Today the contractors instsalled most of the cabinets. They installed all they could. Now they are waiting for the appliances which will be delivered tomorrow early in the morning. Once the appliances are here they can install the cabinets above the stove, install the microwave, and the cabinets next to the stove and microwave. They have to get all the cabinets installed tomorrow because the countertop people are coming on Wednesday to measure for the countertop and the cabinets have to be done before they can do that. Anyway, here’s a picture of what the kitchen looks like today.

The cabinets arrived yesterday. As you can see in the photo, my living room is filled with boxes and boxes. The renovation is moving along. They finished the tile on Friday. It’s been grouted and is ready to walk on. I’m hoping on Monday they’ll begin to install the cabinets. It would be nice to have more walking space in the living room and to clear some space for the appliances to be delivered on Tuesday. The kitchen might be close to finished by next weekend. The only thing I’ll have to wait for is the countertop. Once they get the cabinets installed, the countertop installers have to come out and get exact measurements and then go back and fabricate the countertop. That whole process can take up to two weeks. I hope it moves faster than that. We’ll see.

On voting day the contractor and his helper finished clearing the old floor out and deciding the tile layout and figured out the wiring.

Today they began laying the tile floor and installing the wiring. As you can see in the photo the tile floor is almost done and the electrical is just waiting for the appliances and cabinets. Click on the picture to see a larger version to see what the floor will be like. I think it looks nice and it will go well with the cabinets.

The renovation has begun. Today they took out all the cabinets, sink, faucet, and dishwasher. They also began tearing up the floor. There are several layers of floor that need to be taken up. This might take some time. I can’t believe how much they got done on the first day. And they are very clean workers! Here’s what the kitchen looks like today:

Just as I was picking up the phone to call Sears to tell them they’ll need to hall away ugly Betty (my ugly stove), I got a phone call from someone who lives in my building asking if the stove had been sold yet. I had put an add in the basement offering the stove for sale more than a week ago but I hadn’t heard from anyone. I was just about ready to give up on selling it when the neighbor called.

She decided to come down (she lives on the floor above me) and see the stove. She couldn’t believe how clean the stove was. I informed her that I hardly ever used the stove. It’s about 30 years old and in really good shape. She was really excited about possibly replacing her old stove with mine but didn’t have a way to move it. I didn’t want to get into the business of moving stoves so I told her she’d have to work that out herself. She said she’d talk to her partner (unmarried male lover of some 30 years) and get back to me.

She called about an hour later and said she’s bringing her partner down to see the stove. They came in and just a minute after he saw it, she was writing me a check. They will have to work out getting it up to their place but that’s fine with me. The boyfriend and I moved the stove into the living room this morning and it will just sit there until they work out how they will get it to their place.

So ugly Betty is sold and the kitchen is now completely ready for the demolition to begin on Monday. This morning I cooked the last meal on ugly Betty and of course it was sad but I think the new pretty Betty will be so much better.