{"id":2720,"date":"2016-06-13T10:41:32","date_gmt":"2016-06-13T17:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pkenagy.com\/blog\/?p=2720"},"modified":"2016-06-13T10:48:22","modified_gmt":"2016-06-13T17:48:22","slug":"new-flooring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pkenagy.com\/blog\/new-flooring\/","title":{"rendered":"New Flooring"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of that weekend was eaten up by a flooring project in the house. \u00a0Even if we didn’t actually do the work, it still interrupted the flow of our weekend to some degree. \u00a0Most home-improvement projects will do that, which is why we never embark on any. \u00a0When we bought the house we just had them put the builder-grade grade carpeting in downstairs, on the thought that it would last a while and by then we would either have moved on or decided what we really wanted. \u00a0(The flooring upgrades from the builder were crazy-expensive.) \u00a0As it turned out the cheap-o carpet was complete crap, it didn’t even last two years. \u00a0So, we decided to have tile put in to match the existing kitchen floor. \u00a0Along the way we ran into a few logistical issues, like matching the pattern of the tile to the entry-way tile, and ended up deciding to put the wood-look stuff in the dining room. \u00a0The project kicked off Friday night. \u00a0As part of our somewhat cut-rate installation fee, it was on us to move all the furniture out and have it ready for them to start early Saturday. \u00a0No problem, I figured I’d just bribe a few friends to come over and help me carry things around. \u00a0At the very last moment, I remembered “wait a minute, I don’t have<\/em> any friends,” which put us in a rather dire situation. \u00a0It was rather a contentious evening\u00a0involving lots of mechanical engineering and arguments, but between the two of us we actually managed to move the entire first floor into the garage. \u00a0Step one accomplished.<\/p>\n

Saturday morning three guys showed up at 7:30 ready to hit the tile. \u00a0They had the carpet ripped out and the floor prepped by 8:00, leaving me with the inevitable feeling of “Geez, I coulda done that myself.” \u00a0Whatever. \u00a0That doesn’t mean I wanted<\/em> to do it. \u00a0They put the tile in at a rather impressive rate. \u00a0Unlike the carpet tear-out, I had no illusions that I could have done that part. \u00a0It would’ve take me weeks, and the end result would have been much less aesthetically pleasing. \u00a0While all that mess was going on, Donette took off on a long walk. \u00a0She went on a seven mile hike, and Teagan and I met her at the end of it. \u00a0(In the car, of course.) \u00a0We went out to lunch, kicked around the town aimlessly for a while, and when we got back to the house around 4:00 they were pretty much wrapping things up. \u00a0Although it was all down, we still couldn’t walk on it, so we were effectively relegated to the back yard for the evening. \u00a0As it happens, I spend most evenings out there anyway, so not a big inconvenience on that part.<\/p>\n

Sunday morning got off to a quite early start. \u00a0Teagan was also banished from the first floor, and we’d had her shut up in our bedroom all night. \u00a0About 4:30 in the morning she decided she’d been cooped up long enough and it was time to go out for a while. \u00a0As it happened, I was planning to cook a brisket for my Sunday entertainment, and the sun starts coming up shortly after 5:00 anyway, so I decided to just go ahead and get the smoker rolling. \u00a0Unlike the vast majority of my decisions, this one worked out nicely. \u00a0I spent a pleasant morning on the patio tending the cooker and drinking coffee. \u00a0The tile team showed up at 7:30 again and started on the grout, and we headed down to nearby Milestone<\/a> for brunch. \u00a0Although conveniently located, I really do not care for that place. \u00a0The good news is, I didn’t have any sort of even mediocre expectations going in. \u00a0On the contrary, I’d say I almost look forward to seeing what egregious culinary\u00a0faux pas they will subject me to each time I go there. \u00a0I ended up ordering the biscuits and gravy. \u00a0Although I fully expected bitter disappointment, my curiosity got the better of me and I just had to find out 1) what $10 biscuits and gravy tasted like, and 2) how they would manage to screw up a national staple. As it turned out, they weren’t bad at all, easily\u00a0the least bad\u00a0thing I’ve ever eaten there. \u00a0(Worth ten bucks? \u00a0Not on their best day, but I’ll leave that aspect out of it.) \u00a0If I just had<\/em> to make a comment\u00a0about\u00a0them, which of course I did, I would question the addition of onions to the gravy. \u00a0Matter of fact, I would strongly question it. \u00a0Anybody ever had onions in their country gravy? \u00a0I can’t recall the occasion if I have. \u00a0After that, our friends Michael & Alaina joined us back at the house to monitor the cooker. \u00a0Poor Michael, I think he is just too young and energetic to appreciate the sport of smoking. \u00a0He seemed a bit thrown off that the entire day\u00a0consists of sitting on the patio, with an hourly trip across the yard to throw a few lumps of charcoal on the cooker. \u00a0Doni finally took the kids to the pool, and I finished up the cook with Teagan. \u00a0It came out quite well considering I don’t get much practice out here. \u00a0When everybody got back from the pool they ended up moving all the furniture back in place while I finished putting together dinner, I think out of sheer boredom. \u00a0Bonus, project completed!<\/p>\n\n\t\t