Sunday evening a neighbor gave Gary a few Indian snacks with instructions to share with me, and he came over and did so, while we whined about being old.
He is trying not to get back surgery, is living on pain pills, and is impressed with how well I've done. He is very worried about surgery, but was listening to how much better I'm doing than for ages. So we'll see.
Then Monday morning Mike the Craftsman came over to admire the kitchen and plan how to do the slider cabinet for me. He can use the carcase and adapt.
He could build from scratch, but wants to save me money. Also the cabinet is in good shape. It's the design that isn't. And we already know it fits the space in all directions.
And joy, back in a working kitchen, I was able to get my postponed tofu katsu.
I'm addressing the kitchen window now and this is where we are so far. This involved ironing, please be impressed, pun intended.
When the coleus plants come in, in the fall, they'll hang from those brackets, filling in the top half of the window.
The Freecycle items were picked up swiftly, both recipients very pleased with their finds.
More up on Monday, spare cream pitchers
Left to right Danish pewter, Irish Belleek porcelain, unmarked Lenox china. Lenox is located near here and a lot of older local people worked there. Sometimes small items left by the back door so to speak, so didn't go through the marking phase, but clearly recognizable as Lenox.
Deciding now what to take to Tuesday's knitting group, between cordage materials and embroidery. Maybe both.
Happy day everyone, especially August birthday people, some great birthdays this week. I hope you greeted e, of Life in Progress? If not, I bet she and kitty Mercy won't mind belated wishes.
Lively cream jugs - some freecyclers will be very pleased to own any one of those. Very impressed with you half curtain. What did you use?
ReplyDeleteThere's already a delighted taker for the pitchers. The curtain is a hand stitched open work embroidered piece I found years ago at the thrift store.
DeleteYou can understand people trying to avoid surgery...it is a scary thought...and I should think, costly?
ReplyDeleteIt was scary but I was 100% covered by my insurance as he will be. Actual costs would have been north of $150k, but between Medicare and my AARP gap insurance, I'm billed nothing. No waiting, either, one month from first appointment to surgery.
DeleteYay. A home-cooked dinner. I do love those tofu sticks. The creamers are charming. Someone will be happy. My mother hated Lenox. I don’t know why. Her heart sank every time she received a gift of Lenox because she felt she had to display it forever... included an individual corn (on the cob) dish a sister gave her. Bizarrely, that sat out in the living room for the next 30 years. A corn dish!
ReplyDeleteSome people don't like the cream color of a lot of Lenox, and it's often a presentation item. I have two vases from job leaving presentations! One is in use to hold kitchen tools, the other in a cabinet.
DeleteIt's cleansing to have an occasional moan, but I didn't think you were the whining sort.
ReplyDeleteNeither of us is, but once in a while we're amazed at how old we've got.
DeleteI love your cream pitchers!
ReplyDeleteSo does today's recipient. Happy free cycler.
DeleteYou seem almost totally settled in again.
ReplyDeleteYes, couldn't wait to get going again.
DeleteThose little cream pitchers are adorable.
ReplyDeleteThat's what the taker said.
DeleteIroned hand stitched fabric is worth showing off in a window! So glad you're going to have a better use of that little corner cabinet. Now I wonder if the Lenox vase is packed away or I gave it away!
ReplyDeleteThat curtain has always been there, but higher. There's a matching piece in the window above.
DeleteI think the adapted cabinet will be so much easier to use than struggling about in the dark retrieving things.
I'm glad you are doing so well. My brother's back surgery didn't help with his pain so now they are looking into some sort of electrode thing that gets implanted? I don't know much about it but he needs a psychological evaluation first and since he is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, I'm not sure what they will do. It's a sad situation all around. Getting old is not for sissies! :(
ReplyDeleteI hope he can get relief. That's a hard way to live.
DeleteI am especially fond of the curtain. I love using old table linens or dresser scarves for unintended purposes.
ReplyDeleteI know you must be so happy, frying up your tofu again!
I think for once this was the intended purpose, because it has a slot and casing to put the curtain rod in.
DeleteSo happy cooking in my improved kitchen.
Everyone deserves a little fine whine one-in-a-while. You are surely fortunate to have talented and helpful neighbors. I do like the kitchen window.
ReplyDeleteYou might call this an active community. Always something.
DeleteYay working kitchens! The placement of that ironed (!) hand-stitched fabric in the lower part of the window is very nice, and with coleus above, it will be especially so. Happy birthday to all August readers (and Merry). Chris from Boise
ReplyDeleteI think the simpler look of the window will suit me.
Delete(I mean Mercy!). Chris from Boise
ReplyDeleteShe won't mind, cats aren't great spellers.
DeleteThank you Chris! Mercy says hello! I appreciate the birthday salutations.
DeleteThanks for the birthday salutations. I'm happy you like the renovated kitchen.
DeleteYour free cycle giveaways are certainly making other folks happy to give them a new home...in theirs and not yours. You might even have more room in your kitchen cabinets now.
ReplyDeleteBetween moving the pottery pieces into the living room and giveaways, the shelving is much more functional now. The high open cabinet where the pottery was now houses appliances I use only rarely, so they don't need to be right to hand. So the open shelves have only what I use regularly. It's better than fumbling.
DeleteThe kitchen window treatment DOES look good! I am impressed! :)
ReplyDeleteVery obliging!
DeleteThe curtains look great. It will look so pretty with the coleus hanging there, too.
ReplyDeleteCute cream pitchers!
I think your new repurposed cabinet will be fantastic! :)
Gary wants to put a sansevieria there! There ma be a battle of the plants.
DeleteA wonderful read Boud and enjoyed the photos too. Always enjoy looking at your pottery pieces. I am trying to decide what to do with the ones I have in this great cleanup of 2025 that I'm doing. It's slow going that's all I can say. Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteWinnowing is slow going. So many decisions, so many changes of mind.
Delete"Ketchup and apple vinegar"
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to try that.
It's a terrific dipping sauce and easy to mix. I got it from Yeung Man Cooking on YouTube, his tofu katsu recipe.
DeleteThe bowl shown is about enough for the tofu katsu shown.
DeleteI just took the plunge and bought the smallest container of ketchup I could find (16 oz). May be a lifetime supply. Crispy tofu sticks and katsu dipping sauce, here I come! Chris from Boise
DeleteNot big ketchup people?
DeleteThe window is looking great. I like what you’ve done!
ReplyDeleteThank you. It's much less busy and I'm liking it too.
DeleteYou are the poster child for surgery! Love the window!
ReplyDeleteI like your little cream jugs and actually picked up a couple at the thriftie that I now use beside my chair in the living room to hold things like spare knitting needles, pencils, pens and whatever else keeps falling on the floor. The RC has one for his 'stuff' and I have the other.
ReplyDeleteThat's a use. These are so little I think pencils would fall back out. Small items would work
Delete