Fun Monday-The Kitchen Counter for Heaven's Sake

It's time to get back on the Fun Monday train after the ice storm detour left me sitting at the station for a few weeks. Thank goodness this one is simple, 'cause the weekend flies when you're napping. Our Fun Monday host this week is Ari_1965 and here is the assignment:

It's time for show and tell. What does your kitchen counter look like right now? (And no fair cleaning just for the picture!) Do you have any favorite or unusual items on your counter?

Well, I love to cook, so my counters are well used. We've talked about replacing them, but since we're undecided if we'll keep this house in the months to come, I'm all 'eh let's not put any more money into it until we decide what to do. Besides, these have served us well through our banging, burning and all around kitchen abuse. I'm scared to imagine what kind of damage we would do to granite. Don't look too closely, there are several dings in this laminate.

Section 1: Or as I like to call it, the place where I throw stuff together. On the far left is the box of dog treats for the dog who doesn't know he's a dog. Well used canisters are in the middle, holding powdered sugar, flour and granulated sugar. Beside those you'll notice some Girl Scout cookies. We bought $38 worth this year because we can't control ourselves when it comes to Do-Si-D0's. Don't tell Hubby I hid one box at work. And then you'll see Teen Angel's midterms I need to sign and a random box of orange Peeps. Who else knew they came in orange? Anyone?

Section 2: Where it all happens. (I say that like there's a lot of excitement around here. Hee hee) This corner holds my recipe book holder and my favorite appliances: the food processor, the chopper and the almighty king of kitchen accoutrements, the Kitchen Aid mixer. I love my Kitchen-Aid. If it were to quit tomorrow I would weep. I love the fact that I can throw some egg whites and sugar in there, turn it on, walk away and come back a few minutes later to perfectly stiff meringue. It sure beats standing there all day with a hand mixer. I have 16-million gadgets that go with that thing and love every one of them.

I'm showing you this corner because it holds my knives. Notice Teen Angel made pancakes for breakfast Saturday and left a little mess. Teenagers. When I got married I asked for good knives. I got them, and I've used the peewaddin' out of them in the last twenty years. Nothing beats a good knife. I've cut my finger with just about every one of them.

That's about it. Oh, I forgot my favorite little spot in the kitchen this weekend. The window sill over the sink.One lone daffodil bloomed this week, and Teen Angel picked it. You see, we keep a lot of nice vases on hand. It's that little reminder that this winter weary soul is clinging to in the hopes that spring can't be far away. I'm sooo over winter that I would kick that little fat groundhog's backside if I could find him. Can you make a stew with those things?