This is what I'm thinking for the kitchen-very rough measurements. The upper right is the open shelving and the pillow like thing is the column. Next to the column would open into the dining room area, no door. The bottom left corner is just an opening, not a bifold door but I didn't have any other options.  

electrical stuff

Had two electricians look around today. Learned that the electrical service is 50 amps, which I think means you can't have more than one light turned on at the same time...;)

There's a little issue with the wires connecting to the house from the street, some sort of rule that they need to be more than 3 feet away from the windows in case a firefighter has to come in that way.

The 2nd contractor was very friendly and even sketched out what he thought we should do with the kitchen remodel. He suggested that we get that space straightened out and plan out all the electrical work we might possibly want so he could do it all in one job to save us money. He said he obviously can't see if there's anything scary going on until the basement ceiling gets opened up. Both said that the "updated" kitchen wiring wasn't done very well.

Blogging vs. website

I have decided to use the blog (web log) format instead of maintaining the old website. This takes much less time and energy, both of which I don't have much of anymore!

Worked at the house again today for about 2 hours, but with the heat and humidity it felt more like 4 or 5. Tearing up the old, bad flooring wasn't too terrible. My main concern is still the kitchen project, we just don't know where to start. Spent an hour at a major hardware chain with a person who'd only been working there for a week-not very helpful at all!!
The space for the new cabinets is so strange, I don't think we'll be able to use "off the shelf" products at all. Still thinking and thinking....feel free to submit any suggestions!

The second bedroom with the "Pound Puppy" curtains.

Another view of the trouble spot, what do you do with a space this awkward? We are still thinking it over...

This is the major stumbling block in the kitchen renovation...there is a column in front of the cabinet area, so it'd be impossible to put in a real cabinet below this one in the photo. All of the upper cabinets will be removed as they are too dirty and cheap to save. As you can see, I do still have some papertowels left, though I've gone through a dozen rubber gloves to this date. 

The nice part is that there is a window over the sink and it overlooks the backyard. The "quaint" little curtains will go once I've thoroughly washed the kitchen and we've removed the upper cabinetry. 

Note that the window sill is BELOW the top of the stove. We have some major kitchen planning work ahead. 

The requisite hole in the wall made by the door knob. Minor, minor issue. The fact that the only outlet in the bathroom doesn't work is my main issue.  

So I thought I'd start a quick project and remove the awful oak towelbar....easier said than done. Apprarently this part is GLUED to the wall. I just walked away. 

Stairs leading up to the 2nd floor. Note the plywood layer, we haven't the courage yet to remove that to find out what it's there.. 

The stairway. 

This is what the floor under the nasty blue carpeting looked like before I got a hold of it! 

Almost finished, just need to clean up the mess. 

More debris from beneath the fake wood floor. 

Discovered just 2 broken floor boards, the "antique" wiring can be viewed underneath these boards..more on that at a later date. 

Debris from under the faux wood flooring in the bedroom