Saturday, November 28, 2009

Are We There Yet?

We are now entering into Day #62 of what will forever be known as The Great Kitchen Renovation of 2009. This is a project that my father totally avoided doing in the years after my mother passed away in 1986. When asked why he didn't want to update the 1966 kitchen, he would always say jokingly, "I'll let the "next owner" deal with it". Well guess what?


I'M THE NEXT OWNER.

(Insert screaming here.)


Let's see....to the novice kitchen renovator nothing much has changed from the last photo I posted. But to me, "The Anxious Baker" many details have been completed and all of a sudden......everything is starting to gel.


I am very excited about this.


I have had herds of sub-contractors traipsing in and out of my house for the past month and with the exception of being completely financially eviscerated by the plumbing contractor, all has gone relatively smoothly.


Can I be serious here for a moment, because this is an important suggestion. If I had children of my own (and I am thankful that I don't), I would strongly encourage them to pursue a career in plumbing.

Forget college. Parents save your money. Take that college tuition and go on that second honeymoon, buy that flat screen T.V. Spend it any way you can. Let's face it, college is just a reason to give these kids another four years to decide what they want to do in life. Then they'll spend the next 25 years paying off their college loan....or worse......you'll have to. In my case, just one kitchen plumbing job by what turned out to be an extremely high-ended local plumbing bandit contractor is almost all that is needed to pay off all four years of your child's college tuition. Trust me with this. I wouldn't lie to you. Financial Consultants and Marketing Analysts will come and go .......but poop is forever! Eventually, everyone needs to hire someone to shovel it........and because no one else wants to do it, they can charge whatever the heck they want to. AND THEY DO!!!!! 'Nuff said. Except that in my next life.....I want to be a plumber. Most of my life is spent neck deep in "it" anyway so I may as well get paid to shovel it too.


Back to our regularly scheduled program, the ceiling guy arrives tomorrow, the drywall is up, the hardwood floor is down and today I purchased all new appliances to be delivered in three weeks. Did you hear me?? I said ALL NEW! Can I get an Amen?? Wahoo! Many thanks to all of you who have been sending me encouraging emails throughout this process. I know myself and my kitchen will be better for it. So, I'm off to sweep up some more plaster and start on Chapter Four of "Plumber, Shlumber, You Can Do It Yourself".

5 comments:

The Amazing Trips said...

Did you forget your grandfather was a plumber?? They must be making more these days than they were 90 years ago, since Grandpa lived in an apartment above a store, and his youngest daughter slept in a crib until she was seven.

I'm proud to say that I can fix a toilet. Probably because I'm not at all afraid to reach my arm in and dig out a set of car keys that some random child tried to flush.

You'll be there soon. And when you are - all the pain and suffering will be soon forgotten. Maybe.

Peg O. said...

Granpa was a plummer. One of the first in the union. Too bad none of us took up the trade.....

Lisa said...

Boy!!!

Two things:

How did I miss this post and Do I wish we lived closer...Who better to take your money then a loved one?

Plumbers in SC are the ones getting ripped off...Not the customer!!! Jobs are Down and it seems like everyone is a plumber/contractor.

Uggg!!! When will it end???

Anonymous said...

My father said "He never met a poor plumber" and now I know what he meant. I think you would be great as a lady plumber--that is if you ever want to get into another profession.
I bet your kitchen will be beautiful.
Jim cannot change a light bulb, but I can do a lot in the way of maintenance. I always say, "I can do it, my Father was a plumber."
Merry Christmas from Florida.
Love,
Auntie

Cate said...

I was a plumber's apprentice in college -- I went to a college where everyone worked on campus to maintain it -- and my amazing Scottish plumber boss made me want to follow him into the trade! But he discouraged me from that line of thinking, saying that is just wreaks havoc on your body, and that it just isn't worth the money....but I sure am grateful to him for teaching me everything I know, and though it isn't my profession, I have skills that make it easier when some kind of pipe or toilet goes wonky.

:) Cate @ Tundra Topics
http://hooperbaytundra.blogspot.com
PS I bake all my own bread and cakes from scratch -- but mostly from necessity. I enjoy it, though -- I don't do pretty, but I'm getting good at yummy.