Kitchen Storage

 Lynley was going to help me in the garden but when she opens kitchen cupboards to make breakfast, she changes tack. I've unpacked boxes directly into the kitchen knowing I would need to rationalise. But later when I had time. That time is now and Lynley starts by pulling out cups, plates and glasses, asking how often I will use them. We pull out half a dozen. She's just getting going. We go through the whole kitchen. The long space between the fridge and the oven is a schmozzle. Even I can't find anything. Keith joins in and the two of them move the shelves. Baking stuff goes below, like in Tui and Lionel's house. I applaud from the back row. This would have taken me another six months. We end up with a stack of crockery in the 'to go' pile on the kitchen island and neat stacks of kitchen paraphernalia throughout Nicki's carefully thought out cupboards. I feel in control.

By this time Timmy and Zak are in active waiting mode. To be fair, Zak's horizontally actively waiting  facing the front door in case anyone slips out without him. He's on a driving holiday with his family and that's that. He looks like an incarnation of Hairy Macleary from Donaldson's Dairy. When they leave Kahu looks longingly at his bed having spent an uncomfortable night on the spare room floor. But I've got gardening jobs and there's no way he's getting off. 

Before I do anything else I tick off the last item of the house build. Insurance. It's got me here- the 'As New' policy which insurance companies tried to get out of because it meant so many big pay outs was a lottery win for me. I could never have built a house on a teacher's income. I was planning to renovate my old house; probably for the same cost as the mortgage I've got now, about $125,000. So in the end, I came out on top. In the meantime, ten years of my life has flowed under the bridge. Hard to evaluate the personal cost but it's in the past so I don't. I'm here in my beautiful kitchen island with a well ordered pantry at my back. I'll keep the past behind me.