Plotting and Planning

This morning I woke up almost as soon as I heard Terry's truck pull out of the drive. I had a dream of two different books. My son is already working on the cover of Book III of the Nashville Series. The title is "Jailbird". It is the story of Debbie and how her life progressed after prison.

When I wrote about Debbie Williams I had no intent to make her a lead character in her own book. For a brief moment I thought I could just drop her off in prison and that would be the end of writing about her. However, readers had  different ideas. Several have been, in a word, hounding me to get to this book quickly.  Okay...okay...I'm plotting it.

Whenever I start a new book, I get out one of my journals (one is for Westerns and one is for Contemporary) and cut out little pictures from magazines of my characters. I looked up the characteristics I had written about Debbie Williams in "Christmas in Nashville" and chose the picture to match them. I hadn't plotted her in the journal for "Christmas in Nashville" so I had to search and find her in the document.

I discovered (because my memory is short) that she is a blond and has green eyes. She is a 44 year old widow. Her husband, Curtis, died at age 38. Her parents are deceased so she depends on her former in-laws for parental support. Ned and Alice really do love her.

I listed the things I know about Debbie from the previous book. This helps when I am writing so that I don't have to look up details like this when I am in the throws of writing. (Let me tell you, the words are flung everywhere when I am on a roll.)

I also chose a man or two to be in the storyline...looked at pictures of children and decided whether or not there would be any in her future. I don't know for sure...maybe, maybe not.

Now, I need to do some research and see what the last week and day of prison is like. I really do work to make the events as factual as possible. (If any of you readers have some insight on this, email me @ elainel45@msn.com)

I am doing an experiment on this book. I want you to be vocal about how you like this. (if you participate in it) I am going to release this book in episodes. The episodes will be available on Kindle. Each episode will contain 10,000 words or so and will be released every three weeks. (hopefully) The first installment may take a little longer. Each episode will be 99 cents. After the book is completed, all the episodes will be combined and published as a full length novel. It will be available both in print and e-book format.

The other book I have on the burner is different than anything I have ever written. It is about a middle-aged woman who has been kidnapped. There is no reason she should targeted because she has no money or influence. I have 3 chapters of this book written, but haven't arranged for the cover yet. That is why "Jailbird" will be finished before "Stolen" is.

I am interested in what you have to say about this post. Comment on my page on Facebook or email me. You can be honest and let me know your doubts and concerns as well as your interest in this. I do care about you guys.

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder (broccoli and cheese)

I am not a food photographer and this is a shot of the leftover soup. I got the recipe from Pinterest. (Didn't I tell you it is one of my favorite sites online?) Here's the recipe:

2 TBLS BUTTER
1/2 CUP CHOPPED ONION
1 CUP FINELY CHOPPED CARROT
1 STALK CELERY, FINELY CHOPPED
1 TBLSP MINCED GARLIC
4 CUPS CHICKEN BROTH
2 LARGE BAKING POTATOES, PEELED AND CHOPPED
1 TBLSP FLOUR
2/3 CUP MILK
2 CUPS CHOPPED BROCCOLI
2 CUPS SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE

(When I chop up the vegetables, I use the food processor.)

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add onions and celery. Saute' over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes. Mix flour with water and add to mixture. Simmer until soup is slightly thickened.  Put the mixture in a large soup pot. (I put mine in a slow cooker.) Add milk, broccoli, chicken broth, and potatoes. Cook in slow cooker on low. After the potatoes and other vegetables are tender, add cheese. Serve. I like to make bread to go with this. Some like to make the bread bowls to serve it in. Either way, yum.

My Birthday Flowers

These are my birthday flowers and they are a week old. When the hubs came home with them on my birthday, he was let down. He was upset that the grocery store didn't have any roses when he went in. (I know, grocery store, but that's fine.) He apologized for these pretty flowers. To be honest, I love, love roses, but they wilt a little faster than I like. It makes me feel really sad to see them deteriorate so quickly.
I told him that these colorful daisies were so cool and I meant it. I had no idea they would still be so pretty after a week. This week the weather has been cold and a little snowy. These bright splashes of color were so cheerful and made me think of the thoughtfulness of my sweetie.
The years are passing and as we go through them together, I find our marriage growing sweeter every day.

Robot Wars...Mint vs Neato...funny

The Hubs Repented for His Actions!

I know that most people, if they have read this blog very long, think that the hubs is perfect. (Wait for me while I finish laughing and can type more. I know I'm not perfect either, so don't stone me.) He actually apologized to me for not believing me when I told him about the idea to use the old dishwasher racks.

I had to push it one step further. (I'm a wife. I do that kind of thing.) This is how the conversations went:
Me: So NOW do you feel bad that you threw away the old baby bed?
Hubs: Why?
Me: Pinterest showed how to make a bench out of an old baby bed.
Hubs: Wow, that sounds like a great idea.
Me: I told you that idea when you were loading it into the trailer to take to the dump.
Hubs: I kinda remember that.
Me: I sure wish you hadn't thrown it away.
Hubs: You were right. I shouldn't have. I should listen to your ideas. (or some sort of thing like that...I was too busy trying not to faint!)

See...you can teach an old dog new tricks. Since he saw how well some of those ideas work, he is listening. Of course, there are a few things I tried to do that flopped...I usually don't take pictures of those. Maybe I should. He probably has had good reason for not believing EVERYTHING will work that I suggest. lol

If an Eye Roll Had a Sound...

If an Eye Roll Had a Sound, you would have heard the screeching from my house to where you live from the Hubs' eyes.  As you probably have guessed, I am a fan of Pinterest. (Thank you, Noveta, for introducing me to this great site.) One of the first pins I saw was the one that said to save the racks from your old dishwasher to use in your cabinet.

 

Terry had a very difficult time with this concept when we replaced our dishwasher a few years ago. I pleaded with him to save the 'guts' of the old dishwasher so that we could use it in organizing our cabinets. He put the racks in the 'junk pile' next to our storage barn where it stayed until Monday, my birthday.

 

Step aside with me for a minute. I don't like the junk pile. Every year in the spring, the hubs loads up everything from the junk pile and takes it to the dump. I like for even the pasture to look neat and clean.

 

Back to the kitchen: I had a towel rack thing like is used in hotel rooms. I got it from a garage sale and had never really used it to it's full ability. I brought it down stairs and started showing the hubs how we could use it on it's side to divide the big glass serving dishes and large electric griddle. It must have hit him wrong. He said, "I'll go get the racks from that old dishwasher from the junk pile."

Me: "You didn't throw them away?"

Hubs: "Nope, you told me we were going to use them."

Me: "Really? I'm so glad you listened!"

Hubs: "I'll go get them."

I stood with tears in my eyes as I watched him cross past the garage and to the junk pile. I was sort of emotional because I KNEW he didn't think the idea would work.

He came in with the racks. They were a little dirty, but he wanted to prove to me that they wouldn't fit. Low and behold, they fit!!!!! I was almost to cry!

Hubs: "Wow, they do work."

We put the bottom rack in the area under the microwave. Because the pizza stone, glass dishes, and griddle were tall, we used the other rack in another cabinet. After washing them up, we took the utensil rack to put the spatulas and things we use for the gas grill in there. They are big and don't fit in the drawers very well. We need to paint the inside of the cabinet and then we are through. Terry told me he would do the painting because my hands cramped for days after I painted the island. What a man!

 

The other rack in on the bottom shelf of the "blind corner" cabinet. The extra Tupperware and all the lids fit in this rack really nicely. The basket on the top is from the drawer set we took out from under the microwave. (pictured in an earlier post) It didn't fit the area perfectly, so the dishwasher rack was a better option.

I put items that don't weigh much in these two baskets because they are the front rack to the blind corner cabinet. The things in the back/side basket are things I don't use much. (canning stuff and Tupperware cake/pie carriers)

 

This is another basket from those we removed from under the microwave. It is the one with the Tupperware cake and pie carriers.

This is the other side of the blind corner. I had lazy Susan's and put my extra plates and canning jars on them. I use the canning jars to put pinto beans, rice, popcorn, etc. in after I open the bag and use a portion of it. I like to have them within easy reach. These cabinets are old, but they are so well made. They are all wood. (plywood) The doors are plain, but I think the are classic.

 

We still need to finish painting the wall that goes down to the basement. (That will be done soon.) I hung the Heman cake pan I found in the blind corner. We purchased it when the boys were little and I made their birthday cakes with it for years. I like to look at it and think of their little faces. I took the crock pot from the top of the fridge, the ice cream cone cookie jar from the top of the cabinets, the three other cookie jars from the blind corner, the toaster oven from the blind corner, the extra toaster from the blind corner and the waffle iron from the mess in the cabinet under the microwave. See the pinto beans and rice in the canning jars? All the notebooks and books are cookbooks. The step ladder will be painted red and hung in place there with a ladder hanger. I am short and have to use it a lot.

I think the kitchen is pretty much done except that the Hubs did purchase a new microwave and installed it, but the cabinet needs a little trim to meet his expectations. He is a perfectionist and I love him for it.



Duct Tape...Who Knew???

For the past couple of years Terry and I have struggled with our microwave. It is built in a cabinet that we made after taking the wall oven out when we purchased our free standing range. Because of this, we have to make sure the microwave is the correct size for the opening.

This is how it usually goes. I write a note on a scrap piece of paper with the measurements on it and put it in my purse. We go to the store and I can't find it...ever. Sometimes I even use an index card. I think my purse is hungry because it seems to have chewed it up and swallowed it.

The hubs will say, "Babe, you got the measurements for the microwave?"
Me, "Can't find that blasted paper I wrote it on."
Hubs, "Oh well."

The next time we are shopping goes something like this:
Me. "I found paper that says the size of the microwave."
Hubs, "We have to wait until payday."
Me, "Grrrr...."

The reason we need a new microwave is because at random times, it sparks and sounds like electrical static. We run to it and open the door to remove the food and hope that it isn't on fire. The other day, the hubs came sauntering into the living room and said, "I fixed it."
"Fixed what?" I asked.
"The microwave."
"The microwave?" I ask.
"With duct tape...I put duct tape over the hole on the inside of the microwave and it works."
"Duct tape? Hole? What?"
"We don't need a new microwave," he says.
"You want to bet!" I say under my breath.
Where is that measuring tape and notepad????

Note from the Hubs:
"Actually, the story began about two or three Super Bowl Sundays ago. I was getting ready to make my popcorn in the microwave, and enjoy the game. It started popping, snorting, and nearly caught fire. Since then, we have experimented with different methods, such as, covering the food with paper towel, or a bowl or plate. I don't know why that works, but it does. I noticed a hole developing up on the side near the top on the inside of the microwave. The hole has gotten bigger over the last 3 yrs. I got the bright idea the other day to try putting duct tape over the hole. Guess what...... it works just fine. A little concerned what affect the tape will have on the food. Hmmmmmmmmm. May have to break down and buy a new microwave." hmmmmm

Did the Rules Change?

Usually my blog posts are funny or light hearted. Today, I woke up with a heavy heart. The first thought I had this morning was a message to my heart. How much have I changed in my walk with God? Have I grown closer or have I edged away seeing how far I could go and still be connected to Him?

I don't want to slip farther away and only touch Him with my fingertips. I want to be drawn close to the heart of God. I don't want Him to have to yell at me so that I can hear Him over the noise of my life. I want to be close enough that I can hear Him sigh or whisper.

It is so easy to distant myself from Him, but why would I want to do that? He is my everything! Life without Jesus would be a nightmare to me. Life at a distance to Jesus is no better. My mother used to tell me to remember that Jesus is always with me and I need to remember not to offend Him. This caused me to know that He hears everything. He sees everything. He knows everything I am doing.

Some may say that is a given. God knows everything, but when you put it personally where He is sitting with you, walking with you, and working with you...it changes your speech, your reactions to others, and your habits.

My heart hurts when I hear of Christian friends who have taken up either cursing or vulgar language. I didn't get the memo from the Bible that this had suddenly become acceptable. Before you stone me, know that I know it is easy to slip into this behavior since the whole world seems to not care about keeping their speech clean. You may scream at me saying, "We aren't supposed to judge each other!" This morning, in the Bible, I Corinthians 5:12 says: "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside..."

The words around this are about excusing sinful behavior of those who are Christians. We aren't to scream at each other about this stuff, but we aren't supposed to support bad behavior. In chapter 4 of I Corinthians it says: "Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers..." As you know, fathers correct our bad behavior. Just because they correct us, it doesn't mean that love is not the motive. In fact, love is the motive. When a child who is not mine misbehaves, I can walk away and ignore him. If he is my child, I will correct him because I want him to become everything I know he can be.

I know many will misunderstand this post. That's okay. I am a mother and a grandmother. I feel for this generation when the mothers and grandmothers who are Christians have stopped living up to the Christ like standard. We must keep out language clean. We must love others. We must dress modestly. (You can be in style and do this.) We must behave ourselves in a way that others know that we know that Jesus is walking and living right by our side. The rules have not changed. God is holy and we must strive to live close to Him...within whispering distance.

My Head is Swimming! Since the Hubs has Mondays Off, He Gets a Lot Done!

Terry surprised me this past Monday by stopping by the lumber yard and picking up a couple of oak boards. I couldn't figure out what he was up to. I sat in the pickup while he went inside because I had just finished a session with my chiropractor. (My knees has been gimpy etc.)

Anyway, I saw that he had purchased 2 pieces of wood that had knots in it. I said, "What are you going to do with the knotty pine?"
He said, "It's oak. I'm going to trim out the floor next to the patio door."

You could have knocked me over with a feather! We stripped the old carpet off the floors and uncovered original hardwoods from the 1920s over 5 years ago.

 

Oops, the first picture shows the track before I actually got on my hands and knees and scrubbed the track! Gross! It took a lot of paper towels and a pointy stick to get all the crud out of there.

 

Terry stacked two pieces of oak and glued them together. He cut them to size and then he ran the router over it. I will take a picture of it after he stains and varnishes it.

 

Hmmm...it occurs to me that I really need to get a new throw rug there. That one is threadbare in places and also faded.

 

This is the doorway transition from the wood floor to the ceramic tile in the bathroom. The hubs is almost done with this. He will stain and varnish it to match the floor. This is the last step in getting the wood floor work finished. Yay!

 

That is sort of how our projects have worked. I am not complaining here. We choose to do a little as we can pay for it. Because of this, it has taken many years to get things done. Of course, the trim project took a little long, but that was because Terry is super busy at work and when he is home, the last thing he needs to do is home improvement. (Many times he gets up to go to work at 4 a.m.) He was also looking for premade trim that would work for this particular job. He finally decided to fashion it himself. He is very talented that way.

 

Now that he has every Monday off, he is able to tackle stuff at will. Usually, when we have time to do something, we don't have the money to do it. That is the beauty of small projects, they come in bite sized pieces and don't cost as much as doing big projects. You would be surprised at how inspiring getting through a few small projects are! I feel like I have a new house.

 

Road Runner...the Hubs was After You

Terry chased this roadrunner all over the property on Sunday afternoon. He tried to take a picture of it when it flew into a tree. This is the best of a bunch of pictures of just brown pasture ground. lol.

Roof Flashing Backsplash with Strapping Trim

The hubs decided that since I had painted the cabinet and he had installed the Lid and Pots storage solution, he needed to trim out the backsplash he had installed several years ago.

This is how the roof flashing backsplash looked before the trim.

I Am Stranded on an Island...Sort of...

The island still needs to be painted. (I started and now I have to finish...hmmm) I took the doors and hardware off the base. Then I washed the door in the sink. Somehow, it is easier to get all the stubborn dirt off that way.

I placed trash bags on the counter top and used old plastic bowls to hold the door up off the surface of it so that I could get the edges nicely.

Gloss Cherry...yum. The color reminds me of a shiny new car. It cleans up with soap and water and the finish is really nice. I used a brush and it was easy to get a smooth finish.

A shot of the inside of the island.

The hardware is soaking in soapy water to get gunk off of them.

The drawers are all painted with the scant first coat. I am trying to avoid drips and runs. Knowing my ability, there will still be drips and runs.

I went to town to let this dry. I know me...if I stayed home, I would be trying to add another coat before it was time to do it.

The Island is done! The paint and tools are put away. I will use the dry, paint-splattered trash bags for trash. My kitchen is usable again. In the near future I need to repaint the white cabinets. The paint is wearing off around the handles. They will remain white. I can say that I love my kitchen!

There is a story behind the island. When we moved here, the previous owners had placed a low snack bar right where that pan of Christmas Crack is sitting by the hammer. (I am drying the Christmas crack out because I skipped that step when I had company for Christmas. It was an important step. It tastes better when it isn't sticky.,,,but I digress...)

We didn't like the short snack bar. The whole kitchen was harvest gold. The cabinets were varnished with dark stain. All the walls were white. Anyway....The house we had just moved out of had a nice island. I really missed it and wanted Terry to build one for me. He was covered up with work, so I prayed about it.

In one of the next few newspapers, I read in the list of garage sales that the lady who had bought our house in town had a kitchen island for sale. I was sure it was the one that was I was missing so much. Anyway, we went to the old house and the lady had this island for sale. It wasn't the custom one we had built in the house she bought, but it was just right for this kitchen. I only paid $20 for it. (yes, twenty dollars!) It had a nice cream colored counter top on it, but you read what happened to it. lol.

I knew the Lord heard my prayer for an island! He does stuff like that all the time. This island always has made me smile. I am blessed beyond belief.

Kitchen Spruce Up Continues

 We had some round wire baskets that hung in tiers from a hook in the area over the sink. We kept oranges, apples, and onions in them. After they fell, yet again, we decided we needed a better solution. While we were in Duckwall/Alco's we found these  baskets on 30% off. They were lined with fabric so we took the fabric out of them and hung them from hooks that are heavier duty than cup hooks from the side of our
cabinet. (See the trash compactor in the background? I love that thing. Next to it is a little storage solution Terry made for me years ago. They are slide out baskets that hold bread and potatoes.)

At first, we were upset that they tilted, but when they are loaded, the fruit will be easier to get to. (See the phone book holder and pen holder in the background. They are painted red now. I bought the fabric from the valance at a garage sale and sewed them up years ago. Last year I found red trim to put on them.)

 I like the way the red looks on the pen holders and phone book holder. See the red flyswatter? lol I want to put black blackboard paint on the door. 21 years ago I painted the glass with a paint that is supposed to mimic stained glass.

This little scroll saw work lettering was unfinished for years. I thought, why not paint the face of it red?  Why not?

This is the calendar wall. See the family birthday plaque. I made it last year after seeing it on Pinterest. The square picture was from a calendar and the frame was 90% off at Hobby Lobby. I painted it yesterday when I painted the other stuff. The muffin tin was purchased to make rose cupcakes for one of my book launches. I like the enamel ware dipper and I made the cross stitch picture of the little bonnet girls with chickens about 20 years ago. I painted the kitchen black about 12 or so years ago. I used flat and gloss black. To me, that wall makes me think of a tuxedo pant leg.

 This is Mikey's tricycle. Someone left it behind from a rent house my dad owned. I decided it made good art after I saw stuff like that in a restaurant. The lunch boxes are my boys' and mine. I repainted the lid of the cream can that had the cows on it for a red accent.

 The old colander hanging on the wall is the one I use every time. It was in a garage sale that one of my elderly friends had. I purchased the old white and red enamel pot from another garage sale. I hung the red cutting board to give that area of the kitchen a pop of red.

The salt and pepper shakers were from a catalog. (Bryan Lane Home) the cow and glass measuring cup were my mom's. My sister gave me the chickens on the shelf and my daughter-in-law, Cari gave me the shelf with the spoons holding it up. I found the sifters at a garage sale and the star dinner bell was purchased 21 years ago when we moved to the country. The muffin tin was my mom's and the little basket is for bananas. It was a gold basket with lotions and things that I got as a gift. I spray painted it black to match the other hanging baskets on the other side of the sink.

 The salt and pepper shakers were my mom's and the cute red cookie tin is one of my Christmas gifts this year from my daughter-in-law, Aimee. The toaster was one that Terry got by saving stamps from the grocery store. See that old range hood? It came with the house. It was peeling when we moved in and I spray painted it black. Now it needs painted again. Terry said something about this being the year I get a new range hood. Yay me!

The is the corner on the other side of the range. I love my permanent cookware frying pan. The Kitchen Aide mixer was plain white but I saw a pin on Pinterest where they added decals to decorate it. I found just the right ones at Hobby Lobby. I have been replacing spatulas and other things with black and red ones. The holder is actually a little trash can. We needed something bigger to hold everything. See the backsplash? That was an idea on HGTV many years ago. It is galvanized roof flashing. It cleans up nicely and will hold anything with a magnet. I think I will get some of those magnet spice holders for Terry's grill cooking and keep them behind the stove on the backsplash. The little wooden thingy with the porcelain things decorated with chickens was a spice rack my mom had for years and years. We have ceramic tiles sitting next to the stove top to put hot pans on.
 Also, there is a story about that part of the countertop. We had just installed the countertop when our boys were teens. One day while I was cooking, I noticed that the new countertop was blistered. I said, "I can't believe it! I have already ruined my countertop!"
My youngest son said, "Sorry."
Years later he told me the real story. He and his brothers were melting lead in a coffee can on the stove top. They had taken apart bullets to do this. The can got really hot and a lot of other stuff so they put it on the counter and blistered the new counter top. 
After that confession, I had cold chills. Visions of gunpowder and lead.... I asked that there be no more Christmas confessions from my grown children.
Update on this story from Mikey:
Mikey Littau "Well....the full story is that we were harvesting led from the 22 shells to melt down and pour into a carved out arrow head shape in a piece of wood. We needed more metal so my friends and I saw the brass of the 22s still lying there and wondered if that would melt too (they didn't have the bullet still attached, but they did still have the gun powder). So a few seconds after we put that on the stove, the blanks started shooting off out of the pan. My friend dove down the stairs and I ducked and pulled the pan off the stove and set it on the counter and dove down the stairs....nobody was shot in this story....luckily."

 

These are the picture frames, phone book holder, and pen holders I painted red for accents.

 

This is the island I purchased at a garage sale 21 years ago to go in this house. Terry put new laminate on all the counter tops after I made a big mistake. I was making manger scenes to sell at craft shows. It was very cold outside, so I brought the plywood into the kitchen and began cutting the figures out. When I got to the sheep, I noticed that cutting was very difficult. When I finished,  realized that I had cut through the counter top when I cut out the sheep's rear. The scalloped piece was holding on by only 1/3 inch. I was scared about what Terry would say so I decided to be funny and put a bunch of bandaides on the cut. Terry called and I told him I nicked the top of the island. He freaked out! I really was scared.

 

He came into the house and saw what I had done. He laughed when he saw the bandaides. (Thank the Lord.) Then, we bought laminate for the whole kitchen. (after a few months) I promised that I would never cut anything like that out on the island again.

 

This is the frame I painted red. It was just plain wood color when I started. I did this cross stitch around 25 yrs ago. The plaque on the top is a picture of a horse. It says, "Speak your mind, but ride a fast horse."

This is another view of the 'sheep's rear' island. lol. I need to do 2 or 3 more coats of paint, but I became really tired. I will get back to it tomorrow...I hope.

After I finish the stuff I have started, I will post more pictures.

Wonder Hubs Strikes Again! Pot and Lid Storage Solution.

A few years ago Terry and I removed the wall oven and replaced it with a range where the cook-top was located. He built in the microwave in part of it and made a storage cabinet for the rest of the area. The pans were a dilemma to get to. We did have a rack that hung over the island but Terry didn't like bumping his head on the hanging pots when he made a snack.  We also needed to hang it higher for more light in the kitchen. We removed the pots and took a few links out of the  fixture and now the kitchen is brighter.

  Now, what do we do with those pans? There isn't room for the bakeware in there either. I cleaned out the island and organized the tupperware type stuff with the lids and the rolling snack basket, so now there isn't room for the bakeware.

 

The bakeware is clean and waiting for a new spot.

The basket drawers don't really fill up the space they should for optimum use. They are full of lids and hard to find the right size.

 Terry and I were looking at Pinterest and saw a lot of good ideas. It is funny that we were planning on painting the main floor bathroom and got distracted by needing storage solution. One of the things on Pinterest showed cookware lids balanced behind towel racks. We talked about how many towel racks we would have to buy for all our our lids. Where would we put them? We have a spot in the stairwell that goes to the basement. It is a really tall wall with nothing on it. We have lived here 21 years and haven't done much with it except put jars of home canned peaches and pickles on the ledge. We also hung a quilt above a bookcase we placed in there. It was super dirty, so we started using left over paint from the laundry room project we finished a few months ago. We ran out of paint so we went to the lumber yard for more. While we were there we decided to get galvanized conduit pipe (3/4X10) to span the space for hanging the lids and pots.

 This is the hubs measuring how far out to put the conduit. (We were thinking of using copper pipe, but it costs more and also we have galvanized roof flashing for our backspash in the kitchen to go with our stainless steel stuff. The regular conduit fit the bill.)

 The paint wasn't a perfect match, so somebody (me) will have to touch up the splotches. The lid looks pretty good hanging there huh.

Now he is putting up a second pipe for the pans to hand from. He put big S hooks up for them to attach to. (3 inch open S-Hook Zinc) We bought all they had (12) and we needed 16 so in a week we will check to see if they got in more.

Hubs is pleased with the progress. He destined this pole to hold the frying pans.

Now for the stock pot pipe.

Most of the pans had these little rings on them. Some had holes. We had one without a hole and Terry just drilled one in the end of the handle and it works fine. The S hooks fit snugly enough that they don't come off when you retrieve a pan. They are loose enough that your can scoot them over for more room.

All the lids in a row.

He attached the pipe to the wall with L brackets. He used the drill to drill holes into the pipe for a nut and bolt to go through to secure the pipe to the L bracket. (Be sure you locate the L bracket on a stud for support) We thought we would have to put another L bracket in the middle, but the pipe didn't bend or flex. The pipe was $3.59  each. The s hooks were $1.98 each. We bought 2 gal of paint, nuts, and bolts. Terry said the whole cost for this was around $130 - $145)

Easy to get to.

This is really a simple solution to a common problem. They look like art work to me. (but that's me) You could do this on any kitchen wall that didn't have wall cabinets on it. I told Terry that this was my butler's pantry.