Things are happening!

The carpenter has been working for almost a week now. The plumber has been there too and done most of the plumbing. We were a bit disappointed that there won't be work for the next 2 days. The permits with the city aren't complete, so Mark feels he needs to hold off until they can be finished. Given our overall situation, he feels we need to be careful to "toe the line", so to speak, and stick to the rules. He hopes to be able to resume work next week. It's about time for G and me to get back to making a few more choices - we've had a nice little break and are rested up....back to work!

Sunday in the basement

I hear people talking about clearing out possessions from their homes of 40 years, 60 years, etc. We're trying to go through accumulations of 20 years in our home, and it's mind boggling. The task has brought to mind several thoughts I've read or heard, and a few I've figured out myself. If you haven't used it in ____ years, you probably don't need it. A given item may be important to my Mother/my husband,etc., but it's no longer important to me. The more stuff you have, the more stressed your life (I believe that one!). i'm realizing that when my Grandmother died years ago, others took the "prime" wonderful objects, and I was left with the discards (unfinished pieces of crochet, flawed ceramic items....). I'm no longer going to feel guilty if I get rid of those items - I can remember her other ways. The time is rewarding, thought provoking, tiring.....winter is a nice time to do it!

Very exciting!

The work did begin in our house today. It's amazing how much they got done in one day. We still feel so confident about our decision to hire Mark. It was amazing to see something positive, rather than something negative, going on in that house for the first time in 8 months.

Oh, and I forgot to say....

The bathroom cabinets were damaged in the flood. So new cabinets for the master bath and new tiny half bath were ordered yesterday too. Cabinets, cabinets, cabinets - and I'm thrilled!

The kitchen is planned and ordered!

The kitchen cabinets and flooring were damaged by water in the new house. Thus, we've been planning a new kitchen. What a lot of work and details. Tonight, we ordered the kitchen. It feels like a huge load off our plate. Hooray!

The Magic Day!

The magic day is Thursday! This Thursday, November 6. Construction will begin on our house. We like the contractor more each time we meet with him. Wish us luck!

Reconstruction may begin this week!

It appears that we will be able to begin reconstruction this week - perhaps as early as Tuesday! In a previous post, I mentioned that we were interviewing yet another contractor - one who was recommended by a new friend, Carol. At the time, I felt that it was a waste of time to interview someone else.....and yet we trusted Carol's opinion. Carol increased the size of her home by 1/3, (2 years ago), with Mark doing all the work. She has also used Mark in her office complex. So we interviewed Mark, who is also an architect. He suggested a few awesome changes that would make the house work better. His bid came back last week. We sat with him and asked final questions. It seems meant to be, and he would supervise all of the work. The work might be completed in as little as 8 weeks from the start of construction... or it could take up to 12 weeks. We hope to meet with him tomorrow and sign the contract. On November 12, it wil be 8 months since we closed on the house.