Life's Little Chapters

Warning: No Recipe, no picture and almost no food reference in the following post. Viewer discretion is advised.

Life is like a good book. It writes itself. We conveniently move through the chapters not even realizing when one ends and a new one begins. Here in our house, the Tarpon Springs chapter is coming to a close. We’re moving. We now enter Palm Harbor chapter. It’s not far. Maybe 5 miles. Lisa is really looking forward to living on the lake once again. That bug bit her when she 1st moved to Florida 15 years or so ago and she’s really wanted to get back there. Personally I like the Gulf waters better but we never took complete advantage of living there.

Surrounded by the chaos of the move, Lisa and I look back at all the events that happened in this house that we’ve lived in for 8 years. I mean, you would not recognize the place from when we moved in. While the previous owners (still friends of ours) worked really hard to get the house fixed up, it was still an old bungalow style Florida home. High maintenance. But through Lisa’s vision, there were many wonderful things done. The tile, the circular drive, the stucco finished exterior and the new windows throughout –all Lisa’s doing (I funded a little). We brought Olivia home from the hospital to a room here. We had an artist paint a perfect border based on the work of a local artist we admire. Well, the other day that room was painted over and her artwork is gone. Chapter closed.

The one room that we never tackled was the kitchen. It was in terrible need of an update. The cabinets, while quite solid, were original (circa 1950). The pressed wood doors and yucky matching countertop (which could be slid sideways if pushed) were just plain nasty. My range hood blew smoke into the kitchen and subsequently, the entire house (and that’s AFTER I fixed it). But the worse thing about my old kitchen was that it was a room all to itself. So if I had company and I was making dinner, I couldn’t visit and cook at the same time. I found that a bit frustrating and then someone always felt guilty and had to come stand in my cramped little kitchen with me. Chapter closed.

New Chapter. The new kitchen was updated a few years ago. Now there is a long story to this but to keep this smaller than a novel, I will just say that updating the kitchen in what was a rental property at the time was controversial in our household. I was against it. Fast forward to today and it’s a dream come true for anyone who likes to cook. I’m thrilled. The layout is open. I can see throughout the living and seating areas. Most of the work surfaces face that direction. There is at least double the counter and cabinet space. And thanks to two picky work supervisors (Lisa and her mother), the details are meticulous. From the molding to the perfect lighting, I cannot wait to begin my new culinary journey here.

Ah, but moving is never fun. In fact, it’s just plain work. I imagine that’s why the nomadic lifestyle never really took off. And while its been a bit of a struggle and Lisa has bore the greater burden. I packed a few boxes and broke down the computers and printers. I thinned out my wardrobe and put together some new shelving. But in the end, I’ve been traveling while Lisa gets the work done. I spent my last night in the old house a couple of days ago. Then I flew off to Montreal. When I get back to Florida later today, I’ll meet up with Lisa and Olivia in the new digs. I hear the furniture is in the garage.

Sorry for no food comments in today’s quick post but I wanted to get something up this morning. This trip to Montreal was filled with delicious stuff and I can’t wait to chat about it later.