Lack of blog postings, yes. But believe it or not, last week
turned into a fabulous mix of relaxation and productivity. (First time for
everything, right?) Early in the week I was still feeling “off” from that nasty
stomach flu of the previous weekend. But that couldn’t keep me from my
previously scheduled Spa Day on Tuesday! (So needed, so relaxing.)
Tuesday night, Mike and I decided to open and check the
contents of every single kitchen box. (Since every single box was stamped in large
letters “OPEN AND CHECK CONTENTS WITHIN SEVEN DAYS,” and the 7th day
would be Thursday.) Luckily, everything looked great. No frantic calls to the
company needed. We also discovered that we’re going to have one of those secret
sponge holding compartments in our sink unit – I had no idea, so cool! And the
lazy susan cabinet looked incredibly huge – a much more effective use of the
corner space then our old unit.
Originally, the neighbors were scheduled to come over
Wednesday and Thursday for more drywall. Originally, our cabinet installation
was supposed to start on Thursday afternoon. None of this ended up happening.
Turned out that this was just fine. Mike got some needed nights off and I
finally started feeling digestively normal again.
Friday was my birthday! Mike got me what I really wanted – a
composter! I had told him not to bother with it, that it was too expensive of a
gift with all the renovations going on. Then, he happened to come across a free
one, a brand new free one. I was excited beyond belief. He also got me the
little kitchen compost can thing that you put your food scraps in. (That’s on
order.) Just a few more weeks and it’ll probably be warm enough for me to start
it up!
Friday afternoon and into the evening, kitchen installation
began. It was weird to just let a guy into my house, show him where everything
was, say “have at it,” and then leave. Mike and I discussed it as we ate out
for my birthday dinner. Plenty of people do it all the time… hire people to do
something and then just let them do it by themselves. It’s perfectly normal, so
I suppose that makes us incredibly weird. We either do it ourselves or help the
person who’s doing the work… the person doing the work is usually a friend or
friend of a friend.
*Luckily, it turns out that we don’t have to move those two
pipes. They can be worked around.
When we returned home from dinner, the base cabinets were
all in place. They weren’t all fastened, but they were out of the boxes and in
the kitchen! (And thusly, we reclaimed the mudroom and a portion of the living
room!)
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| Here's the final paint job - I didn't get a chance to take a pic before |
Saturday was a second installation day and a shoot day… and
as the afternoon wore on, I began to understand why they told me the
installation would take two weeks. Every single cabinet is meticulously leveled
and straightened and matched to the others… And especially in an old home like
ours, where nothing is level, plumb, or straight, this is a JOB. The shoot crew
was in for a while, and once they left, I felt exhausted and napped into the
evening. (Again, a little weird to go upstairs and nap while someone was
downstairs installing my kitchen.)
By the evening, all the bases were actually fastened and the
dishwasher was in place. (Though not hooked up yet.) The beginnings of a
countertop was also cut and in place. Remember, we are getting another
formica/laminate/whatever-you-call-it countertop. But this one will be a custom
job! So in this first step, the “insides” of the counter top, you know, the MDF
or whatever the stuff is, is cut to the proper dimensions and shape. That’s
what we have sitting atop the base units right now.
Sunday, Mike took a much needed day off with his friends
while I had another nice birthday dinner with Mikey at my parents’ house.
So you see what I mean by relaxing and productive. People
who are stressed out by renovations when they’re done by other people need to
just shut up. They don’t know how good they have it!
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