On Saturday, Robin and I went to an appliance place and bought a dishwasher and a free standing range. While the cooktop looked like it was in good shape the built-in oven definitely needed replacement. It looked like there had been a fire inside. It seems that built-in ovens are very expensive; much more than buying an entire range. So both will be replaced by a free-standing range. I don’t really understand this, but I suppose it’s more a matter of what the market will bear than any reality. The dishwasher may have also been OK, but it seemed like a good idea to do it as well.

Originally I was going to do almost nothing in the kitchen. All of this really snuck up on me. Altogether I’m replacing some really ugly light fixtures, having the cabinets painted, replacing the two appliances, the floor and then repainting the walls and ceiling. There was no choice about the painting. We found a lot of unpainted wall and two different wallpaper patterns behind the oven and cabinet we pulled out. All of this was done today.

In the meantime, Perry the painter has been working like crazy. He’s very quiet, works by himself and has music playing softly near him. He hasn’t begun to paint yet; it’s all preparation. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, but I’m really anxious to see the paint.