So- Happy first day of December and Happy we’re almost done with the kitchen. All the cabinets are in but not all of them have doors. We have running water and new electrical outlets. The appliances are all in place- and the dishwasher even has dirty dishes in it- ready to be washed.

We are soooooooo close to having a brand new kitchen that I almost want to go out and buy actual food to cook in it. Granted we still have about 5 more weeks of frozen meals to choose from, and I don’t actually know how to use any of the new appliances. They’re very fancy and not at all straightforward like our old oven which pretty much just had On and Off and approximate temperatures. The new ovens are German and they do a lot….

But we have hit a snag, our induction downdraft fancy pants cooktop is missing a part. A part that I called multiple times to check was included, a part that I was told multiple times was included. Guess what? Not included. Has to be ordered. Will *probably* be in stock but can’t be guaranteed. So, can I boil water in my new kitchen? No. Can I make a roast? Yes. Can I sauté vegetables to serve with it? No. Can I make an omelette? No. Can I warm plates in the warming drawer? Yes, yes I can. Can I wash dishes and wash my hands? Yes.

So we’re almost there- but not having a critical piece is extremely frustrating because it means we’re not done. I don’t care about cabinet doors not being on yet or hinges to be installed at a later date. I’d like to make tacos, or pasta, or a steak and I cannot- not yet. And after spending 45 minutes on the phone being passed around from Person to person at Winning Appliances where we bought everything to Neff customer service to Neff warranties to Bosch spare parts, I’m frustrated that still it’s not totally resolved.

But the light is at the end of the tunnel. Friday morning I’m going to try to unpack the last few boxes and put more things away to try to restore some more normalcy to the chaos that the last 35 days have been. If we had stools already, I’d sit at our new breakfast bar and have a coffee while reading the paper…. But we don’t have stools yet either.

But we’re close! Oh so close to being done!