the reluctant kitchen painter

Why was I the only person on my block who wasn't gardening yesterday? We had our first sunny, over-70-degree day. But I got it in my head to scrub the kitchen floors and the lower realms (think Dante) of my cupboards in preparation for painting the rest of the kitchen. It was gross. Not quite as gross as what was behind the stove, but still pretty gross. Inspired, I moved into the laundry room and unexpectedly found the hole where our mouse entered the house (complete with droppings). How amazing, how unpleasant, what you can find when you're crawling around on your hands and knees.

But instead of taking pictures of a dirty floor, I bring you a before and after shot of the floor of my kitchen nook. It's really more for me than you, because I'm feeling particularly reluctant about remodeling right now. The kitchen needs so much work and I'm only able to paint it right now, and that's demoralizing. I KNOW that the kitchen will look nice when I'm done. I'll just keep chanting that, and maybe that will get me through. Note, if you will, my new Sengware red plates, a present from Mr. Reluctant for Valentine's Day, and the delicious meal he made me a week or so ago. Salad set and vintage Vesco aluminum bowl courtesy of Goodwill.