slab almost done!

I started today with a bad dream right before waking up. I dreamed my car was sliding out of control on ice. Another car slid on the ice and collided into me. C thinks I'm worried about the remodel going out of control. Hmmmm.... It sure wasn't fun.

In the morning, I went to the paint store and picked up another batch of paint samples. This was definitely one of the more fun parts of the remodel, but it has been trying to decide on paint without any furniture in place. That's one of the reasons I'm going with neutral colors. I am finding though that I do like the neutral shades - there are so many really rich colors.

Next, I went to the salvage yard to look at marble for a small area of countertop. I love going to the salvage yard. It's like a treasure hunt every time. There is just so much cool stuff there. They have lots of marble and stone slabs that are all recycled from other people's houses. Since we're using the slab in the kitchen, I hope it wasn't used for anthing unseemly..... The bad part of the trip was that it is a really long way to go and they were closed. Fortunately, the guy that works there is so enthusiastic about his work he not only let me look but worked with me a bit.

The marble is going into a 4' area of the kitchen I'm calling the appliance station. One of my favorite things about this area is that it is my original idea - I watch kitchen shows on TV, and I've never seen this idea. The 4' section is separate from the rest of the cabinetry and countertop. It has pull out baskets underneath to store appliances in like a slow cooker and rice cooker. When we want to use them, we can pull them out easily and set them on top of the counter and plug them in. That way they're out of the way while in use. The marble is for the countertop. It's a great surface to make pasty or piecrust on. It's also a nice contrast to the rest of the countertop.

On my way back to the house, a girlfriend called and said she was in the neighborhood so we grabbed a quick cup of tea. It was a really nice break. The contractor took out the first window in anticipation of installing the new one. The slab continues to be a neverending source of surprises, and not in a good way. We thought all the concrete was removed, and low and behold a footer was discovered. They really built the slab to last - the footer is 18" deep by 18" wide. It's going to have to be demolished with a bobcat again.

I am beginning to get really tired. I am tired of wearing grubby clothes every day. I want it done, and I don't feel like it ever will be. I had a moment of freak out today when the contractor mentioned that he expects to be done at the end of next week. I just can't imagine getting everything done that I need to do in that time. But, it was very exciting too! We hope to move on May 20, and that date still seems realistic.

Here's how the yard looks today. It's turfed up from all the bobcat driving. The footer for the slab is visible near the center of the picture. It's a small patch of cement in the dirt. The rest of the footer is buried in the dirt.


Here is a shot of the footer showing how large it is.


This is the window that has been removed to put the new one in.