And Lexi:

After fostering Bailey for about 6 months and sending him off to his forever home, we decided that we were ready for some dogs of our own again. We wanted two dogs, young adults, small to medium size, who played well together. We told Donna from All About Labs, the rescue we have worked with, what we would be looking for. A few weeks ago, she called us with some information about these girls. They were found as strays (probably dumped) in rural Arkansas by a woman and her family who were attending a family reunion at some cabins. They brought them home, had them vetted, and attempted to find them a home together, preferably locally. A friend of theirs put them in touch with Donna so AAL could help get them adopted out, and Donna immediately thought of us. They came up for a visit a few days later, and we were sold! We had to wait until the loud, messy part of the kitchen work was done first, but we’re at a point now where it’s not too chaotic, so it was time to bring them home.

Their foster family took wonderful care of them. They had them spayed and vaccinated, fed them good quality food, crate-trained them, and treated them as part of their family (which includes 2 other dogs!). They said we were their Conway twins—the husband works from home, the wife is a stay-at-home mom, and they have a 2-year-old daughter. They even use the same dog food that we do, which is kind of an unusual one! We told them to come visit whenever they wanted to see how their girls were doing.

I really didn’t get very many good pictures today, but I’ll try to post some more in the near future. (It’s getting a little hard to get down on the floor and move around quickly enough to get the perfect shot!)

Before:

All opened up:

I’m really excited about this part. No longer will you have to walk through the laundry room to get from the kitchen to the family room. It will make a bigger dining area and a nicer laundry room as well. (The family room was the original garage, in case you were wondering why it was laid out that way.)

We moved the kitchen table into the family room to serve as a “prep” area, and set up the smaller card table to eat on. The prep area consists of the microwave, toaster oven, knives and cutting boards, paper goods like zip-locks and foil, and a few other things. Under the table I’ve stored things that I shouldn’t need to get to very often but still wanted to have available. (The rest of the kitchen stuff is packed up in David’s office.) Next to the table, we put the pantry with all our food, and next to it a small china cabinet to hold a few dishes, utensils, etc. The fridge is in the laundry room, where it’s been since we moved in. The dishwashing station is in the nearby guest bathroom.

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Construction should start first thing Monday morning. We are hiring a contractor do to stuff like knock out the wall, remove the soffits, move the doorway, and do the electrical/plumbing. Then the same guys who textured the ceilings before we moved in will come back, so the kitchen will match the rest of the house. Then the kitchen should be ready to fill with cabinets, countertops, appliances, flooring, and whatever else we haven’t thought of yet.

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Here’s what you need:

• canister of quick-cooking oats
• canister of rolled oats
• dry milk
• brown sugar
• cinnamon
• zip-top baggies

In food processor, grind 1 cup quick oats and 1 cup rolled oats to a powder. Set up an assembly line with all your ingredients.

In each baggie (makes 16):

• 2 Tbsp. ground oat mixture
• 1/4 cup quick oats
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup dry milk
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon

To make oatmeal, mix packet with 1/2 to 3/4 cup boiling water and let stand 2-3 minutes.

If you want, you could add other things like dried fruit, nuts, etc.

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I’m going to cook—a LOT—now. This week I am cooking up some casseroles, soups, baked goods, and some other things that can be frozen and reheated in the microwave or toaster oven. I may have to buy some storage containers, but we should still come out ahead as opposed to eating out all the time.

Here are some of the things I’m planning to make:

• Chicken Rice Casserole
• Skillet Tamale Pie
• Spinach Manicotti
• Baked Ziti
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Vegetable Beef Soup
• Chili
• Freezer Twice Baked Potatoes
• Baked Goods:
  • Banana Bread
  • Oatmeal Raisin Bread
  • Cranberry Orange Muffins
  • Apple Muffins
  • Oatmeal Raisin and Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough (rolled into balls and frozen)

For veggies to go with the meals, I guess I’ll steam them in the microwave—not my preferred method, but better than nothing. We’ll use store-bought bread and rolls. Then there are things like cereal, yogurt, fresh salads, baked potatoes, grilled cheese (we have a griddle), fresh fruits and veggies, etc.

When I looked online for ideas about how to eat during a kitchen remodel, there was a lot of advice about using a hot plate, slow cooker, outdoor grill, and so forth. Yes, it’s possible to cook using those things, but it still seems like prep and clean-up would be a major pain, trying to prep in the family room and wash dishes in the little bathroom sink. I want to have as much ready to eat as possible. We’ll supplement with eating out some, and if we run out of food, maybe I can have another cooking day at someone else’s house and fill up those containers again.

The kitchen is small with minimal counter and cabinet space, but there is an adjoining formal dining room that we plan to take in and make part of the kitchen. (We really don’t want nor need a formal dining room.) The dining room is conveniently the same width as the kitchen, so it will be a long galley-style kitchen when it is done, with plenty of cabinets for storage and counters for prep. This will also enable us to shift the work area down a little bit to make the eat-in area of the kitchen larger. It is currently pretty tight (our table has to be pushed up against a wall), and we’d like to be able to seat more than four people. Also, the laundry room doorway is right in the eat-in area, and we plan to wall it off and move the doorway to go directly to the adjoining family room. (You’ll see what I’m talking about when you get to the photos.) This will also allow the family room to be used for overflow dining space when necessary, plus it just makes a lot more sense for traffic flow.

Our goal is something functional here. We don’t want fancy fixtures, ornate moldings, and elaborate decór. We want something basic, surfaces that are easy to clean and maintain, design that lends itself to cooking efficiently, and materials/appliances that are not top-of-the-line but still good enough quality to last a while. Also, we’re going to try to be eco-friendly when possible, and I’ll be pointing that out in the choices we make.

I hope to document the process along the way. First, maybe this will help someone else who plans to go through the same thing, and second, I need to be better about blogging and this seems like a good thing to blog about.

Now, for some “before” pictures!

The eat-in area:

View looking from the formal dining room:

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