Meanwhile out in Tucson…

We haven’t been back to Tucson since a short trip to check on the remodel October 20-23. Now it’s almost a month later and not much progress has been made. As you may remember, the cabinet factory sent the wrong sized corner cabinets for the kitchen twice – not once, but twice – so that has seriously slowed down the progress in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, I don’t know why our contractor hasn’t been able to do other things that seem to me like he could be doing. For example, I kept thinking he would install the hall bathroom tub, which I bought a long time ago. But then it occurred to me that he’s probably assuming we’re planning to replace the old faucets, and new faucets have not appeared (because I hadn’t thought to order them), therefore, the tub installation hasn’t made it onto his radar yet. That’s the kind of inefficiency I hope to improve with increased communication, which should come with me being out there instead of distracted by other things in Albuquerque.

Now I realize I need to buy faucets, but I don’t know anything about faucets. First I need to research faucets. Yes, I’ve been using faucets my whole life, but I’ve never paid any attention to them other than wondering which way is hot. I don’t want to buy badly-designed faucets out of ignorance, so it’s time I learn something about faucets.

For example, the first thing I saw on the Home Depot website that looked right, said in fine print, “Shower system trim kit only, purchase shower valve separately”. Hmmm, I don’t know what that means. And it’s not a good idea to buy something when the fine print is going over your head!

Our contractor is probably also waiting for us to pick out tile to go around the tub. We did find tile we like, but I haven’t actually bought it yet because I don’t know how much to buy, because I’m not sure how much of the bathroom wall is getting tiled. I just need to go out there, and stand in the bathroom with John and our contractor and talk it through. (This is the waving-arms-and-pointing-as-we-go planning style I was mentioning in my post about Emily’s remodel. Unlike me, she has an actual designer.)

We’ve decided to go out to Tucson at the end of this week with the intention of me staying out there to pay more attention to the project. Our contractor is a really nice guy, understands our taste, does quality work, pays attention to details, and responds well to prompts. Unfortunately he’s not as organized and proactive as he would need to be for me to be able to just sit out in Albuquerque twiddling my thumbs (and posting exercise videos, lol).

That’s why I’m packing up all the stuff I had temporarily moved to Albuquerque in September, and moving back to Tucson. It’s going to be rough living in the midst of a construction zone. But hopefully my planning and organizational skills will help manage this project more efficiently.

Meanwhile here’s some pictures that our contractor sent yesterday. He had just finished putting the knobs and handles I ordered on the cabinets. Some of the cabinets are installed, and some can’t be installed until we get the missing corner cabinets.

New knobs on the uppers:

This corner cabinet was correct, so he could install this whole section.

He can’t finish this wall until the correct corner base cabinets arrive.

This little bit of brick wall above the window was never plastered over because it was hidden under a soffit. So we decided to leave it exposed. The rest of the brick wall was plastered over, and it would be prohibitively difficult to remove the plaster.

We’ll need to choose backsplash that complements the brick. But we’re not going to look for kitchen backsplash until we have a piece of countertop to take to the stores with us. And the countertop can’t be cut until the cabinets are in. Our countertop is still sitting in the slab yard in Phoenix.

In this next picture our contractor is showing us the countertop lighting under the cabinets.

I don’t see well without a lot of light, so we are paying close attention to lighting. For example, recently we were watching TV and there was gray lettering on top of a dark background, and I literally didn’t even know the words were there. John was like, “You can’t read that?” And I was like, “Read what?” Because of this, I’m starting to avoid driving at night. I’ll see a doctor about it again soon, but I’m guessing it has to do with the fact that they’ve been telling me for awhile that eventually I’ll need cataract surgery.

This next picture is where the peninsula with the stove will go, but it is also waiting for the correct corner base cabinets. I won’t have a stove when I move back in later this week, but at least there is a microwave. My contractor is going to make a temporary plywood countertop so he can install the sink before we arrive.

John’s going with me back to Tucson and can stay through the week of Thanksgiving before needing to return to Albuquerque. I’m glad he will be there to help me get situated. He will also be able to come back and spend more than a week in Tucson at Christmas.

To send Kristina a comment, email turning51bykristina@gmail.com.

Kristina’s Website: Life Coaching for Adults with Autism