Things have slowed since the framers finished two weeks ago, hung up on windows.

The contractor called just before lunchtime. He has something else to do and we won't see him until tomorrow. That's fine, you know, but when he guts my kitchen, he better be on site every frickin' day until it's usable.

The plumber is expected to begin work in the kitchen in two weeks. That probably depends more on the plumber's schedule than the project's. There are a million other things that could be done before the kitchen. We haven't ordered anything. In fact, we don't even really have a final design yet. This may be their way of forcing a design.

I was in town on Saturday, waiting in line at a deli, when a stranger asked me about the construction. It's funny how that works, a big project makes an ordinary house stand out. It puts the house ... and its owners ... on the map, as it were. And in a quiet little town, it's something to talk about.

But my new stranger-friend wanted to know only one thing: how much the project was costing us and whether he could afford the same type of expansion. Even in this world of keeping up with the Joneses, I felt the first question was none of his business. So I gave a "non-answer answer". As to the second question, only he could judge that because I didn't have enough information. He drove a GMC Acadia - just his "weekend car"? He has two pre-teenaged kids whose athetic teams he coaches.

Everybody would like to add on. Not everybody has the room to do so. Frankly, not everyone has the need. My stranger-friend figured that out. "I'm always telling my wife when she says she'd like to add on, 'You know, these kids will be out of the house in another eight years.' Then we're left with this big house." With all their activites, they are probably out of the house quite often already.

The time is right for us on this now. Actually, we're a little behind but I don't think that's our fault. I mean, I need my new laundry room now!