Baby, it's cold outside...it isn't real warm inside either

Yesterday was Demo Day #2, and after more banging, knocking, and general noise-making the rest of the fireplace has been removed, and you really begin to see the open-concept that we're striving for:

(Perspective is from the front door.) There are temporary supports holding up the ceiling until both LVL beams are up (you can see one of them on the floor waiting to go up). Those LVLs are no joke. Crazy heavy (from what I hear) and were hard to get up there (based on all the scuffling and grunted commands I could hear all the way down in the basement).

There's the finished product of both LVLs in place.

If I were the T.V., this would be my view:

LoOk At aLl tHaT LiGhT!!!

Now take a moment and notice the gaping hole in our ceiling. That hole, and the constant in and out traffic of the workers, means that Ryan has set our upstairs thermostat to 50 degrees during the day in an effort save on heating costs. And so I'm down here:

In between episodes of Grantchester and Fixer Upper, I manage to finish arranging the Laundromat Kitchen:

just in time for Mike to come down and tell me that he's going to need to put in some extra support below the column upstairs. Right there, behind that table.

 (Mimi, recognize this guy?)

Welp, then I proceed with covering all of that everything down there with plastic drop cloths in preparation for the dust that will fly. And come Wednesday (today), it does. But Mike is amazing, and he very quickly gets these supports in AND cleans up the mess. After the structural inspection next week we can cover it back up with sheetrock and then repaint.

He had to add supports in another spot too. And although this meant more walls getting cut into than I had anticipated, it does mean that everything is going to be more secure. 

This afternoon, I met the electricians and talked about light location. They'll be back in the morning to get that done, just depends on what the weather does as to what time they get started. Because in the South, when we see snow flurries: 

But we're pleased with the progress:

The main supportive column is up so the temporary supports come down, and you can just feel the room breathe. Already, it's eons better than those dark cabinets and compartmentalized rooms.

Other items: about to order our ovens and cooktop but looking into ventilation code requirements before we solidify our choice, we've picked up 27 paint chips in an effort to figure out what colors we're going with, and our sink arrived today!

Tomorrow's goals: pick a faucet, and pick up paint samples to do trials on the walls. If anyone has faucet input, I welcome it!