Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Sunday, March 07, 2010

You, Me ... and the Kitchen Sink

Today I was surprised to find my blog featured at Down To Earth. Rhonda has a simple living blog from Australia; I can't tell you how she has inspired us to live in the moment ... purposeful ... creating a nurturing environment for our family.  My husband and I have always scrimped and saved ... paying down on the mortgage ... saving for cars ... mending .. re-purposing items ... so when it came time to build our home, we had enough equity in our old home to build the new one with just a tiny mortgage.  It is our hope to be debt free in less than four years.  Our builder helped us stretch our dollars as well.

I decided to feature a few more pics of our kitchen sink ... and a little more of our home.

In the planning stages, I knew I wanted a double basin ... deep kitchen sink.  We have two other laundry tubs for soaking extra large items ... but this sink actually holds my largest canning pot ... a large turkey, and a boat load of dishes.  I prefer two basins so I can wash in one ... and have one free for rinsing.  The foyer is nice and roomy.  Having such an open area, I didn't want people to see into the kitchen from the front door (just in case the kitchen was a MESS;)

We didn't need a formal dining room so opted to have a large eating room open to the kitchen.

I made sure that most of our furniture would fit in the new home.  The only things we purchased were the sofas in the great room and the kitchen bar stools.  I am a gatherer of vintage, junkyard, thrift store, garage sale furniture/finds.


The most recent change to our kitchen was replacing the microwave/hood above the kitchen stove.  It just couldn't handle the heat from canning; the electrical panel warped and quit working.  We replaced it with a much more efficient heavy duty exhaust fan.

The openness of the great room/kitchen/eating room makes this the heart of our home ... for cozy family gatherings.

Believe it or not ... this critter ... a rather large moose is a frequent visitor ... along with his family.  Imagine eating breakfast and seeing this guy 25 feet from the dining room window.  That's enough excitement for one day ;)

14 comments:

Morgan said...

Totally honoured to find my blog in your blogroll! Thank you!

Glad to have you visiting, and I am loving your blog too - it is wonderful to be able to connect with someone so far away on so many issues.

xx

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Dear Mrs. Mac ~ So glad you posted more of your kitchen and home. I'd say you and your DH did a wonderful job on planning your new home. You inspire me with all that you do, and with who you are.

FlowerLady

concretenprimroses said...

You've done a lovely job.
Dh and I are having discussion about kitchen sink as he wants a double and I fear to lose my big sink that fits everything.
Glad to hear that your's fits your biggest pot!
Kathy

Felisol said...

Dear Mrs. Mac,
Your home is not only dominated by you being thrifty, but also by excellent taste and perfect planning.
I am impressed.
The way the colors are in perfect harmony. I love the latte colored walls and the white listing.
It makes the room and hall link together and the areas more spacey.
Living in an outdated house from the mid eighties, so clearly spot the big difference.
I guess we are the only ones among our friends who haven't ripped out our kitchen cupboards and installed an all white kitchen.

I can live with that. I actually like our dark oak kitchen.
To me the need has to have priority before the beauty.

I also have a deep double sink. Since have rejected to have a dishwasher, that is a necessity.
fnd dishwashers noisy, not good for my ME, and also ruining my old china and crockery. I've collected items from the fifties and prewar for years. I have seen so much being ruined by dishwashers and their acid soap.
I will not have it.
I will also prioritize a new strong kitchen fan.
Our old simply doesn't do the job.
Is it real stone in your beautiful kitchen dresser?
I do have that on my wish list too.
I indeed agree with minimizing ones loans and paying off debt.
We will be paying on our house mortgage for quite some years, but that is also our only debt.

I guess I am raised in the same spirit that you are, and I hope to bring that further to our daughter.
(She's in the happy position that she inherits our old cars when we have saved up for a new. She's got two for the time being, but I'm going to put an end to that this Easter.As the loving parents we are, we pay the road tax and insurance fees. I blame t on, only having one child, but she's got to learn how to manage without all that extras. She never asks for money or favors. We are imposing them upon her. Not very wise, I'm afraid. We'll have to altar the course slowly.)
Thanks for sharing thoughts and ideas. I'm guess just cannot get involved in one more blogg site. I will try to stay updated through you.
From Felisol

Mr. H. said...

Congrats on being featured on Rhonda's blog...very nice. Also, I am glad that the moose are staying in your yard this year and not ours. Hope they are staying out of trouble.

Anonymous said...

I love your approach to life. We think a lot alike. Barbara

Stella Jones said...

I like your new sink arrangement. I was interested to see it because I too have just had a new sink in my kitchen. I appreciate the amount of thought and planning that goes into getting a new sink and isn't it nice when it's done!!!
Blessings, Star

Rhonda Jean said...

Hello Mrs Mac. Thank you for being such a lovely part of the kitchen sink series. It's been a real pleasure to have a closer look at your home here today.

warmest wishes
Rhonda

Kathryn said...

I love it! And how fun to see you featured on another blog i follow! :)

Your kitchen looks so open & roomy. Very much a "homey" spot.

Dee said...

I just came across your blog by way of Down to Earth. I love your style of writing, your ideas of healthy eating, and your plans of simplified living. It is great to know there are more of "us" out there. I loved the photos of the moose. I have never seen a real live one since I live in east Texas. We have white-tailed deer and wild hogs. I will check in again. Your new home is very inviting!

Unknown said...

I just love seeing the photos of your home. It's beautiful!! I'm like you I like two sinks. Even though I've never canned in my life!

Mrs. Mac said...

Thank you everyone for stopping by my Thrifty Garden/Home ... (Yes, Felisol, the kitchen counter tops are made of stone ... they're very durable.

It's me ...Mavis said...

I'd be a little afraid of the moose...but still...pretty exciting if you ask me :)

SouthernHeart said...

I've just discovered your blog and I love it! I was excited today to see that our neighbor's herd of goats had wandered down from the farm above to OUR farm! I would really love it to look out and see that large fellow!

Blessings,
Dianne

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