We're HOME!

When things started happening around here, they started happening FAST! Let's chat a bit about the last 10 days....

We passed the rough electrical inspection on May 8th, which meant that the contractor was OK'd to go ahead and finish up the electrical work in the kitchen. That meant hooking up all of the switches, outlets, can lights and pendants. OF course this didn't necessarily proceed on as fast as we had hoped, and by the time we moved in on Saturday the 12th we were still left without lighting in the kitchen/living room. But hold that thought and we'll come back to it.

The cabinet installers from Lowe's came in on Thursday the 10th and transformed our kitchen. Dave said the guys showed up, got to work, worked their tails off, and were done before he knew it. Now THAT'S what I'm talking about! When I finally got the chance to come over to the house after work, I couldn't believe how great it looked. In fact I was in quite shock and could only manage to say 'Wow', with my jaw hanging open. It shocked me to see that the kitchen space is still bigger than I had anticipated, even after the cabinets got installed. It was starting to finally sink in that The Money Pit was starting to come together and we were actually going to move into it soon.

The granite folks came out on Friday the 11th to template the kitchen for the counters. Dave got the chance to look at the stone on Monday the 14th, and as of right now, we are slated to have granite installed on Monday the 21st. That's fast! And good, because I'm a little over not having a kitchen sink or a place to set stuff down!

The big day finally arrived: Moving Day, part 2! Dave and a small (yet VERY hard working) band of merry movers were able to get everything moved out fast than I thought they would. I had to work until 3, and by the time I got to Camelot, they were done with moving all of our stuff in. Now the fun started for me. I immediately set out to bust out the kitchen. Remember me saying I'm the queen of organization? By the end of Saturday, I had gone through nearly 10 boxes and I was able to finish unpacking the rest of the kitchen by the end of Sunday.

The electricians came out on Monday the 14th and got all of the kitchen electrical hooked up. And that's a NICE change, since we were operating under the soft glow of bedroom end table lamps! Unfortunately, we still don't have a microwave or a stove, so we're still either eating take out or cold food. I'm grateful to my mom who brought us over sloppy joes and macaroni salad, and to a sweet friend, Sharon, for bringing quiches. We've certainly had a nice 'welcome to the neighborhood' so far!

The other missing part of the puzzle was hot water. Our hot water heater is gas fired, and we weren't exactly sure how we'd get or who to contact for our gas hookup. Luckily I have some friends who live nearby who have natural gas, and they directed me to the company who we needed to contact. After having to go back to Lake Howell for a couple of days to get a warm shower (mama don't do cold showers. Period.), we were finally in business on Tuesday. Yesterday, Wednesday, was the closest thing to a 'normal' morning that we've had in a while. That's nice. REALLY nice.

We've spent this week going through boxes and getting stuff put away. So far it's going well. I don't have as much time as I'd like to dedicate to unpacking, but I know we've got time to get it all done. I'm not a person who likes clutter, so having to shuck and jive around boxes is a bit annoying. The best part is that we seem to still have plenty of room for what we have left to unpack. That's an awesome feeling!

I like to move it, move it

Finally, we have had a breakthrough in the flooring drama.... It's ALL done! Tile in the kitchen, carpet in the bedrooms and wood in the rest. Hallelujah, it's a miracle!


The guys from Ability busted their tails to get all of the wood laid on Saturday. Nice! While the flooring seems to be more varied than we initially had wanted, it looks great. It goes with the paint colors throughout the house and the only variable left in the mix is how good it's going to look with the granite. Guess we'll find out in a couple of weeks how that game plays out. We spent Saturday selecting all of the 'accent' items: fans, lighting and bathroom lighting. The only thing left to get is hallway lights and a chandelier, which we'll be getting from Ikea. Just wish that place wasn't so damn far across town!

Sunday was moving day, Part I. We still had a lot of stuff in Mark and Sarah's garage from closing out the Punta Gorda house, so we got that taken care of first (I'm sure they're glad to have their garage back!). We even got all of the boxes out of the Lake Howell house as well as the stove. I remembered yesterday morning that the granite guys will need to know where the stove is so that they can granite around it. So now I have no stove to cook with at home. Guess it's a good time to start that raw diet, eh?

Here's where the fun part is going to start. My over-obsessive mind is going to take over with how everything is going to be arranged. I even dreamed last night how I'd like to set the kitchen up. I can't shut it off, it's like a sickness! I was able to empty a majority of boxes in the Reading Room yesterday, and I even spent a portion of the afternoon re-thinking how I had organized them (already!). Oy vey.

This week we anticipate the rough inspection on Tuesday. The cabinet installers will be here Thursday and the granite guys will be here Friday to template the counters out. Among all of this will be the smaller punch list tasks to complete by the contractor. Saturday will be the 'big move', and I'm going to have to miss it because of work. I'm bummed. And my OCD is twitching because I can't be there to organize. Yeah, I know. I'm not right ; )

Getting closer

You know, if I wasn't so tired I would be doing the Snoopy dance of joy. Why? We. Have. Floors.

After the week we had, I wasn't sure that Dave wasn't just going to torch Camelot.... We made the change in flooring with Ability on Tuesday. By Wednesday I was back at the shop, dropping off a check for the deposit. Coincidentally, Rick, the owner, had just arrived with our flooring from the warehouse, and he had some bad news: The floor is wicked varied in color. The flooring sample that they had didn't do the true flooring justice. Just the thing we were trying to avoid with the initial flooring choice. Mother Pussbucket!

After talking with Dave (who, by the way, was OF COURSE out of town), we decided to press forward with it. They started to lay it down today and put down a 4' wide sample to make sure that we really like it in the space. I really like that about this flooring company- they are very customer focus and dedicated to making the customer happy. Novel concept in these days, huh? Anyway, I believe the floor is going to look nice. The moisture barrier is down and they plan to work tomorrow (again, novel concept!) to get it finished.

The big news is that the carpet is down in the Reading Room and bedrooms, so that means we can start moving into those rooms ASAP. Finally! Moving day is just about here! Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to help the day of the big move because I'll be working. I think we're going to get a U-haul on Sunday and get at least some of the mass of the boxes over to the house. And not to forget the stuff we brought up from Punta Gorda that's been living in my sister in law's garage for the past 2 months. Oy vey.

On the bright side of things, everyone set their calendars for Saturday July 14th. That'll be the housewarming party to end all housewarming parties. It'll be time to take off my moving hat and put the cruise director hat back on. And THAT'S something I can dance about! OK, back to packing. My Friday night is SO glamorous, eh?