Wednesday, Dec. 8 – The crews are back and we’re looking at an even busier day. The plumbers are hoping to finish up today. The electrician still has some work to do, though. We still haven’t switched over to the new panel yet. There were some problems in the way the old panel had been wired that caused some delays.

Eric seems to have caught the flu that Gabe had and he’s been up all night sick, so he’s here at home today, too. It’ll be interesting with the water turned off.

Gabe is feeling much better today (Tuesday, Dec. 7), thankfully. That, however, also means he wants to know what’s going on with the banging, sawing, drilling, etc.

I have to say I’m a little thankful that I get the opportunity to watch what’s going on. Otherwise, I’d never have known what all went into getting this done.

Monday, Dec. 6 rolled around and things were pretty quiet. When we got home from work, we noticed a few drawings on the walls and a couple of small holes and a box of lighting fixtures. Tuesday and Wednesday brought more holes, wiring and a new electrical panel on the back of the house. Previously the panel was inside a cupboard, rendering that space useless.

Electrical seemed to move a little slow, but what do I know? I’m a journalist.

I apologize for the delays in posts, but it took some time to let everything sink in.

All I can say is wow.

There is such therapy in demolition.

Swinging a sledgehammer does wonders for one’s disposition.

After picking out the cabinets, I soon realized that the toasted almond finish won’t really go with the bright white appliances currently in the house. The appliances are only five years old, but since we’re remodeling, I might as well swap them out now, especially the refrigerator.

I forgot to mention the plumbing decisions. Since we are getting all the plumbing in the house redone, we needed to pick out new fixtures for the bathrooms as well as a kitchen faucet, and a kitchen sink.

This was fun.

Now that we’ve got the contractor, it’s time to sit down and plan the new kitchen.

I had a pretty good handle on what I wanted. Something simple. Something functional. Something that made the best use of the small space.

I wanted light cabinets with a little embellishment on the doors. Practical, nothing too fancy.

Then there were the brochures.

I mentioned in the previous post that finding a contractor was one of the hardest parts so far.

There’s a lot to think about.

Trust is huge.

These people are going to demolish and rebuild a part of your home. These people will have total access to your home and your belongings without you there. Your life is in their hands. Your pocketbook is in their hands. Your dream is in their hands.

Who would schedule a kitchen remodel around the holidays?

1. A glutton for punishment
2. Someone who naively didn't realize delays would push things into the holidays
3. Someone desperate for a working kitchen
4. Someone who dreams fondly of a dishwasher
5. All of the above

You guessed it, No. 5.