It's A Birthday Miracle!

My kitchen isn't quite finished yet, but it's a big step closer. My countertops were supposed to be put in tomorrow, which would have been great but would have meant that I would have to wait until Friday (because of my weird work schedule) to get a plumber out to put everything back together. Just as I was leaving for work today, the countertop lady called and asked if I had a way to let her guys in to do the countertops. It turned out they had had a cancellation, and my counters were cut and ready to go. Heck, yeah! So I raced my little dog to the vet for boarding and got to work. On my break between classes I scheduled "plumbing time" for early tomorrow afternoon. I can't believe this journey -- and a rather unpleasant one it's been -- is nearly over. By tomorrow, I will be able to use my kitchen sink and put my coffeemaker where it belongs. Those may not sound like big things, but they are. I still need to do the baseboard trim and the backsplash, but otherwise it will be finished. Here is a picture in its current state:

At some point I may put up pics of the entire process, but I wanted to show you what it looks like now, as I keep writing about it. At the very least, I'll do a before and after.

This has been a wonderful day from start to finish. (Technically, it's not over yet; it's only 5:00 p.m.) I stopped by Fresh Market on my way home and got some of my favorite foods, so I'll have a nice little buffet for dinner: steamed dumplings, gruyere-fig panini, edamame salad, spanokopita, and a tiny chocolate cheesecake for dessert. I will have plenty of leftovers (well, maybe not of the baby cake) for tomorrow, so I can keep the celebration rolling. After dinner, or between courses, I need to do some grading. It may not be the most exciting birthday ever, but it was filled with many wonderful wishes and blessings. That's enough excitement for me.