Gas, water, and electric

We're at the point in the gas appliance installation project at which everything is waiting for something else. The plumber forgot to schedule the gas inspection for today, which threw everything into a cascade of dependencies. The plumbing can't be finished until the gas inspector signs off; the plumbing inspection can't be scheduled until the plumbing is completed; and the appliances can't be delivered until they can be hooked up, and nothing can be hooked up until after the not-yet-scheduled plumbing inspection. Wait, there's more: Since the gas water heater is not next to an external wall, it needed a power vent to the outside. The power vent is electric. And there's no outlet near the gas heater, so we need to install one. That means the electrician is now in the mix, as well--fortunately, he was already coming on Monday to troubleshoot some mysteriously malfunctioning switches in the garage.

So, delivery and installation of the stove and dryer have now been shifted out a week to Monday, the 17th, when I return from Macworld. Unfortunately, I'd already promised to sell the old electric dryer this coming weekend to a family on Phinney Ridge whose own dryer blew up Tuesday night. They were eager to rush over last night and pick it up, but I told them I needed a couple days to do all our laundry! Guess that's what I'll be doing this weekend.

Meanwhile the contents of the laundry room (where new water heater is being installed) is spread all over the den and the garage, and the contents of half of the pantry is in the den as well, since the power vent for the gas water heater runs through the ceiling of the pantry. The contents of our basement exterior storage area is stuffed into the garden shed. The idea is to keep all the new work visible for the inspectors--who I'm sure know that you're going to pile all the old junk back on top of it as soon as they're off the property.