There was a time in my life when I was fussy about my surroundings. I mean, I grew up in a tiny little house and spent as much time as I possibly could out at my grandma’s farm. I was used to just having the basics…nothing fancy. And while I was a doctor’s wife for twenty years, I can’t say my kitchen was extravagant. Big, yes…tons of cabinets and storage for days. But it certainly wasn’t like some of the kitchens the other doctor’s wives got to cook in. 

I built my own house after my divorce in 2001 and had a simple galley kitchen with lots of light…light cabinets, light countertops, light flooring, and no curtains. I needed as much light as I could get. My kitchen was perfectly functional, but really small. I didn’t know what small was till I moved into my camper and lived for much of three years. Now THAT’S tiny living.

When I came off the road and moved back into the little red house on the farm, I was back to my roots. The kitchen was really a nice size. My uncle made the cabinets out of cedar back when they moved the whole house onto the newly built basement. Grandma was in hog heaven in that kitchen…it was like the Taj Mahal to her, and it was perfectly serviceable for me as well.

Then along came Mr. FixIt. When we set up housekeeping, the kitchen at the Ponderosa was already set up. Fortunately, he is a really flexible guy and gave me free rein to adjust and move things around to suit my cooking style. It’s funny. We’ve been together three years now and whenever he empties the dishwasher, he still puts things in the “wrong place.” I have to laugh because he lived here for forty years…it’s ME that’s putting everything in the wrong place…poor man. It’s a nice sized kitchen, and it’s nothing fancy…just a simple country kitchen. And I couldn’t care less. I am blessed beyond measure to have this wonderful man who is willing to share this beautiful life with me. 

About three or four weeks ago, the big over-the-stove microwave died. We went to Lowe’s and bought a new one only to realize several hours later…we weren’t sure if it had the right kind of exhaust. Sure enough, it was the wrong kind so we cancelled and kept shopping. Mr. FixIt is quite the bargain hunter and he quickly found us a deal at Big Sandy Superstore. We ordered the new microwave and it came in late last week.

First things first…the family room needed cleaned and organized so we could put up the tree. Once that was accomplished, it was time to tackle the new microwave. We took the old one out on Wednesday then had to run to town to get a new outlet to plug it into. Errands took up all afternoon…as they always do. There is no such thing as a “quick trip to town.” Mr. FixIt did get the outlet wired Wednesday evening, but we left the actual installation for yesterday.

After a nice, leisurely breakfast…it was time. There was measuring. And remeasuring. Then discussion about the measurements. There was puzzling over the template…turning it this way and that. There was trimming and more measuring. Then it was time for tea. Holy cats! It took us five hours to install that microwave. There was no blood loss. There were very few bad words spoken. And we were still married when the job was complete, so I’d call that a success!

Of course, once the job was done, I had to clean the kitchen…again. It seems that is all I get done. Cook. Clean the kitchen. Over and over and over. My friends and I were discussing the other day…our lives have become something akin to the Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day. Every single day is the same stuff with very little variety to it. Breakfast. Clean the kitchen. Some other chore. Lunch. Clean the Kitchen. Another chore or two. Dinner. Clean the kitchen. News. Write. Snack. Clean the kitchen.

Covid has done this. Retirement has done this. Comfort has done this. We had family come over yesterday and we all lamented how the year has just felt weird because we didn’t have our big family Thanksgiving Dinner and now we are facing the same disconnect at Christmas. They decided we’ll have to set up the outdoor propane heater outside our big picture window and share Christmas that way. We are only halfway kidding. I’m not quite sure but somehow we need to work it out so we can at least see each other and the babies, even if we can’t get close and be inside and give hugs around their necks.

There is hope around the corner, though! The vaccines are coming and it’s going to help us turn the corner and start heading into a post-Covid life. We can’t let our guards down completely because the vaccines are still only 95% effective. But it’s going to be a darned sight better than this last year has been.

Today, I’m going to try making Appalachian Gingerbread and I’m working on a surprise to go along with it. We’ll see how it works. My friend Diane came over yesterday with some extra food she had received and we neither one want things to go to waste. I have a large container of plain yoghurt now so I’m going to set it over a strainer in cheesecloth to drain some of the whey and make a soft cheese we can use on bagels instead of cream cheese. Thank goodness I am getting some of my “Merry Mojo” back!

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““Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’”

Luke 14:28-30 NIV