Betty Birney’s Blog

I truly love our 1939 bungalow style house with its Craftsman den, coved ceilings, pretty moldings and of course, my office!  Some would call it small. We think it’s cozy. The living room and den are large; the bedrooms are a good size. We call it “Blue Heaven.”

When we moved in nine years ago, I said, “Okay, but in one year, we have to redo that kitchen.” (I don’t know when this particular kitchen was done but it was a very cheap remodel done way back when.)

In the intervening years, we put in a new furnace/air conditioner, new roof, new copper piping, ripped up the remaining carpeting and had the hardwood floors refinished, had the house bolted to the foundation (earthquakes, folks) did lots of landscaping and tree trimming, redid the two bathrooms and did some interior painting.

We never got around to the kitchen - until now!  About my kitchen: it’s small. When I watch House Hunters and see people turn up their noses at kitchens twice its size, saying “Too small,” I feel kind of sorry for my kitchen. But I remember reading an article about an English writer - I think it was Joanna Trollope - and her cottage and she referred to her “Peter Rabbit kitchen.” Which sounded a lot better then “tiny.”

There’s a lovely little secret about a smallish kitchen: it’s not as tiring as a big kitchen. I don’t waste a lot of energy walking around a huge island or even from one side to the other. I can just turn and take a step. I’ve entertained for some very large parties out of this kitchen - I think the top was 75.  And if I start feeling intimidated by massive kitchens with two sinks and two dishwashers and eight burners … I remind myself of a few things:

*I cook a lot. I entertain a lot. I can’t remember using all FOUR burners of my stove at once in the last ten years. Maybe … maybe for Thanksgiving but I don’t think so. I like to plan ahead and do as much ahead as possible.

*Laurie Colwin - dear, dear departed Laurie Colwin, the great novelist and great food writer who died way too young - always offers me consolation. I just turn to Home Cooking, a MUST book of her Gourmet essays for any home cook, and read about her New York apartment that was smaller than a studio. She had two burners - period - and no sink. She had to wash dishes in the bathroom. She not only loved the apartment, she entertaining people there with whole meals! I believe the essay is called “Alone in a Kitchen with an Eggplant” and it’s anthologized in a lot of books about great food writing. (There’s a second volume of her Home Cooking essays as well.)

*My grandmother was the greatest home cook I’ve known personally. She didn’t even have one inch of counter space! All cooking was done on the big kitchen table. She had cheap pots and pans and one of my favorite memories of the unbelievable Thanksgiving dinners she cooked (on only four burners) is of her sitting in a chair, saucepan of potatoes in her lap, chatting away while she mashed them with a fork! And believe me, there was never a lump. A lump would not have dared to show itself in Grandma’s presence.

So what’s all the hoopla about the supersized kitchen and the gourmet cookware? When I start envying other people’s kitchens I think of Grandma and Laurie and my mom, another extraordinary cook who until I was 18, lived in a house with a tiny kitchen and turned out dazzling dinners for, oh, 17-18 people on a regular basis. She made the greatest gravy I’ve ever tasted.

But guess what - I’m getting a new kitchen! Not a bigger kitchen because without damaging the den - and I won’t go into what a beautiful room it is and how I’d hate to ruin the design and integrity of it - there’s no place to go. But I will have great lighting, new appliances, pretty cabinets, granite countertops and a bigger, more efficient pantry with at least a few more feet of counterspace, more outlets and

more cabinets. It will be heaven - I hope!   

 It’s just not heaven quite yet.

The kitchen was demolished this week and they discovered - of course - mold. So they brought in equipment that ran 24/7 to remove it. We had about two days of itchy eyes and coughing and then it was gone. I don’t have to take the contractor’s word for it - my eyes stopped itching. 

It’s not fun living with only a fridge and a microwave - and we’ll lose the fridge on Wednesday. Worse than that is living without a sink. But I just think of Laurie and Grandma and my new kitchen and it’s really okay. Thank goodness,  I have my separate office in the back, so the hammering is a little bit off in the distance. Oooh, and I’m getting a pretty new door for my office - can’t wait.

Son-in-law Gary and granddaughter Remy stopped by this morning. Remy’s eyes were wide at the sight of our kitchen.  “Clean it up!” she said.

And very soon, I will.

(We also had some interior painting done and new bathroom floors - loving them! And after our trip to UK, we’ll have the outside done.)

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 10th, 2008 at 5:27 pm and is filed under Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.