Monday, April 10, 2006

Big and little challenges

Today's little challenge? Picking out the cabinets, cabinet options, countertops, hardware, and flooring for a new kitchen. I did it on-line and emailed the results to my sister's fiancé, otherwise known as my "contractor." It took about 30 minutes.

Yes, I know people who, like Edina in an episode of Absolutely Fabulous, can spend weeks just picking out cabinet handles. Edina and Patsy even flew to New York to check some out--only to come home and find that Edina's daughter has had the kitchen completely overhauled in her absence.

That's what I'm aiming for, except this is real life, not a situation comedy, so I actually have to make some decisions. But in a perfect world I'd say "stainless steel appliances, white cabinets, whatever floor and countertops look best--use your own discretion" and magically it would be done, and if not perfect, would be close enough to what I like.

I'm actually as close to this as a non-fictional character can get, and I am not complaining at all that I'm not spending weeks obsessed with drawer pulls; it's a kitchen, people. Not the Red Room at the White House.

So the big challenge is today's Brownie project, which I dreamed up and will be leading at this afternoon's meeting.

I wanted the girls to do a service project and one that doesn't affect our immediate community (we already did a trash pick-up at a local park.) You know, one involving outreach.

So we're making May baskets for the residents of a homeless women's shelter in Chicago. We're making the baskets out of brown paper shopping bags, which the girls will decorate, and we'll fill them with shower gels and nylon shower puffs and lotion and sugarless gum and other sweet-smelling stuff that I'm going to go out and buy at Costco any minute now.

So here I am wondering whether I need to cut the brown paper bags and staple the handles myself, or would it be better for the girls to do that themselves? And should we remove the price tags or leave them on? And of course, I'll need to try to explain why some people are homeless. And explain that spring is a good time for fresh starts, and that we want to help these women make a fresh start in their lives.

So that's today's big challenge. And it makes redoing a kitchen look like an airplane crossword puzzle. Maybe even easier.

10 comments:

  1. you should cut the paper bags yourself, and the handles and let the girls put them together (that way they'll be the same size)...price tags off, explaining? well, good luck - that's a tough one...
    redoing a kitchen is crap -
    building smart brownies is powerful.

    hug.

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  2. I think I am the only person on earth who hates white kitchen cabinets. We had them in our old house and I bitched about them endlessly. But, you know, they're fine for YOU. I guess.

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  3. Your kitchen sounds terrific!

    Do you do consults?

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  4. I wouldn't dare. My natural bad taste would rear its ugly head. And I mean ugly. Look what I plan to hang up in that nice new kitchen.

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  5. Oh I like the barns! Red and cheery, are they! Good luck with the homeless conversation...it's a good thing you are doing!

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  6. I'd make the kids do all the work. Giving of your time and effort is charity, giving of someone else's time and effort is socialism.

    -Joke M. Goldwater

    P.S. I regret to say I find your "tacky" to be "whimsical." I just wish I had known it was tacky and not whimsical; that way I could have been your pal for way different reasons.

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  7. If I could, (and if it's not too late) might I suggest writing paper and pens and perhaps some cheap crossword or word find puzzle books. Entertainment is hard to come by in a shelter.

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  8. (digging toe into ground)
    Umm...I like the barns!I remember Rock City, too, so maybe that's it...

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  9. Love the reference to Ab Fab. ;)

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  10. I adore Edina and Patsy and have also seen the See Rock City barns (and never been to Rock City, apparently it's not that convincing of an advertising campaign).

    The Brownie project is a lovely idea. I wish I had a little Brownie and could help. (A walnut brownie might help get rid that of feeling though........)

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Gentle Readers:

For the time being, I have turned off comment moderation. Please don't spam; it's not nice.

xxx, Poppy.