Keeping it Real

Have you noticed the list of blogs I follow on the right side of the page? I don't read them as often as I'd like. But I can honestly say that I don't read any others. They all have something in common that's very important to me. They're real. If any are blogging just for the sake of getting followers, I haven't caught on to it. Very few of them post "posed" pictures and when life gets messy or hard, they don't hold back the details. That's what I need. And that's what I do also. The glossy pictured, fancy blogs are ok to browse but I get discouraged if I visit them very often. I know my homestead is never going to look like that. I have mud and cobwebs and POOP (and that's just today!)

Several months ago we decided it was time to upgrade our kitchen. The last time it was done was before we moved in- 30ish years before. The lighting is awful, breakers frequently trip, and the flooring is starting to come up from wear. When we discussed the re-do, we also decided to get the best quality replacements we could afford and do as much of the labor as we can ourselves. Keep in mind that DH is only home 3 or 4 days a month. And we are not carpenters. AND we are not rolling in the dough. So we went into the project knowing it was going to take a very long time to complete it. And we're good with that- we aren't going anywhere and our kids are out of the house. The only ones being inconvenienced are ourselves.

So, here's my honest-to-goodness mess right now.

We emptied the top cabinets and they're all torn out. I found things in there I'd forgotten we used to use. The old wallpaper behind some of them was kind of neat, too.

I know kitchen remodeling isn't necessarily a homesteading topic. But in a few months I'll be straining goat milk, washing garden produce, and learning to pressure can. In. This. Kitchen.  For real.