One Step Forward, Ever Sliding Back

I didn't write yesterday because I lost track of time thinking about what's left to do with home repair.  My spouse and I had a long conversation about the pros and cons of certain kinds of microwaves and the over-the-stove space where we'll put it.  It's interesting to think about having a convection oven as part of the microwave.  Would I use the convection oven part?  Would it be more energy efficient to bake a cake there than to heat up the whole stove?

Will I ever bake a cake again?

Before I knew it, the morning had slipped away.  It was time for my afternoon hair appointment--but sadly, not before we discovered that the dryer wasn't working.  Yes, the dryer that's part of the washer-dryer combo that we bought 2 months ago.  Grrr.  One step forward, ever sliding back.

But as anyone who has a house or a car or a vehicle or a life of any kind knows, there will  always be the work of maintenance to do, the work of restoration, the work of planning ahead.  So, before I slip into despair, let me remind myself of what we've accomplished this week:

Below is the before shot, the empty space:

But these long shots don't show much.  Here's a close up:

We thought we'd leave the space by the stove empty (the lower right part of the picture), but our new table fits there neatly.  We have an eat-in kitchen!   We can move the table out when we entertain. 

I am in love with the color of the cabinets.  I am in love with the easy close doors and drawers.

I am interested to see how it will all look with a counter on top. I hope we can find a manufacturer who can do it:

 Here's the backsplash that we're thinking about:

Same pattern, different finish:

When I think about the disaster that our house was a year ago, I'm amazed at the progress we've made.  I am so hoping that it continues!