Slowly but Surely

Posted on November 25, 2014November 25, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Sorry there was no update last night. I got caught up in the sorting, cleaning process. Yes I now have water in my kitchen sink. The plumber set up my facet and spray and the other gadgets completely backward to what I am used to but it works. Maybe he is left handed or maybe I’m the backward one. 🙂

The plumber said he had never seen cabinets and counters like these. He kept checking them out. He said most places he’s been have had wood grain or white cabinets. He thought my off-green (the color name is “Ocean Floor”) was a nice change of pace.

The cabinet guys came back too and made custom shelves so my new cabinets are ready for stuff! They were impressed with the counter tops too.

I went a little nuts at Bed, Bath and Beyond for expandable drawer inserts and a holder for cookie sheets and other baking pans. Then I discovered that I can order them through Ebates.com and get back some $$$. So I finished my order there and earned $5.00 back! It gets paid quarterly so I may do more ordering through that web site. We’ll have to see.

I ran some of my decorative dishes through the dishwasher . They seemed to have a thin coat of grime. I guess the cooking oils had coated them and then the fine sanding grains all stuck to them. They didn’t come clean so I did an internet search and found out that a light scrubbing with baking soda , of all things, should cut the grease and clean them up. And it worked! Cleaning the Kitty Kat Teapot now.

Who new that baking soda would become my new go-to cleaning product. This old dog just learned a new trick!

My electrician is coming tonight to put in an outlet box so the tile people will leave a space for a new outlet. Then tomorrow the condo association is sending their electrician to upgrade my electrical panel.

The tile people are due sometime tomorrow too. Is the end in sight?

Just a Lazy Sunday

Posted on November 23, 2014November 23, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I spent the day picking at the boxes of kitchen stuff. There are only a few shelves I can use at this point as they all need to be washed down and have new shelf liners. The problem is with no plumbing (water) in the kitchen yet it’s hard to make much progress with just a bucket and running back and forth to the bathroom for refills of fresh water.

I got through 2 boxes and gave up. I really need the shelves fixed in the new cabinets so I can figure out what I can put there and what needs to go back into the existing cabinets. I also have to keep the counter clear until the tile people get here.

I have a big box of cleaning stuff that needs to be under the sink but I can’t put that away until the plumber is done. Oh and did I mention the glassware is covered in dust from the sawing and sanding and all needs to be washed. Of course the dishwasher isn’t working yet either! Same thing with the stove. It’s disgusting. The stove top is covered with a fine dust! No way can any food be prepared on that stove top. I think I know why people add new appliances when they re-do their kitchens. Its to avoid the clean up of the old appliances! I hope I have an old toothbrush so I can get into the little cracks and crevasses.

I think I’m going to cut back on my Thanksgiving dinner. I’m beginning to doubt I’ll have the kitchen ready for the preparation. I’ll have the turkey and maybe some green beans (from a can), sweet potatoes, stuffing (Stove top) and gravy. Skip the mashed potatoes, glazed carrots and cranberries, and desert. Just stick with the basics. That will be more than enough food for just for me and will minimize the pots and pans I’ll need to locate!

Of course, I’ll be watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade 🙂 and I will be counting my blessings because for all my complaining, I still have a very blessed life.

It’s going to be a Busy few Months

Posted on November 9, 2014November 9, 2014 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Hello again everyone. Work is beginning to slow down for the agents. It hasn’t for me yet because we still have a lot of closings in the pipeline. Once those are done my lull will begin.

In the meantime I had the representative from Home Depot out to look at my kitchen and give me options. I’d considered several local firms but they were really expensive. Then I saw a home that had been done by Home Depot. I couldn’t believe it. It was beautiful. I think of Home Depot as DIY but they have a whole crew for remodels and like my company, they are paid on customer satisfaction.

At first I was going to do a remodel and knock down a wall, pull out all the cabinets and so on but there was a hitch. The electrical panel in my unit wasn’t up to code. To do a remodel would mean redoing the electric in the unit. Very expensive on top of the remodel cost plus we’d have to pull permits for all the work.Work that requires permits can be tricky if you want to sell. I’ve run across that more than once when getting the documents together for a closing.

So option 2. Leave the wall, and do a “Reface”. It’s not much less than a remodel but it doesn’t require permits. I liked that idea better than adding an extra $10 K to the project so I picked out new doors, hardware, back splash, tile, counters and wrote a very big check. Still I can see what it will look like in my minds eye. It will be so different and I’ll be able to open the drawers without them cracking and breaking in my hands!

About a week after the salesman was out I got a call from the estimator. The salesman had measured but this guy was out to confirm the measurements and my choices of color, tile etc. Good thing because the wrong tile was on the order. We caught that and made the correction. This guy was very meticulous.

I’ve got one more appointment before they can start. The counter top people have to come out and make templates. They will be here on Friday. I requested that day off so I can get everything off the counters and round up the cats while they work and measure.

Once the work starts it is expected to take 1 week. They start on Monday and finish on Friday. I can’t wait!