Kitchen still all “system processing, please stand by”!
Plumbing, electrical… not very photogenic! But oh my, decisions…
I will confess that as an inveterate “Make Do-er” and “Lick-o-paint-er” it's not easy for me to deal with a blank canvas. In a way, I'm glad the kitchen space is, to put it mildly, quirky in its layout, because I do need some constraints. There will be oddities and that is all to the good.
Pattern Language Corner
Since I'm eliminating a small counter when you first come in through the mudroom (which is the way everyone comes in, though this renovation will, I hope, ultimately include a revival of what we call “the real front door), and instead putting the refrigerator there with its side cabinet facing you as you enter, I am trying to figure out The Waist-High Shelf.
201 Waist-High Shelf
. . . anywhere where there are open shelves, and around any room which tends to accumulate potted plants, books, plates, bits of paper, boxes, beautiful vases, and little things you have picked up along your travels, there is a need for space where these things can lie undisturbed, without making the room a mess Thick Walls (197), Open Shelves (200).
Yes, true, but more to the point, the things you must put down as you enter:
In every house and every workplace there is a daily “traffic” of the objects which are handled most. Unless such things are immediately at hand, the flow of life is awkward, full of mistakes; things are forgotten, misplaced.
Alexander doesn't quite come out and say it here, but there are things in flux: incoming mail (even though I have bins in the mudroom; now that there are only the two of us, we tend to bring it right in), outgoing items such as a letter to be posted, or a screwdriver that needs to get out to the toolbox in the garage, or a book I want to lend someone; and there is no use combatting the urge to put them down at waist height.
The thinking is that “this is just here for the nonce,” so no amount of effort to get the person to put it “where it belongs” will work.
The need for a surface is real.
That gray object where the arrow is pointing is the fridge. It used to be a counter (small and in the way, but still).
So I am going to have my eye out for a little shallow shelf of some kind that can go there.
I am also choosing light fixtures and driving myself insane on FB Marketplace, only because I actually am finding treasures there! I hope next week to show you one of the items I found!
Meanwhile, if you want to see the overall view inside my head, you can peruse my Pinterest board. I cannot extol highly enough this tool for figuring out what you like. Some of the pins contain only one detail that I want, so not every look is what I am going for. But you can get the overall idea, I think! Note that there are sub-categories on there, and again, this is an invaluable means of finally making a decision, even if what you say is that you love it all!
Enough about all that! I don't want to drive you as crazy as I am driving all my relatives and friends!
We had a lovely time in Maine with the family!
We learned to play Mah Jongg, which was good because it rained a lot! Also it was tons of fun.
My first win:
The Chief's first — and this was something, because normally he only likes to play Bridge and Chess.
Our two daughters-in-law are expecting! Jaime (left) in September and Natasha in October! We had fun baby showers while we were gathered. These will be our eighteenth and nineteenth grandchildren! We are so excited!
And of course, there was plenty of going in the water, even in the pouring rain.
When the sun shone, it shone.
We were so sad to have Rosie and her family not join, due to chicken pox, and of course to have our Army Doctor son-in-law still deployed (I hope as you read this, he is coming home!). We did have some extra time with Suki and children, who extended their visit with us afterwards:
But we were all together in spirit, and the important thing I want you to know is that if you are two straggly people trying to do your best raising your children and being generous even in the midst of suffering, pain, and a general sense of not knowing how things will turn out, just hang in there and you too can sit back after almost 44 years and see what comes of it.
Even if some or all of it gets taken away, and even if you struggle with yourself, as we all do, such is our lot in life — knowing that you persevered is an incredible reward.
May we all persevere until the very end!
Gardening Corner
The July garden is nowhere near as photogenic as the June garden, especially if you flit away for a time, but just to up the ante:
But actually these are bags of gardening gold — seaweed!! Can't wait to mulch things with it!
How am I going to make pickles without a kitchen??
I will take them over to Deirdre's and she will do it! Her incentive is that her family loves my Bread and Butter Pickles!
The rain…
The garlic is ready to be harvested!
Book Corner
You know how much I love and reference St. John Henry Newman. I have read and re-read his sermons in Parochial and Plain Sermons, published by Ignatius Press. I have had it for decades. (Affiliate link. I realize this volume is pricey and you may be able to find it used, but eschew the Kindle version.) The paper is thin and the text has barely any paragraph returns, because they were fitting them all in one volume, which I appreciate. Reading the sermons is an exercise in just deciding to do what it takes to keep going — an exercise and decision that has great rewards, however, because Newman's spiritual insight grounds the reader in Scripture and in his mind, a mind formed by long and deep study of the Bible, the Church Fathers, and history. Newman's understanding and his closeness to Christ make him a director of the soul on a par with St. Francis de Sales.
As soon as Professor Melinda Nielsen gave me the news of her project to produce this volume of Newman's sermons, I began jumping for joy!
I want more people to know and love Newman as I do! But that other book is so forbidding, and I am not a fan of a certain ongoing project to render his works in so-called “more understandable English.” Hard no from me.
The beauty of Festivals of Faith is that it uses the organizing principle of the liturgy (which Newman himself used, of course) to present a small selection of these gems as they originally appeared, that can be read and pondered according to the season. It must have hurt to make choices here (I know I could not do it), but it's a valuable offering.
The physical book is of high quality, with pages that lay flat. It does my heart good to see this well produced hardback book from The Cenacle Press of the Silverstream Priory. Melinda's introduction is an excellent overview of Newman's sermons' content as well as their effects on those who heard them. I appreciated what she writes of the accounts of his beautiful voice and strong effect on his listeners, because I often wonder how his long and substantial sermons were actually received. It requires so much concentration (richly rewarded, but still!) to read them; how was it to hear them? But according to her, they were life-changing in person. I know they are life-changing to me!
Melinda wrote in her email to me:
I am thinking in particular of all the well-educated housewives I know who would love Newman but might find that massive book overwhelming or not know where to start. I know you love Newman's homilies too and are often recommending them, so I wanted to reach out to you and let you know about the project. (A second volume, Holiness at Home: in the school of St. John Henry Newman is in the works!)
That parenthetical comment makes me especially happy! Remember that the miracle for this supposedly dour Oxford don's canonization involved the rescue of a mother and her unborn baby, as I wrote briefly about here!
You can buy Festivals of faith at Sophia Institute Press, which might be easier for Americans, but know that the monks at Silverstream Priory benefit if you purchase from them.
Knitting Corner
This little set is proving hard to take a picture of. In any case, it's not blocked yet. I will attempt my first steeking here, cutting into the front of the sweater to install the zipper! When my kids were little, someone gave me a sweet little baby sweater that zipped, and I loved it. So much easier than buttons! I did short rows to lower the front neckline and left a good margin so that the zipper won't stick up into baby's neck. (It might look a bit wide, but that's because there is extra there for zipper insertion. You'll see.)
As you can see, I also made a cap, but maybe it's not little enough? I see-saw between “infants' heads are enormous” and “this is too big.” I might do another, smaller one when I have a chance to grab a handy baby to try it on.
By the way, and this is not an ad, I recommend this Etsy shop, Huntington Fabrics, for quick service on sewing notions and fabric. They will customize the zipper too (and it's cheap) — and send it fast. Beats going to Joann's and rummaging through their meager or nugatory offerings, only to be scolded by someone who is not going to help you.
bits & pieces
- The son of a friend of LMLD intelligently discusses one of my favorite books, Dan Toma's Vestige of Eden, Image of Eternity: Common Experience, the Hierarchy of Being, and Modern Science
- This will be right up the road from me! Join the Church Music Association of America for an enriching and transformative experience at the Fall Sacred Music Workshop for Chant and Polyphony. Taking place on October 12-14 at the serene St. Benedict Abbey in Still River, Massachusetts
from the archives
- I would probably refine a few of my pronouncements here, and add many more, but it's all true: Decorating mistakes real people make by taking design ideas seriously.
liturgical living
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Elizabeth Turner says
Greetings! So nice to see a new post and filled with such encouragement. I really thank you for the straggly two people comment. I feel like a straggly people couple, 30 years in, and take heart to persevere. The Huntington Etsy recommendation was good: I will definitely be using their services. We are sadly without anything but JA’s and it’s not pleasant to shop there. Sadly, but 🤷🏼♀️. Congratulations on the expected new family members and best wishes to the mothers-again-to-be. We wait….💃🕺 Enjoy your homecoming and wonderful memories of the summer. Happy gardening!
Pam says
Thank you so much fir sharing your woes & victories in your kitchen redesign. I find it interesting that in todays world much of the classic furniture- china cupboards, dressers, cedar chests are not that common. Mostly built in shelves, cabinets & closets. I very much enjoy the Patterns!
Diana says
Congratulations on the new grandbabies!!!!!
Leila says
Thank you!! God is good!
Kim F. says
Regarding the renovation, I have to ask this because I would agonize over this decision…have you decided on a single or double sink? I would love to hear pros and cons for either. My kitchen reno might not be for 10 years but I’m already thinking about this detail. I currently have a double stainless steel sink and I do like it. But I have an enormous cutting board that I (or my children who do most of the dishwashing) make a mess with when washing. Water everywhere!!
Leila says
I will have two sinks — the new one on the west wall is a farmhouse sink — single bowl, drainboard. The one where my old sink was on the east wall will have two bowls, just like my old one, but maybe two inches, and only two inches, deeper.
Every day I would remark to myself on my good fortune to have two bowls! I would be unwrapping a whole chicken and someone would come up to wash their hands (I know, I know, but it happens) or rinse off some veggies, and I would marvel on my privilege!
I cannot stand doing dishes in a one-bowl sink! Yes, you can put a basin in a big sink, but people tend not to. I just hate a jumble of dishes, food, and utensils all in one big basin.
My other sink will be for tasks like dealing with garden produce and canning, and I am looking forward to that big drainboard!
I don’t know how big your cutting board is, but I wash mine by standing it up, diagonally, in one of my double bowls, and sort of washing it downwards, flipping it as I go.
If I have something truly gigantic to wash, I do have a large utility sink in the mudroom. Granted, that’s not helpful for something that is washed every single day…
My two criteria for my main sink, other than the double bowls, is that it not be too deep — I am short and get tired easily if I have to reach into a deep sink; and that the water and debris flow towards the drain. I can’t understand a sink in which the drain isn’t lower than the rest of the bowl! Unfortunately, that’s how my mudroom utility sink is, and it does drive me crazy! It takes an extra effort to wash it out thoroughly.
I think maybe it has to do with the material it’s made of — fireclay or ironstone sinks (which is what it is) seem to have this fault.
People have their own preferences, but mine is definitely for a double sink!
Mrs. T says
“and the important thing I want you to know is that if you are two straggly people trying to do your best raising your children and being generous even in the midst of suffering, pain, and a general sense of not knowing how things will turn out, just hang in there and you too can sit back after almost 44 years and see what comes of it.”
I appreciate you saying that. We are in the throes of family rearing and the last two years have been a heavy cross, especially this past winter. You are not kidding when you say two straggly people trying to figure it out. My husband recently made the observation, while dealing with our difficult teenage son, how not having a father in his life left him ill prepared for dealing with the troubles of this stage. But, God is good, and I see him growing. Putting forth everything he has for the sake of his family. A good man.
My poor garden has been heavily neglected due to my urge to nest, I am due next month. We’ve had so much rain. I’m almost nervous to dig up the potatoes to see how they’ve done. Your nasturtiums look beautiful by the way, it’s my first year planting some and I love the way they spill over.
Emily says
Where do you all like to go in Maine? My husband and I took our 10 year anniversary trip there in the end of June… were we there at the same time??! We stayed in Brooklin and traveled around the Blue Hill Peninsula. It was lovely.