Two Doors Open

It's been a very interesting couple of days. I had scheduled an important job for Monday, but realized halfway through the weekend that I had never confirmed delivery of the product. Things have been very, very hectic; and deliveries are an easy detail to miss. The job called for installation of an interior "French" double-door set. In good weather I can carry this item on the roof. Good weather should return sometime in May.

I had no choice, though, so I went to the Brockport store to pick-up the door unit, hoping I could secure it to the roof-rack. I knew the Nebraska-plains-style crosswind would be a problem, no matter what I did. The problem never arose: the door was no longer at that store! (All CP stores are in close-out/all sales final mode. Nothing is safe, including pre-paid customer product.) I didn't panic, but I also figured the install was a bust for Monday. Fortunately, Lauren (formerly of Contractor Sales) really went to work for me. She found a replacement door at another store, secured a truck and driver, and got it out to the job-site before dark.

This door was going into an opening between a vestibule and a main room. In a church. And it's nearly Christmas. When the Deacon heard about the missing door and the possibly late-afternoon delivery, he explained that he had promised the Parish Pastor the job would be done for their Christmas Service. How could I let him down on that promise? I figured it would be a late night, and it was. Just the drive from the Brockport store to the church took more than half an hour. The wind howled the whole time. I stayed as late as I could, and used up all the materials I'd brought. So I went back this morning to finish.

The short ending to this long story is: the door is done, it looks great, and we're all happy. I'm pretty tired from the driving and the background-stress. But it was worth it. To see the Deacon's smile when he came to inspect the job at the end was wonderful. Merry Christmas to the Royal Church of God in Christ, and happy Christmas to me, too! On to the next one--a kitchen much closer to home for a very nice repeat customer. Let it snow!