melaniehurt.com

What do we really need?

Preparing for a move I am contemplating this question not because I seek each day to be philosophical, but because our move is requiring this of me. Our family of five will be moving into a space that is going to be very small. Yesterday we purchased a 30-foot motor home and will be moving into it the first weekend in March. I imagine each moment of the day what living in this space will be like. I try not to fain romantic. With three small kids to care for, cook for, and educate, a husband, and a remodel to finish, I am working daily to prepare my mind for the level of stress that will be upon me everyday for at least a portion of the day.

But spring is coming. This fact will make all the difference.

So what does our family really need?

Well here is a list of things that I plan to bring just to make our kitchen, I thought some one could find this useful someday. I know I will appreciate the record of it when I am looking at these days as far behind me. The list:

1. My biggest pot with it’s lid and the strainer basket that fits inside it. I will be able to use this for everything from soup to frying bacon.

2. Medium-sized pot with it’s lid.

3. Medium saucepan that uses the same-sized lid.

note: my pots can function on the stove top and in the oven because they have no plastic parts, this will be super nice.

4. 2-3 wooden spoons.

5. Silicon spatula.

6. Flat metal spatula.

7. Our knife set (steak, paring, chef, and bread knives).

8. Measuring cups (I will use my hand for spoon measurements).

9. Rolling pin (a flour tortilla must-have, and good for breaking nuts and things).

10. Kettle.

11. Scissors.

12. Can opener.

13. Faithful pastry blender. I can’t get fluffy, fluffy biscuits without this. Ooh, or these scones.

14. Peeler. Though I could use a knife, I will bring this because it will save time.

15. Box grater.

16. The all powerful whisk.

17. Parchment paper—this has changed my cookie baking life!

18. Small baking sheet.

19. 13 x 9 casserole dish, I may change my mind and bring a 9 x 9, for brownies.

20. Cutting board.

21. Three nesting mixing bowls.

22. Seven washcloths and ten towels. I will wash these by hand regularly and line-dry them and then machine wash them when I can.

23. Vintage multi-roll dispenser for wax paper, plastic wrap, and aluminum foil. A thrift store find.

24. Matches (propane heats and runs this motor home).

25. Soap (and my two hands, joining the Hand Wash Your Dishes Club again).

I have not included things to eat on or with, this will consist of: all our silverware (eight settings), eight salad plates (what we eat 90% of our meals on), two big plates, six cereal bowls (four large and two small), eight glasses (four short, four tall), and four mugs (two big, two small). I will also bring all of our napkins, I prefer cloth over paper. I will definitely have a small store of paper goods, for tired days and when we entertain. The other thing I will use frequently will be our barbeque. I suppose I may need a few utensils for this as well, but I will keep them outside with the grill. I’m looking forward to grilled pizza, vegetables, meat, and maybe even some peaches.

Well I have been saying it and I will say it again, the adventure continues. God has provided for us vividly once again. I hope to bring a smile to his face in this season of tight-living and hard-working. Honestly, I will rejoice to the point of weeping the first night I am sleeping beside my husband in our new room in our new house, along with so many other things we will do there. I long for these hard stressful days to end but they are continuing. However, I am ever so thankful for the Gardener that prunes the vines to produce more and more fruit.

Trailer life, here we come.

The kitchen has been the last big demo project that we’ve finished. I don’t have pictures of the current look we have but here is where we’ve come from. It’s quite amazing. We still have to finish ripping the bits of ceiling left around the cabinets on the west wall and tear out the flooring. There’s wood flor underneath several layers of linoleum—old and new. But once the flooring is out of the kitchen and the master bedroom, there won’t be too much left to tear out, at least not for us; my dad has things to tear out as he frames and puts in the new windows. Things are progressing and it feels good. 

The lounge all framed in, complete with a new floor windows to come.

This amazing framing job done by my dad, Dave Hamilton. Thanks Dad!

This is the progression the main bathroom has made thus far, and the layout of the future bathroom. We found an old basin tub on the side of our garage that was probably in the house at one time and we’re going to refinish it. This bathroom will feature a small pedestal sink and a brand new, shiny clean toilet, along with some built-in shelving my dad ingeniously thought of. Our flooring choice is 12×12 slate tile and for now our walls will be all sheetrock with hardy-backer. We plan on adding more tile around the bathtub in the future.  We’re starting simply in this bathroom but plan on jazzing things up a bit in the future.

Browsing through photos of the house from pre-demo days, encouragement comes. The walls are gone now, the house is open. Our home is being reborn; all the flaws that existed will now be changed, all the dirt and must is being aired out. The rooms will be opened wider, the windows  
will be clearer, the home will have a happier song. Newness is being given to old. Photos joyfully remind me of character that existed in the home from the beginning; now health and beauty will be added. My heart longs to begin to put it all back together. Sigh. Soon, soon.