Unarrested Development

We have been bustin' booty on this kitchen, but it feels like things have been moving in slow-motion. Each step in process takes a while when we can only spend an hour or two at night and Saturdays (if we're lucky) working. But this Saturday was a good day. We got our hot water finally and some sheetrock up in the kitchen which makes it feel like things are coming to a conclusion and that the slow progress will only speed up.



The above and below pictures are before- and- after sheetrocking.

The hot water tank has had an element out since we moved in so we were only able to take about a 5min shower and then wait a couple hours for it to refill. Two Saturdays ago, Doug decided to put the kitchen on hold and try to replace it. This didn't go well. Short story- It wouldn't drain because there was so much sediment in the bottom so Doug disconnected it and put it on a dolly, wheeled it out into the yard and there it stayed until the scrap metal guy came and hauled it off. We had planned on putting in a tankless eventually anyway, so we headed out to find one. The one we wanted was a special order item but, miraculously, we found one on Craigslist, new with the venting kit! I would love to say we installed it and lived hot water-ever-after, but that was only the first of many hurdles to jump. Anyway, two weeks later we have lovely, never-ending hot water.



Another view of the sheetrock in the kitchen. Can you tell I'm pleased?



I had to document our kitchen life for posterity. Here we have my Mom's griddle, our toaster and the propane can used to fuel my campstove.... next to the work lamp, the exposed outlets, and the insulation on a dirty subfloor.


And here is the baker's rack filled to capacity and our dining table full of junk. There are stacks of plywood for our underlayment in the background.


And my daily bane: the plastic between the kitchen and the rest of the living area. This thing annoys me to no end, having to walk through it all day long. I always get stuck in it because I am generally carrying things in both hands when I walk through. Doug tapes it up really well at night, so half the time I try to walk through and while my body goes through, my head gets stuck by the well-taped plastic at the top and I practically clothesline myself. Good times.