Ahhh, the kitchen remodel. Just to comiserate with you I was without a working kitchen for almost 3 years. Yep, dishes in the bathtub are now a thing of the past at our house. We are still not done in the kitchen, but i have bottom cabinets and the plywood layer of the counter top down, the dishwasher is in and so is the farmhouse sink with a working faucet (it's temporarily in till the slate tile counter top is put in).
We too found a bad leak once all the cabinets were pulled out.
I've got to retile part of the shower... yet again. The $1500 or so in cash we paid the man (who couldn't speak english and was probably an illegal immigrant as he left shortly after finishing the job and hasn't been seen since...) in our ward to help me repair it a couple three years ago was only temporary fix... the grout has rotted out again and water has gotten behind the tiles again and dripped through the basement ceiling again, this time damaging some of my mission slides that were in a box right on a filing cabinet that was under the repaired portion of the ceiling...
And this when I have summer camp coming next week, and it is the only shower / tub in the house and will require about 2 days worth of drying between removal of the damaged parts and then another day or so of drying of the fresh adhesive and grout / caulk. I think I'm just gonna caulk it this time around and I don't care how tacky that looks. At least the silicon caulking won't rot when it gets wet... yeah... waterproofing of the grout for those sort of tiles my foot... what a racket the grout manufacturer has going on... you use a typical bathroom cleanser and it destroys the "water proofing"...
__________________
It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
We have an older house, too. I hate tile in the bathroom. At least for a bathroom that all the kids are constantly bathing in. I want one of those one-piece jobbers, where everything just runs down.... down, down.... no nooks and crannies to perpetually caulk... just down, down... Anyway, I don't envy you, Ros. It would drive me crazy.
__________________
Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
Ahhh, the kitchen remodel. Just to comiserate with you I was without a working kitchen for almost 3 years. Yep, dishes in the bathtub are now a thing of the past at our house. We are still not done in the kitchen, but i have bottom cabinets and the plywood layer of the counter top down, the dishwasher is in and so is the farmhouse sink with a working faucet (it's temporarily in till the slate tile counter top is put in).
We too found a bad leak once all the cabinets were pulled out.
Wait a minute...do I know you?
How many people out there have gone the last 3 years without a kitchen, are crazymoms and have..gasp..5 kids???
There is only one way to know...
What do you think of when you hear the word "gazebo"? And does the phrase "this will reflect badly on your bussiness" mean anything to you?
__________________
"My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."
Our house is old too. I've had ward members offer all sorts of suggestions on upgrading this or that in the house (unsolicited I might add). My carpets are old and worn but when a little berzerker spills on them, I don't worry about it as much. We put on a new coat of paint in some of the rooms but an overhaul just isn't in the budget. The old cabinents look dated but they function and are clean. Maybe when the kids grow up and move away. It isn't Better Homes and Gardens but it is clean, safe, and provides shelter from the elements.
No, I haven't gone three years without a kitchen, but I am a crazymom and I have five kids and my nerves are shot. The word gazebo makes me think of a pretty little structure in a picturesque little park, but it serves no real useful purpose. And, the phrase "this will look badly on your business" makes me think "Oh crap! I'm losing control of my life and I can't do anything about it." It also makes me think of some nerdy businessman or accountant, stuffed shirt type, who has no concept of how what real people go through and has a real talent for stating the obvious.
First off, Hi Poncho! yep used to be in the Fenton then Flint wards.
Well, going 3 yrs without a kitchen was partly my fault, couldn't decide on the type of floor I wanted, then when I did decide, dear hubby had a "fight" with the planner and one of his fingers lost, just the tip. But that required surgery, then therapy (his finger, not me!!). Then it was the old change my mind on the cabinets, dh built them himself to my specifications.
Plus, during the remodel, only 1 kid lived at home through all of it. Off and on either the oldest daughter or the youngest daughter moved back for a brief stay.
As for a gazebo, if i had a victorian style home with the yard to match I'd love to have one. A nice shady place to sit and read a good book or to have friends over for a bbq.
If I had a business and depending on what "they" are referring to it reflecting bad on, I'd probably laugh in their face.
Well, slap my face and call me silly! Small world or forum, as the case may be. It's nice to "meet" a forum Grand Blanc stake member. How did you and Cat Herder figure that one out?
I wasn't quite sure how to answer Roz's questions about gazebos and the business thing, so I just posted what came to mind.
So, you only have one child left at home now, or what? We are a long way from that stage. It's good to know you fellow Crazymom of 5!
Poncho, we now live in the Westland Stake. Moved down this way almost 5 years ago.
About having one left at home: well, at first it was weird because we home schooled. Youngest decided he wanted to go back to public school after what would have been his freshman year. He was tired of schooling by himself. He had outside activities, but he wanted to be around kids his age more. He went back his sophmore year after 8 years of being at home. He'll be a senior this year.
We have a wonderful relationship with all our kids, but we are so looking forward to this one moving out and spreading his wings in a year. I finally have a sewing room! and when kid #5 moves out dh will get his study/man room (he wants it to have a golf theme).
That's our job as parents, to make sure they get out of the nest, so far so good. 2 of our daughters are married, our oldest daughter lives and works north of Chicago, oldest son has been in the Army for the past 8 years and youngest is at home.
Cat, how did we figure it out? I don't remember. I think it was something he said and then I sent him a private message to compare notes on names.
)
with a little 
