Kitchen renovation countdown - 6 days to go

While my parents were here over the holidays we totally took advantage of their captive status and convinced them to help us clear stuff out of the dining room and living room so we could paint. The day after Christmas we put away all of the holiday decorations, and we also packed up all the books and china and moved the major pieces of furniture out of the ground floor so we could slap on a coat of Watery.

We painted everything that's going to be left and visible after the contractors knock out a wall next Monday - hurray for kitchen cabinets that will go to the ceiling so I don't have to paint the wall behind them! - which was still acres and acres of wall to paint. It was a lot of work, but it went faster with three people (and a fourth to watch Liza). It also went faster because Jason got to play with his full 18 inches:

of paint roller, that is. Boy, you folks have dirty minds!

Since then we've been gradually shuttling stuff down to the basement and guest room, where it will stay for the next two months while we get the kitchen squared away and the flooring done in the living room, dining room, and entryway. And I've been working my way through the food in the pantry and freezer, trying to make meals out of the stuff I won't be able to cook when I only have access to a microwave and toaster oven.

We've hit the point now where I have to plan carefully to try to get the last stuff used up and still make meals that aren't ridiculously wrong (nachos with teriyaki chicken and mozzarella cheese on top? NO.).

I know we'll be making fried rice for dinner tonight (uses up bacon, leftover ham from freezer, leftover rice from freezer, can of stirfry veggies from pantry, possibly some ratty-looking ginger root left in the fridge), and Jason has requested that one day soon we say "screw the leftovers, we're having salad."

In the pantry I found a package of buffalo wing seasoning mix and a Japanese curry mix, both of which technically will hold forever, but I won't be able to cook either without a full kitchen, so I might as well use them now. The curry will require some fresh meat, but can also use up some of the potatoes in the pantry. The wing mix will use some fresh chicken, but it will help use up the blue cheese dressing we've got in the fridge.

I've got two large boxes of chicken broth that may become some sort of soup, and some tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, and tomato juice that are definitely destined to be tomato soup.

There's a ham bone left from Christmas eve dinner, which I might try to make into some sort of potato/ham chowder, and some barley, brown rice, and regular rice that are probably going to just end up getting shelved.

And then there are the baked goods. I'd like to use up 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin, a cup of frozen blueberries, two cups of frozen peaches, two cups of frozen strawberries, plus a whole bunch of bread flour, regular flour, sugar, and brown sugar. I'm thinking there's a whole lot of coffeecake- and muffin-making in my future for this week.

Meanwhile, Liza has been enjoying all the extra room to run around and play "dance lessons," which involves her hopping around in circles on one foot, encouraging me to do the same.

And it's 2pm and I'm still in my pajamas - hooray for snow days!