Yeah, But Which Year?

The original contract completion date was August 30. From the very beginning our goal was to be able to host Thanksgiving, as we've done every year since we've been in the house. That would have allowed almost three months' leeway. Well, today is November 10 and I'm sitting on a bridge chair in front of a tray table in the family room, on a plywood floor watching a TV that's covered in plastic. In other words, we'll be having turkey at my cousins'.

While the exterior is finished - even the deck, which looks so impressive that the distributor asked our contractor to save him the scraps so he could build an identical sample for his showroom, thank you very much - there's a long, long trail a-windin' before we'll get to see daylight in the inside. The upstairs level is pretty much finished, as the floors are done, Shaw's study was painted, and the only thing left up there is to paint - again - the hallway. The first attempt wasn't so hot, and the walls needed new spackling.

Now moving down a level, the kitchen base cabinets and the countertops are in, the appliances were delivered but now sit where the kitchen table and chairs will go, a few of the wall cabinets are up but the rest can't be installed until the range hood cabinet arrives from backorder, and the walls and ceiling still need to be painted. The dining room base cabinets are in, as are the wall cabinets, but those need to be replaced as the wrong ones were ordered. Plus the room needs to be painted and have the molding installed, as does the living room.

The ground level needs the hardwood floor to be laid in the family room and foyer, and both also need to be painted. The finished room in the basement isn't painted yet or carpeted, and the utility room still doesn't have a floor, doors or the washer and dryer put in. But, on Friday and then again this morning, the contractor told me all of this should be done by next Friday. Perhaps if he dreams of Jeannie.

Once all that work is completed and the house is cleaned (sandblasted is more like it), all the furniture that's being stored in the trailer outside can be moved back in. When the trailer is emptied, whatever is currently in the garage will be moved into it so the walls, ceiling and floor can be installed in the garage. And then we'll be done.

If we'd thought of it earlier, we could have paid for a good part of this little endeavor by running a betting pool for the actual date of completion. In the meantime, we're in month 8 of a five-month project. Thanksgiving 2010 is looking good, though.