Did We Survive Hurricane Katrina or Not?

It's time for the Christmas tree to start coming down... and to untangle the lights that have grown into the bushes outside. We planned on waiting until the feast of the Epiphany to undecorate -- but I just couldn't do it.

Dean came by for a walk-through to give us an estimate for Phase II of our Katrina home repair. Phase II will consist of, basically, the rest of the downstairs repairs: installing trim and baseboards throughout, repairing drywall in various places, installing doors where those are missing, lots of caulking and trim painting (I'm painting the walls!), installing a few missing shelves, replacing the fireplace and repairing the hearth & surround, painting and generally fixing the entertainment center, some crown moulding in the laundry room, replacing the front door, refinishing the bathroom cabinetry, installing a toilet, repairing a skewed wall, and tiling the tub surround.

In the meantime, Phase I is as yet incomplete. Dean tells us there is trouble with some of our cabinet doors... Some of those which peeled and cracked are just not looking right after sanding and painting and he feels it would probably end up best to simply replace those doors. I hope that's as easily done as it is said. Other than the doors and drawer facings, we're looking forward to finishing up the grout stain and getting the shoe moulding installed and painted along with the baseboards.... There's also a loose tile near the island that has to come up... and a shelf in one of the cabinets that needs some reinforcement. Then it will be up to me to add some extra trim along the underside of the countertops, paint the kitchen walls, and paint the pantry and shelves.

Dave has gone off in search of grout stain -- it was supposed to come in today... And other than slowly dismantling the Christmas tree - he has been busy all day making phone calls. We're trying to find a Monessen Hearth dealer so we can purchase a replacement firebox for the rusted one we have... and we're trying to locate someone who can repair the jacuzzi tub.

Ah jacuzzi tubs. I wonder if there are people who actually use these things on a daily basis? We would much prefer to have ours repaired than pay the price for a new one... especially since it isn't something we need (that's an understatement...). It's something that adds value to the home though -- and having one that doesn't work at all would most likely detract from home value... So now's the time to do something.

We'll find out how much Phase II is going to cost us tomorrow.

In the meantime, it's back to the Christmas lights.