A New Kitchen - Prologue

It's all begun to happen. Almost everything in my kitchen cupboards has now been moved into the sitting room. It's now half full with boxes & bags. I had help from my daughter & a good friend or I would have probably had a heart attack!

Despite the fact that I only moved house 6 months ago I realise that I still need to get rid of out of date stuff, (herbs & spices which have probably lost any flavour or aroma). Not to mention plastic containers, which I have never & will never use. Also why do I have enough saucepans & casseroles to feed the 5,000 when I am single? Do I really need 2 complete china dinner & tea services? Must remember the mantra "less is more".

A pathway has been cleared across the sitting room so the old units can be taken out & the new ones brought in. A fitter is coming tonight to start removing the old units & appliances. He has to clear the kitchen by tomorrow evening because the new units could arrive any time from 7am on Friday. The doomsday scenario would be if the new units arrived before the old ones had gone. There is no room for both.

From tomorrow I will be camping out upstairs with a kettle, a toaster, a microwave & a small halogen cooker. A portable fridge would have been useful because I won't have managed to eat everything in my freezer. A cool box will have to do, although the ice blocks will melt long before all this is over. The main problem will be washing up in a small bathroom sink.

Saturday & Sunday will be the "calm before the storm" because the fitters don't start till Monday. They say they will start around 7 in the mornings & go on till about 7 in the evenings for a week. They obviously don't know that I'm not a morning person. It will take a superhuman effort for me to be up, dressed and fully functioning at that ungodly hour.

My lovely electrician has been primed to move the sockets which are too close to the upstand for the plugs to fit in. (What dimbo installed them like that I wonder?) He will also put in the new down lights in the dining area. A decorator says he can do the painting after installation by cutting in & is confident that he won't mess up my new units. I can't choose a paint colour till the new units are in situ. I have to have faith & believe.

The only imponderables are:-

• Will the boxed in area that needs to be removed come out OK?
• Will the existing floor tiles have been installed over the whole of the kitchen floor under the existing units & will they be in reasonable condition?

It's a bit nail biting, but I am optimistic. I don't have a plan B.