Okay, so let me begin by saying that I fully realize I have a great life, full of blessings not the least of which is that I am able to live with my sweet family in a very safe neighbourhood, in a relatively safe city, with a roof over our heads and more than enough food on our table.  In the grand scheme of things, particularly when viewed from a global perspective, we are beyond incredibly lucky and incredibly blessed. I know this .  It is for this reason that I have been hesitant to share an update with you on our house renovation. So I hope you forgive me when I say: AUUUGGH . Let's recap, shall we? Our kitchen, while certainly serviceable, was in desperate need of renovation, mostly because of a considerable hole in a wall that suddenly appeared while we were on a family vacation this summer.?  We found a contractor, we sketched ideas, and we made plans.  Because we are not fancy people (and our house is not a fancy house), our budget was modest -- no major upgrades, except for our one and only splurge, a range cooker Marcus had his eye on.  Since he has a passion for cooking, and is far and away the main cook in our family, the cooker makes sense. According to our schedule, demolition of our current kitchen was supposed to begin Monday, October 8, while I was in Ethiopia.  Marcus had taken that week off (to take