
time requires patience and elbow grease requires ambition. Thus, is this only a dream or is it, can it
be… WILL it be a reality? I lack the
patience, I dread the elbow grease… the checkbook says this is a do-it-yourself
project, so my dilemma. Do I or don’t
I?
All my life as far back as I can remember I have wanted a
dream kitchen. As a child I used paper
and rulers and drew floor plans, and made collages from catalogs and magazines
of the elusive dream kitchen. I almost
had it once, an entire house for that matter the way “I” wanted it, I had my
floor plan, was picking out cabinets and counter top and wall coverings,
flooring, all of it… however it was a prison design and I gave it up in hopes
of a better reality without the jailer through divorce. I have given up part of the dream for the
reality of “make do with what you have”.
I have lost count of the number of the “make do” kitchens
I’ve had. Don’t get me wrong, I am very
grateful to even have a kitchen, especially when I think of the pioneers
cooking over a campfire in a blizzard, or the homes destroyed in natural
disasters every night on the evening news.
I have a comfortable home that I for the most part am content with, but…
IF I could I would have that dream kitchen.
Thus the ideas and plans for the “make do” kitchen I already have.
Actually I was making do pretty well until a few little
things evolved into bigger things. You
know those things that happen to not be at all noticeable to “the man” in my
house, yet to me stand out like a sore thumb screaming at me every time I enter
my “make do” heart of the home. Funny
thing isn’t it, that “the man” and/or “younger testosterone bearing creatures”
who have lived under my roof at one time or another are responsible for the
flaws (damages) in my “make do” kitchen.
After all on numerous occasions these testosterone emitting beasts of
all ages have been the ones who have snagged a piece of counter top on a corner
and ended up ripping it off in chunks here and there, and on more than one occasion. It was “the man” who used the
fly swatter in a rage against the little annoyances with wings who hit the
cabinet doors so hard in assassination attempts and broke the laminate covering
my poor press-board cabinet doors (leaving holes and cracks) on more than one. Funny, these people I love have created such
devastation yet don’t notice it, yet a small scratch on a bumper lights up on
their radar immediately, never to be forgotten.
"FLY DAMAGE"
"The Testosterone Effect"
I’ve had enough. Or
at least I tell myself, and yet I let them continue to live indoors as barbaric
as they are.
I’ve had enough and want my
“make do” kitchen repaired. I’ve had
enough until I look at my bank account balance and then decide my dream kitchen
is just that… a dream. Or is it? Can I somehow make my “make do” kitchen more
dream like? Even if only in part? What can I possibly do to make the necessary
repairs without letting the barbarians cover the holes and round out the
corners with duct tape?
Into my life entered “Pinterest”. I have discovered a few ideas that MIGHT
possibly work. At least for some of the
“issues” my little “make do” kitchen has.
There is hope for my cabinets IF I am patient and use elbow grease…
nothing short of new counters can help that problem, but one thing at a time…
Ah, time. I have
plenty. I have big plans, and I have
time. I however do not have much
patience, and I am seriously wondering if I have enough elbow grease on reserve
for such an undertaking. I have
attempted to clean out and organize the cabinets however as small as my “make
do” kitchen is I usually end up stuffing things back where I had them to begin
with and feeling defeated. I wonder where all this stuff that I NEED keeps coming
from. After all I have filled boxes and
boxes over the years for our annual yard sales yet the cabinets are still
stuffed. Occasionally I wonder if elves
or gnomes bring things in at night while I’m sleeping.
I decided to organize and clean out the cabinets again today
with the intent on getting ready for my big project. I cleaned out, organized and lost steam and I
am once again pondering… Do I have the patience and elbow grease to make this
“make do” re-do happen? What if I get
all the doors off their hinges, remove the hardware, even remove the cracked
laminate and decide I just don’t have the patience to see it through? What if it rains every day for the rest of my
life and I can’t take the hardware outside to spray paint it the hammered dark
bronze I already bought or the endless rain keeps me from getting the paint dry
enough to put my kitchen back together without ruining the new finish? What if?
What if? WHAT IF?????
How would I
live with myself and my “make do” kitchen if I create more damage than the
testosterone beasts that live with me have?
And, could I live in a kitchen without cabinet doors? Everyone would see everything I own! Could I survive being so exposed?
I lose steam, and re-think the dream… Is it worth the
effort?
How bad does this cracked laminate cabinet doors and chipped
and ripped up counter bother me? Um…
pretty bad. I suppose the only thing
left to do is to make the commitment.
Take the doors down, remove the hardware… and begin to peel off the laminate. I know myself well enough to know that once
I’ve begun tearing the laminate off even
just one door I’ve made the
commitment. I know I do not want my
“make do” kitchen to not have doors, or worse yet, have doors that do not
match! I’m just OCD enough to go crazy
when my towels don’t match or one piece of silverware goes missing that if I
make the move of removing the doors I will see the job through…
