WHen I asked my hilarious tile salesgirl how long it would take for a certain tile to come in she replied very matter of factly, "a million years. It will take a million years for that tile to get here". I loved her answer so much that it has become my standard reply when people ask us how much longer.

"Done!!? DONE!!!?" she screamed, "DONE DONE DONE!!??"

"Lions and tigers and bears," she muttered.

Never. Ever. Ever. Never. Because we all reserve the right to change our minds. Plus, there's always some stupid detail that lies in wait. Like 'Broken teeth.' Remember that thread?

I think, if I'm not mistaken, was it LittleFishies who actually finished her kitchen right down to the tea towels?

No... Even with my floor (yeah me!) going down, I still have to sand it and decide what finish I want, blah blah. But it will be FINISHED.

I get'cha.

18 years to finish the kitchen but not complaining. The master bathroom is a horror.

Carrie, don't forget - a bowl of fruit, flowers & a tea kettle.

I never read the "Broken Teeth" thread. Sounds entertaining. But darn, I do have a broken molar. I forgot about it. I better take care of that.

I hope my kitchen gets done some day. But then there's the rest of the house.

We lived in our last house for 27 years. It was NEVER all done. There's always another project. And by the time you get done with the last room in the house, the first room needs re-done. At least that's my experience but, of course, we're almost famously slow so by the time we got to the last room, it had been a couple decades since the first rooms done had been touched.

Off to search for the Broken Teeth thread....

Five years ago, after living in our house for 21 years with carpeting from 1972, we decided to replace it. We had already done 2 cosmetic upgrades (mainly DIY) to our kitchen and a bathroom upgrade so it was time for the carpet. Long story short, that carpet replacement was a victim of renovation creep and we wound up moving out of our house for 6 months and gutting it down to studs and plywood and then putting it back together. Then it was DONE and I loved that everything was on an even playing field. Two years later and it was FINISHED and I am so glad. I may have to repaint at some point but that's it..

Up until then I had gone from room to room stripping wall paper, painting, doing tile repairs, painting all the doors and replacing all the hardware once, twice, and updating window treatments etc., etc. A vicious circle.

Now for the outside landscaping and decking- for the second time. Another vicious circle..

We're building an entire house, so of course, "When will it be done?" is the Number One question. We're nearing 'completion', so we are starting to define when we will be 'done'.

According to the county inspector, we can call it done when we have finished floors in the kitchen and bathrooms. I just finished tiling both bathrooms, so a kitchen floor will mean completion, at least legally.

We've pretty much decided that once the floors are done, we're calling it 'done' and getting on with our lives. Things such as crown molding or a finished BR in the basement will become weekend projects'

The kitchen (other than the floor) is pretty much done, but I built some maple counter tops that are out for finish sanding. I'm hoping the shop can jump on them quickly so we can check that box. I got all of the laminate counters done, so the kitchen is quite functional, if not pretty.

I suppose it was 'done' when we received the occupancy permit (yay) but it's been a year plus since and it is not finished. Finished for me would be when there aren't anymore projects that need completion from the initial 'we are building a house' phase. So not decor related things as much but front porch columns stoned, grass in, tile backsplash installed. We are almost 'finished'. Then there is the basement....and onward it goes. That will be considered a winter project at some point as Mushcreek depicted above.

The 'Broken Teeth' thread was interesting. Someone wrote that they compared small projects with big impact. 'Broken Teeth' because you wonder why the heck you didn't just take care of that tooth ages ago.

For example, and in my case:
I had kitchen cabinets stacked in the kitchen, to the point where I was walking through them sideways. I was 'gonna' paint/strip/hang them in such a way that I needed to do other things first. Stupid stuff I couldn't face. Like unpacking the face frame for the base cabinet, installing it, and putting on the drawer fronts. That was 10 boxes. Albeit narrow but long boxes, but boxes in the way, nonetheless. I finally (thank you Hoarders) just unpacked and DID IT.
I should have done it a year ago, because WHOP! Room. I hung the uppers, gave away the old cabinets, and wowowowowooooooo counter space and room to walk. I took care of that broken tooth, my kitchen's smile was something at which I sit and stare, and it avalanched into other, small things that made a difference. (Staring; vacant appreciation when other action should be happening.)

"Is it done?" "How's it coming?"
Evil questions from insensitive people. All asked very brightly and/or kindly. I met someone, somehow, don't remember. We got talking about her renovation and I mentioned I was rebuilding (not renovating) and it was slow going. Two weeks later, I think, I ran into her again and she asked, "So! How's it feel to be living in your new space? It must be done by now." (HUH?)
Bless her heart.

CEFreeman, your evil question cracked me up. A bone of contention is my in-laws. They have always rode my husband like a mule and expect him to spend hours at their house helping with the yard and household projects. They have not been able to care for their home themselves for about 15 years now. Of course, he feels guilty and is constantly going there to help with things (while I grit my teeth) even though they could afford to hire people to do the work. We own four rentals plus our own home so that's six properties he's responsible for. On top of a full-time job that includes travel and a part-time consulting side business. Hence, why our own projects move forward at a glacial pace.

A few weeks ago, MIL stopped by and asked to see the kitchen. I told her it didn't look any different than the last time she was here in the late spring. She actually said (paraphrased), "Why in the heck doesn't he have it done yet?" Ahem, well, maybe it's because he's fixed the railing and other rot areas of their deck, changed out the corroding plumbing in their bathroom, put in their vegetable garden, and repaired a leaking window including the new inner and outside moldings and some of the outside siding and then painted it, and a few other little things I don't recall since May. I almost broke my teeth biting my tongue.

Thanks for letting me vent!

To commiserate - Oh Funkycamper - I hear you.

Really, funkycampers, it wouldn't have killed anyone for you to simply say, "'Well, hun! Let's see. Perhaps because he's been doing nice things on your house. We want to make crtain you two are as snug as {ticks} bugs in rugs over there. How are with the gardens doing? Any tomatoes for us? The deck, new windows and plumbing. Any leaks or are they all nice and tight? What color paint did you choose for him to use on the molding and siding?"

REALLY PEOPLE!? What world do they live in? Oh! One where people just fly in and do exactly what they want for free, when they want it FOR FREE. Did I say that already?

Back to work I go. Seems like I just left. (Well, huh! I did. Go figure.)

Today is the Sunday Church crowd. Holy moly. Talk about a nightmare. You'd thing some of this church stuff would rub off on these people -- even their pastors (whom they show off to the others in their nice Churchy community. Doesn't pride goeth...?). We also call this "10% If Your Lucky Day" and "Hold my table for 3 hours with your mean family so I can't turn it and rake in that 10% if I'm lucky day." Oh, did that drag on? Oops. So does my Sunday.

Thanks for letting ME rant. I'd rather be staring at my projects deciding what NOT to do today.

Oh CEFreeman - bless your heart! ;-) You're funny.

Oh, believe me, I've done that. It doesn't do anything but cause my husband problems because they whine to him if I say anything and then his older sister, who is disabled and doesn't do anything, will call him up and yell at him for me making his parents feel bad. I don't want to put extra stress on him as they do that enough already. They are definitely masterful manipulators.

And they're not all bad. They can like crazy and share that with us. And they can our tuna for us. And were always good about watching the kids when they were young. At age 88, they're not going to change, right?

But nice to have a safe place to let off steam. Thank again!

ETA: re the church crowd....I know! I'm definitely not knocking all people of faith but some of the ones I know are the worst. The last time I had lunch with a strong church attender, I had to leave the entire tip as she wasn't going to leave a cent because she didn't like her meal. I explained that the waitress did her job well and didn't deserve to be punished because she didn't like her spaghetti sauce but she was having none of that. Probably won't do lunch with her again.