November Moves Along

On Friday the sun rose,  Saturday was also sunny.  Sunday began with some tentative sunshine, then the sky glazed over with pewter colored clouds.

There have been so few sunny days this month that they should be documented!

Other Novembers have been mellow with soft air during the middle of the day--times to work outside cleaning up the garden or walking through drifts of fallen leaves.

 Sun rising through a shimmer of grey fog, remnant of a blustery night that brought our first snow.

Contrails wove a pattern on the morning sky.

Frost crisped the edges of leaves swept down in gusty wind.

Snow, even when unwelcome, looks better when it sparkles under the sun.

By noon the last of it had melted away.

I haven't lingered at the house in progress during the chilly weather. Jim had crushed rock hauled in around the foundation but more is needed.  When I go up, slogging along the lane in my wellies, I try to avoid the patches of thick mud.

My spatial concepts aren't good; even taking rough measurements of a space in the making fails to give me much sense of the room to be.

The interior partitions are now in place, the staircase created.  I can walk from 'room to room' and begin to visualize where furniture will be placed.

Jim had time on Sunday to help me with the specific measurements of the kitchen area.  I have managed to transfer these to graph paper.  I have been immersed in the booklets handed out by the various makers of kitchen cabinetry. The illustrations are always of huge upscale kitchens showcasing every possible 'innovation' and 'storage option.'

My actual kitchen space will be fairly compact with a large walk-in pantry a few steps away.

We buy food in bulk--various flours, grains, dried fruit, raw sugar---these staples store well in glass jars on open pantry shelves as do large kettles.  

There are almost too many options offered by cabinetry makers: dozens of similar door styles, stain or paint finishes, and more recently, the option of 'distressed' or 'vintage' applications. 

I often wonder if those customers who opt for an ornate style are forgetting that this is a kitchen--a place where food may splash or spill--not easily wiped up if a cabinet door is detailed with grooves and 'fine furniture' embellishments.

This kitchen, like the ones I've ordered for other houses, will have simply styled 'Shaker' cabinetry.

The next step is to make an appointment with a kitchen designer and then compare prices and quality on the three brands that interest me.

Last week I spent more than an hour at a local appliance store and put together an appliance package.  There again, model kitchens were mocked up with appliances from mid to high price ranges.  Various humbler ranges and refrigerators were marshaled in ranks in the middle of the showroom.

When we were building 'spec homes' for sale, we created fine kitchens--none of the so-called 'builder grade' appliances and cabinetry.

That said, I am wary of appliances that have too many computerized features.  I selected a range and matching microwave from one of the mid-priced displays, but replaced the mammoth and high priced fridge with a less grand model.  I don't want a dishwasher.

I have been allowed to select the hardware for the exterior doors, and to pick up the paint for them [a cheerful shade of dark red.]

Other than that my remit is to keep the men stoked with hearty food, trudge up the lane with coffee and donuts mid afternoon, keep up with the laundry.

As camper/caravans go, this one is roomy, with storage cubbies, a small stall shower, a sofa, comfortable chairs, queen size bed.

In spite of my housekeeping efforts I feel that we are mildly grubby!  In tight quarters things spill; dealing with the cat litter box is a constant duty;  There seems to be little space to stow away a legion of shoes and boots and heavy jackets.

I don't have to cook this week!  My dear DIL sent up enough food for a small army: pot roast in brown mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes loaded with sour cream and chives, a container of Spanish rice, a delicious cranberry cake, loaves of moist pumpkin bread.  

Our children and their spouses are collaborating to put on Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.

My only contribution is to be several bottles of sparkling grape juice. 

I am nursing strained muscles in my back [foolish old woman determined to lug boxes that were far too heavy!] so will be contented for few days to spend a little time tucked up in my big chair with a heating pad and several cats for comfort.

So, this strangely chilly and bleak November is passing into memory; the house is continuing to become more than stacks of lumber and bales of insulation.  There will be interesting decisions to make, things to be ordered. 

Hopefully there will be a few sunny days to raise our spirits!