Wow!

We took possession of our new house last night.  We got the keys at 6:30pm.  By 7:00pm Aut had already started taking apart the kitchen.

Good riddance drop ceiling!

By close of today, all of the rooms are prepped for the white base coat.  All windows have been cleaned.  All window hardwear removed.  All plate covers are in the trash, along with all of the doorknobs.  All closets are wiped down.  Every ceiling has been dusted and washed.

The kitchen is...    I'll just let the before and current pictures speak for themselves.

The previous owners/occupants were definitely 'creative' in wiring.  They had installed 4 outdoor overhead lights in the drop ceiling.  These lights were wired to outlets.  See those GIANT white cables?  Yes, they used those to wire the outlets.  And they all went to different spots around the kitchen.  Oh, the unknown joys of a fixer-upper. 

All of this in only 5 working hours.  It will probably be the last time we are ahead of schedule in this whole process, but we are feeling damn good!