An Accidental Partial Demolition Day

      Do you think Hon's going to notice?  I really didn't intend on going so far with this project.  My intention had been to pry the top of that half wall off to take a peek down inside and see what we'd be dealing with when it came time to move it. I shouldn't have ignored hearing the, "Danger, Will Robinson, danger," mantra going on in my head.  You see, that's where the washer and dryer were located until this past weekend when my friend Christen's husband and her brother came over and moved the water and electric lines for them to the back of the kitchen.  You know Christen, she's the goat lady down the road that gave me the big bucket of persimmons this past fall.  Anyway, Jason and Levi did a fantastic job of moving that stuff and it's just so hard to wait to do some other things in the kitchen now. 
     While Young'un was eating lunch I got a hammer and screwdriver from the garage, figuring I would take that innocent peek.  I pried off the trim and then started on the top board.  Then there was another board that I had to take off that was glued and nailed to 2x4 framing boards. GAK!  All of those layers were making it impossible for me to take the peek so I asked Eldest to go back to the garage and get me my crowbar.  I thought I would sort of gently pry off the drywall on the sides so I could take that peek and quench my curiosity, nailing it back in place afterwards, Hon none the wiser.  I know he had said we were going to wait until later in the summer to finally do any major kitchen renovating, but...well...curiosity, you know.  
     Anyway, Eldest got the crowbar for me and then disappeared after telling me I had better leave it alone or I'm going to make a big mess.  *pft* Teenagers.  I figured I've got this.  So, there I went...carefully prying the drywall off.  It was going great...until I pulled a little too hard and the stuff bent and broke.  Who knew drywall was so fragile, right?!  I stood there kind of stunned, crowbar in hand, wondering what I should do next.  I tried to stick the drywall back up, but all it did was flop back down, breaking more, me mumbling a bit of a Scooby Doo "rut-row."  At that point I turned to Young'un and said, "Do you think dad is going to notice?"  Youngun's response being, "Uh-huh."  I told him we'll need to come up with a plausible story that he'll believe.  In the end we decided it would be best to not say a thing and just go about our business.  Maybe he won't notice...and if he does, maybe he won't say anything.  If he does, we figured we'd tell him the wall has always been like that and we just hadn't noticed because of the washer and dryer having been on that wall for so long.  He may believe it. Weirder things have happened.  
     I figured that was the end of it.  I couldn't really see inside, even with a flashlight, on account of all the framing and spiderwebs, so I figured I'd just wait.  Well, I couldn't do it.  Waiting was making me twitch with curiosity.  Next thing I knew I took my crowbar and pried the rest of the wallboard off.  It's like I was channeling Chip Gains of Fixer Upper...his love of demo days fueling my fire.  If I wasn't pulling drywall off I was yanking it off with the crowbar.  If I had a full wall of it I'd probably have tried running through it in merriment.  When I stopped to really survey my work what I had was a big pile of drywall pieces crumbling around me and a bunch of spider webs, insulation, and a few big bleach bottles that were stuck inside the wall.  Bleach bottles?   There was an extra piece of pipe that was used for the dryer vent and some old newspapers jammed up in cracks, too. Thankfully no snakes.  Seeing those in there would probably have sent me over the edge.  Lots of mouse partying evidently had been going on in that wall, but no snakes.  
     I bagged the drywall pieces and had Eldest take them to the garage.  Then he and I took all the wood I was able to pry off outside and set it on the patio...which I suppose in hindsight I should move because all of it laying there will only be an indicator to Hon that something potentially wicked may have been going on before he even gets in the door.  
     I've cleaned up my mess best I can, and I'm actually quite happy with the work that I accomplished.  I'd have done more, but I figure I've seen what's there and then some, and now I should consult with Hon before removing the dryer vent...and then there's the little bit having to do with Jason coming back to cap off those electric and water lines under the kitchen.  See, I do think about some of this stuff before it reeeeally gets out of hand.  Besides, I may have learned to do a lot over the years, but plumbing and electric aren't included.
     So, there you have it folks.  My little peek of curiosity  turned into a little bit more than I had bargained for.  I think I'm going to have a hard time waiting until later this summer to do a little bit here and a little bit there when it comes to our kitchen.  I have plans - BIG plans.  In the meantime, I've hidden my little crowbar and a few other tools in case Hon had the same idea.  Who knows what else in this kitchen will peek my curiosity as the months head into warmer weather.  I'm kind of looking forward to seeing the look on Hon's face when he gets home...but of course we didn't do anything.  The wall has been like that.  Smiling & Waving, Sharon