Day 6: Lots-o-white

The weekend managed to fly by quickly. Thanks to a Saturday morning visit from Tanner, Miles, and Westy to check out the empty kitchen before spending the day with Grandpa Dave and Grandma Doreen, dinner out that night with friends, and an invitation to dye Easter eggs and eat spaghetti in Otown, we didn’t have to linger in the construction zone for long.

I don't have any photos of the beautiful eggs Westy and Miles colored, but I do have this cute shot of Westy showing off his bunk bed ladder-climbing skills.

Miles asked if he could write a story for me before we read a chapter from Junie B. Jones, First Grader, Boss of Lunch. I know some adults are offended by Junie B., but I think she's a hoot. 

Miles wrote a nonfiction story, and if I remember right, it goes like this (I wish I had his spelling-- much cuter than mine):

"I heard a tv show called Peg plus Cat. 

Peg is the human. Cat is the cat. The end."

 
Since I'd never heard of "Peg + Cat" I had to do a Google search. Now I know something about it, and that it's on PBS. Time to watch a video clip that involves Peg + Cat + Pirates.

P.S. It's several days later, and Annie sent me a picture of the egg-dying party so I could include it after the fact. Miles and Westy were very skilled, so my role was to sit alongside them and enjoy their work. Thanks, Annie!

 

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8:30 a.m.

It's Monday morning, and work has started up again. Jeff the carpenter is continuing the taping and mudding, and promises to bring in cabinets from their temporary spot in the garage this morning.  I’m looking forward to the noise of a drill and the pounding of a hammer, and most of all to see the room begin to look like a kitchen again instead of a bomb shelter.

10:45

I've been camped out in the sun room this morning, next to the coffee pot. You probably can't tell, but I'm typing really fast because of all the caffeine I've ingested. Jeff is bringing in boxes containing cabinets. Hurray!

NOON

The closet pantry cabinet is in place. Good thing we hired a carpenter to install these things because trying to make everything level and square when the walls and floor have other ideas is beyond my scope of understanding. I'd have cans and jars rolling out off the shelves if I had to do the installation.

1:30
Jeff the carpenter takes a lunch break and I take a picture. It turns out that "Pearl" is whiter in massive quantities of cabinets than it was on the sample door. Maybe it's the shift from dark brown that has me shading my eyes from the glare?

2:00
Jeff is unpacking more cabinets. Larry went on his second mission for the day. This morning he did errands at the post office, the appliance store, and made a stop at the grocery store for some Oreos. This afternoon he's going to Menard's or Home Depot and Hy-Vee. The country music emanating from the boom box was grinding his gears. Ha ha! 

4:00
Word is that Jeff will have all the cabinets in and leveled, doors adjusted, and handles put in by the time he leaves here tomorrow. There are lots of little details he has to do which will likely require a return visit, along with putting in the vent/fan over the stove. Here I go, talking to myself again.

4:30
Brad from Floor to Ceiling left a message that the countertop measurer will be here between 10:00 and noon tomorrow, as promised. Hurray again!
  
The lazy Susan cabinet is ready to go in. I haven't had one since we lived on Chatham Street, so I'll take recommendations from any of you lazy Susan users who know just what I should put in there. Should it be Tupperware and stacks of old Cool Whip containers? Cake and pie pans? The crockpot? Winter boots and hats?

I tried to get Jeff in the photo, but he jumped out before I could take it. He deserves credit for his hard work! Notice the strips of old wallpaper that I should have removed yesterday. Oops.

7:00
Charlie and Angie fed us tonight. Thank you! We are happy to have had two nights in a row of crazy dinner conversations with little kiddos. Yesterday, Vivi and Hannah entertained us in a lunch time/FaceTime fiesta. More crazy conversation with little kiddos. So now we feel a bit more caught up on the activities of the 7-and-under family members.

9:30 p.m.
Jeff the carpenter finally called it a day. He left decorated in sawdust, promising to be back around 8:00 tomorrow morning to finish placing the last couple of cabinets and to do the trim work.

Final photos of the day...