Pure Cat Happiness

After being deprived of real sun for so long...we're all living it up.

I've been waking up to this at the foot of my bed. Pure cat happiness.

Painting...still not done.

This is one of the last 2 fireplaces to be painted. Just in case you wonder what's taking so long, and is there in fact something wrong with me, slowest painter in the world...

Well, each one takes at least one coat of primer, a super patching with plaster, and at least 2 coats more of flat paint. So that's 2 to 3 days per chimney. I'm almost there. Almost....

O'keefe Merritt Reassembled

Today the gas was turned on behind the stove and after about 1/2 an hour of pouring over the original manual we figured how to light the burners, grillavator, oven...and griddle. We also reunited the fancy top piece with the rest of the body (we had hidden it to protect it from the contractors and their destructive ways). Amazingly the florescent light tube still works! And the timer works a little too well... darn thing won't stop ticking.

The Smeg

There hasn't been too much to post lately--just a lot of painting going on..and much more of the same for the next few weeks.

But this morning...at 8:20 to be exact...the new fridge arrived!

I was joking with the delivery guys that it's the only fridge I can reach the top of without a step-stool. It, and I....are just about the same height.

We agonized for a long time over what to get and although it's not huge, I figure that I still have the studio-fridge upstairs for plenty of extra storage.

Yup. Form over function. Always.

Can it really be true?

So, I can't believe I'm going to say it...but the contractors are gone.

How does it feel? Really really weird.

All their tools--gone.

Cigarette butts--gone.

Will they be pounding on my door tomorrow at 8AM? Nope.

See? Weird.

After a lot of unpleasantness earlier in the week they just came and finished up. Four days it took them.

The pocket doors dividing the bottom floor are in...and are actually built pretty well.
I was so used to looking at it as one big space I was worried about how I would feel about the separation--but I love it. It makes the front room really cozy, and defines the back bedroom as it's own thing.
And the shower in the basement bathroom is in as well.

Of course midway through the week we made them rip out all the tile and start over (after Todd realized that the tile inside the shower stall was attached to nothing but regular old sheetrock (ie not waterproof in any way)...but still it got built...and eventually built correctly.
Even the base is tile as opposed to a plastic pan.
Four days to build doors, walls, shower, etc. I can't believe we waited this long for it to happen.

Now the fun stuff begins...painting, details, closet building, cabinet hanging, moving (although I guess I should probably go to the old place and pack first).

We'll have to meet with them for the final inspection, and again to settle the change orders and finances...But they're gone. Really and truly gone.

What am I going to be angry about now?