Our Once and Future Kitchen

Construction guys are defined by their tools. David has cunningly designed tools for every application--especially when it comes to destroying our kitchen--and just when we kind of knew where everything was. Now it's all back in boxes and stashed in the guest bedroom. The appliances are in the living room, which is on the other side of the counter. There is a tool for moving appliances around with minimal use of force. There is heavy paper covering the floor, and the whole thing is surrounded by plastic suspended from the ceiling. There is tool for that. The heavy wooden counter was screwed to the base. There is a tool for sawing through the screws, and a tool for removing the fronts of all the cabinets and drawers underneath.

Some of the tools are sophisticated. There are slats which slide under heavy appliances and inflated, so that a refrigerator can be moved with one hand. Some of the tools probably haven't changed much since the stone age--like the chisel used to get through the thick layers of glue under the counters. There are ladders of different heights, electric drills of different sizes, and sanders that vibrate, rotate and oscillate. These were much in evidence today. It was a bit like spending 6 hours at the dentist. I don't think the hammers and nails come put until things start going back together again.

Having been through this before, I feel like it's too soon to be going through it again. Having been through this before, I am resistant to putting things in boxes--even if it means carrying them one by one to another room. Having been through this before, I recognize the symptoms of depression at seeing the destruction. Having been through this before, I know things can only get better, and I am excited at the prospect.