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?