Friday, September 16, 2011

Out and about and a Monarch Paramount....


I drove to town today to do some grandmothering (I don't like the word babysitting)  with my little Cuppycake.  These are a few pictures of the homesteads, old and new, along the drive there and back.  There used to be a very small town just 6 miles down the road from our ranch where the gravel meets the pavement.  I know that part of it perished by fire years and years ago,  and the rest of it disintegrated from the dwindling rural population.  Albion had a post office, a store, a livery, a grade school, a community hall and a few homes.  This was one of the old sheds from that small town.  The school and hall still stand.

Our neighbor passed away a week ago.  He has lived in our community all his life and attended the grade school just a mile down the road.  This is his ranch alongside the highway.  We don't know what will become of it since he had no family of his own to pass it to.  It's a beautiful ranch along the river.
Isn't this picturesque?  This old set of corrals and barn have been here a long, long time.  I asked Hubby if he knew who had it or if there was a story behind it.  He said he didn't know, but his dad was sure to know.  The small river nearby sometimes floods right up to that bank that is cut out next to the corrals. There are beautiful finger buttes in the background.
I'm considering hauling this old Monarch Paramount range home.  It would need some cleaning-up, some  repairs and some renovating, but I think it would be lovely in my country-ranch kitchen someday. I have been poring over magazines, books, and web pages trying to get just the right ideas for remodeling our kitchen.  Hubby decided for our 30th anniversary that we should give ourselves a newly renovated kitchen since it has always been the hub of our family life.  Every holiday and every gathering when all the kids come home with friends and husbands, wives, and girlfriends, and grandchildren, we find that the kitchen is literally stuffed with people standing around talking.  We want a bit more room for family to participate or just yak over the counter and into the kitchen where all the bustle is.

 
Hubs and I have lots of ideas, and that is sometimes the difficulty of this project, for we must narrow down the good ideas to just a few that will fit into our space.  Before the actual work is to be done, there is a pile of work just in the planning.  It's fun, but it's a job too.  So many choices.  So many decisions.  So many little details.  Maybe one of these days I'll share some picture-ideas here with you.  If any of you have ever remodeled your kitchen, I am open for suggestions that start with... "The Best Thing we ever did was..." or "The One Thing I'd do in my new kitchen is...."
I hope you'll share.

8 comments:

  1. G'day Gumbo Lily.
    Lovely photos. Haul that old Paramount home, if you don't you might regret it later down the track, even if you don't get around to using it, there is no harm done.Luckily the home we recently moved into has a reasonably new kitchen, but we are renovating the bathroom, picked up all the tiles today and hubby is going to do it himself. I think I will make myself scarce when he starts it !!! Take care. Liz...

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  2. How exciting Jody! The kitchen is the busiest room in our home too, which is why it was such a HUGE undertaking! If you have a spare room in your home, I suggest you set it up as a temporary kitchen. We used a spare bedroom and put the kettle, microwave, crock pot, etc through there.

    Here's a post I did about the kitchen re-fit:

    http://thequiethome.blogspot.com/2010/07/kitchen-nostalgia.html

    PS. I love your word "grandmothering" instead of baby sitting! :) xxx

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  3. We put Pergo flooring in our kitchen when we remodeled, and it was an excellent decision. The only thing it didn't stand up to was a two-year old throwing a golf ball on it; now we have a small divot.

    And I love wallpaper. I would have paid a professional to have it hung, but a neighbor said he could do it with my husband's help. Ten years later, I still wish I had paid the professional.

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  4. Hello good Jody!
    Thank you so much for the bacon tip, by the way! YUM!
    I love that old stove! I have no idea how to remodel kitchens. My kitchen is such a wacky shape and crowded and sticky (right now it needs a good clean!)
    I have friends here who have fantastic kitchens with all kinds of funky butler pantries and such. Funny thing is, they never cook! They go out to eat!
    I'm sure your new kitchen will be smart and warm and it will smell delicious!
    I like looking at those old ranches. The photos make me feel peaceful.

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  5. What a great old stove. Dear and I have a hard time narrowing down ideas and all we're talking about is changing the floor and counter tops...It really stalls the project, though. We also keep stalling projects "till after the wedding". That's becoming quite the phrase around here...
    How sad to die with no family around...

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  6. Love the stove! I had a similar one for years when my kids were young, but sad to say, it was sold with the house years ago. Whatever you choose for your new kitchen will be perfect. You have flawless taste, Miss J!
    Blessings,
    G

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  7. Buckle up Jody -- it's gonna be a ride! I think you hit the nail on the head -- there's so MUCH choice out there -- that's why our kitchen reno has taken so long. I've had the worst time making decisions -- I don't know what's wrong with me -- I never used to be this way before. It's a fun ride though and when you're done it will be fun. After we get our backsplash (three more weeks), I'm planning on doing a post about what I like and don't like about the new stuff.

    Also, do you have a pinterest account? If not, it's an awesome way to bookmark pictures of kitchens that you see along the way -- thus saving some ideas.

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  8. What a great old stove! The land is beautiful and I hope he has someone in his extended family that appreciates it.

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