Chaos Ensues

Sears called here on Wednesday morning to say the flooring we ordered would be ready this coming Monday.

The base cabinet under the breakfast bar had already been cleared, but we still have to get under the sink, and what we call the mixing center. We keep all of our cereal, cooking wine, pasta, and so forth under there, are well as the blancher and the big electric tea kettle. It’s probably a good idea to empty kitchen cupboards from time to time, anyway, so you don’t end up with duplicates of red cooking wine, cider vinegar, and muscatel. Muscatel? Where did that come from?Discovered we had two cartons of Italian bread crumbs and three open containers of split peas, which neither of us like. Very mysterious. A can of whole oysters? I’ve been allergic to iodine all my life!

Now, there are moving boxes all over the dining room table and no place to eat. Not that it matters anyway; this morning I couldn’t find the carton that has the cereal. Cooked oatmeal instead. At least I could find a pot to cook it in.

And then, in the spirit of “while we at it”, The Squire decided to rebuild the pantry. This is a closet he designed and built when we were young, dumb, and wildly in love. (Now, we are old, still not too bright, and very much in love. Two out of three ain’t bad.) The pantry is three and a half feet wide, two feet deep, and six feet tall. The front – the widest side – has a two by two foot closet on the bottom, also known as the Black Hole of Calcutta, for the bread machine, the wok, and odd pans I don’t use very often. Above that is the electric oven, and then all the way across the top are shelves for canned goods, hidden behind a pair of doors. The side has one large floor-to-ceiling door, which opens to reveal deep “slots” at the top for my wedding cake pans, shorter, narrower slots for cake and pie pans, and then a huge space, completely lined with peg board, to hold the cooking pots I use most often. It really is a marvel of making the best possible use of the space you have. So – more packing boxes and more culinary surprises.

And, of course, all of the things we piled on the counters will also have to be stowed so the counters and cupboards can be moved during the Grand Laying of the Floor.

Wish me luck.

Ah! In addition to the snakes, mice, stink bugs and flies, the ants are back. And this is the year of the cicada. Pharaoh himself didn’t have it so good.