Work Out West

Elliott here!

As I sit shoulder to shoulder on this 50 passenger CRJ200, aka the Fiat of Jets, I can't help but think about the great experiences I've logged this past week in Montana. I have the choice to either blog a little entry or make conversation with "that guy" next to me who thinks it's appropriate to sit Indian-style while barefooted on a plane... We are flying to Denver, but it's still not okay, ya dirty human. By the way, does anyone else have mini panic attacks when you're walking down the aisle of a plane looking for your seat? Admit it, we all judge every single person we pass along the way... You see the frustrated person shoving their bag, which is big enough to hold all of the recent complaints against Butch Jones, into the overhead compartment. Maybe if you put it in "wheels first" it will fit. Oh wait, no it won't. But rather than recognizing that, even with the flight attendant politely/forcefully saying, "ma'am, ma'am, you're going to need to check that bag!", they continue to hold up the line. So much for an "on time departure"! Come on! You thankfully move past them and then your mind races as you make eye contact with the frequent flying business person who has their mobile command center setup next to them. It includes a laptop, iPad, Bose noise canceling headphones, a mini nuclear powered battery, and a Polaroid Insta-Zip photo printer (I'm sure they ordered that last one from Sky Mall). Lord forbid you interrupt their highest grossing 3rd quarter production to ask them to move their $#!+ so you can sit on your 14" wide seat (which also serves as a flotation device should you throw that person out the window). At least you're not sitting next to the chatty-Cathy who wants to share their life story (accompanied with blurry photos of their grandkids) as they smack on bubble yum and reek of rose water. Am I the only one with these experiences? I shouldn't throw stones; I'm the guy who opens a fresh bag of beef jerky on the plane. "Did someone just fart?! Oh no, it's just Elliott's jerky." Anyways, I'm way off topic.

You're probably asking yourself, "what the heck is he doing in Montana?!" That's a valid question, and I'll give you an abbreviated explanation. As you may know, I work for the Feds. I'm a Civil Engineer, and I oversee your transportation tax dollars that are divided among the different state departments of transportation, specifically Virginia. My normal job requires that I dabble in a little bit of everything from reviewing transportation facility designs, reviewing the construction of them, and developing guidelines to make the process more efficient... as efficient as government will allow. I was lucky to get the opportunity to complete a 3 month rotational assignment with another branch of my agency. As a part of that, I will be partnering with the US Forest Service to conduct road safety reviews on a few of their roads. I will also get to go meet with a few National Park Service folks down in Asheville to pickup a few tricks from them. The assignment is constantly evolving, and I may also get to travel to meet with a few Native American tribes to promote "proven safety countermeasures". In summary, I get to travel all over the US for 10 of the 12 weeks, to arguably some it's most beautiful parts, to promote safer roads... and I get paid to do it. #lifeisgood (if it's appropriate to use non-hyperlinked hashtags in texts, it's appropriate in blog posts... #dontjudge #keepreading).

So this past week I got to fly to the metropolis of Kalispell, MT. My meetings, as well as the road we were reviewing, were in the Flathead National Forest. Showing photos of this place is almost an insult to its natural beauty; but because I like you, I'm going to share a few. 

There is about a 100 mile road there (NF 38/NF 895 for you google-mappers) that circles the Hungry Horse Reservoir. It's partially paved, mostly gravel, and completely mesmerizing. 

This road is lined with dense trees (hints national "forest") including cottonwoods (yellow ones), lodge pole pines, larches (light green with black hanging moss - also my favorite trees on this trip), and different varieties of furs (their needles are soft to the touch unlike the spruces')... I learned a lot about trees this last week, folks!As you venture deeper into the forest, the piney smells intensify to the point where you start to question if you've been smacked in the face with some sort of an evergreen. There are several pebbled slopes, mainly along the vistas, which look like they could give way at any moment. 

Flathead is one of America's best kept secrets. Well, I didn't know anything about it; so it must have been a secret. It's literally the definition of the wilderness' edge. Grizzles, elk, and moose encounters aren't uncommon. Although, we only had a close encounter with a partial elk.

The locals flock there to pick bushels of huckleberries and pounds of Morel mushrooms. I learned a ton about forest and wildlife management, and I hope I taught my hosts a little about transportation safety. I feel like I got the better end of the trade.

The team, made up of consultants, USFS staff, and myself, got to spend the night in the Spotted Bear District of the Forest. From that point back, you can only travel deeper into the forest on foot or horseback. There are caves along the river that are said to be some of the nation's largest, unexplored caves.

That is incomprehensible to me! Most of the forest is a grizzle bear sanctuary. Multiple campers die every year back there. Okay, I made-up that last part... just wanted to see who was still paying attention. We didn't camp; we got to stay at a really rustic dude ranch in these single room cabins with no electricity and heated by wood stoves.

The main lodge does have a few electrical lights that are run by a generator, but the majority of their stuff (appliances, lights, and heat) are fueled by propane. It was an interesting lodging experience. I even got to drive head-on into an active wildfire! Before you give me the Chuck Norris Medal of Bravery, it was the backside of the fire that had already been fought by Smokey the Bear.

Still, there was a chance that it could have turned into a rager at any moment. 

On the last night of the trip, we drove up to the top (well, as far as you could go on a vehicle) of Glacier National Park.

It was a gloomy, foggy drive at dusk. The mountains appeared gothic and stout.

Unlike the slopes in the Flathead, these slopes were only at risk of sliding in the event of a winter avalanche. I kept waiting for John Snow to show up and ask us to help him save the Wildlings (#GOT). The drive down got really sketchy when the clouds, not fog - clouds, shifted down and made it impossible to see.

We made it back unscathed. 

All in all, this was an incredible experience, and a great way to start my assignment. The people we worked with in Montana were the most hospitable folks I've met. The FS Staff Officer made us lunch (elk sandwiches with elk jerky off the elk he killed last season), and one of the District Rangers even cooked us pot roast at her house one night! Who does that for a GROUP of strangers?! Incredible. Anyways, I've got to sign off and make my connection in Denver. I'll keep you posted during my upcoming trips. Next week - Asheville, NC!

Dumps, doldrums and delays... are we done yet?

Elliott here... In my last blog post, I promised an action packed story about the stress this project has had on our pups. Most of you have met our oh so fuzzy kids, Dooley and Graham. Dooley is the alpha, the old (crotchety) man, the protector, the non-discriminatory lover, and Lauren's favorite creature whose only known enemies are rodents, thunderstorms, and any package carrier (FedEx, UPS, USPS, and the occasional Girl Scout). Graham is the artist, the tender hearted romantic, the only remaining descendant of Disney's dwarf Dopey, and my favorite domestic Sasquatch whose only known enemies are frictionless stairs and the occasional stray dingle berry. These guys are huge part of our life, but we feel we've failed them as caretakers during this project. We started off boarding them at a local kennel (what up DDH), but that soon became economically unsustainable. After the "heavy construction" tapered off, we decided to keep them locked-up in our bedroom upstairs. Before you start judging, their pen area in our bedroom isn't exactly Alcatraz. They have more blankets and pillows than your local Holiday Inn. Anyways, a few weeks back (we're rounding out week 7 now), we came home to THE MOST foul smelling house... We had to sit in the porta-john out front to catch our breath afterwards. I came upstairs and saw that poor, poor Graham had relieve himself... several times... in their pen... and ON Dooley. It was EVERYWHERE!

I release them from their pen, and Graham begins sh... poop uncontrollably on his way to the backyard! All the while his tail is wagging (who knows why) and throwing poop on the bedroom rug, walls, stair banisters, and all over the floor leading to the back door. It was the worst rendition of Hansel and Gretel I've ever seen... Meanwhile, Lauren is rushing out of the house with the neighborhood gals to get pedicures. "Don't worry, La; I've got this." I spring into action and bath them both. You should have seen Dooley's face when we asked him to get back in their clean pen to be dried off with a fan... He now has Post Traumatic S#!+ Disorder. Graham continued this behavior for the next two days... all over the house. We took him to the ER (yes, they have those), and he was diagnosed with "Stress Induced Colitis." Seems we need to add kitchen renovations to his list of known enemies. A few pills and some tasty, expensive, soft dog food and he was good as new.

We decided to let our buddy, Mike, keep him the next week to give him a break from the action. He offered to keep Dooley too (they're buds), but I insisted that Dooley would be fine home alone... Boy was I wrong! I guess Dooley, being the wise old man, decided that leaving us a few smelly nuggets on our bedroom's carpet was his ticket out of the house and onto Mike's couch. Well played my man, well played...

On to more kitchen updates... (Lauren here)... We now have counters, beautiful, LG Viatera Rococo counters. I am obsessed. However, two weeks ago Monday my excitement was tempered with despair... 

Coming home to the new counters was amazing, Elliott and I felt like we hit a huge milestone, until I realized that the size counter we talked about was not the size that was in my house. Expectations, unmet. I was devastated. All this investment, all the thought into the design, and most importantly, the ability to eat dinner at the island top and one day have our kids eat there, at a safe distance from the cook top flame... all gone with a 5 inch miscommunication.

  

Okay so maybe a little over dramatic... but it was really disappointing. (Okay, I cried. It was a tough day and I admit I cried over a counter... please don't judge me too harshly). 

If you take a look below, you see where Elliott is pointing on the measuring tape; that is the designed length. It means that Elliott's knees hit the wall before he is close enough to comfortably sit to eat. It also means that folks are 5 inches closer to a cooktop, that when entertaining, were closer than I was expecting and intending. Caveat, Elliott is not a normal sized human; but, it is important that were able to have what we designed. Before our top had close to a 16" overhang, the overhang in the pictures below was 9.25". We had resigned ourselves to living with this despite the fact that we thought we had communicated and discussed the desire to have the "same size island top" as was in the previous kitchen layout. We shared our disappointment with the contractor and were pleased when the best case scenario played out. He is fixing it, and he is doing so at his own expense. He continues to exceed our expectations and be a phenomenal partner in all of this. We are so grateful. *sniff*

We learned some real lessons in the countertop debacle. 1). Always document your expectations and do not assume that only a conversation will suffice. We're all human, there are mistakes and it is important to be sure that what you want is communicated clearly. 2). It pays to be honest with your contractor... no matter how hard it is to tell someone that you're disappointed. To begin, it ensures that there are no secrets, and second, it enables the contractor to be apart of the discussion and in the best instances, be a part of the correction for the issue. He wants us to recommend him. We want to recommend him. And both sides know that is harder to do if the client is not happy with their end product. 

Sidebar: In case you are wondering, "who's the creeper in the kitchen?" It is our dear friends Lauren and Keith Elliott, in the form of a discounted photo blanket. They are doing a phenomenal job protecting our cooktop from dust and debris. Thank you Elliotts... we love having your creepy faces in our kitchen every day! For the record, we ARE obsessed with the Elliotts, no question, but we are not SO obsessed that we had a photo blanket printed of their cute selves. The Elliotts sent us a surprise package after being enticed by a mega clearance email offer - good job, Walgreens. It was/is hilarious and we now have a phenomenal memento of them. When we miss them... we just cuddle the blanket... yup, totally weird. 

More fun update photos ahead...

Also, please meet our, on back order, 7 trip to the tile shop, borrowing 15 tile samples, agonizing decision making, tile choice, the Walker Zanger (or as Elliott is affectionately calling "Walker Texas Zanger") cocoon mosaic tile. (http://www.walkerzanger.com/library/pdf/products/6thAvenue.pdf) See you in October WTZ!

Still to be done: shoring up the ceiling, finishing the appliance install, new counter install, plumbing snafu fix (our sink is non-operational due to a "wrong pipe, wrong time" situation), and punch list fixes. Also, the protective paper has come up unveiling the floor again and we'll share those pics in the next post. We're almost there folks! 

Things you cannot control

Progress...

You know, prior to getting started on this project, people always joked that, "this kitchen project is going to really test your marriage." Try to envision some old man cartoon character shaking his fist in the air and then reread that last sentence. Well high-five, Confucius; you were right. Go ahead and remove your hand from your wide open mouth; Lauren and I are still happily married. Though we find it ironic and fitting that we're in a series at church about love and marriage... these things happen for a reason.

(Yes, that "dinner table" is an ironing board. Don't judge, we're being resourceful.) 

Though this has been one of the most stressful things we've dealt with to date, I feel like we've handled it pretty well... Lauren, you trying to second that?! Don't get me wrong; Lauren has threatened to take me out behind the woodshed (and not in a romantic context) and wear me out! I've even found searches on her interweb's browser like: how to change door locks without my husband knowing, how to create a new identity, cheap local movers... the list goes on. In my defense, I have an eye for perfection (hence the reason I married Lauren), so when something doesn't look quite right, I pick up on it... and then commence dramatically flipping out. This causes Lauren to flip out, and then we both start flipping out over something we had no control over. For example, we came home the other day to a drop (literally one minor drop) of paint on our linen pendant light in the dining room. That, compounded with backwards reveals (that's a new contractor word I picked up on recently) around the kitchen window, sent me into an epic rant about how our contractor's subs don't pay attention to detail. 99.9998% of folks would never have noticed, but it stood out to me like a Bama fan in G10... It just ain't right! (Virginia friends, G10 is a highly coveted parking garage tailgate spot in Knox-Vegas). Lauren would normally have yelled right back at me; but this time she just sarcastically antagonized me until I caught on that she wasn't as frustrated as I was. We laughed and all was good.

We keep saying we trust our contractor, but I feel like it's the equivalent of saying I trust Graham-bino not to eat my bologna sandwich off of the coffee table... He won't do it if I keep my eye on him. And, we do really trust our contractor. We've had several issues lately with our cabinet supplier and installer. Nothing big, but little issues that you shouldn't have with new cabinets. For example, one of the panels wasn't painted correctly, the cabinet installed around the refrigerator was for a standard fridge, not our counter depth fridge, and they cracked one of the corners of the hanging cabinets (it could probably be covered up, but we paid for a blemish free cabinet). If we were doing this project by ourselves, we'd have no leverage with the cabinet folks to get these items corrected. I mean, what are they going to do if we're not satisfied that the doors aren't perfectly square? I guess they'll lose our business next time we renovate the kitchen.... which isn't EVER happening again! Our contractor on the the other hand has plenty of leverage seeing as they'd want HIS repeat business. He went to bat for us last week (while he was on vacation) and has setup a meeting with the manufacturer's rep as well as our distributor's rep (who also installed the cabinets). This act really reinforced my opinion of him. He may not be communicating as much as my OCD personality prefers, but he's doing his job ensuring that we're getting the finished product we're paying for.

All of these issues coupled with our countertops being delayed a week have delayed our completion date from 7/3 to 7/10ish... We hope! We have friends staying with us this weekend. I hope they don't mind navigating the maze of appliances, living room/dining room furniture, and random items stuffed temporarily in their room! Other than installing some trim and rolling on the first coat of paint (congrats, Stonington Gray, you were selected over the other NINE samples painted on our wall), not a lot of work has commenced since our last post.

Looking ahead this week, all of our appliances will be delivered on Thursday (whoop), cabinets may get adjusted by Friday (whoop, whoop), and countertops get installed next Monday (whoop, whoop, and whoop).

We'll touch base with y'all later! Pray that it all comes together soon! 

PS, the next blog post will cover the Great Graham-bino's bout with "stress induced colitis"...

Shakin' it up

Day 1 shaker cabinet install.... Fun, fun, fun! No. Stressful!!! It is so great that we have a contractor to worry about everything except for the fact that Elliott and I are control freaks and this is painfully difficult. I have to keep reminding myself- this is all a part of the process... We are paying for an end product... 

That being said, and I know everyone is waiting patiently for a look see at the cabinets, here are a few shots at the halfway/3 quarter point of cabinet install. 

You probably notice that the ceiling is uneven above the fridge cabinet... We are assured it can be leveled out so that the crown is flush so we are having faith. 

Our floating run above the island/peninsula will go in soon...

And the house is still a wreck...

We are hanging in there!

Fortune, floors and deliverance...

It is safe to say that Elliott and I are eating a fair amount of take out these last few weeks. 

That means that we are living by the sentiments that come out of our Hunan fortune cookies... 

Key word: "should".

Welcome to my kitchen!

The grill is a life saver these days. Sunday grilling has served us well throughout our weeks and is our guarantee for weight management during this process. That being said, I cannot wait to have my counters and kitchen tools back!

A side bar project in our house has been our upstairs bathroom. A chunk had dropped out of our ceiling when we first moved in (nearly 4 years ago!) and we had it repaired. This meant we (Elliott) spent a weekend painting that room and cleaning it up. He ran up on some challenges requiring that he paint the walls before the ceiling so he tapped into his ingenuity to protect the walls... Patent pending.

 

Also, thought I might share how we are storing all of our kitchen stuff while we are in the midst of this chaos...

Don't judge. This current storage space is next on our project list...

On to the progress... Not a lot has happened except sanding and prepping drywall. Drywall has been the single messiest and hardest part of the project because you can't see a lot of progress and it honestly makes things look worse before they look better. Worst of all, the house is not clean (very dusty) or orderly... We all know Elliott just loves that. 

There is one bit of very exciting progress to report and that is the completion of our hardwoods. We have been a little concerned about putting them in because they wouldn't match the existing original hardwoods. However, the rest of the kitchen will be white so we rolled the dice and went with wood to warm up the space.

We are thrilled about the match... In the above picture the planks below the horizontal threshold are old... Not perfect but we are very pleased. We can't wait to  pull up the paper and see just how nice everything will flow. A big win in all of this is that the transition is now flush. Before, with our 7 layers of floor, there was a substantial bump from the dining to kitchen. Thanks to Elliott's handiwork a few weekends ago, there is no step up into the kitchen! Small victories!

I'll leave you all now... Gotta wash some dishes... And don't worry Tennessee friends and family- we're going to take the UT flag down for the duration of the project in the interest of not perpetuating any stereotypes... After all we do have a porta-john and are washing dishes at the spigot... *insert banjo theme from deliverance*...