reheat, rebuild
Kevin's putting the heat on the contractors to finish this renovation. I'm so grateful. Work is crazy, and I've got decision fatigue, and neither of us can bear another crucial conversation. It's been over a month and we are ready for more space to breathe in many ways.
With his coaxing, 4 guys were here working today. They are trimming out unfinished rooms, rebuilding the stoop with the old field stones, and rebuilding shelves to our specifications.
There's a lot of redoing, if you are catching the theme here. We like these guys and they do exactly what we ask, it just seems we have to ask many more times than should be necessary. The chunky wood shelves are quirky and a hard translation, I know. But I did send a picture. And why is it not obvious that a linen closet shelf should be nearly the depth of the closet? Why were shoe shelves left crooked the first time? Why did we have to ask 3 times for plastic to cover the new tile while muddy boots were tromping in? I mean, really.
And poor Kevin's stoop was a debacle, but they are now finally reconstructing it to have 2 steps instead of a big drop-off. It will also have a more rustic stone look and less concrete, plus a short path of concrete leading from the driveway to the entryway. We hope it will be inviting and an historical tribute using the stones we salvaged from the original foundation.
Anyway, with Kevin's pressure on, the hope is that most of the master wing of the house-- including entry way, master bedroom, and living room, will be done this week so we can move the rest of our things in Monday and start to breathe. The master bathroom will likely take a bit longer and that's OK. But we are ready to have more space and fewer nails and piles of scrap wood everywhere!
I was explaining to friends today how the boys have done remarkably well living here for the last month. It seems to me that we have a simpler routine, a gift of living with open space outside and very little space inside. When we arrive home from school, they jump out of the car to play on the concrete pad and get their wiggles out. Kevin hangs with them and I heat up dinner inside and watch through the funky window. (I haven't been cooking-- mostly Foster's or Durham Catering or SAS to go.) They come inside to eat in the kitchen at our little table with very few distractions around. They clean up their plates and cups. We start the dishwasher. Then we all go to their room because, well, there's nowhere else to go. Play for a little while, maybe take a bath, brush teeth, get in pajamas and read 2 books in their shared room. Close the door. They talk and quibble and eventually fall asleep. Kevin and I might retreat to the tiny bedroom/living room/office or tidy up in the kitchen for a while after that or relax in the gazebo for a few minutes while the sun goes down. We sweep the kitchen and take the trash out to help deter critters. Not much else to clean or do or fuss over. It's really so simple and the boys are thriving in that flow.
In some ways, I might miss it when we are stretched out over more rooms and more square footage. I love the minimalist exercise that this part of the experience has been. It's taught me a lot about what our family needs to be happy. Of course I also can't WAIT to unpack and tidy and organize and spread out and have more open space/white space/breathing room. That's the flip side. But I'll try to take those lessons of simple routine and fewer distractions with me into this next phase.
With his coaxing, 4 guys were here working today. They are trimming out unfinished rooms, rebuilding the stoop with the old field stones, and rebuilding shelves to our specifications.
There's a lot of redoing, if you are catching the theme here. We like these guys and they do exactly what we ask, it just seems we have to ask many more times than should be necessary. The chunky wood shelves are quirky and a hard translation, I know. But I did send a picture. And why is it not obvious that a linen closet shelf should be nearly the depth of the closet? Why were shoe shelves left crooked the first time? Why did we have to ask 3 times for plastic to cover the new tile while muddy boots were tromping in? I mean, really.
And poor Kevin's stoop was a debacle, but they are now finally reconstructing it to have 2 steps instead of a big drop-off. It will also have a more rustic stone look and less concrete, plus a short path of concrete leading from the driveway to the entryway. We hope it will be inviting and an historical tribute using the stones we salvaged from the original foundation.
Anyway, with Kevin's pressure on, the hope is that most of the master wing of the house-- including entry way, master bedroom, and living room, will be done this week so we can move the rest of our things in Monday and start to breathe. The master bathroom will likely take a bit longer and that's OK. But we are ready to have more space and fewer nails and piles of scrap wood everywhere!
I was explaining to friends today how the boys have done remarkably well living here for the last month. It seems to me that we have a simpler routine, a gift of living with open space outside and very little space inside. When we arrive home from school, they jump out of the car to play on the concrete pad and get their wiggles out. Kevin hangs with them and I heat up dinner inside and watch through the funky window. (I haven't been cooking-- mostly Foster's or Durham Catering or SAS to go.) They come inside to eat in the kitchen at our little table with very few distractions around. They clean up their plates and cups. We start the dishwasher. Then we all go to their room because, well, there's nowhere else to go. Play for a little while, maybe take a bath, brush teeth, get in pajamas and read 2 books in their shared room. Close the door. They talk and quibble and eventually fall asleep. Kevin and I might retreat to the tiny bedroom/living room/office or tidy up in the kitchen for a while after that or relax in the gazebo for a few minutes while the sun goes down. We sweep the kitchen and take the trash out to help deter critters. Not much else to clean or do or fuss over. It's really so simple and the boys are thriving in that flow.
In some ways, I might miss it when we are stretched out over more rooms and more square footage. I love the minimalist exercise that this part of the experience has been. It's taught me a lot about what our family needs to be happy. Of course I also can't WAIT to unpack and tidy and organize and spread out and have more open space/white space/breathing room. That's the flip side. But I'll try to take those lessons of simple routine and fewer distractions with me into this next phase.
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