The Kitchen Countdown

I distinctly remember standing inside the kitchen company's showroom in October as the project manager assured me, "it'll be done well before Christmas. It's not a very big job."

Unless he meant Christmas 2006, we're a bit behind schedule. But, after we lost our patience and threw a fit last week, more work seems to be getting done. The project manager promised us the project would be finished by this coming Friday. Then it was pushed to Saturday. If it can really be finished Saturday, I'll be one happy cook. But I have learned not to hold my breath.

However, there has been progress. The most significant development happened a few weeks ago when our wonderful refrigerator was installed. I believe it may be the most beautiful refrigerator ever born:

It brings us great joy in the form of ice and cold water. The day it was installed, I bought a six pack of Lee's favorite beer. It was the first thing to grace the shelves, as a thank you for all the painting he did so the fridge could be put in it's proper home and removed from our dining room.

Then, work all but halted until we had our tantrum. We still don't have a laundry room, and I'm going to buy stock in Spin City around the corner where I seem to spend a lot of time and money these days. But yesterday was a fun day, because they put in our stove. It's not operational yet, but it's in place. It still has the wrappings, but I can visualize how great it will be to stand in front of it and actually cook something:

While I really appreciate the stove being put in place, I am frustrated with the plumber and contractor. They had to cut off our gas yesterday to move the stove in. Strangely, last night the house just got colder and colder, and our gas heat didn't seem to be working. We called the contractor, who called the plumber, who swore he turned the gas back on. The contractor thought we were crazy.

We spent last night under several blankets, which was fine until this morning when my alarm went off and the house was 53 degrees. I nearly called in to work frozen. We finally had to call our AC/Heating company. They charged us $79 to tell us that the gas was never turned back on. At least tonight, the house is toasty again, and the kitchen people are footing the bill.

So according to the company, our kitchen will be done in five days. Looking at the rest of the kitchen (not to mention laundry room and bathroom), I wonder if it's possible. Tarps on the floor, cans of paint, bare drywall and topless cabinets.

But, I have hope, and some french fries to tide me over.