The big news is construction. We asked the contractor to:

fix cracks in the ceiling,
replace the kitchen cabinets,
renovate the main bathroom, and
paint everything on the first two floors, from the toe boards to the ceiling.

We got off on a rocky start when the construction company said that fixing the ceiling cracks was not in the contract and we had to pay the extra immediately. We disagreed. Resolution comes from the big boss, who was too busy talk to us. Ultimately, after a lot of spirited discussion, the big boss made himself available. He talked with us, the site boss, and the sales person. He agreed this was an oversite on their side and said we would not pay extra for the cracks. The day after the cracks were fixed, we had a small earthquake. The epicenter was just a couple of miles from us. The cracks remained fixed. That’s a good omen.

After that, things were totally amazing, in the very best way. They brought in a large crew of 8 or so and did all the demolition in one day. They decided to do the painting next (except for the kitchen and bath, of course). After four days, the only room not finished is the large bedroom upstairs. The painters are fastidious. A separate person follows along behind the painters making sure the job is prefect. I say with total assurance that the ceilings and walls never looked this good, even when the house was brand new.

It’s been a time of continuously moving our stuff around as they paint different rooms. Most of our appliances are in the garage. We have access only to our microwave and the refrigerator. Before they went home for the week, they put a folding table in the living room. This is a great improvement because our meals, the food, and the laundry are all on the same floor. We have access to one bathroom upstairs and one in the basement. The only water available on the main floor is a pitcher we chill in the refrigerator. Filling the pitcher upstairs and taking it to the refrigerator reminds me of a Lenten exercise we did many years ago, taking all our water from an outdoor outlet. (It was to help us remember that many people on this planet still live in primitive conditions.)

The crew is pleasant and hard working. Almost everything went well so far. The first day of work, one of the crew intentionally jumped over the landing railing and landed on the living room floor some 15 feet below. He claimed he didn’t hurt himself, but he never jumped the railing again. The more serious accident was when the scaffolding collapsed. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. They had finished painting the ceiling, so they just packed up the pieces and took it away. They will finish painting this week.

Electricians are already at work. We used to have an outlet on the side of the kitchen island. The code has changed a lot lately. The construction crew told us we would have to move that to a pop-up outlet on the island surface. Then the electrician said the pop-up outlet is also disallowed. But there’s a trick. There’s no rule against having a junction box inside the island. After the inspector is done, the electricians will install an outlet — right on the side of the island where it used to be. As the electrician was leaving, he said “I know what I want to put in the permit”. This is just one example of why you want pros doing the work.

In unrelated news, I was able to finally declare the shirts I ordered were lost. One of the options I had was to immediately refund the money. After I clicked the box, a message said the order is refunded. (Yea!) I would receive the funds in 7 to 10 days. (What?????) We received the funds the yesterday. (It’ about time!)

I hope this finds everybody doing well.