David

Today was the first day of the rest of our lives kitchen renovation. David, our wonderful contractor showed up and went immediately to work removing the old cement countertops and replacing them with plywood, which will be the base for the new stone ones. Tomorrow the stone people will come and measure so that they can make templates.

David is a treasure. He can fix anything. He has an eye for detail, and leaves things cleaner than when he arrived. He likes to cook and makes his own beer. He bakes bread. It really wouldn't surprise me to learn that he grinds his own flour. He is a skateboarder and has been seen bombing down the hill on his skateboard with his chihuahua running alongside. He also has a doberman, and five kids. Oh yes, and a wife. Whenever we're missing a part to something, there is a good chance he has it at his house. He took the "morgue sprayer" and reported back that his son pronounced it "cool". He took the old cement countertops, which he plans to put somewhere in his garden. His wife must be a saintly woman.

When the boxes came out again, I fled. I had an appointment with a Pilates trainer, who gave me hope that my body hasn't totally seized up during three months of no exercise other than walking the dog and dragging countless boxes around. She gave me a small blue ball which will produce miraculous results if I roll on it every day. She recommended that I fill a big bucket with dried beans and plunge my feet into it and wiggle them around. Better than a foot massage (except for the bucket of beans in the bedroom! She told me never to do crunches or "roll ups"--halleluia! She applied traction to my neck and gave me exercises to strengthen my knee. I used to teach therapeutic yoga, but somehow don't have much luck when it comes to fixing myself.

When I got home David had fixed the the stove, polished it up, moved it back into place and was down on his hands and knees washing the floor. OilMan had better watch out...I love this man. Oh right, he has a wife.