Do Not Touch Unit

Josh has this week off of work so he has been busy upstairs scampering around in the attic working on the low voltage wiring. Too tired to shower last night, he crawled into bed and fell right asleep. This morning he really wanted to take a shower, but I prevented him because the shower door people were due to arrive any moment and I figured, why create another lake in the middle of our new bathroom when we didn't have to? 

Well, five hours later they finally arrived and installed our doors. The good news is that the shower doors look even nicer than we expected. The bad news is that we can't use the shower for another 48 hours. Lordie. The above pic is how dirty my sweetie got today. Notice that his smile gets bigger the dirtier he gets. There wasn't even a remote option that he wasn't going to shower tonight. The layer of grease and grime on him was so thick that could have scraped it off. We went over to Jonathan and Arminda's to shower tonight. Believe me, this was no small act of generosity. Jonathan's offer to hose Josh off before getting into the shower wasn't such a bad idea. Now we are fresh and clean. Josh did get the clothing dryer installed yesterday which is extraordinary. I've done about twenty loads in the last 24 hours. So much freshness we can barely stand it. 

The Hungarian and His Latte

The Hungarian electrician is back. He cut his price by 30% for the upstairs which actually brought it back to the original price he quoted us ages ago, so we couldn't say, "no". That and the fact that he started the wiring yesterday and will likely be done by tomorrow, Sunday, sealed the deal. Three days. Love it. Love it.

The Hungarian loves his morning coffee. He always makes a big production out of it. As you may recall, I stopped making him coffee in the morning while he was doing the downstairs wiring a few months ago when I got frustrated with him. Boy, did I show him. So, last week when he and his Mexican helper were here, I offered to get them coffee. Yes, I was feeling generous that morning. It may sound silly, but a cup of coffee ain't cheap anymore! And when you're already paying someone like an electrician or a plumber a pretty hefty wage, it pains me to spend $2 buying them a cup of coffee. Illogical and stupid, but I can't help it. I've also started an informal tally of people's eagerness for me to buy them a cup of coffee in the morning. In general, I have found that the harder someone works overall, the less they demand that cup of coffee in the morning. The less speedy folk seem more desperate for me to get them a cup. Now, the Hungarian is actually a fast diligent worker who is also eager for his coffee, so he is throwing off my statistical analysis. He is extremely chatty when he's not working though. I clearly need to define the scope for more data analysis for better results. 

So, back to my fascinating tale: the Hungarian asks me to get him a large latte and a croissant. I chuckle a little bit and agree. I look to his helper, Adam, and ask what he would like. The Hungarian responds for him and says that he would also like a latte and a croissant. I'm sorry, but no one else who has ever worked for us over the years has ever requested a latte let alone a croissant. And I have an impossible time believing that Adam really wanted a latte and a croissant. I dutifully went on my way to fetch them their lattes and croissants. 

Since we signed on for the upstairs electrical, the Hungarian has started buying us coffee in the morning and even bought us pizza for lunch today. Now that's what I'm talkin' about. Look how easy I am to please! 

On an amusing sidenote, Josh has taken to mimicking the Hungarian around the house as he works up there with them. He screams, "Adaaaaam!" periodically as he wanders around the house. Adam loves it and the Hungarian doesn't know quite how to respond. 

My Monkey

We have finally moved into the studio! It's hard to believe it, but it's true. Moving out for six weeks was the best thing we ever did. The studio still has some finishing work to be done, but all in all is looking great. At least I think so. It's already so much easier not having to run over here at 7:30 to greet contractors. Just being able to retire downstairs to rest is another bonus. The bathroom is the biggest bonus, however. We are still living out of boxes, but I don't care. We have our own little kitchen and our bed and our puppy back. Who needs a shower door when you have a puppy to cuddle with?

General Updates: We passed our framing inspection upstairs last week! This was our last big hurdle, so now it is really full speed ahead.

Plumbing: We got the final inspection on the plumbing downstairs and the rough inspection upstairs on Friday. 

Electrical: The electrical started today upstairs and amazingly enough will hopefully be done by Sunday. As the boys finish the electrical this weekend, Josh will do the low voltage wiring throughout. 

Next we're on to the insulation and in my dreams we will be able to start the sheetrock by the end of this coming week. That will take two weeks though. I fully appreciate now how difficult sheetrocking is and how important a good taper is. Funny things I never knew before -- that there are rockers and then there are tapers. Very different skills. 

The picture is of Josh marking a circle on the ceiling where he needed the carpenter to cut a hole for the range vent. 

Vintage Hardware

I am such a sucker for antique Victorian hardware. It's one of things I've been looking forward to most with this remodel. That and the ceiling medallions. Weird, huh? Mortise locks are a little tricky to install, but the guy that we're getting the doors from will hang them for us with our pesky antiques. Just need to make sure that the mortise locks and left and right reversible. Fascinating, isn't it?

White on White

It may sound dull, but we've gone all white for the bathroom. I wanted to go classic Victorian, so we went with white subway tile. I doubt they had white subway tiles in the 1880s. Come to think of it, they wouldn't have had any indoor plumbing in 1880 and thus, no need for tile inside. So I'm not sure why I'm calling it "classic Victorian". Anyways, we've spiced it up with two rows of these deco-inspired tiles in the master shower. The second bath gets the same treatment except for a yummy row of white polka dots. I couldn't resist. 

Approximately 60 days until The Cupcake arrives. 

 

Wolferama

Here's the Wolf range that I got from our Craigslist appliance guy. She's a little banged up since she's 3.5, but I think she'll clean up pretty easily. At a fraction of the original retail price, who's complaining?

Counters and Backsplash!

The tiler installed the slab on the counter yesterday and the tile for the backsplash today. All the tile work is done! Yet again, I am surprised about how different tile looks after the grout is added. Luckily, for the better. 

The plumber is coming tomorrow to put in the faucet, dishwasher and sink in the bathroom. 

Meanwhile, we FINALLY got that pesky beam approved by the city which means we can finally finish the sheetrock and painting in the bedroom area of the studio. Cesar was back at work finishing that area today. He just needs to finish that back there as well as the baseboard trim and then paint. And we need to install the appliances. But that's it! 

We really are moving back to the studio this Saturday. It's crazy how much we've accomplished in the last six weeks. 

We've lined up Pat's roofer to do the kitchen area on Friday. We'll install the skylight in the kitchen on Saturday. We will schedule the framing inspection for early next week and then it is full speed ahead. The framing inspection is the only real hurdle ahead. 

We have three sheetrockers coming out to give us estimates for the upstairs this week. 

Today, Elder and I tried to figure out exactly how high the towel bars and toilet paper holders are supposed to be. This pregnant lady was trying to squat in the bathroom area to determine the optimal height. We'll see how that measurement turns out!