Oh my, it is true love. Not only are they bright, a plus given that my kitchen gets about an hour of direct sunlight, and even then only in the summer, but most importantly they are clean. Clean and smooth, and brilliant white. Of course, I still have to paint the box, but here is the most important question: what to do about the hinges?

As you recall (or maybe not) they were also slathered with multiple layers of regular old paint, and as such they looked like crud. I had a heck of a time getting them off, due to the paint layers and the fact that many of the screws were stripped, but I prevailed and ultimately boiled the paint away. They are shiny brass hinges. So the question becomes - what color should they be?

I could try painting them. How easy is it to paint something (well) with moving parts? And in that case what color should they be? Black like the handles? White like the doors? Should I just buy new ones? I have seen white ones at Home Depot that are about the same size (I didn't have anything to compare to be sure though) but only in white - I didn't see any black ones at all. Other various metal finishes though.

Which reminds me, I have to attribute the progress above to one little thing. This baby:

It's a Ryobi, just like my power drill. I think I'm starting to develop a thing for power tools. (Ryobi power tools are kind of small and cute, by the way, and not very expensive at all.) What does a single gal need with a power drill? Well, for one thing it is also a screwdriver - hanging things on the wall (or anywhere else) was never easier. And have you ever had to put together IKEA furniture? Enough said. And this little beauty? It did in about 1 minute what it would have probably taken an hour for me to do by hand.

Sold. Now just 17 more to go.