About 2 weeks ago, we insisted on a completion date from our contractor; Monday, November 19, is the date.  That is the Monday of Thanksgiving week.  We have opted to travel to East Tennessee to have Thanksgiving at Mom’s instead of hosting the holiday dinner ourselves.  Does that convey our level of confidence in the finish date?

We’ve been playing a lot of bridge lately – duplicate bridge – it has become something of a compulsion.  I’m not at all sure it is healthy.  We do meet interesting people at bridge:  a retired mathematical physicist who suggested we advise our son, a sophomore majoring in physics, that nearly ALL students find their first physics class terribly difficult; an elderly woman with a walker who let us know that she is safe in her home living alone in  Memphis because, “I have a gun,” followed by, “I just don’t know where I put it.”  She also has a taser – it is pink, and it works great, which she knows because she tased a bug.  We’ve also met several of our neighbors at bridge, even though we play all around the area. One neighbor, a retired contractor who refurbished US Embassies all around the world, replied to our tale of remodeling woe with, “I’ve never understood why people put up with that from their contractors.”  Lovely.

We have made progress since my last post. The fireplace has been rocked!  Here is the before picture:

Here it is after the rock is installed:

The island stone and counter tops have been installed and they are still covered for their protection so no good pictures of them yet, but here are a couple pictures of the island stone making its way into the house (with a lot of accompanying grunting and groaning):

The hardwood floors are all laced in:

Sanding the floors, the beginning of the finishing process, is to start next Monday, but we are skeptical of that date, mostly because the appliances have been delivered and here they sit:

The kitchen backsplash tile installation has begun:And, finally, something that I’m absolutely in love with!  It really does glitter in the light!  Here is a close up:My quilting friends will recognize the tiny tumbling blocks – the material looks like sea shells.  I loved the tile when we found it, and I love it installed.  Trouble is, the contractor did not order enough of it.  The good news is, there is enough more available to finish the  walls to the ceilings, as we expected.  Happy news!

Meanwhile, fall has arrived in Memphis.  One day it was 90 during the day and well over 70 at night.  The next day the highs switched to 50-60’s and lows 40-50’s.  We have lots of sunny days with blue sky and low humidity.  We arrived almost exactly one year ago and we have lived over half of that year outside, as our remodel has slogged along.