I'm Giving Thanks for My Kitchen

Yes, I know.  I missed a few days of the challenge.  My OCD, people-pleasing instinct was screaming for me to go back and write posts for the last two days because my numbers on my side bar would not match the actual date for the love of all that is good!!  (Deep breath)  Not only write the posts, but then go back and change the post date for each one so that my blog would look perfectly neat  as though I had really written the posts on time.

But you know what?  As I sat here in my chair getting stressed about what I did and did not write, my mind wandered to what I was doing the past few days that caused such a lapse in blogging continuity.  What came to the forefront of my thoughts was all the cooking I did yesterday.  I made three complete meals:  chicken and sausage gumbo, chicken spaghetti and a pan of lasagna, and as I thought about that craziness I realized how thankful I am for my kitchen.  This is the first kitchen I've ever had that was big enough to cook fairly large quantities of food without covering every single spot on the counter with utensils, bowls and pots.  I have enough counter space and plenty of room to move around comfortably, even if several people are in there at once.

It's awesome.

For those of you out there who think cooking is a dirty word, then this makes no sense to you at all, but those of you who love to cook are nodding your heads in agreement.  Our old kitchen in Texas had plenty of counter space, but it was galley style, and only one person could be in there at a time.  The refrigerator door would almost hit the front of the stove when opened, and effectively trapped anyone standing at the sink from leaving the room.  Not so bad for making dinner, but a real pain when I was trying to prepare a holiday dinner with my mom and sister.

Our last house had more room to move around, but severely limited counter space.  I could only do one thing at a time, and cooking often requires so much more than that!

But this kitchen has both counter space and floor space, and I revel in it every time I cook.  Is it the professional kitchen of my dreams, with a hot water spout over the stove and wood burning oven?  Nope.  But it is roomy, with beautiful granite counter tops and lots of cabinets in which to store all my cooking/baking paraphernalia.  There's a place at the counter for people to sit and visit while I'm working, and a pass through to the living room so I don't miss out on conversations when we have guests.  It has big windows that offer lots of light as well as ventilation when it starts to get hot.

So today I'm thankful for my big kitchen.  I'm thankful that I have a great place to prepare all the foods I love to cook, and to have a place to entertain.