omg... are we related. I wish I had lots of energy and determination.

Unfortunately, no. It's a pretty simple and small island. I also think I'll separate the cups from the plates. I had it that way before, because of the weird configuration. As to filling the holes. I don't think that's such a big deal. I bet its something you could do yourself. Finding the right matching color would probably be the hardest part. Look for it on youtube and see.

@Liz CA - those are the original cabinets. I don't think they're that old, they're in good shape, and they're cherry. So we've kept them and just reconfigured. The island and the under-stairs cabinets are new and all white. My work triangle sounds similar to yours. We just couldn't get the sink any closer to the stove without moving the fridge farther away. Having the stove where the fridge is would put it right next to the door. Probably not to code. That was the only option. And we have to have the cabinets 36" apart (or something like that). We're right there. The picture at the bottom shows most of the room. Where the beam is used to be a wall. We opened it up and put at 13' I-beam in - to stretch it as far on the side where I am standing meant we had to bring the "wall" out a little on the cabinet side. It isn't perfect, but the structural engineer felt that 13' I-beam was the largest we should do. As it is, we had to add extra footers too. I thought it was going to be tucked in a little further, but then we have to add the drywall encasement. Sigh. I had new cracks in my ceiling after that was installed... the upstairs is an addition done by the previous owner. A poorly done DYIer. @Katy - part of my issue is that everything was separated and I had no pantry. Formerly, my sink was on one wall and the knives and flatware were on the opposite wall. It had to go that way because whoever picked out the cabinets bought a base cabinet set with drawers that are specifically configured for knives and flatware and they put it on the opposite wall from the sink/dishwasher & the stove 🙄. Again - DYI by the previous owner.. That base cabinet will go to the right of the stove now... which still isn't close to the dishwasher, but closer. I hope to use the little cubbies under the stairs as showcases for my teacup collection. What I need to figure out is where to put : plates/bowls cups and mugs wine glasses spices pantry pots/pans large items like kitchen aid, Cuisinart, and slow cooker (I hate having lots of items on my counter) miscellany like paper products, trivets, table cloths,

Aww.. Quill... that is a lot of craptastic stuff happening at once. hugs... I see your update and I hope it's something simple like one thing. Crossing my fingers for you. Hope the A/C fix isn't as much as you fear.

Some of you may remember my saga trying to get my kitchen renovation started. Finally, after a year of waiting and frustrating, we're about 10 days away from completion. Whoot. Today they started putting some of the cabinets back and installing new ones under the stairs. So help me play house with my new kitchen. Some things of note: The eat-at island will have the sink, dishwasher, and trash can cabinet. The cabinet next to the fridge (noted on the photo) is where the sink used to be... so it's only an under cabinet, which we will add one of the those slide-out add-on from the hardware store. Next to that is one of those skinny cabinets for cookie sheets and next to that is the corner cabinet. Along the long wall. Just after the partition for the I-beam post is an open area under the counter. That is where the hot-water baseboard heating fixture is going - so no room for cabinet there. Under the stairs I will have 8 wall cabinets configured - with shelving.

I'm the only one who can tell if the dishes in the dishwasher are clean or dirty. So many times I find a random dirty dish in the CLEAN dishwasher. Or a sink full of dirty dishes when the dishwasher is still dirty. The rest of the family can't seem to operate the door to check either... 😡

Thanks for the update. Hope you hear something soon.

I missed that part of the thread too. Listening to NPR: By far my favorites to say their names are "Sylvia Poggioli" (prounounced with an Italian accent) or Ofeibea Quist-Arcton from Dakar (prounounced Da-karrrrr)

gosh, that sounds incredibly frustrating. I hope you get it sorted out.

praying.

hope you slept well last night. Prayers for today's procedure.

did you get any help from the doctors? I would recommend a different OTC allergy meds as well as doing the neti pot once a day.

no. Oddly enough his dissertation has something to do with archaeological digs he's done in Bolivia. It has something to do with household changes in the last 100yrs. Don't know it exactly, but nothing to do with primates or animal ecology . I've found that sometimes new profs inherit syllabi from previous teachers.

oh gracious. I hope everyone got an "A"... 🙂 I'm kind of counting on a decent grade because this professor is new and overly nice. I think it's his first time teaching at this college and he's working on his dissertation.

made me think of a fox... or maybe a coyote. They both make very unusual (and sometimes frightening) sounds. Hope you figure it out.

@chiguirre - I should have dropped it and seriously thought about it after the first class. The paper is labeled on the syllabus as "Endangered Gorilla Paper" which I thought was odd. He said we'd get a handout explaining what the paper should be about at a later class. The handout is very specific (which helps). Of course, now that I've actually delved into writing it, I'm wishing I had gone with my gut and dropped this class right away. I really want more archaeology. Unfortunately, I had one class to decide whether to drop it for a refund. Our school doesn't give us much time to think about it in the summer and this is an elective for me. I still have another week to drop it and get a "W", but I don't know if I want another one of those on my record (I already had a few over the years). I'm sure I'll do fine on the paper but it isn't exactly what I wanted to learn about this summer. So I whine while I bitch 😉

I'm supposed to be putting the finishing touches on a paper I'm writing, so I thought I'd procrastinate by coming here to complain. 🙄 I'm taking a Human Evolution and Archaeology class, but our first paper (of 2) is about Endangered Gorillas and it's annoying me far more than it should We're heading into our 3rd week of a 5 week class and we've barely touched on *Archaeology* I didn't mind a whole week and a half on the history of Archaeology and Evolution.... really didn't mind upping my game on genetics and biology. But, I'm stomping my feet like a spoilt child at having to study primate behavior (including a trip to the zoo) and do a 5 page paper on endangered Gorillas in an *Archaeology* class. This is NOT an anthro or an environmental biology class. I feel like all my energy is being wasted on this stupid paper that has very little to do with Evolution and even less with Archaeology. We have 5 weeks - let's get down to business!! Here's hoping the 2nd half of the class is more on-topic. vent, whine, complaining session over...

@Peach = The researcher my son was looking to join for doctoral work announced he was leaving Drexel and going to a university in TX. It wasn't such a big deal for my son, since he hadn't actually started, but it was a huge deal for those already in the PhD program. They had to choose whether to move to TX with their advisor or start with a new one (and presumably a new focus). I just can't imagine when you're one year or less away from finishing having to refocus and figure things out.

I'd miss a decent pizza and a juicy hamburger. This thread reminds me of my honeymoon. We went to the UK for 2.5 weeks. By the end of the 2nd week, I was so tired of the standard English breakfast. We asked the elderly lady running our B&B if we could have some pancakes for breakfast instead of the Eggs & B. In a very heavy Scottish accent she answered "Well.. we only do pancakes on Shrove Tues.".. but she acquiesced. They were the grossest pancakes, but at least it wasn't eggs and bacon.

praying for you today

I loved both those books and "To Say Nothing of the Dog" was also my favorite.

My nephew does. From what my SIL has told me about it, there's been a lot of research in this area in the last several years. She's recommended this book to me for my own migraine problems https://www.amazon.com/Heal-Your-Headache-David-Buchholz/dp/0761125663/

So glad to see this! Hope your recovery continues. hope the pain subsides without narcotics, but it's perfectly fine if you need to use them. hugs.

oh my goodness!!! I'm so happy for you!

wow, Peach - those are radical changes in the last few weeks. I'm so glad your dh has found a workable solution for his degree. Yay UMUC!! Let me know how he likes the online classes. I keep toying with going that route (I'm in MD) but have had little success with online classes at the community college level. How exciting that you're getting closer to your phD - even if it isn't the way you originally planned it. Moving to SC sounds wonderful. We have many old family friends who have moved there. But, I am sorry your dh lost his job - how frustrating. Does he have anything lined up in the mean time?