I'm a very lucky in that DH is very good at both doing and completing projects. Now if I could only keep up with the housekeeping part, the house would look really good!

I love your sky pictures, so I lifted your idea and posted a sky picture on my blog.

10 years qualifies you for sainthood. We moved into an old house that had a dryer installed under the kitchen counter. It somehow started "leaking" electricity and would make the metal strip on the counter live, so you could get a really nice shock. The dryer was removed. In the process, the counter edge was messed up, and the linoleum flooring got ripped. No tiling under where the dryer was, just plywood. Couldn't find a new dryer to fit under the counter so we lived with that empty dryer hole, crappy counter and ripped flooring for probably 3 years until we bit the bullet and did major kitchen and bath renovations and added on to the back of the house. It didn't seem to bother my husband to look at that hole every day, but boy, forget to put the scissors away, or leave toys on the floor.... Drove me nuts.

My dad, and my father-in-law were never ones to procrastinate. I don't believe that they ever let anything sit and wait. However, my husband can wait anything out. Our kitchen and bathroom have been waiting since we moved in almost twenty years ago. In fact, it is almost time for a new roof, and we still have the pack of shingles that never made it onto the front porch 19 years ago. My in-laws don't come over much, because they can't stand it. I have had all the stuff from under the kitchen sink sitting out on the floor to one side, waiting for the faucet to be fixed for two or three years now. I have to remember to keep dumping the container under the sink that fills with water. However, the stories my one friend tells about the stuff her husband has left undone would make mine look like minor complaints, and her problems have gone on for an even longer time, with TWO houses they have!!! Sigh....

A few years ago, I asked my husband in May if he would finish the house (tile dining room and kitchen, completely redo living room from floor up, and add lighting and vanity in bathroom) by Thanksgiving so we could have the family at our house. He said, "Sure!" (He's a contractor, he can do all that stuff.)
When the family got there, there was (and still is, three years later) a bare wire sticking out of the wall where the vanity will someday be, a sheet over the not-yet-installed fireplace, and paint drying in every room.
...sigh...

One of the best Thanksgivings in my memory was a week or so after we'd moved into a new house. It was a very informal affair, since we were surrounded by boxes and didn't know where anything was. We had a turkey breast and canned cranberry sauce and a Sara Lee kind of pie, and it was fantastic. Like a picnic. Cleanup was very simple too. So take heart--it could turn out to be a memorable weekend in an unexpectedly good way. :-)

Oh man! Good luck. I need some male motivation to be happening in our house too. If you get any good ideas about how to get them rocking and rolling, let me know. I'm going to need it.

Ahh...home repair. My mom bugged my dad to repaint the kitchen before my SIL's wedding shower (at our house) and he did, the night before. My brother's future MIL leaned up against the wall in our kitchen and got a HUGE yellow paint mark on her knock off Dior shirt. She freaked, insisted it was real Dior and wouldn't talk to my parents at the wedding. :) So, yeah... it could be worse. (oh, my mom and some creative stain removal worked on the shirt... my mom can get anything out of clothing!)

Is anyone coming to the graduation who hasn't seen your kitchen in the last 10 years? Oh, and order up some catering! Your the proud mama not the cook on graduation day--- just enjoy B and don't stress over food.... no one remembers the food, only the cake. ;)

Tell B Congratulations! I hope she enjoys running around UNH next year!

Man. What is UP with Murphy and his damnable law, anyway??? I'll sure be thinking of you & hoping that things begin to go smoothly now through next Sunday!
xoxo

Yup. I agree with the get a hammer and start making noise, that'll get him in there.

I share your pain. I'm dealing with contractor woes myself.

I hope things are done on time!

I feel your pain. I often end up doing things like that myself. Yes, I've learned to do a lot of handy work aorund the house.

When Dale, ahem, takes to long to finish a project, I threaten to hire someone to do it. That always works. Good luck, babe.

oh man. you are a saint. a paragon of saintly patience.

nothing in my house is done. it's 95% done. i've been asking for a closet door in my bedroom for 2 years now. every other door in the house has been replaced. except for this one. and this door is sitting in the basement all nicely painted. all it needs is a hole for the doorknob.

that's all.

i wish you all of the best. but i'm afraid my friend that it's not looking good.

You should really rip into things and do a little demo. Something that makes it impossible to cook. Nothing gets a man into action faster than (1)a woman doing HIS demo (2)not being able to eat. WATCH how fast those get put in.

Sending very quick construction vibes your way. Catering would be nice too- you get to put your feet up and relax ..... and have your very own butler at your elbow pouring your favorite drinks all night.
AnyHoo, hope you have lots of fun.

Sandy, you have been a most patient woman. But the Foot Must Go Down.
Give him two choices - new kitchen and delicious homecooked graduation dinner, or no kitchen and catering ;)

We had laminate floors that took 3 years to get done - it took the fact that we are selling the house that the job got done... not by dear husband, but by those that one must pay $$$$.
Before and after pictures might be in order!
Good luck in getting them installed!

I say take a hammer and a big saw and tell him you're just going to get started yourself. That oughta get him going right quick.

Sening Chaotic Construction Energy(tm) your way! Good luck...

Time to be holding something back, if you get my drift. It could be breakfast, lunch, dinner and any food shopping......

:)

Oh. Sandy. You ARE a very patient woman. VERY. Heads would roll around here if I had to wait that long.

Here's hoping for homemade next week. XO

Oh boy. I SOOO understand what you are going through. My Darling is the SAME EXACT WAY! Maybe they are related?
And btw, that's when I would threaten with sitting down to knitting and not cooking OR cleaning... ;)
=:8

Eep! Talk about last-minute pressure!

Good luck!

I am VERY hopeful.....but I think it will deli platters. Even if the project starts today it is unlikely to be finished by next weekend.

SYMPATHY VIBES! My dad liked to fix things, but only on his own time. We lived with very broken things for years--cars parked in the driveway, paneling torn out from repairs, etc. It has taken my spouse 10 years to put those things back together in mom's house that dad tore up. and left unfinished. and never even began.

I might be scarred for life. SO I KNOW how hard it must be to have new cabinets so close to the kitchen, yet so far. The agony!

More sympathy vibes for you...

Fingers crossed for you!