When Your Neighbors ROCK!
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my asshole neighbors and how my husband and I have been (and still are) the targets of a bullying and harassment campaign by our neighbors over a roofing issue that my husband has spent countless hours trying to fix. I received many comments about that blog, but one great question came up: "Traci, why do you still live there if your neighbors are such assholes?"
An excellent question! And here's why I stay: when we bought our new condo, it needed some help. The laminate was peeling off all the cabinets and drawers, and the countertops were ugly AF. The cabinets themselves were okay, so we got a quote on replacing the doors and the countertops, and the quote came in at $27,000. We had to redo the floors completely, so there was little money left for cabinets. Friends across the way had the same issue with their cabinets. They heated the laminate finish off all the cabinet doors and repainted them. They looked great, so Doug began prepping our cabinets the same way.
About the same time, the Art Committee with my condo association was looking for new projects to work on, and many of the projects they wanted to do were getting voted down. I checked in with Doug to see what he thought about having our friends and the Art Committee paint our cabinets, and he thought the idea was fantastic. We laid some ground rules: no body parts, no politics, no religion, and no gory stuff. Our friends picked up the cabinets and began painting. And then, I started second-guessing the decision to have our friends paint the cabinets. What if we didn't like them? What if they did a terrible job? What if they returned so awful we had to spend the $27,000 to get new cabinets anyway?
I decided just to let all that "worry" stuff go and just trust that The Universe had my back. And I'm so glad I did, because when the cabinets started coming back in, Doug and I were floored by the results!
As you can see from the photos, our friends and neighbors did a fabulous job! So much talent! The thought that went into these cabinets was unbelievable. Doug and I were so touched. We saw our friends having so much fun; Doug and I decided to paint a few ourselves!
It's safe to say I've never had a great relationship with "the kitchen." While I loved to bake, I seldom found joy in cooking. When I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's, I was forced to cook for myself because certain foods inflame my system. Going out to eat and explaining my food allergies to a server is embarrassing. If there's any cross-contamination with a known food allergen, I can experience tremendous discomfort for days.
HUGE THANKS to Bob, Sandi, Kimberly, Nancy, Alan, Vicki, Lisa, Jan, and especially a huge thank you to Sylly and Jeri for painting so many cabinets! Jeri also helped touch up and polyurethaned the drawers and cabinets and helped Doug pour the epoxy countertops (still in progress).
Some may see our kitchen as unusual or unconventional, but when I walk into this kitchen, my heart is filled with happiness. I'm surrounded by countless hours of creativity, fun, and love by my neighbors, who ROCK!
