Home Improvements

We have one of the worlds smallest kitchens to ever be in a full sized house. It's a galley kitchen and even though it's efficient, it's not the kind of place you want to spend any great deal of time in if you don't have to.

The folks that occupied our house before we moved in, were renters. There was Momma and Pappa bear. 2 baby bears...although they are grown up, one in-law bear and 2 grandbaby bears! I think on occasion...another baby bear lived here when he was out on parole as well.

Anyway...Momma bear smoked like a chimney, Poppa bear was into HAM radio's, Baby girl bear looked like the only responsible one of the family and Baby Boy bear, his wife and their two itty bitty bears ran amuk and caused quite a scene! We know all of this from the shape that this house was in. Underneath one layer of wall paper in the living room were beautiful crayon drawings. The ceiling above where the bed was in the master bedroom had a lovely tar and nicotine stain....gag. The floor in the kitchen...which is some kind of laminated something or other was scratched, burnt, torn up and stained.

I digress...so...after 8 years of occupying this house...we finally have the finances and the time to re-do the kitchen. I've been calling contractors to come in and give me estimates and each one has their own selling point: "I do all the work myself...I don't hire any out side contractors", "It's just me and my son that will work here and we take pride in our work." "We buy all of our cabinets wholesale and pass that savings on to you!", "I'm registered with the Better Business Bureau!"

Yadda, yadda, yadda....blah, blah, blah.

The first "rough estimate" came in from a guy who has not visited my home and is only going by pictures and blueprints - $25,000!!!!

He wanted to know what my budget was...well it ain't $25K that's for darn sure!!!

NEXT!