UBER | And 2 Makes Crazy

We have been married for 14 years. Going on 15. In all of these years, we have lived in many places. Two countries. And plenty of cities.

Did you know that the summer before we moved to Poland that we lived at a camp in Prescott, Arizona? It was a part of my husband’s job at the non-profit where he worked. And, part of working at the camp, he had to live there. The thing is—we were still in our honeymoon phase and wanted to live together.

I had the summer free, as a teacher, so they consented (they being his work) to allowing Rich and I to go to camp to live there together. The difficulty was the lodging. Of course, summer camps are made for cabins with the campers.

SOOOOO…they sent us to the top of the mountain, past many large bouldering rocks perfect for mountain-lion lurching or coyote running, and stuck us in a very remote and very old cabin.

We had holes in the walls. Spiders, every day I had to clean them out of the bathroom tub. And mice made their home in our refrigerator—which was unplugged and was serving dual-fold. 1 as our wardrobe, as we had no wardrobe. And 2 as home to Mickey and Minnie—thankfully our clothes and their home resided on different refrigerator shelves.

Anyhow. It was a fantastic summer on a mountain, living with mice, walking dangerously past mountain lion boulders (or so I always imagined them to be), watching families of javelinas trespass on our front door stoop, and making a hot tub out of an old horse trough, under the stars. Twas fun indeed.

Then we moved to Poland. It was fun there, too. Our first flat I wrote about in a blog posting on simplicity and contentment. It was on the fourth floor.

Our second flat in Poland was on the third floor of a new apartment but fully UNFURNISHED 😉 Which means we did a lot of laundry washing in the tub and a lot of supper eating on the floor. And a whole lot of sleeping on the floor—good thing our backs were young back then, too.

Our third flat was in an old part of Poznan near the center of the city that was very famously known for the 1956 uprisings. I will write about it one time.

Our fourth place in Poland was a house. Connected to our landlord’s house. AND his über crazy wife. And when I say UBER. I mean UBER UBER. And the neighbor was just as crazy. Perhaps it was a qualification to live in that area? Anyhow, our across the road neighbors redeemed the neighborhood for us—and they even had wandering hedgehogs that they would feed daily. So that was always a thrill for our daughter to see.

And our last place is our current place. It’s an old farmhouse that was brick gray when we first moved in…like communist brick gray. The grounds are extensive, and the neighbors have had the land in their families for the last 150 years. It’s a small farmhouse—with a basement that floods. Believe me===I have sloshed around in a good 5-6 inches of water in the basement just to stoke the coal so that my daughter and I would have heat during the dead of the winter during one of Poland’s worst Siberian storms. WORST! And, of course, my husband was traveling through the States being fed steak and potatoes from so many lovely friends and supporters. Let’s just say, he came home via train (due to the car battery being frozen dead) and two frozen popsicle girls that have yet to stoke the coal EVER again—well, until he leaves me again and I am forced to keep my children warm, that is 😉

Anyhow. In the process and time of living on this farm lot—we have done a lot of work. And our landlord has had the outside painted. So now it is white with a red stone-looking base. It looks great—and the yard, in great hopes, will be next.

But in the process, because the home didn’t have a functioning kitchen, has been a huge work in process. One that my husband has done a GREAT job at…for ME! And boy was I surprised when I walked into our home after my short trip to the States.

Is it complete—well, nearly. I still desire a new oven hood. But we all have dreams, don’t we?!

Now, putting the dream on hold, I would like to present for you—for the 1st time in our 14 going on 15 years of marriage—my very own kitchen! It’s a big day, my friends. A BIG day!!! All kudos to my husband that built and our God that gave…

I.Love.It!

Yea for me (can I proclaim that?!)!!!

A few signs propped here and there just for fun!

Coffee is a pleasure—and DOES make me happy. So does my family. And food. All fitting signs for my kitchen!

My daughter wrote on our “Chef” (the theme of our kitchen) chalkboard before Christmas…It has been a little busy since. But the message is still beautiful for every day—the message of the gift of Jesus! And, of course, FAMILY reigns again—the photo of our 3! Blessings from above.

Here is our dining table. yes, it is extremely small. It was purchased when we had 2 in our family. Me. Richard. That’s it. As our family expanded, our table magically did not. We have not found one that we like yet–and so I am in the process of painting and renovating the table. It looks as if it would be easy work. Well, any painting project for me is not easy. Or quick. So, it is a half-painted table with half-painted chairs…with GREAT hopes of being a black and white border checkered table with a white bench and red chairs that should bring pizazz to our kitchen! Yippee!

*If you do notice, our kitchen leads to our living room—which has yet to be painted and will still need photos of our family hung. But it is looking GREAT, too. And, obviously, yes. We believe in foam and nerf weapons in our home. They are great amounts of fun!

And last but not least…my lovely kitchen (not seen in its entirety due to my lacking photographic skills—but you can get a gist of the loveliness to it all)…

Voile!