Sorting my thoughts about pantry -- I like to know what I have and be able to find it easily. It would irritate me to open up multiple storage units to find what I need or inventory what I have or need at the store. I'm kinda willing to open two and that's it. I would rather have stuff on shelves than drawers or pullouts for food storage. Don't want to be looking at the tops of the items (and I'm way to lazy to relabel them) or have to walk around something like an open pull out unit to be able to see what's in both sides. I'd rather just take stuff off shelves. Don't get me wrong, if it was a cabinet pantry v. no pantry, I'd certainly take it and be grateful. Drawers are fixed sizes and are just not as flexible. Want to buy that large size of cereal? Too bad, won't fit. Paper products, pet food, or stuff that comes in larger packages are examples of things that may not fit in drawers or pullouts. Some kinds of pullouts can be reconfigured, but that can be a pain - stop putting stuff away, empty the target location and adjust a shelf, bin or pullout, put the stuff back. In your original kitchen plan, the thing about using the dining room wall is that the food storage is a bit far from the likely prep area on the island - up near the range. This can be an ok situation for an organized chef - the type that gets out everything first and wouldn't mind carrying a basket to and from the pantry. But if that doesn't describe you, like it doesn't describe me, that kitchen plan is a recipe for a lotta walking and some frustration. Like 20 to 40 feet of walking for everyday stuff like a cup of milk or the forgotten can of chili beans. You can duplicate some items in a nearby cabinet. In fact, in the original layout, you have enough upper cabinets to duplicate most food products. Then the pantry itself becomes a place to store overstock and little used kitchen stuff. Lastly, everybody's interior image of "pantry" is different. My ultimate pantry is close to this... found on Design Sponge Each person will try to talk you into their internal image because it works for them. If you or your spouse has a completely different image, that's ok! I have no internal image of "butler's pantry". I'm kinda puzzled by why people who don't entertain a lot have one. Maybe if I had one, I'd figure it out, but I'm not in the price range for that!

I don’t like the typical crowded, “ inspo” type pot rack photos- both from clutter and practical, as for me there would be lots “ out” that I’m not using every couple of days, and I thing would get dust/ grease. I could easily see hanging 1 or 2 that I use nearly every day or at least twice a week. But I prefer using my range warming drawer for 2-3 skillets, and a drawer form 4 most used smallish pots. The thing I think is important is to MEASURE your cookware and think how best to use different storage options. Skillet with handle may be near 20”. If on a wall above counter, will it hang low and impede counter use of cleaning? And how much linear wall space, which maybe cone used otherwise? If keeping wall above counter free of cabinets, do pots confound the look? I could see that being ok because pots & pans are shallower depth. Or maybe you have a strip of open full height wall that is a good target , again because generally floor space is still open and cookware may be pretty shallow so doesn’t crowd a walking zone. Or is there an ok cabinet storage place for large skillets, but you’d like a few small pots handy? Do you plan to keep utensils out on the counter? So, just be noodling on your options for open vs closed storage, priority of use, or balancing ease of access with enough “ pretty” and openness . Not for a “ show kitchen”, but for what makes you feel inspired and happy to be working in your kitchen.

I like wood stoves, too: the quick and intense heat; the sensory aspect, that you hear and see and even smell a wood stove; we also use ours to dry clothes and heat bricks and sometimes food or water. A wood stove has a presence; it's a hearth for the home in a way no radiator can ever be. That said, they're polluting, not to mention labor-intensive and messy. There's a symmetry to all this: significance requires work, and brings disorder with it. We have just one stove, in our living room, which means that we all get cozy in cold weather. Perhaps it's just that DH, DD, and I get along anyway, but I think it helps that we spend our hours at home together in this small space, talking, sharing the books we're reading and what we're seeing on our computers. I must say it helped when DD got earphones and I didn't have to listen to her and DH's music for hours on end. Bart, I get you about wanting to get out to the garden, and I hope your turn comes soon! Fortunately for me mine is right here, and even when my cold was worse than now I could step out now and then when temperatures were mild and prune the wisteria on the pergola in front of the house. Yesterday we had an amazing miraculous day of decent weather. I was out for several hours (wow), shearing weeds, digging out a patch of Bermuda grass, pruning the Teas, that needed it badly, tidying an orange peel clematis. Which may not be very comforting to you, but sickness does end one day, and so does bad weather. I wonder if, when the weather does finally improve, we may not suddenly get well? I have a notion these stubbornly prolonged illnesses are linked to the cold and dreary conditions of these last weeks. Possibly to an excess of indoor life, too.

Yes, runninginplace and Chispa! I didn't realize I'd have a bunch of little protrusions on my teeth when all this started. No one warned me about that either. Anyhoo, I've gotten used to them now (except when I look in the mirror sometimes). I'll be glad to be done with a couple of those. One other thing, Ida. I'm older and my orthodontist was concerned about my lower teeth being susceptible to too much movement due to bone loss. Bottom line is it turned out ok, but I had to go to a periodontist for evaluation to make sure I could even wear an appliance to have my lower teeth straightened again. They weren't too bad except for right in the very front so I could have lived with just straightening the uppers. However it delayed the start of my treatment just waiting around for appointments with the periodontist and then back with the orthodontist. Ugh! I was ready to get going, although I do appreciate the caution. And then the first several weeks or more is mostly just slight movement to make spaces to actually move the crooked teeth back into alignment. I guess you figured out all this, but it does seem very slow. And I too have no idea what to do with all those old trays, although the orthodontist says to keep at least a couple of old trays back in case he you lose a current set of trays. You usually have to go back, not forward. I suspect this happens more with teenagers but you never know. I recommend getting at least one extra case to carry around in your handbag.