Apparently the KITCHEN is the next order of business.

Right after my walk yesterday, I got in the car and drove to Owatonna where I bought a lot of vitamins that I was out of and some groceries to get me through the next few days.  After  that, I went to my sister's house  to pick up some eggs as one of her day care moms provides her with tons of eggs.  It's cool.  In the box she gave me, there were two brown eggs and one green one!

We visited a little about her worthless husband and her unhappy marriage.  

Then I headed to Kasson where I picked up a refill on one of my prescriptions.  From there, I went to the chiropractor in West Concord.  I wanted him to check out my left foot, which has been hurting a lot when I walk.  It's weird too, because it hurts when I start out walking so much that I can only limp--but after five blocks or so, it seems to be okay, and I can walk and walk.  

He checked it out and said my foot was okay but that my shoes were not giving my feet adequate support.  So, he took impressions for new orthodics.  I used to always wear my orthodic inserts--but for the last year or two, I just haven't worn them.   He gave me an adjustment that seemed to help my back a lot--I didn't get that tight muscle in my hip today, like I usually get when I am walking.  I'm down to stopping to rest only twice, but I haven't increased my distance past 1.25 miles.  I'm just going to keep maintaining what I've reached for a while.  Maybe in another week I can up it another block or two.

After that, I went to the post office--I haven't missed a day going to the post office in ages--only when I am out of town at my mom's house!

When I got home, I put away my groceries and stuff.  I cleaned out my fridge and began tidying up the kitchen.  I realized that I FELT like cleaning in the kitchen, so I grabbed my digital camera and began taking "Before" pictures.   I had intended to finish the porch--but I just couldn't go into that filth again.  I wanted to stay reasonably clean.

Well, AS I cleaned my kitchen, I also made a very tasty meatloaf using oatmeal and crackers and onions with the ground beef.  I also made a delicious batch of baked chicken and rice with celery and onions.  Both dishes were delicious.

(I had to sample a little of each.)

Anyhow--here are the "BEFORE" pictures:



Northeast corner--this is the cat litter area.  The towels and stuff on the floor need to go down  to be laundered.  That big canvas bag with the hearts on it was my grandmother's clothespin bag.  It is going to the garbage next week.  



This is my kitchen table and chairs set which doesn't "go" in my kitchen at ALL.   I really don't like it or want it.  I have an old wooden desk upstairs that I would like to bring down and put in its place.  I got it upstairs all by myself, but that was probably over 15 years ago.  I don't know if I am capable of getting it down again by myself.  I may try later today or tomorrow.   This is the east wall of my kitchen.



This is my kitchen sink on the north wall of the kitchen.  It looks out over my backyard, which is nothing too exciting to see.  It doesn't actually look TOO bad at the moment.  The old fashioned canning jars in the window were my grandmother's.  I don't really want them, but somehow, I can't quite bring myself to get rid of them either.



This is on the west wall of my kitchen.  You can see that there are a lot of clean AND dirty dishes piled on there, as well as a bunch of other stuff.  The fan is not usually in the kitchen.  I hauled it in the other day to blow the stench of the rotted freezer contents out into the yard rather than allowing it to drift like a poisonous miasma into the rest of the house.



My stove, which belonged to my Grandma Neitzell before she died.   The big roaster is what I made my chicken and rice in.  The stove really wasn't in too bad of a condition.



This is the southwest corner of the kitchen--the wall paper is not sticking properly to the wall.  The countertop is cluttered and messy.  I'm hoping that I can get some of that stuff into the cupboard itself, once I clean them out.



Here is the other side of that cupboard--the southeast side of the kitchen.  More mess and clutter.  :(



Here's where the south meets the east in my kitchen.  You can get a glimpse into the cluttered, nasty dining room as well.



Of course, I had to make my photo essay complete by taking pictures of the INSIDES of my cupboard.   I intend to get rid of MOST of that stuff.  Most of it, I have hauled around with me for 20 years and never used.  Time to get rid of it!




Another section of the cupboard.



The final section of the cupboard.  

I forgot to take pictures of  the bottom sections of the cupboard.  That's where all my pots and pans and baking stuff is.

Anyhow--that is what I worked on yesterday and so far today.

It seems like I am making a bigger mess rather than a smaller one at the moment, but I'm making progress, which is all that really counts, I guess.

:D