Is that a kitchen counter I see??

Counter top is in and almost all installed.  If I do say so myself, we made a good choice.  Jackie isn't sold on the sink, but since I seem to do most of the dishes, tough noogies.
All the kitchen cabinets are installed.  Everything seems to be in the right place and the right height.
Trim is getting put up left and right and all the windows are done, which means Dane will come in and stain and coat the sashes and sills.
New pillars are being made for the great room, and the porch pillars are getting assembled for installation this week also.
We are only 1 trillion over budget.  Jackie (who does drive me nuts with buying stuff) is working on another list of stuff to buy.
Stuff....for example, curtain rods.  We need to hang curtains.  We need rods.
Mirrors for the bathrooms.
Selecting towel holders and racks for the bedrooms.
Blinds.
Curtains.
Towels.
Hand towels.
How in the hell is the economy still tanked??  We are propping it up buy (pun intended) ourselves!!!  Let's go fellow Americans, spend, spend, spend!!
Here's how I function.  Buy shelving for closets.  (We do have an allowance for shelving, but someone decided he wanted a "system" for the master bedroom and blew the allowance on that.  Now he has to compensate for that expense.)
Step one:  measure.  Write it down in notebook.  Spend 20 minutes the next day looking for notebook.  Give up search and remeasure, writing everything down in notebook 2.  Misplace notebook 2, but find it before measuring for the fourth time.  Go to store.  Buy shelving.
Return half the shelving because we don't need as much of that size.   Buy more shelving of a different width.  Find out what I returned is some that we need.  Go back to buy more shelving.  Discover the shelving I want is empty because somebody bought all of it only to return half of it and that half hasn't been restocked to the right bin.
Buy coffee and ponder life.

master bathroom floor is done

hall bath just needs fixtures

staging are for all the cutting

the boss waiting for appliances

trim is almost done.....chair rail to come

washer and dryer are in place

cabinets with counter waiting for stove top

There's big and there's really big!!

Let me begin by saying I know numbers.
Jackie and I both looked at the specs for our living room columns and agreed that was exactly what we wanted.
Drawings showed the sizes, shapes, taper, and all were exactly what we wanted.
The columns came Thursday and they are big, really big.
Or as Daughter said;  "Holy shit!!  Those are huge!"
We have three of them....each two foot square.  they are a little out of proportion to the rest of the room.  When all three are arranged in a row it gives the family room a fortified look.  Not a lot of space to move around them either.
At first we thought we could live with two of them....but the more we thought, the more we decided no.
So the columns get redone......to a smaller size.
Trim is going up.  I wanted rosettes in the corners of the windows.  Jackie was not sure.  But they are getting put in place and I think they add a lot to the look of the room.
We like the darker trim and we love the columns....but the size is all wrong.
Here's some updates.

The columns are great....just a little big.

vanity going in

rosettes on doors and windows

model of what the pillars outside will look like

A brief update....very brief

Progress was pretty quick today on the kitchen.....
These are the hickory cabinets we selected.  Counter tops to come.
We also have a big announcement......Nov. 7 is the day the moving guys will take our old stuff to the new place.  The downside is they will be here at 7 a.m.......I will probably still be in bed.  Can't seem to get up in time for breakfast and we don't do brunch.
But Emily gets to share in the pain too because most of our stuff is at her house.  After they load up at the rental, they will stop at Emily's and get all the rest of the furniture.  Appliances are set for Oct. 25...so the end must be near!!
So put the Nov. 7 move with the Nov. 10 play opening, and you may sense a little anxiety on my part.  OK, I can't sleep.  I have constant nightmares.  I can't sleep.  Heartburn.  Loss of appetite.  All I want is junk food.  Can't sleep........getting up at 7 for the movers will be a challenge.  Play.  Moving.  Painting.  Sealing the driveways.  Face book, Tuscany villa search, Spider Solitaire......... Maybe I do waste too much time!
Now for some pictures:

bathroom has been a challenge

looks a little like Emily's

lowest cabinet is for the microwave

I think I found a spot for wine glasses

This is an angled end cabinet and doors open on both sides....way cool

piers for the columns are taking shape

who's excited now???

We looked at the first cabinets installed in the kitchen and are pretty darn excited!  They look good, the floors look good, the painting looks good.....in other words, all is good.
Painting......I painted the basement part of the project.  This was the area that was in the three year plan to partially finish.  But it was pointed out that it would be hard to get drywall into the house in a year or so, so why not put the drywall in the basement now and store it for when you need it.
Sounded like a plan.
Another person asked if we really wanted all that dust flying around in a year or two.  Why not put the drywall up now?
So I had a series of questions:
What will it cost to buy drywall for part of the basement?
Answer:  Not much.
Action:  Bought the drywall.
What will it cost to stud out the basement?
Answer:  Not much.
Action:  Stud the basement.
But wait!!! Before you do drywall, you have to put the electricity in.  But by then I stopped asking.
And don't forget heating, taping and priming the drywall..........all those little parts became a whole.
Which brings me to today and why I am sore.  I painted the areas finished in the basement so trim can be put up.  Emily helped, she did the dark gray while I did the light gray.
And the individual parts did not cost much.  But put them all together and it is apparent I am going to have to do some serious subbing!!
But the basement area will be done.  It looks pretty neat now, with trim and carpet it will be a super nice place for me to escape.
Now, for some pictures:

Beginning of the kitchen cabinet instal

It's like a jigsaw puzzle to me

New oven's new home

Pillars on the porch were started Friday

I'm getting stressed

Ok, today was an "interesting" day.
Got a call from the painter.  Dane was running out of paint and had not finished the recoating, and since they are starting trim and cabinets tomorrow, he thought it would be good to get all the painting done.
That was about 11.
Up until then I had had a leisurely paced morning.....cleaned a couple of bathrooms, vacuumed the bedroom, was ready to dust the floors....... but the paint is a priority.  So I put on my socks and shoes and pants and headed to the paint store.
Now, we get our paints in DeKalb.  Don't ask why.  It's a long story that involves paint, cedar siding, and a lack of customer service.  So we buy paint in DeKalb.
Did I mention Jackie has a back shot scheduled for 1:30 in Rockford?
She called the painter and I hit the car...unshaven, unshowered, baseball hat covering the rat's nest on my head.
Pull out of the street and head toward 20th st., figuring that is the fastest way.
Get to 20th St. and there is a funeral procession.  At least 50 cars.  Being respectful, I waited.
After that passed I proceeded on my way.
Now here is the strange thing.  I have gone to DeKalb and hit one light.  I have gone to DeKalb and hit two lights.  Heck, on some trips when I am not in a hurry I have not hit any lights.
Today, in a hurry, I hit every single freaking light.  Flagg Road, 251, Ill. 38, The Wal Mart one, Dement, the 39 ramp, even the damn light at Kish College!!!  And not just hit them, I got to each light as it turned red, which means I went through the whole cycle.
Time was ticking.
Got the paint, headed back....I hit every single freaking light on the way back, (except the Wal Mart light) just in reverse order! Kish, 39, Dement, Caron, 251, even 20th St. was red and there were no cars on 20th st. at Flagg Road.
After dropping off the paint, letting the dogs out, I went home, showered, shaved, had two pieces of cheese and a couple of crackers while I did dishes, then took Jackie to the doctor for her shot.
The rest of the day was easy.....reading night at Tilton, museum board meeting....
It was a little hectic, but I had a large Starbuck's salted caramel mocha (yes honey, I know you call them venti...hell, I'm old....I call it a large) which probably explains why I am not in the least bit tired.  As a matter of fact, I may just finish cleaning house and revising the script for our upcoming show.
And paint the basement.....seal Emily's driveway....finish that novel....
I think I am good to go.

Well, that was futile!

First off, let me state I love the color of the floors.  They are not too dark and I think they will age to a lustrous beauty.
That said.....we put in a red Brazilian cherry accent strip.  A red Brazilian cherry accent strip in a dark wood floor really just sort of blends in.  Maybe someone should have thought of that, but no one did.  It does not have the "pop" we thought it would have, but then, I don't anymore either.
Speaking of that,  darling daughter the pharmacist gave me a pamphlet for a  drug that addresses low testosterone.  Let's see....depression, well, sometimes I do get a little blue.  Lack of energy....yes.  Reduced muscle bulk and strength....well, comes with age.  Increased body fat.....that is a given.  All these are topics my daughter talked to me about.  But she skipped the erectile dysfunction symptom of low testosterone.... how uncomfortable is that for a father daughter conversation!
I will talk to my doctor about a test to see if I am of the low testosterone persuasion.  If I am, maybe I will be able to be a little happier, less tired, maybe thinner.
Who knows, maybe I'll even think I can kick some ass when threatened!
Oh, who am I kidding.....
The driveway is in.  By this weekend it should be able to be driven on.
I think the cabinets and trim are next on the list.
The light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger!!
And now for some pictures.

Perspective...it isn't as wide as it looks

kitchen looking into nook

family room

Where's Jackie??

Not sure I like the green wall color with the floor.....

Wooden you know

I am a little strange.
So people who saw me going through dumpsters and garbage cans at the new house may be wondering.  But there was a reason.
All of our lighting fixtures were sent in cardboard boxes.  So after they were installed, the boxes got tossed.  I flattened them and recycled them.
Today I was out going through the remnants of the wood floor.  The floor is oak and I told the installers I was going to pull out the trash wood and use for campfires in the back yard.  I will miss an indoor fire, we have a gas fireplace, so I figure I can burn the oak outdoors while watching the stars. Of course I'll be sitting in dirt because the grass won't have enough warm weather to actually grow this year.
So people who know me know that wood will stick around until next fall when there is grass.
That's not my main point.
I checked stats on my last entry and no one from Russia read it, but one person in China visited.
That's not my main point either.  So what is?
Wooden floors.
When I was out there today I saw  the flooring guys had been there on Sunday and prepped the floors so they can be stained Monday morning.
I just hope we like the color.  Sometimes the color looks good on the sample, but not on the wall or floor.   Happened in the bedroom, maybe in the dining room although that jury is still out.  A floor is different.  You can't restain it, can't erase it, just have to live with it.
We'll know tomorrow night if we made the right choice.
And digging through the wood scraps has a price....I have a sliver.  Not a big one, a teeny, tiny one that is in the palm of my hand.  I can feel it....but I can't get it.  It is small, my eyes don't see well, and I can't seem to dig it out.  It's like an itch you can't scratch...keep working on it, but it won't budge.
Maybe it'll feel better sitting around a campfire on a cold, fall night.  Eating S'mores.  Drinking wine.  Talking.  Hopefully not to myself.
Speaking of that, I do tend to talk to myself.  I did not realize how loudly I did that until I was at the zoo and asked myself a question.  Another volunteer heard me and asked if I also answered myself.  Well, I do.  So there.  Getting old has its perks....I don't give a crap about things like that anymore!
But the color of the floors......that's a concern.

Nook area is done

we opted for an accent strip

looking into the family room

the machinery is in place for the driveway pour

We are floored!

Actually, really floored.
The hardwood guys showed up this morning (Friday) and began puttin' wood down.  We went out at about 5 and they had made a lot of progress.  Schedule is to finish Saturday, sand and stain Monday, first coat Wednesday.  Then on Friday or so the cabinets and trim can start to be installed.  Once that is dry, the final coat of finish is applied and some staining of windows and doors is done.
Appliances are scheduled for Oct. 25.....so hopefully all will be ready by then.
We are having a "system" installed in the master bedroom closet, but I am doing the shelving in the remaining closets.  I say I, but brother in law Bob is coming out to help.  Help, hell.....he'll do most of the work while I stand around and offer to get coffee or lunch.  He knows my limits, which are pretty low when it comes to carpentry and DIY projects.
For example, our first house was a bilevel on Southview Drive.  The basement was unfinished, and he came out to help finish the lower level.  We put in a bedroom, family room, and another room that served as a store crap in room.
We (and yes, I mean me too) were building a soffet around heating pipes.  He got it started and all I had to do was nail the peices together.  I bent a nail.  It would not come out.  So I stood on the bottom rung of the ladder, hooked the claw end of the hammer on the bent nail and yanked as hard as I could.
The pain was awful.  At first I thought I broke my nose, then I checked for all my teeth and to be sure I still had lips.  He must have heard the sound of hammer on flesh because all I heard was, "Terr, tell me you didn't hit yourself in the head with the hammer."
I couldn't tell him...I was in too much freaking pain.
My next job was easier.
"Go to the lumber yard and get some more wood," he said.
How much? I asked.
"About 30 minutes worth." he said, and he was right.  Half an hour later I came back and he was done.
I won't tell what I did for the next project in that house,....but I don't think many men accomplished what I did in that basement!
Back to the present......   With the temps falling, it's good the heat works.  Today the water was run into the house, so all that is needed now are some fixtures for the H2O.
We also have the start of a driveway.  Like all males, I don't understand measurements very well.  We were scheduled for a 16 foot wide driveway, but I measured Emily's and it was 20, so we upped ours to 20.  Seems wide now, but it is easier to have unused space than having a need to add in a year or two.
The columns on the front of the house are getting built.  There will be some stone on them, and that may be done next week also.
As you know we are renting, which is why we had another experience that floored us.
We mailed our rent check last Sept. 24.  We got it back yesterday, torn in half, with a letter from the townhouse owner telling us we did not have to pay for October.  Mary and Marvin are on our list of people we are indebted to for their kindness.
Which makes us floored twice in one week.
And now for some excellent pictures:

tarping the dumpster for removal

columns are underway

coming soon....a driveway

the pad was poured Friday morning

Friday morning, 9 a.m.

5 p.m. Friday, work is progressing

kitchen and nook view

Looking into the kitchen