Scenes from a remodel

You know you're in the middle of a remodel when:

• You have no time to dye your roots but the paint in your hair is helping to take the attention away.
• The guys at Frazee Paint greet you by name.
• Emigh Hardware is on your speed dial.
• The contents of your purse one day include a screwdriver, a tape measure and a roll of toilet paper.
• You walk up to the houses of perfect strangers with exterior paint chips in hand.
• Your dog has paint on her snout.
• Your blisters are getting blisters.
• You fear a trip to the emergency room lest they suspect your bruised legs are not self-inflicted ladder wounds.
• You have been wearing the same pants for four days in a row, and that is fine with you.
• You visit someone who is recuperating from a hospital stay and you are silently wondering if they are happy with their choice of floor covering in the kitchen.This visit was made in paint covered clothing.
• A conversation at the closest pizza parlor goes like this - "You mean to say if I order the sale priced $10 extra large pepperoni with cheese on just one side and mushrooms instead of pepperoni on that side - that somehow makes it a $20 two-topping pizza? But I'm saving you money on the cheese." You realize you are arguing with the Pizza Police with paint in your hair and four day old pants on. You are grateful there is no longer toilet paper in your purse.

Somehow, with all the things we had to do with the new house, I was in denial. I didn't imagine it to have that Quick Build vibe, but I feel like I should slap my name badge on when I get there. We even have various departments set up inside and out: the paint station, the paint cleaning up station, the safety items, the woodworking tools, the list goes on. We are too deep into it to see the light at the end of the Home Depot aisle, but we have made lots of progress in just two weeks.

New roof
New water heater
Attic insulation
Dry rot and yuck out of the bathroom walls
New tub installed
New window in bathroom
Paint almost finished in interior - trim and doors are next
Hole in wall patched and floor repaired where old heater used to be

There is more, but paint fumes are a known eater-upper of brain cells. I have just begun packing up the old house. The other day I was walking Molly down to the new place and she was getting antsy to get there once she saw it. I said, "Let's get you home, Little Girl." That was the first time I called it home. I used to always say Home is where your clothes are, but now I guess that changes to Home is where your power tools are.



Command Central




No longer a doggie door




Not quite ready for Mr. Bubbles




Hanging out in the California sunshine