An adventure or Challenge or general exercise in frustration

We've barely started and I'm starting to realize how much energy this is going to require--both physical and mental.  We still can't define what we want in any detail, nor can we agree about what we want in any detail.  Tomorrow we're going to the Home and Garden show at the convention center.  Friday afternoon is 1/2 price admission for seniors-ka-ch-ing $10 saved. We are also taking a newspaper coupon for a draw for supply and installation of a counter top--value up to $5000.  Five thousand dollars just for a counter top?!?  Boy are we in over our heads!

We have agreed on a couple of things.  The exhaust fan we have is very, very noisy and doesn't do a decent job.  The smoke detectors go off whenever we fry or broil meat.  So a range hood with a decent exhaust fan.  That will eliminate the two cupboards over the stove and the fluorescent light fixture that has the short and keeps blinking on and off all the time. So the range hood will have to have a light. We like the small cupboard between the stove and dishwasher, but it's a bugger to clean.  So keep the cupboard but without the dividers in it that leave spaces too narrow to get a hand in.  That's as far as we've got, but we're now discussing the shelves over the fridge where I hang my hand-thrown mug collection.  We also plan to explore replacing the upper cupboard to the right of the sink with some sort of corner cupboard or similar arrangement. We believe that we'll be forced to add at least one more circuit to the kitchen and put the fridge on one by itself.  Both a light in the range hood and replacing the back splash dictate the involvement of an electrician,in any case.

This means fewer cupboards, but I presently have 20 cup-board doors in the kitchen, and a lot of things stored that I never use.  I only have 5 drawers, and don't really use two of them.

And we're only just getting started.