Farenheit rising

This week has been stressful. My usually pristine façade (ha!) is starting to crack. I am ready to be done with building a house, and done with moving altogether.

Last month, we were 2 weeks ahead of schedule on our build, and now we will be lucky to finish on time. The greatest factor contributing to the about-face is the kitchen guy. We found a guy who does custom cabinetry on his own, out of his own workshop, as an after-hours business. He was able to give us much higher quality for a much better price than the local cabinet shops. He seemed like a lucky find… until we realized that because he is a one-man show, and life often gets in the way, he wouldn’t be able to move as quickly as the cabinet shops do. He’s been installing our kitchen for a few weeks now. We are well past the original deadline we had for getting it in, and there have been a few snags along the way, too – a wrong piece of cabinetry here or there, the wrong glass in the doors. As I see our project timeline slipping, I am more and more hesitant to ask him to fix things, knowing they will only back matters up further. But then again, do I want to live with something I’m unhappy with for the next 20-30 years? – I think not.

The kitchen guy is holding up the trim guy, who still needs to do the wainscoting, baseboards, and staircase. He won’t do the stairs until the bathroom vanities are in. The kids’ is in; ours is not, though we have bathroom countertops arriving on Monday, so I certainly hope the vanity is in by then. The plumber can’t come until the counters are in, and we may be looking at paying for a second trip from the plumber, since our kitchen counters *may* not be in by the time we move in, and the kitchen sink may therefore need to be plumbed at a later date.

We are planning to go out of town for a few days next week for some R&R, though all the changes and delays have us now wondering how smart that will be – what if something goes terribly wrong while we’re gone, and it’s too late to change it by the time we are back??

I had all this brewing in the back of my mind last night when I went to pick up the kids from Cindy’s. “See you tomorrow!” I waved as we walked out the door. “Ummm, no you won’t,” said Cindy, “my vacation starts tomorrow – didn’t you know?” I thought she was starting vacation on Friday; I was wrong, and I nearly had a heart attack. Both Chad and I had work commitments today that we couldn’t get out of. Gramma Cook was able to shift a few appointments and pick up a few groceries in time to accommodate us, but I am definitely thinking we need a plan B – we might not be so lucky next time.

Then, I got stood up again last night by yet another person swearing via email that they want to come buy my coffee table, only to bail on me. Arrrgh!!!

It’s also not helping matters any (I’m sure) that the Olympics are forcing me to stay up way past my usual bedtime, and I am getting progressively more cranky and tired and irritable as the week wears on. I’m sorry, it’s just not as exciting to watch the recaps the following morning as it is to see something unfold live. And yes, it’s vitally important that I see how these beach volleyball matches turn out. :)