It is presently 49 degrees inside the House and I am sitting here waiting for the stove to be delivered. To be precise, I am sitting on a rocking chair directly underneath a heating vent, and trying to type with gloves on. And since the ceiling is 11 feet tall, it is not like the heat is funneled directly at me. There are other places it seems to want to go.
The House is still in shambles, and we have no plumbing and minimal heat, but we have a stove. Sigh. When I ordered it they told me it would be about a week for shipment to the local warehouse, at which time I would be contacted within 7-10 days to schedule delivery. That did not exactly happen. Just yesterday morning Michael and I were discussing logistics and what to do if things were delivered before the floors were done. The one thing we were stumped by was the stove. (A 36" Italian stainless steel industrial thing of beauty.) "It's not like they are delivering the stove TOMORROW", I retorted. Ring, ring at 7.30p last night and it's the delivery guys needing to deliver between 8a-12p today.
So again we divide and conquer. Michael to Middlesex and I alone in the almost frozen House.
So if we have heat, why is it 49 degrees INSIDE? I expect it has something to do with it being 28 degrees outside and there still being large holes in the house. Michael also thinks one of the vents is pumping directly back into the attic, so a trip up the ladder is in store for him later. In the meantime, he is headed out to pick up the countertops. We aren't exactly sure how they are going to fit in the back of his truck, so I am wishing him a safe trip back to the city. Fortunately there won't be any room for deer heads, so I don't have to worry about a surprise gift.
Instructions of the day:
- Don't speed in Zebulon, you will get pulled over.
- Don't pick up any portion of a carcass you find alongside the road. Definitely don't bring home heads.
- Don't drive recklessly with 10'6" pieces of Corian sticking out the back of your truck.
- Don't become overwhelmed by the chaos of your home and feel like locking the door and just walking away.
- Don't forget to wear socks when it is 28 degrees outside.
- Don't feel guilty about stealing wireless from a neighbor, especially when you don't actually live next door yet.
- Don't bother with that intense urge to clean, as the real dirt is still yet to come.
I think I need to walk around a bit, as my sockless feet are feeling numb.
As part of our "divide and conquer" House strategy, I took a little tour of North Carolina today. Granted my drive was nothing compared to Michael's cabinet quest last Sunday. But hey, a girl can only do so much in the middle of a workday. After trading a few more emails, I was FINALLY able to get the countertop man on the phone. He sounded SO much nicer than his wife and far less scary, so I took the chance and drove out to Middlesex at lunch. I almost inquired if she would be there or not, but I decided to let that drop.
On the way out to the country, (seriously, once you are outside the eastern city limits of Raleigh...there is nothing), I passed few cars, fewer homes, and signs depicting towns. Not much else. Of yes, let's not forget the cops of Zebulon. As near as I can tell, there were more police than residents. There was one very creepy thing though. Know that I am coming to some terms with the abundance of road kill here. It is simply out of necessity, as this state is ranked 8th in likelihood that you will hit a deer with your car. (Wisconsin is 7th by the way, and California is 49th I believe.) OK, but that is not the icky part. I saw a deer in the median that had obviously been hit, and it didn't have a head. No head at all. Someone had taken it. YUCK. I told a co-worker who lives out there and she was laughing her ass off. "Yep, you were out with the rednecks", was the best explanation she had.
Back to the counters. So I made it to Middlesex and was a given a brief history of the Corian debacle. Apparently this man's wife wanted granite earlier this year and he talked her into Corian. He said he knew that was a bad idea from the start, but he was holding his ground on that one. The kitchen was remodeled, the $5000 of Corian installed, and three months later his wife had it replaced by the granite she wanted in the first place. Yep, THREE MONTHS. He very kindly showed me the new kitchen and while the granite is pretty, I actually preferred the Corian pattern. I also got a glimpse of the rest of the house and I will tell you now that Christmas had vomited everywhere. "The wife is a little crazy about Christmas". I had been right to be scared.
We'll be back in Middlesex on Saturday to pick up our counters! Being on a budget might not be so bad. You find yourself being more creative and you end up being "green" in the process. I always did like recycling.
We are huge David Sedaris fans. If you haven't had the pleasure, pick up "Naked", "Me Talk Pretty One Day", or "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim". Trust me, you will find yourself laughing. If you REALLY want to experience the magic, pick up the audio versions or his excerpts on NPR's "This American Life". Now you will find yourself laughing OUT LOUD. There is something about the combination of his sarcastic words and his wheezy, high and utterly unique voice. Oh yes, and the perfect deadpan delivery.
As I'd previously mentioned, he would do appearances at UCLA's Royce Hall every year and we would always have tickets. Our Sedaris' partners were our dear friends Anne and Ron. I missed more than a few shows due to my travel schedule, but Michael made them all. If you've ever sat next to Michael in a movie, or the theater or any other public event, you would think part of him is dying inside and he's having the most miserable moment of his life. He typically sits ramrod straight, eyes up front, and no facial expressions...AT ALL. But there are a few exceptions...Avenue Q, Spamalot, and David Sedaris. Once Michael laughed so hard at a Sedaris event that he was stricken with Bell's Palsy. I will find some photos and then you too can laugh.
Ironically, all the Sedaris kids grew up in Raleigh and he writes about the city often. Once all my books are out of storage, I am going to reread all his stories so that I can truly understand my NC experience. I consider it a manual of sorts. He's also speaking in the area next April and I've already snatched up tickets. Anne...you hear me...get your ass to Durham on April 11, 2009! Tickets are waiting! I swear we'll have walls and electricity!
This must somehow tie into the House...so here it is. Last night, Michael met David's brother Paul...at OUR HOUSE. Paul "You Can't Kill the Rooster" Sedaris runs a well-known flooring company here in Raleigh and he is redoing our hardwoods! So freaking cool.
I owe Anne an autograph since she got David to sign a book for us earlier this year. I expect it might be Paul's signature on the back of a wood scrap, but I'll get. Worse comes to worse, I can always send our final flooring invoice. After we've submitted it to the historical society of course. SEDARIS!
No shock that we are in a recession. It still amazes me that it took so damn long for them to call it. I expect that Bush was waiting until the last bitter moment so that it fell on someone else's shoulders.
Over the weekend we were talking about the economy with our soon to be neighbors across the street. They too have been renovating their historic house and have yet to move in. Their project is a couple months ahead of us and is basically completed. Unfortunately their beautiful country farmhouse from the late 1800's has yet to sell...and so they haven't made the move to downtown Raleigh yet. That leaves them in a lurch and now paying two mortgages, while spending, spending, spending on the remodel and addition. We can relate. Completely and painfully. While we are only out one mortgage, we totally make up for it with storage fees and Condo rental. We're basically going against EVERYTHING the financial experts and economists are recommending right now. Why save, when you can spend everything? Real estate value down? No problem invest more in it! This better not backfire.
And just to clarify one quick thing...we were still paying the electric bills on the House, there just wasn't any electrical hooked up these past two months! I can't tell you how glorious it was to walk through it with the lights on last night. While I do still hope the House is haunted, I prefer to see my spirits rather than 'feel' them. Next step? Get that expensive new HVAC system pumping out some heat.
Things turned nicely today. The guy selling three-year-old Corian countertops actually answered his email and sent me photos. I did get a little freaked when I called the number he left and spoke to his wife. There was a bit too much "Southern" on the phone. I swore we were each speaking some other very foreign and complicated language. And she scared me a bit.
That said, the photos look really promising and I hope that I will be able to manage the measurement process on my own in a couple days. We are having to divide and conquer a few of the tasks this week, and math in any form has never been my forte. I am sure that Michael will send me on my way to the Corian man with charts and graphs and lots of equations. We both know that this is $700 that is 'disposable'. There is a great (big, major, complete) chance I might screw this up.
Michael also had luck ordering our tankless water heater and coordinating with the clawfoot bathtub restoration man. Apparently if we are able to get the cast iron tub out the front door and onto the porch, they can take it from there. Yeah...no problem.
Now, if the sink dude would only get back to us I might have a full kitchen. Details, details.
OH - but the best news today? The electricity is back on in the House!! Yes, we have electricity. Oh yeah, pay that electric bill, baby. Paying the electric bill is key.
It was a rainy, rainy day here in North Carolina. I spent most of the morning reviewing budgets and figuring out how much money we have left to spend on frivolous things like countertops, a toilet, and a kitchen sink. I then did my best to organize our sad little Condo. Since I have no place to put anything, organization actually entails moving things from one place to another, and then pretending the new place is better. Iona spent the day doing as little as possible. She may have been bored, but it was mostly that she didn't want to go outside and get her feet wet. Spoiled. Rotten. Dog.
Michael left early and drove all the way to Statesville and back again with a little U-Haul trailer. He was able to get all the remaining cabinets loaded and he returned to Raleigh around 3p. He spent most of the drive in the pouring rain, although it fortunately let up enough for us to move all the cabinets into the House. I have to say that they are going to work out really well! The are truly beautiful custom built cherry cabinets painted black. Just picture finished wood floors, mustard painted walls, lighter countertops, a cast composite black sink, stainless appliances and brushed steel hardware. Yeah...we have a long, long way to go. I "see" it, but damn there are still gaping holes in the wall. Keep in mind that it is NOT raining in the House, it is just the perpetual dust cloud that I fear will never dissipate.
Lest one thinks that pure progress hasn't been made, here are recent photos of the work the contractor did last week. Our foyer is now a tool storage locker and our hall bathroom is, well...it is ALMOST four walls and a floor. Thankfully they did wall off the open space that used to contain a room that was subsequently knocked out by us prior to delaying the addition. All I want for Christmas is no unusual access to the outdoors.
When I started this blog, I never intended it to become a 'Renovation Story'. I guess when your time is all-consumed by something, that naturally becomes your life. Perhaps someday I can entertain you all by writing about weekends spent in my pajamas and playing PS3. Ah, the good old days.
