The Joys of Remodeling…Not.

Well, we are into week three of the grand remodeling project, and it’s just a joy to experience. We have managed to either overlook or otherwise track the dust and crud we didn’t catch in the drop cloths or sweep up from scraping the popcorn finish off the ceilings into the bedrooms, the only rooms not being redone. Add that dust to the dust from busting out the Saltillo tile and the everyday dust from the caliche road, and we’ve never been able to write our names on the furniture this well before. And it’s pointless to dust or clean house because every day brings another mess. Stuff is stacked and boxed everywhere.  I did such a  good a job of packing up the kitchen that we can’t find  things like salt to use for the very basic cooking we are trying to do amid the mess. I packed our George Foreman grill, which would have made making hamburgers much easier under the circumstances. We are sharing our meals in one of the bedrooms on a card table which can’t stand still when we have to cut the steak which we are having quite a bit because it can be grilled outside.  And grilling outside is not always an easy option in our winter weather. The animals aren’t crazy about the carpet being pulled up and have been spending lots of time  in the rooms where  the carpet is still down. In fact, Mari was so upset one day that she drug her bed out of the kennel and plopped it down in the middle of the living room and made herself comfortable. Cats Minnie and Peaches have managed to get paint all over themselves nosing into what’s been going on. Kitty at least made something positive out of the experience and discovered one of the empty packing boxes is just right for a bed. Mari hides when the automatic nail guns come out.   During the day Bill and I do a lot of  standing around and watching TV. Somehow working on other projects doesn’t seem to happen. We are in a trance while they work. Those of you who have been through this know what I am talking about.
Alex Reyes and Ray Lueras installing the crown molding.  
Chase Garlington texturing the walls. And then there is the backlash against the aqua color Chase Garlington, our contractor/decorator put on the living room cabinets and shelves. My husband isn’t speaking to me, Colten doesn’t really like it, and Caroline is not so sure. Friend Hellen and I like it. Add to this the changes we seem to keep adding on, one of the side effects of remodeling, I’m told, and I don’t know when the work will be finished. We are beginning to see progress, though, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s kind of like when I get a bad hair cut and Colten asks me, incredulously, if I actually paid someone to make me look that way.  But you know what?  We did pay someone to do this, and we didn’t have to, so it’s time to bite the bullet and appreciate the fact that there are people out there living in cardboard boxes and constant squalor rather than our temporary kind, and I have nothing to complain about. So stay tuned. One of these days I will have the end results to share with you. And you can decide if the aqua cabinets look good or not.