Monday, May 17, 2021

Time


We're lucky to have peaceful places to walk in Edinburgh. We walked along the river with Son-in-Law 1 last week and even found somewhere to have a coffee indoors, which was almost exciting for these days. 

This is also quite exciting in an arrrggghhh way: we're about to spend quite large sums having our kitchen cabinets sprayed... possibly white. The kitchen is 25 years old but still perfectly good, though now somewhat old-fashioned. I disapprove of fashion, really - there's no shame in having an elderly kitchen - but one can't help feeling slightly influenced by knowing that this is very 1990s. We did get an estimate for replacement doors and drawer fronts but it would have cost £5,500 to replace solid oak with chipboard and plastic, so we didn't do it. So we're going to spend considerably less - but still quite a lot - to paint them ... well, what? We said we thought white and the chap sucked his teeth and shook his head slightly. He thinks white would be too stark. I myself feel that if one is paying a chap lots of money, he ought to let one have the colour one suggests, but teeth-sucking is undermining. The thinking behind our choosing white is that in a few years we'll probably be selling this house and we want something unobjectionable that the new owners could live with (and then probably put in a new kitchen). Anyway, it needs thought. 


Meanwhile the Edinburgh Two are not too big to play occasionally in the sand pit, 


and a "den" made from chairs and blankets. 

On Saturday we had our first meal out for - can't remember how long - to celebrate SIL 1's and Mr L's birthdays. After lunch we had a nice walk up the hill at Swanston and looked down at the city. 


And then we came home and the children invented this game with bubbles. The bubble wands were syringes and the bubbles, once blown, were Covid germs and needed to be popped by "injecting" them using the wands. I was intrigued - it's like what you hear about wartime children playing games about bombs and defeating the enemy. 

I never know why they like popping bubbles (when they're just being bubbles) anyway. I feel that as a child I liked watching them. They're so pretty. 

It's been a cool spring but the advantage has been that the spring flowers and the cherry blossom have lingered for a long time. Isn't this a wonderful pink?

This time next week, Daughter 2 and Littlest Grandchild should be here! I want this week to go quickly and then for time to slllllllllllow down. 

 

12 comments:

  1. Your kitchen is lovely. Don't let the painter influence the color you choose. Our friends wanted white and the painter talked them into an off white. They were terribly disappointed and it does not look good. I do have a white-white kitchen and love it! Your oldest grands are so big. Nice that they play together and entertain themselves without high tech stuff. Good luck on slowing time....I want to know your secret. Patty McDonald

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    1. That's an interesting insight, thanks!

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  2. No! I don't like white and think it sad to spray paint lovely oak doors. Have seen it done on lots of home shows and always wonder how long before it wears off and looks grubby. If in the future I bought your house - impossible I know but I can dream - I would then have to scrape off the white paint to reveal the lovely oak doors underneath.

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    1. Oh dear, well yes, I do know what you mean. But I'm fairly sure that a new buyer (unless they were you!) would just fit a new kitchen. The shape of the cupboards isn't fashionable - ridiculous as this is. Anyway, I actually quite fancy a change, after 25 years, and the surface of some of the cupboards is getting a bit scruffy.

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  3. If you want white - Go for it! It's your kitchen after all. But, as you'll know from your quilting, there are lots of "whites", from warm to cool, and the cool can look quite grey and cold. If the firm you have chosen has a good reputation the paint job ought to wear really well. My most luxurious kitchen was solid wood with doors quite similar to yours, spray lacquered in a rich cream and it looked wonderful, but I must admit that the couple of cupboards that got most use developed wear areas - which were rectified with paint touch-ups.
    Door handles also make a huge difference - from 'cheap and nasty' to very smart. How exciting... but I'll bet you're much more excited about the upcoming visit!

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  4. I agree with L&R - seems sinful to cover up beautiful oak with paint, though white would make for a bright and cheerful space. Love those pink blossoms and the bubble game...

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    1. From what I've seen of cousins' kitchens, wood kitchens still seem to be more fashionable in the US. I hate being influenced by fashion but... it's insidious!

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  5. Going to be of absolutely no help here because I love your kitchen just as it is! As others have said, though, don't be brow beaten by this chappy, it's your kitchen! I hope time obliges and goes at the right speed for you, roll on next week :)

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  6. I too like your kitchen as is but for re-sale, white is probably best. It's still very in here. My cheap white cabinets are back in! Yay! That is a spectacular bubble photo. I'm excited that you get to spend time with Daughter 2 and Littlest. I am sure enjoying my sweet Niko. He is an absolute charmer!

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  7. Great bubble photo. We do them too!
    Gorse is considered a weed here. ( I know it is a nitrogen fixing plant but grows too readily here )
    Still love the colour of your meconopsis it's what drew me to your blog many many years ago!

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  8. Oh wait -- are those forget-me-nots in that garden photo? So many of your flowers are blooming now -- ours are just barely starting to come out. Our kitchen cabinets are about the same color as yours (maybe a little darker.) I sometimes debate about having them painted and then sigh. Too much work LOL. And what a BEAUTIFUL bubble picture!!!

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