When you don't update your blog, the terrorists win.

Apparently, when I don't update my blog, I'm helping the terrorists win.

Actually, I think the comment from Our Beloved Contractor was "Hey! Kemma! You haven't updated your blog since Remodel Day 14. How will I know what I've done in your kitchen if you're not writing to tell me about it."

So here's the run-down from Day 14 to Present.

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Remodel Day 15: Tuesday. Pick the Grout

Good grief, who KNEW there would be so many decisions! Of course, I could have agonized over it, or I could've just been smart and said "Maurice, what do you think?"

What do you think I did?

(A) Get the grout sample card, aka the "Grout Color Selector Tool"

(B) Get two tiles, and start pulling out samples.

Here's how NOT to pick a grout colour:

(C) Say "Ooh! If I get a nice light one, it'll be like a photo-negative of a chess board, and the kids can play games on the floor at night, while the grout glows in the dark!"

(for the record: The Dusty Rose grout sample was even LIGHTER, but, surprisingly, it was eerily similar to the highlights in the upper tile.)

Here's how to pick a grout colour:

(C)Watch Maurice slide a sample between the tiles:

(D)Say "That's my first choice!", and smile when you realize that he had ALREADY bought a bag of that exact colour of grout, and was hiding it in his truck, hoping you'd agree with him...

Louis spent much of the afternoon cutting tile in the back yard.

Remodel Day 15 finished with the tiling complete, but the grouting still half-finished. Apparently, it takes more than a single bag of Mocha grout to complete the whole Family Room, Laundry Room and Bathroom.

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Remodel Day 16. Wednesday. Finishing the Grout.

The tile was completed, The grout dried. The guys moved the washer and dryer back into the laundry room, where one of my hoses promptly sprung a leak. They also re-installed the toilet in the bathroom, which, thankfully, did NOT spring any leaks.

Look how spacious the family room is with no clutter in it! Can I keep it like this?

Not a chance.

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Remodel Day 17. Thursday The Laundry Sink.

I came back from tutoring, to discover that the big gap in the laundry room had been filled with a wonderful, perfect cabinet, complete with drawers and a lovely neutral countertop, and a deep, white sink. There was an issue with the drain, so it wasn't hooked up yet, but they were optimistic that I'd have a working sink before the weekend.

Oh wait. Maybe that was Wednesday. Grr. That'll teach me for not updating daily. The guys weren't here on Thursday, as they were repairing flood damage at another job.

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Remodel Day 18. Friday. More kitchen floor.

The crew was working on another job in the morning, and showed up shortly before noon, bearing the bits that would be necessary to complete the laundry room sink.

They also installed the heating vent, which will go up through the new wall, and blow out near the ceiling, thus eliminating the problem of "where do we put the floor vent so it's not blocked by the banquette?"

The edge of the kitchen floor was falling away just a bit towards the family room, so they leveled it off with some 1/8 inch plywood, and then they mortared down the board, and mortared over the old heating vent hole.

I spent the evening emptying out the pantry closet, as the electrician would be putting in a new sub-panel the next morning.

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Remodel Day 19. Saturday. The electrician.

Alex, the electrician, arrived bright and early on Saturday. Close on his heels were Maurice and Louis, who were going to finish reinforcing the kitchen floor. I understand that the electricians and the carpenters took turns going under the house. I'm just glad it was them and not me. Brrrr, I do NOT want to go under my house. Before we left for the day of rehearsals and errands, the little ones and I moved the kitchen table down into the family room.

And when we got home in the afternoon, BLAMMO! There was our half-wall.

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Remodel Day 19. Sunday: Emptying the Kitchen

We expected to start the big demolition on Monday morning, so on Sunday night while Ken was out, Nate and I started emptying all the kitchen cupboards. And to keep us motivated, every time we emptied one completely, we *rewarded* ourselves by taking the cupboard doors off.

Yay! But the countertops were horrible to clear. Why is that?

But by the time Ken came home, we were nearly finished, and Nate was sawing logs, having toted and carried several times his body weight in canned goods and pots and pans.

Oh, but will we be ready for the demolition?