When we first hired Mike as our contractor, a colleague of mine at Exchange Place, who had recently worked with him on a restoration project, warned me and Lance: "Mike will move a mountain but leave the last shovelful." Well, this project has certainly been a mountain (quite an uphill battle), and it took a bit of teeth pulling to get him to move that last shovelful, but it happened, in the form of some brick pavers and touch-up paint, on April 9, 2010--exactly four years and three months after he scooped up the first shovelful on January 9, 2006. Every weekday during that time--except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and two weeks in July--Mike chipped away at Mount Walnut Grove (perhaps Mount Frankenstein would be a more appropriate term?). He went through several helpers and even more saw blades, but he stuck it out till the end. We're certainly glad to be living in a house rather than a construction zone, and I'm sure Mike is even happier not to have to follow my infamous lists anymore. But mostly, I think we're all glad to have made it out alive. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Let's hope. If so, maybe we'll tackle world peace next. Or maybe we'll just take Thomas on a walk in the back field.
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