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--