The Last Cut

We started the morning by finishing our installation of a new central vacuum canister in the basement.  We wanted to get the new vac installed so that when we get the cabinets in the new laundry room, we can add a Vroom vacuum canister in one of the lower cabinets.  (If you do not know what I am talking about, check out "Vroom vacuums" online.)

Our Vroom canister will be placed in a position where I can easily sweep up anything in the laundry/ craft room -- including dryer lint and yarn from the loom -- and anything that spills in the kitchen or is tracked inside through the garage door. We used to have a vacuum port in that position, so now I will have a whole unit available instead of having to haul out the big vacuum hose when I need a quick clean up. Now we just have to figure out what to do with the old (still working) central vacuum canister that is sitting in the basement.

After that, we started working on cutting up the four sheets of oak plywood that we picked up yesterday.  Dang, that stuff seems to get heavier with every sheet!  We had cut about two sheets when we received a call from Alise from the cabinet store about the cabinet doors that we wanted to order from them.  We dropped everything, changed into presentable clothes, and traveled across town to finalize that order.  We picked out the door style and stain that we are praying will match the stain we intend to use on the boxes of the cabinets.  The stain sample she had LOOKED like a match in the store, but lighting can do strange things to tints and colors.  We also chose some new hardware for the cabinets.  They will make all of the doors, stain and seal them, and drill holes for the European hinges and the new hardware.

From there, we stopped at The Granite Company to make a final selection of granite for the room.  We found a piece we both liked and had Jen put our name on it.  We arranged for a measuring time, and added a down payment for the stone.  We both hope that it will look great in the room.

Although neither of us felt like working on the cabinets any more today, we both knew that we had deadlines facing us.  We continued to measure and to cut out the last two pieces of plywood.  We came up one cabinet back short, so we used an older piece of oak plywood that we have had in the basement for a while.  I am sure that it will be all right since it is just the back of a cabinet that no one is going to inspect anyway.  We are to the point where if we have to cut something out of older wood, or we have to cut a small, hidden part across grain, we will do so if it is going to save us having to buy more wood.  Enough is enough, even!  Yes, we are saving thousands of dollars by doing most of this ourselves, but the wood, granite, and hardware still are far from free. Once we were finished, Rick said, "That was the last cut!"

Tomorrow, we will see how far we can get.  We have to pause for a bit to help Lindsay and Christopher take down part of their deck ceiling.  Then we will be back to constructing cabinets.  I hope to take time to mow the lawn while Rick preps the sides of the upper cabinets on the router, and there is always laundry and other cleaning chores inside that are a part of my Friday routine.

One day at a time, one task at a time.  Each day we continue to move closer to the time we can say, "Oh, come and see our new laundry and craft room!"  That day will come, perhaps not a quickly as we would like, but it will come.