PHactotum Wheneverly

Today was really rainy, so no concrete could be done.

Met with the concrete guy today. He wanted to make sure of the layout. It sounds like he has several crews busy right now, but he said he'll try to get ours poured either Wednesday or Thursday.

Nothing new going on inside.

A lot happened today. The driveway and sidewalk have been poured. They look really good and make it look more like a home and not just a house sitting in a lot. They put in some nice touches, too. The turn-around pad has a little lip on the back side, so no one will just drive right into the yard by accident, and there's a graceful curve where the sidewalk meets the driveway. We're really happy with how it looks. We also had them go ahead and pour the concrete for our light column out front, so we owe more for that.

The cabinet guys were in to finish up. We now have a completed island. The hardware is on and the kitchen cabinets have their crown molding.

The electricians were also there today. They have all of the outside lights up, doorbell installed, most of the inside lights are in place, as well as the switches and outlets (except for the ones that need to be moved).

Our doorknobs and lock sets are also there waiting for installation.

Perry had Sears hold off on delivering the appliances until next Friday, since everything was a bit delayed this week. That way they can actually install everything and not just set it in place. Mike was hopeful that most things would be done by then.

Lots of little things left to be done, but the end IS in sight!

OK, Perry said I HAD to tell the story, so here's a firsthand account of how we "saw" the house and noticed what had been done. We really aren't usually this unobservant, but we were quite overwhelmed with all of the new stuff to be seen - obviously.

We pull up to the house and notice how great the concrete looks. I quickly take a few pictures of the front of the house, before it gets too dark. We ooh and aah over how nice the driveway and sidewalk look and walk around the concrete just in case it's not quite dry yet. Since we're at the back of the house by now, Perry notices that the A/C unit is plugged in, so we know that the electricians have been in. Yeah! As he's getting ready to unlock the door by the garage, Perry happens to look up and says something to the effect of "How blind can we BE?!" I have no idea what he's talking about, the gutters have been on for quite some time now. Then I see them. "LIGHTS!", I shriek. When taking the pictures just a few minutes before I didn't notice the light by the front door, since I was concentrating on showing off the sidewalk.

As we step inside the garage we notice that the large pile of lighting fixtures has shrunk considerably. We take off our muddy boots and since I'm done before Perry, I wait patiently for him so that we can check things out together. Walking into the kitchen I first notice the hanging light fixture and quickly go into the dining room to see that one. Then I go back to the kitchen (where I notice that the cabinet hardware is on) and Perry is commenting how they got the island cabinet installed and he's looking at it intently. We also notice that all of the switches and outlet covers are on..... Upstairs is more of the same - lights are up, cabinet hardware on....

On the way home we are talking about what what work is left to be done and I wonder out loud if the crown molding is on the cabinets yet. I flip through the pictures on the camera to see and there it is. We hadn't seen it when we were there. Perry commented that he couldn't believe we missed it and I said that we were so enamored with all of the pretty lights and shiny silver knobs that we just didn't see it. And at that Perry looks at me and questions, "There's knobs on the cabinets?!" LOL!

All of the lights are now up and we have electricity! Woo Hoo!!! No more forgetting flashlights and walking around in semi-darkness when we go over in the evening. I'm sure the neighbors thought we were crazy - turning lights on and off throughout the house. Alexa's closet light didn't work and the light in the foyer needs a new globe (it was sitting in the box with a notation that it was broken), but otherwise the lights are great, especially the undercabinet lighting in the kitchen.

The microwave was installed.

The concrete guys came back and put in relief cuts in the driveway.

It also looks like the electricians may have done some work with the light column out front. It was getting late, so we didn't get a chance to really see.

The only disappointment was that the electricians only moved the outlet for the microwave and not the other two above the kitchen cabinets that needed it, too. And there is only one outlet in the island instead of the two that we asked for during our electric walk through. At this point, we think we're just going to work around those issues. Even though it's not the ideal situation, it's doable. We really don't want to wait any longer than necessary to move in and it can always be fixed at a later date if it REALLY bothers us.

Tonight we had a chance to take a better look at things and noticed that we're missing 2 puck lights in the glass front kitchen cabinets that we had requested at the electrical walk through. We also found the reason that Alexa's closet light doesn't work. The bulb looks like it's cracked, so that's an easy fix.

The concrete crew ran a conduit into the concrete for the light column, as well as under the sidewalk.

All of the interior doors are hung, except Alexa's bedroom door which is waiting in her room. The doorknobs are on, there's quarter round trim on the baseboards and the missing spindle is in place on the stairway.

Sears called to confirm the delivery of our appliances for Friday. They had left a message that they are to deliver a stove and 2 refrigerators. So Perry called them back, and apparently the person who left the message was a bit confused and they're really delivering what we ordered (a stove, 1 refrigerator, and a washer and dryer).

Well, I thought I could live with the two upper kitchen outlets as they are, but after thinking about it for a couple days, and sleepless nights, I don't think I can. Everytime I'm in the kitchen, my eyes go right to them, probably because I KNOW that they're wrong. So, we're going to go ahead and have the electricians fix them the way we intended them to be.

Perry talked to Mike today and let him know about the puck lights and upper cabinet outlets and to make sure that having the appliances delivered tomorrow was ok. He said it was.

Mike also said that the countertops are going to be delivered tomorrow! Monday will be busy, too. That's when the plumber is coming back and carpeting is scheduled to be installed! Perry called the gas company and they're also coming out Monday.

Sears will be delivering our appliances between 10:15am and 12:15pm tomorrow. That will work out really well, since I need to drop Trey off at school at 9 and then wait at the house so that they can get in.

What are the chances of ANY delivery being two hours EARLY?! Well, I'm gathering up some stuff to take with me to the house, so that I'll have something to do while I wait for the appliances, when Perry comes in saying that Sears just called and they are 15 minutes away! Since it takes us about 25 minutes to get to the house, Perry tells them that he'll be there in half an hour and flies out the door, cell phone in hand, still on his conference call. I take Trey to school and go to the house so that Perry can finish his call and I can deal with the delivery. By the time Perry got there they had everything already unloaded and when I arrived about 40 minutes later they were almost done.

It turns out that we DID need those 2 refrigerators. The delivery guys realized that ours was damaged on the inside before they installed it, so we have another one coming next Friday.

Even though I drive by the house everyday, We hadn't been inside since Tuesday. So, we were pleasantly surprised to see that all of the bathroom mirrors are put in place and all of the closets now have shelves and clothing rods.

Tonight we stopped by to see the countertops. They look great, especially the ones in the kitchen.

It's amazing how "homey" the house feels already, even with all of the dust and debris around and no furniture in sight.

Tonight Trey participated in the Northern Wells Elementary Cross Country race. He's never done this before, but thought it would be fun. I wasn't able to attend, but heard later that he had a great time. He completed the half mile race.

I'm so very proud of him.

NIPSCO was supposed to install the gas meter yesterday. I called them this morning and they said I was on the schedule for today. As we neared the end of the day I called again for status and they again tell me I'm on the schedule for today. At this time I'm not quite believing the customer service rep and press for them to verify, which they do. They inform me that they work on Central time between 8 and 5, which is 9 to 6 hear in Eastern time.

I head to the house around 5:40 just in case they decide to call at the last minute and then blame it on us not being there. I pull up at 5:55, see that no one is there and call again. They tell me that their installations do in fact go beyond 6:00, they just don't normally schedule them that late. Arrgghh.

When I get in, I am pleasantly surprised to find that the plumbers have been in and appear to be done. I call Cherie to tell her to stop by the house, she is with Trey.

The Garage door opener has also been installed.

I decide to wait around a bit and put in more of the data jacks. Around 8:00 I call back, this time they tell me that their guys were swamped with a large number of emergency calls for gas leaks. I rescheduled for tomorrow. Why couldn't they just tell me when I was calling before that their guys are swamped with emergency calls. I'd understand, and then I wouldn't have wasted so much time.

NIPSCO came today. The guy told me he was the only service man for Bluffton. I asked him about the emergencies, he stated that a lot of people turn off their gas in the summer, and then need it turned back on in the fall. The rest smell gas when they first fire up the furnace and NIPSCO has to investigate to make sure there isn't a gas leak.

I took a half day, today. One it's my birthday. Two, Cherie and I went furniture shopping. We ended back at Sofamart and purchased a Sofa, Love seat, Chair and Ottoman. All in Red.

What's a Dad's best birthday present? His kids enjoying it with him.

This is what happens when you spend all day playing, having fun and enjoying being three for the first time.

Happy Birthday Alexa

Sears delivered the final appliance today.

The HVAC guys came in, turned on the gas, and fired up the furnace. They've installed the thermostat, and all the vents, except those that go in the floor where there is carpet.

We are so close. The carpet guys have been in and installed all the carpet. We are very happy that Mike called and asked us if we wanted the carpet installed as a runner or to run all the way to the wall on the stairs. We didn't think we had a choice on this, and love the fact that we have it installed as a runner.

Paint guys painted the patch from moving the electrical outlets above the kitchen cabinets down.

The cleaners have also been in. They've removed almost all of the cardboard on the floors, swept the floors, and cleaned up the rooms.

The HVAC guys have been in. They hooked up the fireplace. They also ran a line for the furnace to run the condensation from the furnace to the sump pump well. Unfortunately they ran the pipe across the basement floor. This just doesn't work for me. Their is a floor drain right in front of the furnace, but they didn't use that for some reason. Having this run across the floor is a safety hazard.