The tiniest bit closer to done

The new gas fireplace insert was installed today. It kicks ass. I have a remote control to start a fire. Perfect. You can even set the temperature (on the remote) and the thing will come on and go off to maintain the temperature. Hallelujah. No more looking for kindling (there never was any), lugging dirty wood in the house, spiders, and stuffing newspaper after newspaper in, and then just running the heater because the fire is too much of a pain.

The fireplace surround itself needs a second coat of paint, and the TV and speakers and everything haven't been installed yet. This is what it looks like right now....




And this is what it used to look like....



The master bath vanity tile is grouted and the copper accents are in in the kitchen...

The patio is looking pretty good - still needs the ceiling fans and the doors on the barbecue...



There's still a lot of finish and detail work to be done. Exactly the kinds of things that take forever to finish because they're not exactly high on the contractor's list when he has other jobs going on. I hope it wraps up soon. And damn it, I want to watch the giant TV that has been collecting dust in the guest room for two months.