Halfway Done...

I got up this morning at 5:00 in fear and trembling. There were still things to get out of the kitchen...LOTS of things...and I was moving slowly. The floor dude was a bit late, which gave me an opportunity to get more done. Barry (the floor dude) walked in full of confidence. No problem moving things. And he was right! He started removing the filthy, filthy carpet immediately, in sections...and the ancient vinyl tile underneath--the original from 1968, I think--mostly came up with it. He did have to do some scraping but declared that the concrete underneath was smooth and in good shape for new flooring. He had to move some appliances around. The washer and dryer went to the patio. The stove got put aside, as was the fridge (which WAS on rollers, after all). I think the built-in dishwasher turned out to be the most problematic because the water shut-off valve wasn't working well (and will need to be replaced). When he got all of the old stuff up, he left for the day. Will return tomorrow with a helper to lay the new vinyl down. **Hmmm...paragraphing won't work again. Check asterisks for new paragraphs!** *MEANWHILE, Mr. Clumsyhawk (see yesterday's post) came over to take a look at the defunct dryer on the patio. He had it apart in no time and cleaned out gobs and GOBS of lint! He told me that it should be done every few years. Well...except for cleaning the lint screen with each load, I have never taken the dryer apart to clean it in all of the 18 years that I've had it! In short order, he determined that the "coil" was fine; one of the thermostats was bad, meaning that it had shut down in order to prevent a fire because of all of the lint! Thank God for thermostats! My friend left to get replacement parts--a whopping $57 worth--and had the dryer put back together quickly. Our assumption is that it will be good as new when it comes back in the house tomorrow. No down time! *I paid Clumsyhawk for his time and expertise. He said it was too much. I said I would have had to pay twice that for a commercial repairman, and I trust him more. I left to meet Meg at Subway for supper, and when we got back, the front lawn had been mowed!!! Clumsyhawk had driven home, loaded his Dixie Chopper on a trailer, drove back, mowed my lawn, then loaded up and left--all before we returned a mere 45 minutes later! Thank God for Mr. Clumsyhawk! *One thing that occurred to me at the end of the work day as the floor dude was leaving was...DUH...I should be painting behind the appliances while they are not in place! Oh, well...I'll just wait for another time, I thought...then re-thought...no...gotta do it now! I have the paint. Will just have to get up early tomorrow and do it! (Too tired tonight.) *The kitchen echoes this evening. Hope it won't when everything gets put back in. We can always add throw rugs!