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According to my inside sources at Home Depot, the manufacturer SAYS the stupid flooring will arrive next Friday. The fourth.
I’m curious. How many of you think it’ll actually arrive then?
Well, Kevin got up bright and early this morning and took out the nasty tiny obnoxious old window while waiting for David’s arrival. David is our hero. Have we mentioned that? He is. Thought you oughtta know.
This is what David found when he arrived.
See… very light and airy but not exactly centered over the sink.
To humor me, David held up the new window where it is supposed to go. Notice that it is SIX inches higher and SIX inches wider, and is set lower into the wall by about SIX INCHES. I am so happy!
Euphemia supervises from her Johnny Jump-Up. She’s very excited. Trust me.
This is Sergeant’s opinion of the whole thing. Usually I agree with him on thoughts of this nature but not today. I think the whole project is inspiringly illuminating.
Sergeant shouldn’t stick his tongue out. It is a bad example for Lorna.
Kevin removes old siding. Think if I call that 800 number I can find the idiots who didn’t install it correctly 18 years ago? I didn’t think so either.
David has cut away the drywall (isn’t it neat and tidy? I intend to rip it all off very soon but it was thoughtful of him anyway) and they realize that they can’t work well with the sink there. I could have told them that. They didn’t ask for a supervisor’s opinion so I kept it to myself and isn’t it great? They came to the same conclusion without my input. Amazing.
Kevin is a hard workin’ dude when given half a chance. He appreciates that I rarely give him half a chance.
Isn’t it beautiful? Forget the diamonds, I could care less about the flowers, cut back on the chocolate if it means I get a WINDOW!!!
David has cut away the stucco and lookie there! It’s huge. Part of me wished that I’d decided against the extra cabinets on that wall. I got over it.
He’s contemplating world peace. Or is that whirlled peas?
Now there is a studley guy wouldn’t you say? He’s 3x more studley than any other guy around. Count those studs. One. Two. Three. See, toldja.
The extraneous board is removed. It’s time to put up a…. WINDOW!!!!! *do happy dance here*
What’s taking so long? Put it in already!!! Oh, and see that blue line next to the window by the ladder? That’s the gas line. Don’t hit that or saw through it, ok?
Ahhh… now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Isn’t it beautiful! Isn’t it just BEAUTIFUL?
The temporary wall. Once we do siding that piece of plywood will be food for David’s fire and we’ll have SIDING up there. For now, we’re decorating in early reconstruction. I pray my Southern friends will forgive me.
Ok, going with white walls. If I can’t stand it in six months, I’ll paint then.
I’m cutting the edges of this tablecloth as scallops and the corner tip rounded.
The roman shade will be out of this toweling. I’ll probably cover it with a thin layer of clear vinyl for wipability.
It’s so pretty!
I’ve lived in a small house for 20 years. Actually, if you consider the houses I lived in as a child, I’d say a good 30 out of 37 years minimum but I was thinking of this house.
I love my house. I’ve wanted very little but to grow old (er) and die in this house. I plan to do that very thing. There are little things I want to change, but I don’t consider that discontent unless I am miserable without those changes.
However, I must say, this remodeling is causing scratches in my contentment. I can sand them out and polish my contentment up enough for now but I can’t do it forever! Eventually the scratches will be gouges. I need to change my perspective.
I’ve discovered that I am very impatient. Very. Impatient. This impatience is like a needle dragging across a fine piece of furniture. Bound to destroy.
I need to change my attitude and deal with my impatience. Delays are inevitable. I need to accept it before my irritations affect my attitude.
Godliness with contentment is great gain. Paul wasn’t lying. I need that gain so I WILL hold onto my contentment.
Praying.
Ok, so this weekend we can paint a wall. (and should to protect said drywall) This means I must choose a color.
My living room is Kilz “Bellissima”. It’s a lovely straw/butter color that is clearly yellow but not obnoxiously so. I love it. I want to continue to love it. For the curious, here it is
I had been assuming I’d probably continue with another yellow. Something a little brighter and bolder but nothing wild. Now I’m not so sure. I am becoming afraid that I will get thoroughly sick of yellow. This would not be good. Not good at all.
My other color options are…
-
Red -
Green -
Blue -
White
I don’t want white. After all, the cabinets will be white. That’s just really a LOT of white. No thank you.
So, here is my curtain *cough* fabric. *Sputter* (I can never just use normal stuff can I? Oy)
That blue? Not happening. I don’t want that blue. I could go for a more medium-pale blue I suppose. I don’t think I want to.
This leaves greens (almost impossible to find some that I like but I don’t think I’ve exhaused the green options) and reds.
I’m kind of afraid of red. What if I hate it? I don’t want to paint for hours and then paint hours again to get rid of the first set of hours hard work. Seems like an exercise in futility.
So, your vote? Do I want…
-
Yellow? (Even though I already have it and have a feeling I might be thoroughly sick of it in a few months) -
Blue? (A medium-pale variety. Definitely a “safe” option. Would it look good from the yellow living room?) -
Green? (My favorite color and yet the only one I haven’t found a shade that I like for this room.) -
Red? (A bold warm option that has plan appeal but is a disaster unless it’s perfect!)
Please vote here. And tell me why!
I have decided I have to scrap my fabric. As much as I LOVE THAT FABRIC… I won’t love anything I put with it which means I’ll hate the room. Not what I want in my brand new kitchen.
So, if you know of any Kitcheny fabrics that work with cobalt accessories, in a 1940’s/1950’s feel, please post what it is and where I can find it.
I’m off to mourn.
P.S. The funny thing is that the colors are obviously not showing up right on some monitors. That is a RED. Not an orangy color at all. The blue is BLUE. The Green is GREEN (with a pale version alongside) and a primary yellow. The colors are very vibrant.
So when you spend 1500 dollars on a fridge and they deliver it on a pallet to your driveway, it means trouble if the weatherman threatens precipitation.
Now living in the desert means that this wet stuff from the sky rarely happens but Murphy has ensured that if it WILL rain here in the desert, it will only do it if there is something outside that shouldn’t get wet. ie. my fridge.
The solution started with a 12×24′ tarp, some bungees and suchlike. With our wind, however (because in the desert, wind is a good 30mph when it’s mild) we wondered about how long it’d stay down. So, when all else fails, what do we do? We…
“Shout hallelujah come on get…”
GLAD 
So….. voila`! A protected fridge!
Ahh…. ingenuity? Well, it sounds better than desperation doesn’t it?
Only one more section to go! Ran out of trash room, “mud” and oomph.
Tomorrow.
Since the Floor Fiasco and the Bike Bungle, we’ve discovered that we can predict the response to our news that the floor will be another four weeks thanks to a manufacturer mishap. Say it with me, “did they give you a discount?”
Yep. It’s almost universally acknowledged that a mess up must be softened by a discount. For the record, no, we didn’t even consider asking for one. It isn’t Home Depot’s fault that the manufacturer blew it. But even if it was, is that discount worth the price adjustments that will occur later as a result of the loss of profit?
See, we forget this little fact. Discounts don’t come out of profit. Acme Widget Company doesn’t take a loss when they have to pay out for these kinds of errors. They add the errors into next year’s operating budget and the costs get put back into the cost of the merchandise that they sell. This means everyone pays more, including me, thanks to the discount I received when a mistake was made. There is no “free lunch.”
The same thing happened when Kevin’s bike was made toast by a young woman in a car. It was an accident but I can’t tell you how many times we were asked- and pressured- “Did she have insurance?” Yes. She had insurance. Yes, we could have filed a claim. Yes, the bike would have been replaced without affecting our bank account. I know, I know, “That is what insurance is for!”
Well, I don’t agree. If that bike was his primary mode of transportation, then perhaps the argument would be valid. It isn’t. It’s a pleasure bike used for personal enjoyment. Insurance was designed to help pay damages for items ruined in an accident. It was designed to compensate for negligence. It wasn’t designed to cover every little blip and bop of life. With every minor claim that comes in, we all pay more. The insurance companies don’t make less profit, they just raise premiums to cover it to ensure their desired profits. I have proof of this.
Every year, when claims are LOW, our insurance company sends out a rebate check. They paid out less than projected in claims that quarter so we get a refund of our premiums. If they pay out what they expect or more, we don’t get that check. This is incentive for the policy holders to drive carefully, stay alert, and not file for every scratch and dent.
If, however, the policies pay out more than projected, rates rise. Every single claim that we file raises those rates. We’ve gotten to the point in this country that we don’t want to pay for anything. “File a claim,” is the response to the slightest things anymore.
Kevin finally got to the point where he answered (in regards to the bike accident), “yes, she was insured.” It is just easier to let people assume that he’ll do what they’d do.
I don’t care if someone else files a claim that I might consider frivolous. It’s none of my business frankly. I do, however, get tired of being expected to follow the “party line” of thinking in this regard. I try not to even talk about it but we’ve gotten to the point in America where these things have gone the way of fertility and birth control. It’s all fair game.
I just hold the right to do my part to try to keep the cost of living down. By myself, it’s not going to make much of a difference in the pockets of the average American. However, I’m not alone. I know others who think like I do. Not many, perhaps, but they are out there. Maybe, just maybe, we can encourage others to think twice before requesting that discount or filing this claim. If nothing else, maybe we can slow the rapid rate that this country is rushing toward socialistic markets. Maybe.
