The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

A slug could slime its way across the country faster than it will take to complete our kitchen remodel. The cabinets need different trim than they anticipated. Evidently, the walls and ceiling were even more crooked than initially thought. The wrong doors have to be replaced with the right doors and glass panels, three drawers still do not have facing or knobs, need I go on?

Like dominos, Daniel can’t finish his part (moldings, trim, painting, pantry door paint, and doorknob), or install the dishwasher, garbage disposal, and permanent sink installation until the countertops and the trim are completed.

Bottom line: we are still living with our kitchen boxed up on the patio. And what little we can put back into the kitchen is getting scrubbed, washed, and scrubbed again. Between hand sanitizer and scrubbing pots and pans, my hands feel like sandpaper. At least the coffee, mugs, and coffee pot are all in the same place now, so no more walking in circles just to make a cup of coffee.

To add insult to injury in the dust department, we also just had underground sprinklers installed. Digging up dirt, moving dirt, pulling up weeds and grass created more dirt and dust. While trying to adjust the watering times for the new sprinklers, we have overwatered, created a muddy yard, and now we trample the mud along with dust, into the house. And, we just found out the sod won’t be delivered for two weeks!

My wish is to have a completed kitchen, grass, a good crop of vegetables, and a clean house simultaneously before summer is over. Ever the optimist!

Good News! The countertops are in! Dishwasher, sink, and garbage disposal are in their permanent homes. Crossed fingers, no leaks! Now, we wait, not patiently, for the completion of the cabinet installation.

I found the same type of random squash I have growing in a friend’s garden. I now know they’re mini pumpkins, which could have been amongst the Cinderella pumpkin seeds. However, the butternut squash seeds I planted are growing into lovely dark green acorn squash. That one remains a mystery, along with the cucumbers we have in the front yard, which I know I didn’t plant. They were good in our salad last night, so no complaints.

The zucchini is still unstoppable, as is the swiss chard, cucumbers, and peppers. The tomatoes are lagging. Opining from friends suggest it could be herbicidal drift, too much water, too little water, too much sun, not enough sun. Last year I had more tomatoes than I could manage and hardly any basil. This year the basil is going gangbusters; they need to coordinate better for pasta sauce!

Just to escape the mud and dust, we planned a quick get-a-way to Sonoma on the way to Los Angeles next week, but the fires in Sonoma have put an end to that plan. The hotel advised us that we could stay there, but it’s possible we’d have to evacuate, and that romantic rooftop dinner is not going to happen. We canceled! We still intended to head to Los Angeles for our Doctors and Dentist, but my Dr. had mercy on us and was ok with a telephone call visit and a reschedule for the beginning of December.

Through this annoying and laborious remodel, I am constantly reminded that I made the right decision to move here. The best people live in Waitsburg, for sure. Because, through this remodeling mess, we have been the recipients of wonderful dinners delivered to us or invited to a friend’s home, all have been a great respite from our gritty, dusty kitchen.