How Many Dishes Does One REALLY Need?

Facing the task of moving what used to be in the kitchen, the pantry and the built-in china hutch back into the kitchen, the newly configured pantry and minus a second china cabinet seemed very daunting this Sunday morning.

If I lived without it for the past month and cooked (sort-of) without it, do I REALLY NEED it?

I think most of us would agree we have too much stuff. As we have been renovating the house the past three years, we have made a conscious effort to de-clutter. So technically, the kitchen and pantry also need to be de-cluttered. It is too much stuff, some of which might be used once every three to five years. I do not entertain like I used to. So I am going to give careful consideration to each item before it get puts back in the kitchen. 

Ah, but the dishes...How Many Sets of Dishes Do We Really Need?

I have had this set of dishes since my father-in-law moved from his Watertown apartment in about 1995. I liked the set because it went with the country blue theme I had in the kitchen. The cream/off-white background complimented the kitchen table and counter.

I liked the set so much, I bought country blue Fiesta ware  pieces to go with it. I decided early this afternoon, it is going. I don't need everyday dishes, 

and company dishes. The white corelle ware has just been moved in status to everyday dishes! I have every conceivable piece necessary to serve any possible food item. 

I first bought this set when I hosted gourmet club. There were 9 and 10 gals in our Cuisine, LTD group for years. My china was a place setting of 8. I needed more dishes, so bought white corelle. I would add to the set through the years as its serving pieces complimented any dishes I might be using. I think I have 16 of some of the pieces and maybe 12 or 8 of the others. Again...how many dishes do we really need?

I got the china when I purchased the set of pots and pans in 1971. Every bridal book and magazine said a new bride needed china. I was thrilled to get my free set with the purchase of the kettles. I wonder if the china gets used maybe once every five years? 

I will keep the fun snowmen mugs and plates. They were a gift from our daughter and although I am not home when the snow is [at home] and it just seems silly to have snowmen dishes in AZ, I am not ready to part with the whimsical dishes. I have been known to use them when serving lunch to my Canasta card group in the fall.

I will also keep the We Wish You A Merry Christmas and the Happy New Year plates, also a gift from our daughter*, because one never knows...I might use them again...Someday. Besides, there's more room now that I have decided to downsize by one set of dishes!

*she worked at Crate & Barrel for a few years. That job had wonderful benefits for me.

This decision will make hubby happy. He has been asking for one month, "How many sets of dishes do you need?"

My response has been, "How many sets of tools do you need?" 

End of discussion.

A Working (Not Completed) Kitchen

The new flat front dishwasher was installed Friday morning.  The temporary sink and faucet are in and working.  I guess that means it is time to move the temp kitchen out of the basement laundry room. After four weeks, it will be nice to have the laundry room back for its intended purpose.

Making dinner Friday evening required careful planning and about 5 trips up and down the steps. It was prepared in the reno kitchen and eaten at the new table/counter. A step in the right direction.

The surface of the washing machine and dryer were used to house

dishes before & after washing.

The freezer surface was the prep area.

The crafting table was the cupboard.

All is slowly being moved back upstairs.

The first load of dishes in the dishwasher took 3 hours to run through

the cycles I had selected. I began to talk about a different dishwasher.

Then I read the instructions. 

1) First load will take longer.

2) I had selected most of the longest options.

3) I am giving it a second chance.

Now to figure out where to put the dishes I so rarely use,

but am not ready to part with...now that they are clean!

Stay tuned as the saga continues.

Thursday Glitches

The day looked so promising... The sun was shining this morning after 7 days of rain and clouds. We had picked up and brought home the dishwasher from another community so it would be here when the plumber had us on his schedule. The sink was the right color. Life was good until...

The corner of the sink broke OFF as the plumber was 'punching' the 

pre-drilled hole for the drinking water faucet. 

NOT GOOD!

A temporary sink has been installed so there is a working sink. 

 THEN...

The dishwasher was installed only to learn the drawer to the right

can not be opened more than six inches unless the dishwasher door

is open. D***!

This afternoon I bought a flat front dishwasher.

It does not have the features I had chosen for the other

dishwasher, but then my old dishwasher didn't have them either.

The plumber is coming back tomorrow.

It is what it is.

We are looking at WEEK 5 

of the kitchen renovation.

UGH!!!

Almost There...

This is week four of the kitchen reno and by looking at all the hits on the page this morning, you are waiting for photos. Here they are...

The sink opening has been cut

The sink lying on the kitchen floor awaiting installation

The dishwasher soaking up the morning sun awaiting its final home

I am thinking by the end of the day, it WILL be a working,

functional  kitchen.

Final photos tomorrow or Saturday!

The Flower Bed & The Yard

I was so excited to dig in the dirt before I left for the weekend. I cleaned the flower bed, removing the the dead leaves, moving a few of the plants, rearranging the stepping stones, moving the stones & rocks around, applying fertilizer (left over llama dung) and sprinkling an application of weed deterrent. 

It looks pretty good and ready for some weekend rain!

More tulips are ready to bloom but I won't see them.

I don't remember these miniature irises blooming last spring.

Lots of flowers on the pasque.

The birds found the feeders. 

There will be hanging flower baskets the next time you see this view.

I have a yard art idea for this wall I 'm hoping to do this spring.

Spring Arrives, Finally

Earlier this month it was too cold to work on the kitchen woodwork outside in the garage, so we went geocaching. The temps were only in the 40s and the wind was blowing, but signs of spring were abundant earlier this month.

The Sioux River at the base of St. Ann's Hill was

the destination of the caches

This mallard was enjoying the water

I got his reflection

This was washed up on the shore

More winter kill

I learned (from the cache) this kiddie fishing pond

was a gravel pit before it was filled with water and fish

It has been the Kiddie Fishing Pond as long as we have lived here

More Cemetery Excursions

Cemeteries seem to be a good place to hide geocaches. Sometimes we are required to explore within by finding information on specific headstones. Most of the time the cache is hidden somewhere on the outer boundaries of the cemetery. When given the chance, I enjoy looking at the headstones, wondering about the people and their lives. We happened upon such a wonderment early this month, north of town.

The first of two we 'visited'

Surrounded by farm land

Look at the birth and death dates

Triplets that did not live to see their first birthday

Birth bath

Interesting

He lived about 6 months

Time and the environment have taken a toll

Another baby

Our second cemetery destination

No time to explore at this stop

No church building at either location

Another well kept place honoring those who have passed away

and their families who remember and honor them

I am out of town for a few days so am posting some odds 

and ends that have not made the blog earlier this month.

A Good Start

This is the look about 2:00 PM.

This is how it looked at 6:00 PM Wednesday evening.

I am leaving town tomorrow morning for the weekend.

No kitchen update until next week however,

there will be new posted material each day.

The Cupboards Are Here!

It is week 3, day 3 of the kitchen renovation. The cupboards arrived at 7:30 this morning...we were expecting 8:30. Luckily I was up and almost dressed. But this is this morning's post. Hope it looks different by the end of the day!

The floor

Tarket Travertine Tile

The truck carrying the cupboards

Unloading in the light rain

The cupboards are here!

There will be an update later today or tomorrow morning!

Stay tuned...

A Quick Visit to WI

We realized we were about 30 minutes from WI this past weekend, so you guessed it, we crossed the border Saturday afternoon and visited the community of Hudson WI. Hudson, population 12,738, is located along the St. Croix River. 

Yes, our visit was geocache related.

A limestone fault is one of its geological attractions.

A billion years ago a 950 mile rift from Lake Superior to Oklahoma occurred

in the earth's crust. First the plates pushed the earth apart and then the action 

reversed and pushed the two plates together. This is a piece of that rift action.

We found some very interesting cache containers in Hudson.

Guess somebody did not have a use for their clock anymore.

A view of the community from the St. Croix pier.

A bit of community history

The Boy Scout statue

A dinner cruise river boat 

Hubby and daughter geocaching

Many of these photos for this posting are hers

A view of MN from the pier beach

We enjoyed a lovely later afternoon meal (linner) at Pier 5 Hundred.

It was a low temp, windy, windy afternoon.

We all decided we would really enjoy another visit on a 

warmer summer day. I think we will return.