Life with Smuffy (Special Episode – Part 2 of ?): “A Glimmer of Hope and Stainless Steel”

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so much to be thankful for around here and I’m sure you’re probably feeling the same way. A couple of years ago Thanksgiving came along amidst a period of grief, but it came along anyway and we paused to give thanks for those we could still hold close.

This year, we are simply giddy, for as I’ve already announced here, Smuffy and I are about to become grandparents and that is enough to hoist our thankfulness quotient up several notches all by itself!

For me, today is also a great day to rejoice in the progress of Smuffy’s custom kitchen makeover project, because even though in the grand scheme of life it can’t compare to what really matters – the Lord who gives graciously, our family, dear friends and a place to call home – every little step in the right direction certainly makes life easier!

I’m thrilled to say that three new appliances are installed! I’ll give more detailed reviews on those later, but I can’t even express how much simpler and easier the Thanksgiving meal preparations have been since this phase of the project has occurred.

As you can see below, refrigerator, oven and dishwasher are in place, although surrounding cabinetry and trim are not.

Appliances Phase 1 www.midweststoryteller.com

This new Samsung 4-Door Flex French Door Refrigerator is a dream and I love being able to have French doors, slide out shelves and drawers on the bottom as well as for the refrigerator on top. The right side of the lower french doors is a separate flex unit that can be used as a refrigerator or a freezer, depending on the need. For us, it will be used as a freezer most of the time. It’s lots bigger than our old refrigerator and so nice inside that if it wasn’t so cold in there, I might move in

The GE dishwasher with its bottle jets and, yes, third rack, is just fabulous. My advice would be that if you are ever shopping for a dishwasher, don’t settle for one without these two features. Where has this been all my life? I think they finally must be letting women design appliances.

The thing I love most about my Kenmore Elite wall oven is that it is not in the basement. Earlier, I shared here in Death of a Kitchen, how our appliances marched off single file to the graveyard, beginning with my oven. However, until Smuffy got the kitchen to the place where some cabinets could come out to make room for a wall oven to go in, my new oven had to wait, ratchet strapped to his workbench in the basement.

There is much more to glory in today than new appliances, but I am truly thankful for them, especially the part where I don’t have to haul this turkey down and back up the stairs!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Hug the ones you love and tell them how much they mean to you. It is a wonderful life and we have so much to be thankful for.

I’ll post more updates on Smuffy’s grand kitchen makeover as they occur.

Helpful Hint: This is the best time of the year to get your appliances on sale. Prices will never be lower than they are during Black Friday sales, which began this year on November 5th and continue into December.