AT LAST... the kitchen cabinets arrived!

If you want to make sure the floor is level, it is best to use TWO levels.  Jay Ross and Don will make sure!

Don, Dave Jay and Floyd checking out the cabinets.

Jay and Floyd with a zillion levels... just to be sure.

Cabinets!!

This is starting to look like a kitchen!

Marty Vance and Don making sure we have enough outlets!

Final touches?

This is getting exciting, now.

Painting crew...

Don has one hand in his pocket ONLY when he is posing...

Stephanie paints while Marty works on the electrical outlets.  Do you think we will have enough???

Love watching Floyd on his knees - a valuable member of the painting team.

This is Don, NOT twisting or reaching, following his back surgery.

Here you can see Don not climbing ladders following his back surgery.

Don and Floyd liked the John Deere green painting tape so much they tried to talk me into leaving it up there.

The painting stage has been... interesting. Some of these colors stayed, but several you will never see in person. A couple rooms are smaller due to all the coats of paint it took to finally get it RIGHT!

new linen closet

NE bedroom - not a final color 

same

from NW bedroom - looking toward hallway

NW bedroom

Upstairs hallway looking toward stairs and linen closet

S bedroom looking out to stairwell

S bedroom

south side of kitchen and bath

Dining room and partially open stairs

Of course, there was the little "overnight trip" Don took on April 3.

Nothing to it... so far.

Lots of papers to sign

Seems happy enough...

Don with the OR nurse (the tall one) and anesthesiologist (the short one).  He is about to take a nap...

Nap time over.  

The very next day - after his hemi-laminectomy and mini-discectomy, he is on his way home.
WOOHOO!

Kevin's boys, Spencer and Olsen came to help us, too.

We first made sure they had old T-shirts to use as painter's shirts

This is what happens to grandkids when their father is a photographer...

Great job!

It is hard to understand the difference between painting it on and scrubbing the paint on.

The boys were able to take a break from painting and enjoy the spring snow

Nice work boys - especially for Easter weekend!

Here are some of the other folks who were helping:

Our friend Hal Owens (who we double dated with many years ago) flew all the way here from MD to help!

They tried to figure out what to do with the square windows in the brick fireplace.

It was the END of March - who knew Hal would have to scoop out snow???

Brother-in-law John Kottke came for a day.  He worked a lot and only took a short break to get his pix taken.  Also in picture is Dave, Don's regular worker, who has been with us from the very beginning.

Beckie Green has sure been a big help and friend with picking out furniture and all sorts of things.  Here she is brainstorming other uses for our windows into the brick.  

By the way, the DRYWALLERS came all the way from the south side of Chicago. Had a lot of work in our area just from word of mouth.

The drywallers worked VERY fast and did a great job.

No horsing around - 

They were all business - ZIP and they were done.