Little progress, on any project

Busy week at work, long hours. blech.

Slow progress on the Kitchen front - sent a two page fax to the Kitchen Connection, and they talked to the granite people (not actually Trolls, they don't get smarter when you cool their heads)* and sometime next week they will try and fix the counter (island).

As I mentioned earlier I was told to hire a plumber to finish the sinks, they come on Saturday (which given that the wedding cake is already built and eaten, a little late). It is probably another two weeks before I get my range and hood installed, and then the Kitchen - Reloaded project can being.

Stephanie found a new contractor who has worked with the planning Politburo and her house project looks like it is going to take rather a lot longer and be more expensive than we expected, which was not good news.

Cool thing I found on Facebook: there is a new group for graduate students Grad Students: they're Not Bad People, they Just Made Terrible Life Choices I recommend it for everyone who even thought of going to grad school.

Limited plans for the weekend, we need some time off. Maybe sailing on Sunday...

* Obscure reference: Pratchett, Terry, collected works, Discworld

Two Weddings and no Kitchen

The last two weekends saw two fabulous weddings.

In Kitchen News,
Well, we blew right by all the deadlines, so my friend's dad and his wife had to camp in my house without a working kitchen to construct the wedding cake, but everything seems to have worked out. I waited for 3 hours for the granite people today, but to no avial. The Kitchen Connection (may it rain on their picnics for a year) people told me the hook up of the water was "too complicated" and I should bring in a plumber and they would pay for it (wish they had said that a few days ago).

So, net no progress in the last week.

On the other hand, we had a wonderful weekend at the wedding, and Sunday we worked on Stephanie's house (for a change) got some gardening in, did some shopping, and went to some of her friend's house for dinner. So, all's well that ends well.

Shakespeare tomorrow at Cal Shakes!

More Kitchen updates

For those hanging on the edge of their seats ...

Our project so far:
90% of the handles are installed, 70% of the shelves are installed. Everything else is on order.
The range (a Viking) arrived and is in the garage.
The granite installers are meant to cut the granite Friday or Monday.
The sinks and dishwasher are scheduled to be rehooked up on Monday(!)
Installation of the Range and hood should, in theory, happen Tuesday or Wednesday (need confirmation on granite to schedule).
There won't be any electricity (in the kitchen) for a while - I don't even have that on the schedule.
It should, in theory, be less or more operation by next Wed. assuming no more delays.

I managed to tidy up the two guest rooms, the living room, and the family room (though by tidy, I mean you can now move around easily without tripping on stuff).
I'm going to try and get Maid service in next week to do the bathrooms, because they are just too far gone to get ready in time.

Oh, and I got the estimate for fixing my retaining wall. Like all other house projects, it's $30,000. I was thinking more like $10k maybe $15. Back to the drawing board.

And tomorrow, early, Stephanie and I are off to New Jersey. I have a wedding to go to, she has a friend from college to see.

Kitchen

Yes, I know it has been a long time, well, because, not to put too fine a point on it, nothing has happened in a long time.
But at last today the log jam may have cleared.
- Granite arrived and hopefully got installed today. Will know in a couple of hours.
- Tuesday the cabinetry gets its final work through - handles get put on, sinks get connected, rest of the moulding gets attached, appliances get put back.
- Tuesday or Wednesday range and hood get installed.
Dare I say Thursday it might, might be finished?? Which would be good because Friday morning its off to the Wilds of New Jersey.

Tonight and tomorrow, everything goes back into the kitchen, the furniture gets moved back, tomorrow the carpets get cleaned.
Sunday the guest rooms get cleaned.

Progress, housekeeping, and some TV (!)

Somehow the week seems to have gotten ahead of me, and all the sudden it is gone.
Monday I went home, started trying to clean up the house for Nikita and Lenor's arrival (after I will have left the state) so that its not entirely a dump for them.

Kitchen news:
The floor people have finished, the cabinet people are mostly finished, (still need to add handles, a couple of doors, and fix the damage from the flooring installers hand and foot work. They have installed a new cabinet for the microwave, and it fits!! actually the microwave compartment is a bit too big, but it has room for the next generation of microwaves I guess. Plenty of room for the hot air to escape. Little sign of additional work by the electricians. The faucets should arrive sometime this week.

Tuesday was the end of "Gilmore Girls" a show, not unlike "Sex in the City" I did not start watching and appreciate until nearly the end of its last season. It was a good ending to the show. Sadly this only leaves "Scrubs" and "House" in the stable of shows we watch that are not all in reruns. (Yes I am now, after a 4-5 year hiatus, watching a limited amount of TV again.)

Much upheaval at Stephanie's work, but that's for her mythical blog.

And today, a breakneck day at work, trying to get ready for my trip to Atlanta. It got pushed back to next week, which is sad, because I will not be home for Stephanie's birthday, which I was looking very much forward to, and it messed up the free trip I thought I was going to get out of the company for Reunions. (I'm still flying free on Southwest miles - a symbol of freedom.) (tm)

Weekend spent cleaning house, painting interior of the bar cabinets, moving stuff around.

House got vacuumed for the first time in months.

Cleaned the Refrigerator!!! Threw out all the food from the previous millennium, scrubbed the interior with bleach, took out all the shelves and bins and ran cleaned them. Looks like new (on the inside) have to take handles off (soak in bleach) and turn door around.

Made a wonderful dinner from the Low Glycemic cookbook (one of our favourites) which we had on both Saturday and Sunday.

Stephanie went sailing on Sunday -I worked on the house. So far yet to go.

I am still hopeful that all the various trades people will all show up Tuesday morning and get everything running.

Tonight and Wednesday - clean out guest rooms.

More construction news

The Kitchen is still stalled - the flooring contractor is being good about fixing things that, well, his men broke or did not do correctly the first time. Things look bleak for having the house ready for Mother's day - the template for the counter tops won't be measured until Tuesday. Stephanie is having friends in town, her mom is coming in and I was supposed to have a house full of guests. Sigh.

But on the good side, it's supposed to be sunny on Saturday - we are going sailing again on the Bay, this time with Stephanie's mom and her husband. Sunday appears to be unplanned, but will, I'm guessing, involve my kitchen, Stephanie's garden, and a walk.