Kitchen progress!

Good news.  We bought some cabinets!  We went to Ikea on Monday and bought 3 base cabinets and a new sink.  Yippee!  We only have two more cabinets left to buy: a wall cabinet for over the (yet to be purchased) microwave; and the large pantry cabinet.

Also remaining on the list:

Countertops (Sears is coming on Thursday to give us an estimate)
Backsplash
Knock down the soffit above the current wall cabinets
Open shelving for plates and glasses
Pendant light above sink
Replace current (beige) outlets and switches with new white ones

The list is deceptively short, but Ikea cabinets require building and then there's all the work of removing the old cabinets, dealing with any problems that reveal themselves as a result, installing the new cabinets, electrical/plumbing work...everything takes longer than you think it will.

Further down the line, we will get a few more base cabinets for a small island in the kitchen.  But that's more of a long-term goal.

Also, we removed our old countertop stove last night.  This is how it looked with the lid popped up:

Go ahead, take a closer look:

SO GROSS!  I have been very anxious to dispose of this thing.  I cleaned this stove A LOT.  For NAUGHT.  It has been a pointless exercise.

The worst part?  When we pulled the dang thing out, there was this:

A filthy ring of thick disgusting grease that has been festering for God knows how long.  But the WORST worst part?  When I cleaned that stuff away, and I was using a scraper and all-purpose cleaner, it smelled like POOP.  I kid you not.  It stunk like fecal matter.  And while I tried to focus on the task and not let the smell overwhelm me, I knew we were doing the right thing by rehabbing this kitchen.  Because before we moved into this house, this kitchen was not cared for, was not cleaned EVER, and dirt and grease and filth has a way of embedding itself, to the point where some things, like counter top stoves and whole kitchens for that matter, are beyond saving.

It's better to begin again, wipe the slate clean, and rebuild.

Goodbye, old stove!  I don't miss you one bit.*

*Within a few hours, the stove was gone from our curb, picked up by a junker.  I'm surprised even they would want it!