A Not So Good Day

Yesterday I wondered if this house renovation was really a good idea! The cabinets are delayed, again. When I called to schedule the dishwasher install, the lovely man on the other end of the phone said that the dishwasher cannot be hooked up until the cabinets, countertops and sink are fully installed. Grrrr. I told him that I while I wasn't happy about not having a dishwasher for another 3 weeks, I won't take out my anger on him! He was grateful. Some of you have asked where we are living. There is one bedroom and one bathroom that are in tact. We will do some work on those rooms but not until everything else is done. It's my little sanity space.

I then proceeded to wash the dishes in the bathroom sink where I cut my finger on a steak knife and broke a bowl. I could see that the day was shaping up to be a winner.

The dust on our stuff was so thick I could see it from a distance so I proceeded to wipe down every surface and object I could I could get my hands on. Ok, it's not that bad (stock photo) but sometimes it's what it feels like!

The crew arrived to continue putting in the floor and what they discovered is that the concrete is uneven in parts so they needed to do more shaving of the concrete which creates a scene similar to the Dust Bowl. 
But at least they are making progress and it does look wonderful. 
Doug decided that we needed to move our fantastically stylish living room into the master bedroom since the guys needed to keep working on the floor. So we swept, vacuumed, and mopped the master in an attempt to get the dust residual under control. Then we moved everything over to the new room. I was not a happy camper at this point. 
I did manage to hook up the TV, cable box, modem and phone all from the same cable line and was feeling very accomplished. I dusted again. We realized that there was no light in the master bedroom at this point so fortunately our contractor had left his lights. Doug hooked them up. Attractive, aren't they? At least they work really well.

Doug needed to take the golf cart in for a tune-up. He called a bit later to ask me to come pick him up since he needed to leave it. After searching desperately for the car keys for about 15 minutes, Doug called back to ask where I was. I simply said, "The car keys are in your pocket, aren't they?" Oops. He got a ride home from the golf cart guy.

To top things off, the weather has turned chilly. I know this is a joke to those living out east but it rained pretty hard yesterday and the temperatures dropped into the 50's. The house was chilly but when Doug turned on the heat, all it did was blow dust around. I told him to turn off the heat and put on a sweatshirt. Did I mention how unhappy I was at this point?!

I took a hot shower while Doug grilled burgers. The food tasted great even though the subtle layer of grit remains.

Yes, I'm complaining about stupid things. The fact that we have the resources and ability to renovate our house is a lovely gift. I have a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, a bathroom with running water, money to buy food, and good companions with whom I share this journey. Tanner remains a faithful companion. Life is not bad, it's just a little uncomfortable for the moment. I try to keep it all in perspective. Yesterday it just got to me a little.

Perhaps on top of everything else, it is starting to sink in that we are living here. Not going back to our other life that has meant so much to us. I had lost track of time and when I realized that it was nearing the end of February, a strangeness came over me. This is my life now. We are settling in here. It's not a game or a hobby, but our life. It will be good to actually settle. This in-between stage is surreal...like what is real and what isn't? It takes time to renovate a house. It takes time to re-invent one's life. It takes time to move from side of the pond to the other. In the meantime, all I really want is for the dust to settle, literally and figuratively!

At the beginning of this new day, nothing has changed including our view.  It's chilly 50°F outside but the sun is shining and we should hit 70° by midday. My eyes are itchy and I can still taste a little dust, but I slept well and I'm ready to face this new day with a better attitude! Let's see how long that lasts!