1,200 degrees of non-separation

That's Kenny, applying his oxy-acetylene torch to our coolant lines.

He was downstairs; George was upstairs finishing up the ducts.

Yes. Finally. At long last. YES.

Not Wednesday, as expected. Nor Thursday, as promised. But apparently Shawn delivered some gentle persuasion, and there they were Friday and Saturday.

Kenny may be tardy, but everyone says he's the best in town. In this case, he was making extra-sure the solder joints were extra-strong. The lines carry upwards of 400 pounds per square inch, after all.

With the AC work finally done, we can get the green light Monday -- the appointment's already set -- for an inspection that will let us insulate and (dare I say it?) start closing up the walls.

It will start cooking in the kitchen, which lets us get a verifying measure on cabinets, which lets us order cabinets. . . .

When I got into this project, I didn't quite realize how much it was like a freight train starting up, with one car pulling another, banging the coupling, pulling another, banging the coupling, pulling another.

Sound the damned whistle.

- ■ -

I have, by the way, formulated Sueñitos' Law of Multiple Subs:

AT ≥ ET(nSC²)

Where AT is actual time of any project segment, ET is its estimated time and nSC is number of subcontractors involved. In Key West, cube the factor.