My GC came today at 7:15AM and went over the electrical outlets, lights, etc with me. Today they're taking out the old slider and replacing it with a window. They're also making a hole for the new slider which will be in the DR section of the kitchen out to the deck. Wanted to make sure that my Aunt's (who just passed away last year at the age of 101) server fits on the wall. It does! Isn't it funny the little things that make you happy? I love this renovation stuff! DH thinks I'm crazy. Igloo: I've been following your progress. Don't worry, it will happen! (Maybe your chickens can help you out?). I actually thought of you as I was in Homegoods with my mom and we saw an entire section of chickens! Maybe I need a kitchen chicken too? Barb

numbersjunkie, I know, right?! These go-gethers were at the house early. In fact, one called to ask if he could come earlier than we had planned. Um, sure. <crazy pants!> And they have skillz! We did have some funny things happen, like the early bird friend disconnecting the security/smoke/heat detector and the alarm going off. I happened to be in the driveway by the dumpster while it was still going and a neighbor who was walking his dog was looking at the house like, "what the?!" and when he looked at me I shrugged and said, "Oops." On the plus side, we learned that there is no way we'd sleep through the alarm going off and also that there is a speaker on the outside of the house that blares, too. Lucky, lucky neighbors! LOL anitamo, here are pics of the house from the realtor listing when my BF bought the house almost 3 years ago.

UPDATE: We are moving along, but ever so slowly it seems! I think that is the way it might feel for some time : ) Working on other areas of the house, inside and out, has taken us temporarily away from the kitchen, but we are getting back to it now! I've been in the process of setting up our temporary-temporary kitchen in the breakfast nook, which is in the current kitchen. DH informed me it'd have to be moved soon so he and I could begin demo of the kitchen... I am clearly too tired to think straight - he's right! He suggested we move it to the dining room-to-be TV room for now... but first we had to remove his widescreen TV, which he seemed unable to live without (sports fan that he is). This was a sacrifice for DH. Bless his heart! Yesterday we began to set up the temp-temp kitchen (2 temps) because eventually it will be taken down to remove and rebuild a wall between the future tv room and kitchen... My prep space, and only a few of many storage units... The water source is all the way across the house... I'll be keeping a jug nearby! The only problem? We removed the only light in that room... this is the scene from early this morning... making DH's lunch using an emergency light! Felt a bit like camping days from the past! We'll be adding a cheap light pronto! coffee stations are all the rage now... and we have one! Living the life! I have double ovens! (ancient toaster oven sitting on top of old microwave). I'll sure miss that "feature" as our new kitchen will only have a slide in range. ; ) The microwave came from DH's bachelor pad, and to my dismay still had 'gunk' in it, after it'd been sitting for 2 years! I used a flame torch to sterilize it. We put an old rug on the plywood subfloor for now... it adds a certain je ne sais quoi to our formal dining area, don't you think? Things I've learned thus far: 1) When vacuuming plywood sub-flooring, always vacuum with the grain. That way you'll get up half the dirt as opposed to none. 2) Those plastic drawer storage containers won't open if you put anything heavier than 15 paper napkins and a single plastic fork. 3) Keep a plastic drop cloth over everything when not in use... demo dust can find it's way into anything! 4) Maintain a sense of humor, maintain some semblance of order amidst the chaos, and always, always, have a hot pad ready for hot casserole dishes! Best wishes to those going through the process - or preparing to!

@Lori Butler we moved in 20 years ago - you can say this renovation is long overdue. I did check our last appraisal from a refinance in November. The appraiser took pictures of every single room in the house..... except this one! We do have the picture from 20 years ago and that would certainly be a statement. It improved greatly since then but really needed a gut remodel. Lesson learned. This is phase 1 of our remodel. I will make sure I get all my pictures in phase 2!!!