Amazing Race Recap - -

We we have been hounded by our readers for an update and we have been so stunned at the progress over the last few weeks as well as being in a turkey induced coma over Thanksgiving that we have failed to stay true to our one post a week.

We are about a week away from completion and very much on schedule despite the previous delays.

We we last posted we were seeking exhile at Mom's. Zoey, Maggie, and Fenwick loved staying at MomMoms although fitting 3 dogs and one human in a twin bed was an impossibility. Not to say the dogs steal the covers but the first night found me balancing on the edge of the bed while the 3 dogs shuffled for prime bed location having made themselves a fine nest of blankets. Scott was sleeping ever so peacefully when I headed to the living room at 4AM to find comfort on the sofa. The dogs kindly followed me and 2 curled up on the end of the sofa while Fenwick took to the recliner. It seems Fenwick likes to rock. He delighted in slamming his body against the back of the recliner to get the chair moving and then would lay down to enjoy the rocking motion. He did this until he was exhausted and fell asleep on the chair.

We also had another insight to Fenwick's life on the streets before we adopted him. It appears that the pup is afraid of the dark. We usually have a light or two or three on in the house at all times mainly because one of us is using the computer late into the night. Fenwick however did not take well to having all of the lights off in the bedroom and once the lights were out and door was shut the wimpering began. If I turned the light on he settled down and was comfy but as soon as lights were out the dog crying began. MomMom gathered a little electric candle light to keep him quiet on night #2.

While we were away the floors were sanded, stained and sealed.

Also the cabinets arrived, and arrived, and arrived

After delivery comes installation . . .

And we now have steps . .

And granite arrives . . .

Also the wood stove arrives and is installed . . . very bad picture as it looks all black and is a lovely shade of brown.  Will take more pictures this weekend as we light the first fire.

Also the surprise bathroom decor continues to delight. Dirk and his wife (see earlier post) picked out a beautiful tile. Well at first look I was not too thrilled but hey he threw the tile in for free with our Craigslist bathroom purchase. Our tile installer or shall I say artist did a fantastic job of setting the tile and creating a brick like design.

We will be having electric, plumbing and painting in the next week which will find us suddenly alone in our new home.  We will not be posting again until the job is complete at which time we will have video and final pictures and our lasting thoughts and impressions.

We will also be showing you pictures of the hell areas of the house in which we have been working and living. To give you an idea. To get from my desk to the bathroom, I have to scale boxes, hurdle dogs and navigate extensions cords/wires. It is a wonder Scott and I are still speaking with each other given the close working conditions. We thank all of you who have supported us and kept us sane throughout the process. We look forward to inviting you all for a wrap up party in the spring/summer/fall or even winter depending on how long it takes me to unbox all of the boxes.

A Slow, Quiet Week...Almost!

It was a remarkable week with only odds and ends being worked on each day. It is amazing how minor the din of contruction is when there is only one guy making noise. Ray, our Assistant Project Manager was here every day finishing this bit or that, making for relatively quiet days. I could almost forget there was an addition being built under our feet. Even the pressure washing of the exposed brick wall was pleasant white noise after the weeks of sonic chaos.

We were able to use our alarm clock again since the 7:00am cacophony failed to materialize this week. It was nearly idyllic. Perhaps I was lulled into a false sense of peace or simply let my guard down, but I accept a good portion of the blame for the tumult that occured on Friday. We had been intending on clearing out the livingroom and dining room of all but the largest pieces of furniture this week in anticipation of the demolition of the old hardwood floors to make way for the new hardwood floors. Kim, hobbled by the flu, would diligently remind me of the task. Although I was eager to get at it and would never ever procrastinate, I knew that we were going to be warned the day before the flooring crew was going to show up. So when the work day ended on Thursday with no notification of impending floor work, I knew I had the entire weekend to put things off...err...I mean plan.

Scene: Husband and wife and three entirely spoiled shih tsus in bed asleep at 7:15am. The morning sun sends shards of light across the room through the blinds as wife rouses husband with alarmed whispers.

Wife: Wake Up!! It sounds like someone is coming up the steps!!

Husband: [Snores]

ShihTsu#1: [Yawns]

Wife: GET UP! GET UP! The workers are here doing something on the steps!

Husband: What? No, It couldn't be...

ShihTsu#3 (Internal Monologue) : {Are we going to go out for a walk now?}

ShihTsu #1: [Snores]

Husband gets out of bed to investigate. Hears the sounds of several workers nearby. Peeking around corner of stairs sees a worker just a few steps down diligently taping up heavy plastic sheeting, effectively trapping the family upstairs.

Husband: Err..... excuse me... You're not going to trap us up here, are you?

ShihTsu #3 (Internal Monologue) : {I like walks...I think I'll chew on that dog's ear}

ShihTsu#2: Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Worker: No problem, we're leaving a flap so you can get out.

ShihTsu#1: [Snores]

And so it went that we had our rude awakening early Friday morning. The dogs needed to go out, I had left the moving of all the furniture and boxes up to the flooring crew and the unmistakable screech of a circular saw ripping through flooring was assaulting our ears like Stalin taking Berlin. We hastily gathered our laptops, leashes, dog toys and the travel crate and fled to the relative safety of Kim's mom's house. We transformed her kitchen table into our office while she prepared a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs....for the dogs!

Fenwick was quite excited by the prospect of a hot breakfast and danced a little jig when Kim's mom told him what was on the menu. We hunkered down there until late afternoon when we returned home to survey the demo team's handiwork.

 The old hardwoods were gone, leaving the rough-hewn subflooring exposed. All of our furniture was neatly deposited in the living room. The surprise raid from that morning had ended.

The new hardwoods had been installed in the addition. Care had been taken to apply wood putty to any irregular joints in preparation for the sanding, staining and polyurethaning to come.

Saturday brought the masons to build out the hearth for the woodstove. Cutting bricks with a gas powered chop saw the two man team had the hearth completed in just a few hours.

We are well over halfway through the process and can really see the light at the end of the construction tunnel. Finishes and colors are being discussed and despite setbacks with the kitchen cabinets and the woodstove, we are keeping things moving along at a quick pace, thanks to proactive rescheduling by our Project Manager. Stay tuned for next week when we get our home theater system delivered...

Into each life a little rain must fall, but why is ours yellow?

This week was exciting and frustrating at the same time.



I have had what one would call a humorous life. Not one of those lives filled with endless laughter due to good times but one of those lives where strange and unexpected events like some gigantic pie in the face delivered by the heavens snaps me laughing into reality.


So why should anything shock me now?


Take for example the first day of school, not just any school but the first day of Junior High School. I was oh so grown up walking to the Junior High school with my Elementary School friends where we would meet other kids from the district's other Elementary Schools. Filled with excitement and venturing into the unknown wearing some of my finest back to school clothes I tripped and fell into a rather large shrub on our way to school that seemed to swallow me whole. Ok, yes I am clumsy and falling into shrubs, out of a tree, down steps is not something new for me. I stood up dusted myself off and proceeded to the school yard.

I had put myself back together and picked every last piece of the shrubbery from my hair as I entered the school yard. Looking across the yard at all of the unfamiliar faces I was excited to meet new friends. Only the first friend that greeted me was not the kind I needed. You see a stray dog entered the school yard and wandered through the clicks I would come to know, the jocks, the A-listers, etc and made a beeline for me.

I had been chosen by this humble creature. Sure he was a bit mangy and flea bitten but he was heading my way. Like some John Hugh's teen flick there I stood while in slow motion the dog hiked his flea bitten leg and pissed on my good mood and new school shoes. What was I to do but laugh? So too is the story of this week.

We headed into the week with much excitement as walls suddenly took shape under the veil of primer and the trim sporting a coat of paint. We watched in awe as the painting crew cloaked in white like some Anti-Ninja team sprayed paint on the ceiling and walls. In fact one of the Painting Ninja's was able to climb into the dormer room window with his spray hose so as to not track through the rest of the house. It was amazing. Now for the pissing part.

The first phone call was that of the Fireplace Store who informed us that our Jotul wood burning stove that is being shipped from the mother land to be assembled in Maine was delayed due to the constant Nor’easters that kept the shipping lanes closed. These are the same storms that flooded our new basement. As Scott relayed this news my first reply was "of, course" it is delayed. You see, I have only two requirements for this new addition one was the woodstove the other was the icemaker. I never had an icemaker growing up (yes, I am a deprived child). I was the icemaker. Filling the ice trays and performing that balance act to get them into the freezer was a challenge. (Remember, clumsy child). And if due to laziness the ice trays remained empty it was warm drinks for all. Only after getting married and moving out did my parents splurge on that fridge with the ice maker and due to our kitchen circumstances Scott and I never had that luxury. I am in my own mini global warming environment where I am forced to gather Ziploc bags of ice from my mother's freezer and chip away at them during the week like a receding iceberg.

Fearing that my icemaker equipped fridge/freezer would be delayed as well I contacted our appliance dealer who assured me that we were on schedule for delivery on the 12th. Fantastic! The cabinets will be delivered on the 5th . . . .



Yet another phone call. This time it was Doug from Sterling Kitchens. Scott took this call and kept me blissfully in the dark until he hung up. Guess What? Did you know that the Kraftmaid factory had a fire? Yes a fire, and unfortunately your cabinets . . .you know the rest. Yes another piss on the shoes. I am perhaps one of a few whose kitchens caught fire before ever being installed.

So there you have it, the excitement and the frustration. Yes we are laughing, oh and by the way while the phone was ringing a third time Fenwick was barking and growling and wrestling Maggie to the ground which is his gentlemanly way of tell us he has to pee. Deciding to answer the phone instead of taking Fenwick outside as I was fearing the worse like ice makers are no longer available on any appliance I hear the recorded voice telling me to get out and vote while Fenwick can no longer stand it and pees on the floor.


Are you laughing yet?

3-D

I was always fascinated by Tinker toys and my Lincoln Logs. The idea of taking small pieces and fitting them together to make a 3-d structure amazed me. As a child we never had those 3-D Puzzles like below we had to use old fashioned imagination.

We were always happy as children when a new appliance was delivered in the neighborhood. We stalked the delivery truck and drivers to get that prized possession, the refrigerator box! The box would become a fort or a house for dolls (by the way Scott is not writing this, not that there is anything wrong with boys playing with dolls but . . .) As the fort or doll house would become mangled we flattened it and used it for summertime sledding down a grassy hill only to be rendered into a soggy mess destined for the trash after a quick moving summer storm.  Our builders are using wood and concrete in place of Tinker Toys and Lincoln logs but we have that kid like awe watching our dreams rise from the muddy earth.

What was planned is now in 3-D.

Driveway Side

View from Back Yard

View from Side Yard

And the inside is also taking shape as we have insulation and drywall.

This weekend also found us battling yet another drenching rain storm.

We are thrilled to say the sump pump installed this past week worked like a charm. We kept a cautious and watchful eye on the basement as the rain came down and were pleasantly surprised by a visit from Terry from Mingioni who stopped by Saturday to check on things.

We met more friends from Craigslist this week as Myron, his brother-in-law and son came out Saturday morning to pick up the heater and air conditioner. Myron is getting ready to sell his Mother's home and is trying to update the HVAC systems to make the house more marketable. We feel very eco friendly as all of the appliances for the kitchen and the heating and cooling systems that were destined for a land fill are now living out the rest of their lives helping others.

Following the early morning pickup by Myron and team on Saturday we spent the rest of the day watching movies listing to the pitter patter of rain coming down on the new roof which was followed by exploring the patterns of sunlight coming from all of the new windows on Sunday morning.

Since we have many people emailing us with requests for more pictures and details we are taking some time to answer a question or two each week.

About the dogs:

Zoey, Maggie and Fenwick are handling the strange noises well. Maggie shakes occasionally early in the project when the noises were much louder. Fenwick on the other hand has recently had issue with the sound of the screw gun used for the drywall. He comforts himself by sucking on Maggie's ears like a pacifier. He will eventually fall asleep with the ear in his mouth. The dogs are growing ever more curious of the new addition and Fenwick the youngest dog has claimed the dormer room for himself.

This past week Fenwick went missing from the bedroom and hallway upstairs which has become the office, kitchen and complete living space for the Bombeck family. Fenwick managed to wiggle past the barricade dragging his pillow in to take a little nap in the new unfinished room.

Zoey, Maggie, and Fenwick

The Good, The Bad and The Soggy

WOW!


What a week.

Everything is coming together and in some cases falling apart.
This week found the plumbing rough in, electrical rough in and siding complete not to mention the framing of new doorways to the bathroom, bar area, kitchen etc.
While we await insulation we thought how fortunate we were given the nice weather that is until Old Man Winter visited a bit earlier than expected delivering lows in the 30's and 40's. Given that the heater is going to be replaced to handle the increased size of the house we tried to avoid turning it on as we did not want to watch the precious heat and money flow out the roof of the addition.
With determination to not turn on the heat I found my down quilt and several flannel blankets and hunkered down in the bedroom. After about 5 minutes I found that despite the warmth the blankets provided along with the flannel PJs my nose was extremely cold breathing in the arctic air. Remembering something my Mother told me about putting a hat on to go out as you will lose all of the heat from your body I summoned or bribed Scott to venture out of the warmth and procure a hat from the coat closet in the deep freezer downstairs. While I waited, I invited Maggie the Shih Tzu to join me on my pillow. Her nose was cold but I was getting warmer as the furry furnace on my head curled up to sleep. Note to self: Must make grooming appointment as the dog was a bit stinky. Scott returned like Nanook of the North sporting hats scarves and gloves. My hero. Bundled up like Ralphie's brother in a Christmas Story I drifted off to sleep.
4AM . . .What the Hell? Why is my head soaking wet? Please tell me Maggie did not decide to use my head for her relief. Wait a second, me feet are wet too. I look over at Scott who now has the covers tossed back. With my groggy powers of deduction and the fact that we do not have a water bed I pride myself in knowing that I have created a sweat lodge. I remove my hat, scarf and place Maggie on her doggy bed and return to slumber as it is too cold in the bathroom to take a shower.
As the rain came down on Friday and no sun was available to heat the house we requested that the plastic sheeting go up in all the openings to the addition so that we may delight in having the heat turned on and to sleep like normal people.
As we reflect on the week we are amazed at the progress even though according to the schedule provided we look like we are a week behind but we feel like this project is moving at lightning speed or more appropriate a tsunami wave.
You see the real story this week is about the tsunami under the stairs. As we slumbered we heard the battle between the heater as it kicks on and off vs. the patter of the rain in a white noise symphony.

Bang.

"Did you hear that?" 8AM Saturday I awoke. "What was that noise? Hey Scott did anybody say they were going to work here today?" I look at the dogs, they are asleep. I must have dreamt it as their sonic hearing did not pick up the Earthquake in the basement. No tsunami warning was issued so we began our day and despite the weather were going to venture out to the non-construction world to the Home Show.

Scott headed down the basement to just check our sump pump as it was disconnected due to the rerouting of pipes this past week.

I heard the thundering footsteps running up from the basement followed by my name and a few words hastily put together with much urgency. Flooded, leaving, pumps, help.

Thinking that our sump pump has flooded the basement I put on my sensible red leather clogs as I cannot find my boots. Running down the basement I see a little puddle by the sump pump. What's the big deal.

That is until I walked into the basement through the newly framed opening to find 4-6 inches of water depending on where you are standing covering the entire basement floor.

Sitting proudly in the middle of the floor are all of our earthly possessions packed in hardy cardboard boxes.

Up the steps I go with my own thundering footsteps. We need help.

I call Mingioni's office knowing that on Saturday I would be just leaving a message.

This was followed by emails, a page to Joe's cell phone and a message to the cell as well.

I hope I was able to sound coherent as I left messages as all I kept thinking about was which box contained our Wedding Album and family photos.

I also did what any responsible adult would do. I called my Mommy. Hearing the crackle of my voice she headed right over with her more functional footwear (snow boots).

I see Scott pull up outside as he leaps from the car with hoses and pumps in hand.

Off to the dark basement.

We string extension cords over the rafters and hang lights where we can so that we can see (remember no lights are installed yet in the new basement and no windows to let the dim light in from outside.)

Mom shows up and we begin to survey the damage.

The loud bang was a tower of cardboard boxes that lost their footing as the bottom box disintegrated from the rippling water. Using the only sharp tool I had I began to feverously cut through the tape on waterlogged boxes. This tool was a yellow ice scraper. After a frantic and nail biting search we found the pictures and wedding album. They were dry.

We were pleased that the liquor bottle box was the most damaged - but the contents were just fine and much needed :)

We lost a few items. Scott's bass sound effect peddle, a punch bowl base, and stuff I should have tossed long ago. I guess this was God's way of saying why are you saving this crap. This was evident when my Mom said "You just celebrated your 18th wedding anniversary on the 14th, just wait till you see how much crap you'll have by your 40th." This was followed by the realization that her snow boots were not the best footwear as she was feeling her socks getting soggy.

I hear a distant ring.

As I splash through the now 2-4 inches of water and see the cause of the water problem I run to the phone before voicemail kicks in.


"Hello Kim?  This is Joe Mingioni."

With an expression of shock and awe I am delighted to hear the voice on the other end of the phone asking what do you need, I am on my way.

Joe and Ray arrived to help discard the wet boxes and neatly stack the remaining boxes on pallets they have brought with them.

By 3PM the floor was dry and the cause of this tsunami (the new sump pump pit) was fighting against the two pumps lowered 2 feet below the surface of the floor. This battle raged on until 7-8PM when the temporary sump pump was winning the battle.

I cannot tell you how thankful we are to Joe and Ray. When I joked about should I mention this in the blog. Joe responded with "Of course you should"

He proceeded to tell me that despite any best efforts in construction everything cannot be perfect.

While this is true in life as well we are thankful for the imperfection as it is a great teaching tool.

While the water receded we were very happy that we chose the right construction company for us (one that shows up shortly after you call on a Saturday with an emergency); that the French drain and sump pit that were newly installed did their job and that the new foundation seams connecting it to the house were water tight.

As the heat kicked on we settled in for a warm dry night.

Feeling electric with the flush of excitement

This past week has found us with crews working on Plumbing, Electric and Siding.
In the category of Ewwwwwwwww we find our old gable siding coming down.

And in its place our beautiful new HardiPlank Cement Siding now covers both the gables and the new addition. (more pictures coming soon.)

It is just amazing to see the progress as outlets are positioned and our NJ Tub find is now installed in the location that used to house my Yellow kitchen sink and dishwasher.

This week found us making many critical decisions that will affect us for the rest of our lives . . .the positioning of lights and switches. To give you some insight as to our dreading of this part of the project we take you to our last vacation rental in Maine. You see Scott and I have been vacationing in homes that are much bigger than ours for the past 10 years or so. We rent a house that has a gourmet kitchen and room for us, the dogs and the Mothers so that we can enjoy spacious living. The house we rented in Maine was beautiful. Check out the listing  For one week we delighted in having more room than we knew what to do with, however by the week's end we still had no idea of what all the complex arrays of switches did. Like some game one of us would flick a switch and then the other would search for a light that had been turned on or a garbage disposal that was gurgling at not being fed. While we loved cooking in this kitchen we grew tired of the odd configuration of sinks and switches and learned a great deal about what we did not want.

So that brings us to our meeting with our electrical contractor on "What we did want. . . "
3-way switches, outlets, Cat 5 jacks, COAX, Speaker cables etc . . . .
Oh the choices.

We were amazed at the ease of this dreaded task. Our contractor gave us ideas to eliminate the crazy switch dilemmas we encountered before. I was empowered by my quick decision to put the fan switch here or the breakfast nook light switch there. It was easy to read the look on the contractors face about whether my choice was good or whether I would be pissed off the rest of my life because I had to walk across the room to switch off the ceiling lights before going to bed every night. Suggestions like "Are you sure you really want that switch there . . .which way will you be entering and leaving the room?" helped us a great deal.

We were also amazed at the dedication of our electrician who finished up the rough in over the weekend!!!

We were also amazed at the Plumber who should win the Nobel Peace Prize for the ability to blend the old with the new. We were fearing the tie in to the stack which is as far away from the kitchen as you can get. This was our biggest preconstruction fear how would the drain from the kitchen sink get to the stack without us having to do some basement limbo to get to our washer and dryer.

As you can see from the pictures this Herculean feat is complete as the kitchen drain follows the walls around the basement to the stack which is happily secure at the new PVC addition to the family.

As Fall starts to chill the air we are excited for the next phase HVAC when we welcome our new heater and AC unit. Until next week