Day 14, Friday, January 28, 2011 Overall Summary

Slush, Slush, Slush and More Slush

The city is still digging out from yet another big snow storm. The weather and news anchors must have been very disappointed; they predicted a smaller storm. Had they know we were going to get another foot or so, they could have used their: BLIZZARD 2011! cartoons. But they milked it for all it was worth despite missing the biblical prediction.

So, a little info for my dear readers who are not in the city, (my site says I have over 90 hits, but I know someone must be hitting "refresh" a bunch, but thank you for being so kind ~ smile): Having work done in an apartment you own (whether it be a co-op, condo or condop, is sort of making a deal with the devil, a strict devil at that. All work must be done Monday - Friday, never on a holiday, and no work can be done before 9:00 AM-ish or after 4:00 PM-ish. So, I trekked up to my future home to check out the progress around 5 PM.

BAD NEWS (might as well get it out of the way:

• Packing.  God, I have a ton of stuff.  More books than I want to think about packing.  (Despite the amount of space, I will be ignoring my PPC (Posh Project Coordinator)'s advice to throw out "at least half of my books." Never.  They will have to pry them from my cold .... well everyone knows the rest.  

GOOD NEWS:

• Despite having been traumatized last week by the loud sawing, banging, hammering, pounding, etc. Owen did walk into the apartment without any puppy valium. So, there we were: Owen, my Posh Project Manager (I am going to call this person PPM from now on) and myself.

• Kitchen Appliances look great. I had to buy a regular depth refrigerator, which looks a little big in my manhattan kitchen, but it was either a regular depth shiny silver finish I could afford, or a white elephant "counter depth" or a teeny tiny college dorm refrigerator. So, I went with the regular size fridge. It's about 3 inches too big, but lots of folk think a couple extra inches is a good thing. Touché. Again, Kudos to my PPM for the assistance and haggling to get these super fabulous appliances. If you are in the mood for buying appliances, I am going to post a page in a couple of days entitled, "Buying Appliances, Haggling the PPM Way."

• The kitchen floor looks good. I like it more every time I see it. You may recall my PPM had referred to it as "country" which sent me into a panic. I know think it is very chic. I have a feeling Home & Garden or Martha Stewart will be asking to photograph the place, I know my floor is going to be the next big thing.  

• I like the kitchen cabinets. They are clearly wood, which works for me. I know lots of folks like to paint cabinets and furniture, but I always think, "it could be aspenite under there. Why bother with wood if you are going to paint it?" I know there are lots of reasons, but my first job in life was at a hardware store. When you memo,rize the Minwax stain numbers as a kid, it is kinda hard to shake that. (209 - Natural, 218B Ipswich Pine, 224 Special Walnut..... I could go on, but that would be a bit boring unles's you have a True Value apron in your closet).

• The kitchen backsplash is not up yet.

• The damn countertops..... ahhh, god, what to do? It is killing me to think about how much granite costs, especially in my little itty bitty kitchen. The contractor and my PPM both told me once I saw the floor, the cabinets and the backsplash, I would absolutely say, "I MUST have the granite." I'm not there yet, but it is close. I have to say, the idea of granite does seem more and more appealing every time I visit. I don't know. Advice anyone?

• Bathroom is completely gutted and ready for all the complicated stuff to make it a "wet room" (aka shower only, no bathtub, no ridge, just one level floor, so M.S. Woman doesn't slip and fall and more. Ever. (I hope). But as I said earlier, I picked out the tile, paid for it and my contractor happily picked it up for me in Queens. I think they will be ready to get going full blast on the bathroom Monday.

Wood Floors Look Great.  I love them!

• Paint colors have been selected by me and approved by my PPM. They have primed the ceiling and most of the walls. Why they didn't paint BEFORE they installed the appliances is beyond me. But, as long it gets done, I am going to be one happy camper.

• Wood floors: The floor looks amazing.  It is shocking how much of a difference a floor makes.  I went with real wood: 3/4" oak.  

• New "Bedroom / Living Room" wal

• The Light / Sunshine is not as fabulous as good ole 24-C, but few places are. But, I was at my new place yesterday, and there was still decent light at 5:30 p.m. So, all in all, I am pretty excited about this move. Now, I am off to pack. And pack. And pack some more.

• I have a ton of books to move.

Microwave Anyone???

Anyone need a perfectly good, nice, working white microwave? Now, that I am going to have fancy stainless steel one, my old one needs a new home. I'd give it to a methadonian, but I don't know where they would plug it in.