Day 107
Open and shut. We had some great people help us during this process, which really makes the irritating ones stand out.

We have been waiting for weeks on one pantry door and one piece of trim for the cabinets. They were somehow left off the order and our rep had no ability (or interest) in getting them faster. She called last week and said they would be done, and that the shipping people would call with delivery times. Fine.

The week goes by, and I call the factory (they're built locally) to check in. Danny calls me back and says yes they're done, but the rep has taken them out of the shop. I waste a couple more days tracking her down and getting her to bring them. You'd think that this would be some sort of customer service call, delivering materials herself, but she drops the boxes at the door and scurries back to her car before i can even say my insincere 'thanks'.

So here it is Monday, and Jovan returns for less than an hour's work. If nothing else, the dog was very happy to see him. I think she might miss the company even if she doesn't miss the banging. Its not a very dramatic finish, but its nice to have all the pieces in place, even though we're still figuring out where everything goes.

We also put the dining room back together on Sunday. There still a few boxes to unpack and (always) more things to buy, but I think we can safely say this process is behind us. It's a shame we can't afford a vacation, because I could really use one about now.

Day 99

Let there be lights, or how I spent my summer weekend waiting on our electrician. The updates are getting farther apart, and I think that bodes well for our lifestyle. With major upheavals like a bed or a stove out of the way we don't have to spend all our time focusing on little things... like lights.

I finally tracked down the electrician and at least got a promised date and time for his arrival. Saturday at 9:00. Deedle was working so I got up for a day of wiry fun. Then, nothing. About 10:30 I called him to check up and I think I woke him up. He said he be there in an hour.

Two hours he called me from Home Depot and said he was on his way.

An hour after that he arrived, with his lunch. He then sat in his truck and ate while I stared in disbelief. Happily, I channeled my frustration into productivity and plowed through my overdue list of household chores.

Eventually he got to work, hanging the under-cabinet lights and connecting the wires he ran back April to actual power. I have to say, when I heard the dishwasher for the first time in three months I got a little choked up.

He works slowly but methodically, and after a while I couldn't watch any more. So I went to meet some friends to watch the second half of the US-UK world cup match. Woo-hoo, draw!

DeeDee came home and then bolted, so I came back to keep an eye on him. Day slid into night and he wasn't quite finished so he crept off into the darkness, promising he would be back at 9:00am to finish.

Right.

He called at 10:00 to say that Serbia was playing and that he would be over after the game. We're paying this guy by the job and he hasn't seen a nickel in over a month, you'd think he'd be eager ti finish. Regardless, he came over after another losing to Ghana, committed to putting an end to the job. By sunset the kitchen was filled boxes, bubble wrap and about 9000 tiny pieces of wire-- but we had lights.

He got bogged down installing the last outlet, as the hole for the cover was stripped and it would not stay on. I thought DeeDee was going to body block him out the door. In the end, he promised to return with a new outlet and accepted a check.

Now, all we have to do pick this trash heap up.

Day 78

Serbian Dance Party. Apparently our contractors are in better contact with each other than with us. After our electrician finished putting a new hole in the ceiling last night, Jovan showed up in the morning to patch it back up. We didn't even know he was coming.

He (and his trusty companion Sergio) managed to run donw my punch list before i even had a chance to put it together. Little things like straightening trim, touching up grout and cleaning up painting were done before I even got home. It might have had something to do with me not being around to pay him last weekend, but I'm not that cynical.

The highlight of their experience was the internet radio (called squeezebox) that Deedle picked up over the weekend. There are three Serbian radio choices so they were rocking it out, and asking for details on where they could get one and how to set it up. I wouldn't be surprised if they took the check straight to Best Buy to get Sqeezeboxes of their very own.

So we said our farewells, let him complain about how long it took, and waved from the porch as the dented white panel van disappeared over the horizon. OK, it wasn't quite like that, but is a bit like having a room mate move out. You might not have ever wanted them around, but you can't help but notice when they're gone.

That, and I'll miss Jovan's ability to actually get the electrician to come.

DeeDee's parents are coming this weekend, so we'll have to get our kitchen out of boxes and have more than two plates. Who knows, maybe we'll even have a dishwasher or outlets in the bedroom.

I'll keep you posted.

Day 77

Nocturnal electricians. Today was pretty slow remodel-wise, unless you count me leaving nasty voicemails about unfinished details. Getting back to work for fairly slow too, as I recover from two weeks of 10-12 hour days.

The only real remaining issues are electrical, and we haven't been able to pin down our electrician. The pendants, the dining room lights, undercabinet lighting, the dishwasher, the microwave and even the outlets in our bedroom are all awaiting his return (under cover of darkness, of course).

Anyway, I have left a few pointed messages over the weekend, and he waits until I'm on my way out at 7:00pm to say he wants to come by. DeeDee works late on Tuesdays and isn't even home yet. So I dump the problem on here and continue on my appointed rounds.

Coming home at 10:30, I find her and a friend confused in the living room and banging and sawing coming from the kitchen. Turns out that he came at around 9:00, moved a light fixture box six inches (because in all the shifting it would have been in the path of a cabinet door) and nothing else. Since we were looking to turn in, we shuffled him out with promises to return on Thursday-- during the day no less! Nothing seems time consuming but there is still a lot on his plate, and I for one would like to see the dishwasher working again.

So we wait in hope for the return of our shadowy master of electricity.

Day 75

Through the ringer and out the other side. The last couple weeks are a blur of work and travel and occasional outbursts of home-improvement. I had to go to Texas last week for a client's conference and the preparations went a little crazy. The on-site stuff wasn't much easier, but since I'm paid by the hour I guess I shouldn't complain.

I got back in time to see freshly installed countertops in all their glittery glory. Deedle said they were in and out in just a couple hours and they look sweet. Jovan and his trusty sidekick Sergio swept in to finish off handles, pulls, plumbing and about 3,000 miscellaneous tasks.

At some point they left, and I collapsed into a heap.

Jovan was flying solo on Saturday and I was back in deadline mode. He was knocking down tiny jobs like a man who thought there was a check in his future. Unfortunately, I had to make the drive of shame to the Fedex at O'Hare and he left without it. There was definitely some hurry in these last buts, but all in all the guy has been a hero.

Sunday was not quite reality for me. Deedle was in a planting frenzy, converting the ghetto slab behind the condo into floritopia. I did what I could to put our rooms back to their original function. If nothing else, the coffee pot returned to its place of honor in the kitchen.

I guess the rest is up to us.

Day 57

Wednesday was circus. Jovan and Sergio were running down small tasks (including the long-awaited bedroom door), Milan came by and looked at wires for a while, the counter guy came for the official measurements and there were various guest appearances and cameos.

One thing Milan caught that was the top cabinet door would actually hit the pendant hanging over the bar. Oops. That's one of the risks of making a lighting plan before there are walls or finished cabinet drawings. He came up with a workaround and then vanished, and I have no idea when he will enact this plan. However, the lights aren't showing up until next Tuesday so I guess its no big deal.

Many small bits got finished, like floor molding, but we still don't have cabinet handles on or appliances in working positions. That might go a long way toward making these posts less testy. it would also help our overall nutrition profile.

We also had to run out and get a new over-the-range microwave. This is something we've known about for a while and never really thought about it. For us, the microwave is a defroster and coffee reheater so it wasn't important.

This is apparently not the case for the rest of America. Microwaves are now crazy monstrosities, with more buttons than a NASA control panel and shelf space for 17 lean cuisines. We had no idea. We ended up choosing the least crazy model we could find, and for a change ending up spending less than we planned. We can pick it up on Friday and start popping corn like everyone else.

Seriously, what do people use their microwaves for that require all this functionality? Maybe I'm missing out on some culinary revelation, but I never got past making grapes shoot from one side to the other. Microwave lovers please comment, as our lives are incomplete.

Tomorrow I've got to go into the office so progress should be scant, but we can almost see the finish on the horizon.

Day 56

Cabinets interruptus. The closer we get the longer each delay feels. On Tuesday I was supposed to have a full house, and yet I found myself at 11:00 alone with the pets and fuming. A few angry phone calls later I had people on their way but fumes were going strong.

The decks got washed on Monday, but consistent rain since then has kept that process stalled. The rains also brought out leaks in Jovan's roof and kept him at home. I have no idea where the electrician goes, and what prompts him to return.

Anyway, Tuesday afternoon brought the cabinet salesperson and Jovan in the same place for a little he said/she said. In the end, we're getting our missing doors and glass, getting new trim and for the broom closet and Jovan will cover the rest. Somehow, it takes two weeks to put glass in doors but its not going to stop me from living so I'm not sweating it. Then everyone left (myself included) so not much moved forward.

Day 54

Little things means a lot. No workers or cabinet makers today, but I've got a long list of tasks anyway. DeeDee has a bunch of continuing ed classes to watch online, so I'm on my own. I hung the mirror in the bedroom and the pictures in the bath, and attached feet to the radiator cover to keep it level.

I also removed the rest of the stuff from the deck so they can wash and seal it on Monday. The electrician is coming back on Monday as well, so that will be a party. I have a meeting at 1:00 so I'm not sure how all this will juggle out.

Tomorrow we need to settle on cabinet hardware and replace the broken faucet, so it's once more into the breach. Or at least back to the Home Depot.

Day 53

Jigsaw interrupted. We hit the ground running, unfortunately we didn't get far. I went over a couple things that needed to be fixed with the guys, and determined that the cabinet over the fridge was indeed missing.

I called Builder's Cabinet Supply as soon as they opened and the manager saw that the cabinet was on the layout but didn't make it on the work order. He said he could build the cabinet today and have it delivered by the afternoon. That is one serious benefit of dealing with a local builder. The guys put in the lower cabinets (making our concern about crowding the window go away) until lunch, and the fridge cabinet came around 2:00.

There is a strange piece of door trim on the side of the broom closet, but only goes 2/3 of the way up. That and the guys (and us) are confused about how the crown molding supplied is supposed to go on. I finally tracked down the sales person from the cabinet shop at 4:00 and she said she would come over Tuesday morning to straighten the rest of this out. At the end of the day, we were short five doors, two pieces of glass and side trim for the broom closet. A workable status I suppose.

And, we got the stove and hutch off the porch-- reclaimig another piece of the house.

Day 52

C-Day. Morning came bright and warm. I was neither after spending the night in apprehension over the coming cabinets. Jovan and Sergio were right on time and started getting ready. DeeDee had to work (normally a day off) so I had to do this solo. The cabinets were set to arrive between 8:30 and 9:30 so we hunkered down in our trench and waited.

Not really. Actually, I had a conference call at 9:00 about a production in Texas at the end of the month. So naturally the truck pulls up right on time at 9:15. With multitasking skills honed by years of pretending to pay attention to people (and prodigious use of the 'mute' button), I oversaw the unloading of many, many crates, gave some orders, wrote some checks and still kept an ear open for what will happen in Austin.

Lord, did we get some cabinets! The boxes filled the dining room and took over every unoccupied space available. It took the guys the whole day to get the upper cabinets up and set up the pantry. After nearly two months living out of one box of dishes, its shocking to think of what we're going to put in all of these. In fact, we are considering taking one down as it hangs over the sink area more than we might like. I'll talk to the team tomorrow to see what a headache that might be. However, like hard drive space, I'm hesitant to give up storage.

Outside of a couple concerns (and one apparently missing cabinet), everything went up nicely and I hope to report a happy finish to the cabinet chapter soon. Then, its on to counters.

I notice that things seemed to get less messy and more expensive as we go, maybe that's because they figure its too late to turn back.

Day 51

'Twas the night before cabinets, and everything's quiet. All is in wait for the impending riot. We're all locked and loaded for the big event, and waiting to see what happens next.

We got our sink and faucet today (in the mail) and --of course-- the faucet is broken. It has one of those built-in sprayer nozzles (see our poll) and it won't lock in place. Oh, the wonders of internet shopping.

I spent the night trying to pull crap of the deck, as we are having deck sealing and tuckpointing on Monday. This is not an attempt at financial suicide. Its a condo building project that I have been pushing back for more than a month. Now that its getting nice and people want to use their decks I couldn't see putting it off any longer. And since all the stored appliances, etc. should be back inside by Friday its no problem. Or that's what i keep telling myself.

While I through out old wiring conduit and 73 tubes of caulk (I think our door is held on by caulk) DeeDee emptied the kitchen and washed the floor like seven times. All we need now is a handful of Serbs and a truckload of cabinets.

Day 50

Back in the saddle again. After several weeks of sitting on our hands (and sleeping the living room) we jumped back into action with a vengeance. The long-awaited doors were coming! We picked up the closet doors from the Depot and called the team up to get to work.

Just a note: the doors are in and look really sharp, but the Depot manager's promise to stay on top of this was apparently just words. I'll have to chase him down when I'm feeling petty.

The next day the closet doors went up like clockwork, and Jovan actually repaired the weird water stain in the bedroom. Leaving the master suite one exterior door and a closet organizer away from done. He even managed to track down the electrician to get him to finish the wiring.

They ripped a giant hole in the back of the house in preparation for our new back door, and we heard nothing all day. I called the lumber yard to check, and their phones had been disconnected. We knew it was closing, but didn't think it would happen in mid-shipment. I finally got a hold of a human around 3:00, who promised that the door would be the first delivery the next day. So-- we were left with a giant hole for the night and the nocturnal wanderings of the electrician, who overbuilt the wiring even though he knew our power restrictions. In the end, the lights work and only one outlet is missing, and one more needs to be moved. Not bad I suppose.

The next morning I was lifted from sleep by a back-up alarm at 7:05am. When those guys say first thing they mean it. We had our back door (although the bedroom door is 'on order' indefinitely), and the guys had it on in a few hours. I got to say, the light we're getting in there now is pretty awesome. So once again, Jovan and his Serbian special forces called it a day, waiting for the next kitchen battle.

Deedle and I moved back into the bedroom on Sunday and that too is pretty awesome. There are a few details to chase down (like a shade!), but it seems bright and airy now. And, the substitute closet doors with glass panels offer snappy mood lighting.

The cabinets are set to be delivered on Thursday, and Jovan is standby to put everything together. After that, its just counters, plumbing, lighting, hardware, stools, rugs, cleanup and moving back in to take of. Who knows, maybe we'll even get a bedroom door.

Sorry about the delay in posting. When nothing happens you get out of the habit, and when they start you're too busy to get back to it.

But there is more wreckage to come--

Day 35

They say good things come to those who wait, so maybe this'll turn out awesome. I haven't posted for over a week because nothing has happened. The floor guys finished up, repairing the cat's 'contribution' to our home decor and putting on a final coat of shine. And there it sits.

The cabinets are ordered and should come in a week (or two or three), the doors are ordered and should arrive in a week, closet doors are on their way, and a snappy chandelier and pendants have been ordered. Until something arrives, all we can do is marvel at our pretty green box.

One thing we can do is finish off the electric, but the nocturnal electrician has gone AWOL. If we at least got plugs in, we could move the fridge out the living room and start returning to some semblance of life.

Until then, brave followers, the adventure continues

Day 25
What is the price of the love of a pet? I'll tell you that the tab on the cat is going up every day. We got the floors sanded and repaired yesterday, and by and large they look as good as we expected. The repairs from the former wall and the radiator leakage look good, but there were some additional damaged spots we weren't counting on.

A couple were in/around the old pantry closet and were caused by 'pet residue,' also known as auxiliary litter box. While George is undoubtedly not the only cat to live here in the past 100 years, I feel comfortable in leaving him a share of the blame. In the end it means ripping out a few more boards and and replacing them, but hopefully it will have no long-term effect on our lives.

The transition between the maple and oak floors is far from invisible, but I don't think it bothers me. It might feel weird in the end to do all this work and have this glaring inconsistency, but I'm still leaning on the 'character' argument. Besides, there's always tile.

In fairness to previous statements made here, I received a call from the Depot's store manager yesterday apologizing for the closet door mishap. He said he would do everything he could to get us the new doors quickly, and promised 'to make it up to me financially' once we see the doors and are happy with the outcome. Which is good, because I'm way to lazy to start boycotting the Depot in the middle of this mess.

Day 24
Contractors think about dust they way people in Arizona think about heat. "Oh, it won't be noticeable," they say, and they next thing you know the cat has been dusted in a thin film of powdered wood.

They sanded the floor today, and we got a fresh coat of not-noticeable dust. It got cold and stayed wet, so the varnish may never dry, but the parts you can see from the doorway look sharp. There were some imperfections when I last looked at, but hopefully the were scraped off before they varnished. You have to love 100-year-old hardwood for refinishing, you can rip off half an inch and still have some to spare.

The new 'kitchen' was once both a kitchen and bedroom, so they flooring switches from maple to red oak about halfway across. They repaired where the wall was with oak 'harvested' from the closet, and with the light stain its not a drastic shift. I think it adds character, and I'm going to keep saying that every time I think about how much it would cost to replace the floor.

I still have not heard the Depot's "Resolution Team" about canceling my closet door. DeeDee learned yesterday that they still make the door with frosted glass panels (rather than wood) for $10 more. Wouldn't have that been a nice alternative offer, rather than just hanging us out to dry to for two weeks. Normally I don't like to play the angry customer role, but sheer stupidity of this (especially in light of the simple alternative) makes me want to raise a stink.

That, and I'd really like to move back into my bedroom someday.

Day 23

Same sh**, different day. Jovan and the floor guy came early, but all they did was look things over and left. He said he would look at his schedule and get back to me. After blowing off other vendors for the guy, this really was not what I wanted to hear, but I let it slide.

Jovan was looking to finish the closet and hang the door, so I called the Depot to check on our special order doors (see Day 8)only to be told that order had been canceled by the manufacturer and no one bothered to tell us. The woman on the phone was polite but ultimately useless, so I vented my anger on their customer service email. At this point my concerns have been escalated to their 'Resolution Team' and will see if anything comes of that.

So I was wasted several hours trying to rethink the door situation to no avail. Couple that with being stuck in a holding pattern on some work stuff and still not knowing how badly I'm going to get whacked by the tax man, it wasn't the best day.

On the plus side, Jovan called late in the evening to say the floor guys would start tomorrow at the original price we discussed. So it ain't all bad.

Day 22

Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed. I knew almost as soon as I wrote it that I would be in trouble looking forward to imminent floor sanding. Monday came with great expectations and.. nothing.

I couldn't get a hold of Jovan for a while, and I when I did he said he would have to get back to me on Tuesday. I felt like the dog waiting for me to come home, staring at the door with nothing happening. And nothing happened.

Day 21

No new wreckage or repairs on the old wreckage. We had the weekend off from construction and were less than constructive ourselves. DeeDee is still fighting with the semi-permanent sinus infection (I'm sure the dust has NOTHING to do with it) and I've only got popping ears and a large case of laziness.

We did some lighting shopping, and DeeDee's thoroughness is kicking in again, but from my point of view lighting is cooler and way cheaper than cabinets. We have a differing opinion of white celing fixtures in the bedroom, and posted a poll on the right column. If you have an opinion feel free to vote or post comments on the subject. And I will probably ignore them like I have been doing with her opinion on the subject (ha.).

I'm waiting on the floor guys now, and I'm pretty excited. It the biggest stumbling block for to picture how the room will look. Hopefully, in a couple days that image will be all positive.

Day 18

I am still not sick. DeeDee is finally getting healthier, as evidenced by the slowly diminishing stacks of kleenex knocking around the house like tumbleweeds. I refuse to succumb to illness, even though the desire to get to bed at like 3:30pm is pretty strong. I think (hope?) this is going to be one of those things where I feel like I'm getting sick for a couple weeks and never quite go there.

Jovan is flying solo and just picking up the pieces. He fixed most of the weird white stainage in the the bedroom but missed a large spot, so we're in the living room probably through the weekend. Although with floor-sanding on Monday and Tuesday, that might not be a bad idea.

Other than that, its tiny measurable progress. There are now pipes through the floor for the corner sink, everything is painted and touched up and we're waiting on deliveries. This could be the new theme.

Day 17

Not easy being green. I hit the ground running this morning, checking in at the Home Depot by 7:30am. It's a funny time of day there, with the parking lot overflowing with well-worn white vans, and the aisles populated by sturdy dudes in coveralls. It's a far-cry from the 'handy yuppie' Saturday crowd, marking time until they can hit the hot dog stand at the exit.

I picked up the paint we needed and went home to work. We chose the colors for the kitchen based on a bar lamp hand-crafted by the Village Lamp Shop and I got two gallons of a cheery celery green. However, when it was still wet and covering a 20-foot stretch of wall all I could think was 'neon pus'. Thankfully it dried to a much saner hue.

I was going to prepare the bedroom to move back in, when we found these weird white stains on the freshly varnished floors. They came up with a little scrubbing, but I want Jovan to make sure its not something more permanent.

The condo assocation had a meeting tonight, and I actually had to do some preparation for that. It's pretty hard to care about building details on top of the rest of this, but duty calls.

Milan needs to come and finish up the wiring, and the floor guys are coming Monday, but the pace will be slowing soon. I could use the break.

Day 16

A nose runs through it. DeeDee (if possible) was worse today. She spent her time covered in Kleenex like a Homecoming float, sleeping and watching the 14 hours of 'Criminal Minds' the tivo has diligent gathered for us.

The tivo is your best friend when you're sick. Quiet, entertaining, forgiving when you fall asleep and constantly looking for ways to keep you occupied. If it could make soup, I'd be out of a job.

Today was sanding day, so the guys were hidden behind plastic sheeting for most of the day. Jovan fixed the crappy windows installed by the previous owner so now they will stay open, shut, and even lock. This might be as exciting as the rest of the remodel for me, as I have been propping these things open with sticks for years.

I succeeded in ordering cabinets today, hopefully stopping DeeDee from getting any more estimates. We went with the local-built 'custom-ish' cabinets, and in the end I think its the right call. Now we have to wait at least four weeks for them to show, so we should have plenty of time to do everything else first. Heck, we might even move back into the bedroom by then.

Other than that budget-crushing obstacle, things were fairly quiet. I have to get some new pix to post, but its basically an empty box. A straight-walled, structurally sound, legally-wired box, but a box nonetheless.

Tomorrow painting begins, so that should be a thrill...

Day 15

Another day of rest (?!?) Michelle and the kids left this morning, but left behind a sinus infection lodged in Dee Dee's head. She stayed home from work not to infect the children she works with, and tried to rest in the dust and wreckage. As a testimony to how sick she is, she slept most of the day while they cleaned, taped and sanded the new walls.

We had a little discussion about the shifting dimensions and made some adjustments so that the cabinets (as yet unordered) will still fit. Then we sealed them behind a wall of plastic and didn't see anyone for the rest of the day.

We did get the doors ordered for the outside and the bedroom and learned that the neighborhood lumber yard (that we just discovered) might close down. So we don't know where the doors will come from, we just know they're coming.

Deedle was curled up in a nest of used Kleenex and refused to move, so we are still camped out in the living room. I'm starting to think she might prefer it. Although the bed is directly above the neighbors TV so it can't last.

Day 14

Sunday is a day of rest. That is, if you consider chasing two boys around the Field Museum resting. Either way, nothing got done around the house and we left it all sealed up to help some of the dust settle. We'll see how that works out.

For those who come jsut for the pictures, here are some peacful jellyfish from the Shedd Aquarium.

Day 13

Let there be walls. If you ever have trouble getting started in the morning here's one plan: Give a bunch of veritable strangers keys to your house and have them show up with power tools at 8am every day. I don't know about others, but I am up and about by 7:00 every day now.

Today was no exception. DeeDee's sister is coming so we needed to do some last minute touch-ups and move out of the living room so that they could take over our living room master suite. This included buying a bed frame, as I indavertently threw the old one out, not knowing how easily it could be repaired or how much it costs to replace. I am a one-man stimulus package these days.

Jovan wanted to put a coat of varnish on the new closet floor so we did not move before Michelle and the kids came. We went to brunch, toured Wrigley Field and even visited a cabinet store with the kids (boys love granite!). Later in the afternoon we wnt to see 'Alice in Wonderland' and did not do much kitchen-y stuff at all.

In the evening we went our for Ethiopian food. The boys are like 9 and 12 and I don't think Ethiopian food is in there 'comfort zone' but everyone survived.

At home, the guys had hung drywall in the kitchen and turned it into a real room. However, that room has slightly different dimensions than the were expecting, so there might be slight revisions to the cabinet plan. Maybe stalling wasn't such a bad idea after all.

The bedroom is done and varnished but stinks like industrial solvent. So The kids and Michelle are stasying at a friends, and we spend another night in the living room. Tomorrow should be a day of rest for the crew and a museum scramble for Deedles, me and the family. And probaly some more 'normal' food.

Day 12

Ups and downs. With heads still spinning over cabinet decisions, we went back to it. The guys were putting finishing (literally, varnishing) touches on the bedroom and insulating the kitchen in preparation for framing. I spent another day chasing the guy down about door pricing and doing a little of that 'day job' stuff.

When Dee Dee got home from work, we made our daily observations at the altar of home improvement, Lowes. Our designer was not around (apparently over-time is seriuously frowned on by Lowes and she was close to her 40 hours) but we did a comfort-level check of cabinets in question. One of the most anoying lessons I have learned in life is that quality costs money, and you can feel the difference in our top cabinet contenders. So I slide one step closer to custom cabinets.

We then explored the world of under-cabinet lighting (Xenon yeah! Hockey pucks no!) and stumbled home in rush hour traffics. We then spent the evening cleaning , as DeeDee's sister amd two boys are coming to visit tomorrow. What a lovely time for guests.

Day 11
Women. You can't trust 'em. Things were coming along nicely. The bedroom was getting painted, plumbing was being rerouted, electrical wires were getting pulled and DeeDee had the day off and was helping with all the the little details. She stepped out around noon to go to the library, and said she'd be "right back."

Two hours later, I had to go to a meeting and she was still AWOL. No big deal, but the dos is nervy as is and i didn't want to leave her alone. When she came in, she had done the unthinkable... she had visited another cabinet shop. This one is local, very custom, and not shockingly more than the big box. The woman form the shop even came over in the evening to measure herself and take a look. I really need fewer choices not more, and damn her for her thorough nature.

The prince of darkness came about 3:00 to finish roughing in the electrical. Chicago demands wires in rigid piping so he has run a metal habitrail throughout the kitchen. Unfortunately, when he was cutting what he thought was previous electrical line he discovered the live gas line used for the lights 100 years ago. I did not see it, but they claim there was just a small flash. Blowing up the building is not in my budget.

He recovered quickly, and pulled wires until after 10:30. We were getting ready to escort him out in our PJs. You have to admire the diligence, though.

Tomorrow we've got floor guys coming to take a look at the floors, and in theory the bedroom will be done. Where there's life there's hope.

Day 10
Now we're cooking. DeeDee had the day off so we could make headway and I could still pretend to have a day job. We went to the neighborhood lumber yard, and got door estimates that won't choke the banker so that might be another hurdle cleared.

She nearly signed off on the cabinet plan, with some minor options left to make. That will take the longest, so our dawdling is going to stink when the rest is done.


DeeDee went to the Depot to get the paint (yay, one trip I got out of) for the bedroom. They put up a coat, and when we checked it out at the end of the day it was the wrong color. We had narrowed it down to a few shades of gray, but it wasn't the one she thought she was picking (it was the one I chose). It looks real good in there, though, so I think its a keeper.

I made appointments with floor repair guys for tomorrow, so we'll have a whole new set of issues to report on. I can feel then envy that you readers have for me. Speaking of issues, they are also starting the plumbing tomorrow (so we're going to turn off the whole building for a while).

That should go smoothly.

Day 9

Let the blur begin. I missed one day of updates and I have no memory of what happened. There was banging, there was dust, and there was yet another cabinet 'consultation' but beyond that I got nothing. The last trip to Lowe's cabinets got me a number I can live with, so that problem is almost knocked.

Doors are a different matter. We're looking to fill a 36x102 space with a transom door, and once you take one step down the custom road you're looking at $1200. I'm trying not to be cheap here, but its a back frackin' door and I don't want to pay that much.

By the way, it seems that our electrician is nocturnal. The first day I thought he just wanted to get a jump on things, but today he wanted to work til 11:00. There are kids sleeping upstairs from us, but beyond that I'm ok with him working late. I might have to check to see if he 'sparkles' when the sun hits him, though.

Day 8

One step forward...

The crew is making real progress, if the rapidly increasing dust quantities is any indication. The kitchen is frames and shimmed and there may actually be right angles in there now. The refrigerator cubbie has been removed and the new closet is framed out. Considering the typical Chicago-style closet, this is going to be a whopper. Over 7 feet long and 36 inches deep, in many neighborhoods it would be considered a bedroom.

Of course where there is openings there are door choices, so we got sucked back into the Home Depot late last night. And, of course, stock=heinous so we ended up with a special order door, and a new entry door to boot (and another hit to the doo-dad budget). These also take time, so the bedroom won't be "done" for a few weeks either.

The electrician is now on the team, so now we lose power fairly often, which is adding a level of difficulty to this 'work from home' business. But at least they can work together and be aware of what each is doing.

Lastly, Dee Dee and I went to revisit a cabinet store so she could take a look at the more affordable option. I overheard two employees discussing the brand in question (Cardell) and questioned them. Off the record, they said many unflattering things out the packaging and quality control and quietly suggested we look at other options. Welcome back to square one.

So now I have my squadron of cabinet consultants revisiting their plans and I've built a scary-ass spreadsheet of specs to make an 'informed' decision. I definitely put less effort in deciding where I went to college than I have on these cabinets. But this decision needs to be made because they all have a 4-week lead time and I'd really like to be done by Memorial Day.

Note that I finally got the BEFORE pictures off DeeDee's phone. I added them to the 'Day 0' post at the bottom

Day 7
Sunday is a day of rest. For somebody. Who lives somewhere else. Around here its the day we pack up the bedroom and move into the living room. That, and try to scrape the top layer of dust of every surface of our home.

Actually, it wasn't that bad. Bedrooms have a lot fewer nooks and crannies than kitchens, so there were fewer places to hide things. That, and a seriously dysfunctional closet doesn't hold much. So we got everything moved in time to drop even more stuff off at the Brown Elephant (AIDS charity thrift store) and get some non-microwave food before collapsing into a heap. Our camp-out began in earnest in our new living room master suite and its not that bad. The pets seem to appreciate all the extra room and furniture options. Although wrap-around windows and its proximity to the street and high school drop-offs make sleeping in an impossibility in the short term. But they say its only a few days.

We'll see.

Day 6
Shop til you drop. DeeDee had to work today so I took the ringing alarm clock as a sign that I too should be productive (or obsessive, depending on your viewpoint). So I was on the road by 9:00 in Chicago's annual first-day-of-spring snowstorm to endure four hours of cabinet 'consultation.' I went down to a big contractor supply showroom out west to embrace some eastern European design aesthetic. You have to respect the Polish girls for coming in to work in miniature fur coats and 5" heels in a snow storm, especially first thing in the morning.

My 'consultant' was way past 50 but still sporting the heels and designed digit-style while we worked. I don't know the brand (Cardell), but she did all the pieces we wanted at two grand less than anyone so far. They have a separate counter supplier there and Anya (sensible shows and no discernible accent) quoted the quartz counter (Silestone's silver nube, fyi) at a good $1500 less than the depot. All in all, a worthwhile journey.

Just to mix things up, I then went door shopping and checked out some other odds-n-ends. This neighborhood (Fullerton & Pulaksi for interested Chicagoans) is a crazy collection of building/remodeling/repair warehouses all dumped together in a random corner of the city. Until a few months ago, I had no idea it was even there. I guess its just one of thousand largely useless bits of information that will litter my brain after this process (like the anti-microbial properties of quartz countertops).

Then it was back to the Depot for another cabinet consultation. DeeDee got hung up at work so I met the designer (Isabel) to work on a plan they had started earlier in the week. She seemed hesitant when I started changing things, but I'm pretty good at getting my way. Another tow hours of weighty comparison between 'honey' and 'cider' finish went by and now we have even more plans that look pretty much the same. At least we know what we want now.

Not including paper-and-pencil guy, we know have four plans and a price gap of over $3000. They all have a wait of like four weeks, so we're going to have to choose and then finish everything else waiting for the cabinets. I'm sure that will be the least fun part.

We went out for Al's birthday at night, although I was completely brain-dead by that point. My tiny mind was incapable of moving past the kitchen, so we passed around phone pictures and swapped 'war stories' about the inconvenience of remodeling. It will probably be months before I'm good company again.

Phase two of life disruption starts Monday, as Jovan is going to reclaim the closet for the bedroom and sand and repair the walls. So we are moving into the living room for real on Sunday. Oh, the adventure.

Day 5
We got out of this one pretty easy. The framing finished up early and Jovan and Tony (I finally learned his name) we're out by noon. I actually did some work and when DeeDee got off from her job we went to the upscale kitchen design store in the neighborhood to talk about upscale European cabinets. The guy (Jim?? I can't keep track anymore) had good ideas and was definitely more thoughtful than your average big box designer. But he just took notes on paper and said he would have something to show in a week. We might sail on without him regardless of his input just because he's slow. I guess we'll see.

We got back to meet Milan the electrician to talk about wiring. The previous owners were apparently trying to burn us to death in our sleep and none all the old wiring was anywhere near code. So we need to pull new wiring from the box, create logical circuits and bring things up to at least 20th century standards. An by 'we,' I mean I will write checks and nod while other peeople play with scary wires.

Milan went over the details thoroughly and then started pacing and looking anguished. He went back to his notes and then stared out the window. Then, he re-explained the problems of working in old buildings and how a typical electrical job is priced. After this protracted preable, he finally gave me a number. At this point, it was well below expectation and completely workable. It took another 20 minutes to convince him that the estimate was fine and that he could start Monday. I've worked with him before and he is very conscientious, but I hope he can make a living the way he prices.

We then went out to watch the mighty Spartans barely defeat New Mexico State. Huh? That's the magic of the tourney. I mention this only in that I have no brackets for the first time in over a decade. It just slipped away. I'd hate to think how many real events I'm going to overlook while I'm comparing door frame thicknesses and base cabinet drawers.

Day 4

I got to be out of the house for the first time since Sunday's packing marathon. Lo and behold my productivity still stunk as I searched online for doors and other 'doo-dads' (now the official term for all the things destined to crush our budget.

Dee Dee was home and they framed out brick box, stealing precious inches from our 25x11 space. She went to the depot and got a second opinion on the cabinet plan (pix to come). The also got an estimate on the coveted 'Silver Nube' countertop to the tune of $4000+. At theat point I want to be able to eat on it, cook on it and have it give me deep tissue swedish massages. But oh well, we want what we want.

I'm actuall going to try and get work done on Friday and then try to find cheaper sources for a couple things. I'd rather watch the tourney or sit in the newly returned sun, but these are not choices for the intrepid living room camper.

Day 3

Little victories. Jovan came by this morning (an hour behind schedule, but better than horror stories about contractor time) to discuss options moving forward. It looks like we can get everything we want. To do the corner sink under the window we will have to rip up the basement ceiling (and repair it), but he seemed OK with that. I might even get the condo association to move the washers out of the middle of the basement floor because of it.

The floors look fixable, but the differing wood types might be present an ascthetic challenge. If matching stain is not possible we can do a decorative stripe across-- might be fun. Everything else is good to go. Now we have to get to a big box store and draw ourselves some cabinets... and start spending some real money.

Day 2

The new normal. We got up, got ready and went off to work (or at least DeeDee went off, I'm staying here in the short term). Dawn showed us the layer of dust that snuck through the tarps and covered every surface in the place. Our bathroom-based coffee maker worked out well and (other than trying to set up this blog) the work system seems functioning.

Jovan brought a third pair of hands today, and while I have not looked since 8am, the sawing and banging rages on. But the time I worked up the nerve to go back there, the wreckage had been cleared away we're left with a 10x25 brick box with dangling wires everywhere.

The discoveries include two cross braces where they took down a wall, mostly functional hardwood flooring (although it look like maple in the kitchen and oak in the former bedroom, some crazy subpar wiring and a problem realizing my hopes of moving the sink to the other side. But that is a conversation for tomorrow. We are not planning any work for tomorrow, so maybe I'll get a chance to leave the house.

Day 1

Our man Jovan arrived as promised with another comrade in tow (I never got his name, but I'm guessing by the time we're done we could be pretty close). We were as ready as we could be, without our living room kitchenette ready for action. We pulled out the appliances and brought the fridge into the doorway of the living room to complete our new 'kitchen.'


The the destruction began. I tried to hide in the office and the banging, sawing, crashing and ripping began in earnest. Punky was in a full-on panic for hours, eentually settling in on top of my feet and the cords under the desk, and George (in proud cat fashion) vanished. By 6:30 Team Jovan had called it quits and I pushed past the tarps to take a peak.

In a word-- Dresden.

Cabinets and appliances out, and nearly all the walls and ceiling plaster piled up in the gangway. Jovan said he had a truck coming in the morning, and I hoped so, or my neighbors were going to turn on me long before I expected them to. Slats and wreckage covered the floor to a depth of a couple feet. All the lights had been removed so the photo evidence is pretty sketchy, but is what not a place you'd want to linger.

Unless you're a cat.

Upset that his access to back yard was blocked, George spent much of the evening knocking away our diligently placed covers and wandering the destruction. And whining. Lots and lots of whining. DeeDee and I had a lovely dinner of leftover tortilla soup and enjoyed one of our last few nights in a bedroom. They're underestimating how much destruction there was might buy as a couple more days in a big bed. Yippee.

Day 0


As I have every intention of repressing these memories once this project is complete, I thought it might be interesting to track the process of gutting and remodeling the kitchen and master bedroom of our condo in Chicago. Plus, when they find us drooling and gibbering in a corner playing 'hot potato' with the severed head of out contractor, the police will have a better idea of why we did it.

We were a little surprised yesterday when our contractor (Jovan) came by to discuss the timetable for our kitchen/bedroom remodel and said he could start Monday at 8am, giving us the weekend to nail down our ideas and empty the kitchen.

Saturday turned into a whirlwind tour of home improvement stores, leaving us irritable, tired and not too much closer to proper decision-making.

Sunday was less pleasant, with the long slog of boxing and storing the kitchen and dining room for what might be a months-long process. Its fascinating to take a room apart and individually survey the tings you thought were worth keeping...canned olives from a store that changed its logo years ago, a chia head from the '90s, or a ceramic dachshund cocktail decanter with matching shot glasses (we're SO keeping that).

In the end we had a pile of boxes stashed away and two empty room, and still had time to roast a chicken and make brownies (as sort of a ritual last supper and two get rid of some perishables). We collapsed in a heap and awaited the next dawn.

DeeDee took a series of before pictures that we will post as soon as we can, so that the world can be amazed at how far we have come. Until then, you will just have to believe me when I say, "ew."