Under other conditions, this is where we would have started our renovations.
The kitchen, in our firmament, is the heart of a home. The one in our historic house needed some serious attention. Let me amend that, needs extensive remodeling.
The electric Montgomery Ward stovetop we inherited has a dead burner. If you’re too young to know about Monkey Wards, it was a major Chicago-based retail chain and mail-order empire that went bankrupt and out of business before Sears Roebuck. If I need to explain Sears and its Kenmore brand appliances, you really do need a history lesson. I’ll let you give me one in current pop culture in exchange. Back to the kitchen, for now. There’s no oven, other than the small tabletop convection unit we brought up with us. It’s definitely not big enough for a Thanksgiving turkey or a boneless beef prime rib, as was my birthday tradition in Dover, or even full trays of cookies for Christmas. A dishwasher is a necessity in today’s ideal world, especially when you consider my dishwashing skills, frankly, as falling short. The lack of decent electrical lighting over the sink doesn’t help. As for that lighting or additional electrical outlets? The list quickly grows. We weren’t expecting our redo to be as extensive as the one we undertook in Dover; do note, we also gleaned valuable insights from that. Or at least one of us had, the one whose opinion counts most.
Next to the kitchen was the mudroom, uninsulated and without electricity. We needed someplace to put a big freezer to augment the kitchen, garden, and marked-down grocery jackpots. The existing roof there was funky at best and leaking, along with exterior rot. New windows could point to space for new shelving, too. OK, we’ve addressed half of the mudroom checklist, for now.
The front door of the house, as previously noted, needs replacing, along with the downstairs windows and most of their sills. Anything to cut the heating bill, right?
At this point, we’ve decided to defer work on the downstairs bathroom aka the water closet.
Ditto for the emerging dining room slash crafts room with a butler’s pantry. The room which was my headquarters in the universe for five years.
And then, as for gutters? Or window dressings? Or new furnishings?
The bottom line in all of this has shifted but remains exciting, all the same.
Yet, when you’re married to one of the world’s great cooks, the state of the kitchen is a major consideration.
She and her elder daughter have some great ideas and dreams.
I, in turn, reap the benefits as these happen.
Jnana's Red Barn 
As i have followed this saga, one burning question remains: Why would any sane person take on this house as a retirement project? I would have stayed in Dover. But of course, I am not you.
My wife (younger) and a daughter have dreams, which led to the house and what’s unfolded. Of course, by now you should know better than assume sanity on my part., as well.
Lots of work, but honestly, the location is heavenly and well worth it. As it usually happens in real estate, especially near the water, the value will skyrocket eventually, if it hasn’t yet.