from the photo album

The kitchen is my favorite room in the house.

When we bought this old house almost six years ago, there was a separate room (an unfinished work shop) where the harvest table is now. The kitchen area sported gold-flecked counter-tops and dark paneled cabinetry. The floors were orange tile (as bad as it sounds...) and the drop ceiling hid the original post-and-beam construction. We didn't know what we had until Hubby & son started knocking things apart!

After opening up the room, we installed oak flooring. The lower cabinets are stock from Lowes, but the upper cabinets are built by Hubby; all open shelves. We designed the island and plopped the convection stove in the heart of it. It turned out to be a the best idea! Everyone gathers around the island and watches me cook. This may be unnerving for some, but I kinda like it. I always hated having my back turned to my family or company when I was concocting something!

I bought the white dessert plates displayed over the table for $1/@ at an outlet. Hubby built the plate-shelf.

The table was crafted from attic floorboards placed over my father's long-retired drafting table which my mom had relegated to the cellar. Our only expense was the polyurethane to coat the top.

I did pay a pretty penny for the Tibetan sideboard at an antiques shop in Troy, New York. But it is worth far more than I paid for it and it is very beloved by every member of the family.



Here are Ana and Liana in front of the Palace Theater in Albany.

We had arranged to meet Ben's former violin teacher, a long-time member of the Albany Symphony, at the stage door. Barbara taught him from age four until age eleven. She hadn't seen him in almost six years, and said she wouldn't have recognized him!