Gin, seltzer or mineral water. and chopped basil. Finally, lemonade for grownups.

I might sell it from a stand in front of my house this summer.

Gray Goose... sugar the rim and call it a lemon drop martini

I'd skip the alcohol and go straight for the expresso!

Marcolo- Basil sounds good! Not so sure about the gin...but I can picture you having fun, selling it this summer :)

Remodelfla- LOL!

Pinch me- No coffee for me, but there is a lot to be said for a hot cup of Earl Grey tea with a little sugar...add cinnamon muffins with frosting and almost any crisis seems not quite so bad!

I'm with remodelfla, go with Vodka. Although up here, we'd call that an ice pick. A lemon drop uses simple syrup and is a little sweeter.

Oh Lavender, I know how it goes! And believe me, the actual process of getting the work done is much harder.

I've got a fabulous basil lemonade recipe. You could take that and throw some gin or vodka in. It'd be kinda like Marcolo's cocktail.

Lax- I would like the sweeter version. Any rum and lemonade recipes?

Breezy- At least it is still in the planning stages. One nice thing...when we do this, we have a very good friend/GC who will be overseeing everything...but we'll save a lot of money, by helping out where we can. Far too much structural/plumbing/electrial work needs to be done, for me to try that by myself.

You are my hero, when it comes to dealing with obnoxious installers! I'm so glad that jerky fireplace guy is gone...I hope the rest of your remodeling goes a lot more smoothly! Just in case, plants lots of basil, this summer...that's my plan :)

I hate when that happens, and I really like the way you had it all planned. But if this saves money, maybe that means you can add something else you really want somewhere else.

I prescribe bed with an idiotic novel or some decorating magazines. Booze or tea or whatever, some Girls Scout cookies or chocolate, and your fanciest nightie and no interruptions. Wallow in your disappointment. Then a tub and clean clothes and working shoes. It's back to the real world. Strong coffee and plain toast, reading glasses, and an honest session with your financial statements and your retirement plan.

Rum would be good with my basil lemonade!

Florantha- I think you covered all the bases! There are some advantages to a smaller plan, so I'm going to try and concentrate on the positives.

Marti- Thank you, I liked the way it looked, too, but there are a few good things. I could put a bay window in the dining area and have more space for bookcases. I think I can also add a nicer screened/sun porch (which I had thought about earlier) for the wood stove, a slightly larger seating area and a small table.

Although it's a smaller footprint and I'm losing the mudroom, powder room, larger pantry, I still have a lot of storage and a bigger porch! The greenhouse will be a separate building, but that's not such a big deal...and I could have some plants on the porch. I'm thinking it will be a four season porch, with windows on two sides (with screens) so the windows can open, when it's nice and feel almost like a screened porch.

This wouldn't have worked out nearly as well, if I still wanted a big island, in the kitchen. Finding that marble work table (as an inspiration picture) really made a big difference! :)

{{gwi:1435527}}

Lavender_Lass,

I'm sorry that your plans need reworking but as thinking through a whole new plan offers its own pleasures, perhaps it won't be too disappointing.

One thing I was wondering about after I read of your change of plans is whether you might consider installing a wood stove in your fireplace in the living room. That would simplify things a great deal as you already have a chimney there. And having a w/s in a chimney breast is sort of the best of two worlds: You get flame viewing, and with the doors open, the complete flame "experience", but can also burn it completely closed up. A closed w/s, compared to an open fireplace and flue, is a net gain in heat for the building as opposed to a net loss. Plus you would still have the ability to do some light-duty emergency cooking on it, when needed.

You could also consider a slightly larger model w/s, than the tiny one that you were thinking of installing in the corner. Very small w/s are harder to manage - and burn for much shorter periods - than ones with bigger fireboxes. Jotul makes lovely, larger ones. They have the same, pretty Victorian-esque archiness as the smaller one you were considering.

Combining all the woodburning sites into one position is safer and far less stressful to manage. Once our kitchen and w/s places are finally separated, I am envisioning having a small table to pull up to the w/s (which will wind up in the parlor - or rather the parlor will wind up around it) and eat the occasional, cozy, winter meal in front of it. But mostly, after dinner I anticipate being able to relax around the woodstove away from the kitchen.

And all the inescapable mess of the w/s will be finally out of my kitchen -hallelujia!

L.

Sad, LL, but then when you mention all you're gaining, it's hard to believe this is a bad thing. That porch is going to be a fantastic place to settle in with the lemonade and lavender tea cookies from your wonderful kitchen. :)

Breezy- Good to know :)

L- I can't put a wood stove in the living room, since it's a raised hearth...and the room is only 18' x 14', smaller than the kitchen. Instead, I'm hoping to put a small Jotul F100 Nordic (camper sized) on the sun/screen porch...very cozy!

Rosie- Lemonade and lavender tea cookies? How can that be a bad thing? When you put it that way, it seems like a lovely way to spend the afternoon :)

I highly recommed vodka with lemonade, my family calls them lemonlaid ;-) I esepcially like blue raspberry vodka and lemonade. its so good you don't even knwo you're drinking alcohol. which oculd be a bad thing I guess.

In all seriousness, I'm sorry that your plans have changed due to your structure requirements. but better to find that out now then before the back of your house is missing I suppose. I'm sure you'll learn to love your new arrangement though!

Better to find out now than in the middle of the renovation - that would be a small catastrophe. In the meantime, plan a little more, and I suggest butterscotch schnapps and bailey's irish cream - delicious!

Oh Lavender-lass,
This may be a wonderful blessing in disguise. Give a
few days for it all to sink in. The first news is always
a shock and as time unfolds it gets much better. You'll
see. This could wind up being the best plan ever.

Lemonade and chocolate cake!!! Sure you can always add
vodka to the lemonade but a little chocolate goes a
long way to making me smile. Try it, you may love it.
Thinking of you and knowing this is going to work out.
In a few weeks you will be thinking about BLUE ____
something for your space. And we can all search to find
the Blue treasure. No worries. It is going to work out.
And think about the money you are saving for this
uknown blue treasure that has not even been thought up
yet.
~boxer

Okay a few pictures to cheer you up...

Blue Beach Lemonade
1 oz vodka
1 oz Blue Curacao (for a deep blue)
or Hypnotiq (for a lighter blue)
4 oz Lemonade
Fresh mint
Shake it up.
Pour into a glass. Garnish with mint. Enjoy!
And of course slice yourself a tasty piece of
Rich Chocolate cake

And some blue to go with your new space....
What kind of dinning room are you going to create?
Blue? Shabby Chic? Country Sweet? Something warm and
wonderful???

On days that you are sad about not having the large
pantry etc... Don't forget your focus.
Your beautiful garden. (below almost as pretty as yours)
The windows from your new space, dinning room in
the front are still going to have views and smells from
your lovely lavander.

Craftlady- Blue raspberry vodka with lemonade...that sounds good and very pretty. You're right, better to find out now, than with half of the house missing! LOL

ae2ga- Butterscotch schnapps and Bailey's Irish Cream. Wow! That does sound good...I've got to tell my mom about this drink. She doesn't like very many alcoholic drinks, but I think she would really like that one!

Boxerpups- You are so sweet! Thank you for the wonderful pictures and the very nice message. That lavender is so beautiful!

As for my new plan, it's really an older plan that I started out with...and looking at it again, I really like it! I made a few changes and added some ideas (like the bump out window seat) but I think it could be even better than the old plan. For one thing, the living room (not shown) doesn't look small, compared to the kitchen/dining area...and the porch is a whole other living space, which is kind of fun. It gives me another room to decorate, too :)

Here's the plan, with the work table already pictured, instead of an island, and lots of bookcases (I love books). Bookcases opposite the marble topped work table, against the oven/microwave and a short antique bookcase (my grandmother's) against the wall, by the table. Above that, I have a really pretty gold painted, metal tea cup and saucer holder. I need to take a picture of that and post it. The hutch (not purchased yet) is on the other side of the table.

The laundry/pantry area has storage on either side of the bench or table at the far end (which can be easily moved) and the storage is for things like Christmas presents and sewing stuff, I don't use very often. The washer and dryer are on the kitchen side, with a counter for folding, with pull-out hampers below, and upper cabinets above. On the other side (from the small window) is the freezer, the farm sink we found, under another window, with cabinets on both sides and a bench with hooks over it (mini-mudroom). Across from this (backing up to the fridge wall) is a small pantry for larger items.

The porch has a hutch and small bistro table, with two or three chairs. The hutch will be full of tea accessories (I have always wanted a place for tea) and the table is the perfect size for two or three people to share tea and conversation...and lavender cookies! The seating area is probably wicker and cushions, with a very small woodstove in the corner and a bench with plants, under the window. Best part...I can put a little crystal chandelier, over the bistro table and a fan over the seating area. Maybe these roof lines, making me change my plan again, is a really good thing, after all! :)

{{!gwi}}

I forgot to mention, I got the idea for the bump out window seat, from Sarah Richardson's farmhouse dining room.

{{!gwi}}

Here's another pretty window seat, with built in bookshelves...that's a nice feature!

{{gwi:1435531}}

I posted this picture, mostly for the beautiful garden, outside the window :)

{{!gwi}}

you're doing a great job of making lemons into lemonade!

for bonus uility, how about putting that porch wood stove to work for more than just heat?

wouldn't it be great to be sitting on your porch, smelling bread baking? or pizzas?

Here is a link that might be useful: tulikivi wood stove