Tag team and mañana...

I had to call the shutter guy this morning - yep, one of the shutters was stuck in the up position.  To his credit, he said, "I'll be out there around 1:00," and he was here around noon...

When they took the shutter down, it was apparent that the problem wasn't the shutter, but the hole that was drilled to run the shaft through the wall to the exterior.  As near as I can tell, they started from the outside, trying to line up with the fixture that was already inside.  It didn't line up.

Complicating matters: the inside connection is right up against some very pretty crown molding in our bedroom.  "We're going to have to pull that molding off."

"No, you're not.  That was custom done.  It worked before the shutters were removed - we need to make it work now."  Well, there was a bit more discussion than that.

In the middle of dealing with this, the concrete truck showed up... with a bunch of workers.  I said, "Joan, can you keep an eye on the concrete while I finish dealing with these shutters?"

Tag team.

She ram-rodded that crew.  I "borrowed" the drill with the extra long bit from the shutter guy and drilled it out.  It took both of us to finesse the fitting back behind the crown molding.  Amazingly, the concrete crew had that long line poured before the shutter guys could finish rehanging the shutter.

And Joan handled all those guys just fine...

Then, as fast as the flurry of activity hit, it ended.  It was quiet.  They all left.  We visited with the guy who will be doing some paver stone work - he will get that done after the concrete has set up.  He was already trying to do a sales job on Joan to do more work on our parking.  Ummm... my dance card is full.

The only thing left to get done today was the refrigerator repair.  When mid-afternoon rolled around and there was no sign of them, Joan called the store.  Yeah, they lied - there is no repair man coming today.  Oh, there was an excuse, but we are dealing with the mañana attitude.  For the most part, we have been able to stay on top of that... not much you can do about it when they say they're coming and they don't.

"We'll be there first thing in the morning.  Really."

In the grand scheme of things, the fridge repair is the most minor of what we are trying to get done.  Doesn't make it any less frustrating.  Talking with the guy who is doing the paver stones was interesting: when you tell him HOW you want it done, he doesn't speak much English... his English got WAY better when he was later trying to sell Joan on more work.

Funny how that happens.