Thank Goodness it's a short month!

It's hard when you're living in the middle of all this to see the progress and convince yourself that you really are moving forward; that your completion date of Oct 1, 2006 is realistic. We moved in Sept 30, 2005. Can you believe that we have been living in 3 rooms for 5 months now? Not only are we both still alive, but we're still married!!

February has been a month of progress & frustration.

Some positives...Remember the hot tub that came home with the infamous kitchen cabinets???? Well it was unloaded off the trailer & on to some make shift decking, there was only Tom & one other guy to unload it so...just like the slaves in Egypt moving the pyramid blocks (kinda) they used PVC pipe to roll it off the trailer, worked great until it started moving a little too fast & was headed for the boat in the boat slip!!!! YIKES!! A quick thinking Tom (in the pic) let the front end drop & he tied off the metal brace so if it did get away it wouldn't go far.So.. progress-Hot tub is here....Frustration...can't use it yet-only look at it.

On the 9th of February the company that built our windows arrived at 8am to replace a window that had a scratch in it. Now anyone that knows me knows that I am a window junkie...the more the better. I even enjoy cleaning them; it's an instant gratification thing. So they arrive, climb up outside on the ladder-(it's the 2nd story) and they're going to clean the outside of the window. They're trying to tell me it's just dirt & they don't need to replace it. (ME! The window cleaning queen!!) Now, mind you the only way I could clean this window was on the dreaded lift that is no longer part of the household, so when I was up there I made sure, a razor blade wouldn't even scrape it off. Now he has the nerve to say to me it's just dirt on the outside he's going to wash it off.....OK...., but the scratch is on the inside.

So a spray of Windex......oh by the way...did I mention it's 4 degrees outside & the windchill is below zero???? The window frosts over & he's trying to wipe it off with paper towels....Why would you even think of arguing with me???? Enough said, the window was replaced that morning.

The attic was finally finished on the 10th of Feb, a Friday; the walls were dry walled, the ceiling stippled & the walls painted. I could not wait to get it done-the only reason it took so long was because it couldn't be just an attic. It needed to be finished per Tom's Mantra...."It's a whole lot cheaper to do it now than after the fact. The house will be worth a whole lot more when we sell it, if it's finished off now."

Sell it???? Cripes, we haven't even finished moving in!!

God bless our new neighbors who bought our house; we still have stuff in the shed that used to be ours!

But...I digress.... the painter finished on Friday am & by that afternoon I was moving boxes into the "attic". What you see in these pictures is only a quarter of the size of the attic & there is nothing more than a walkway between piles of boxes. Picture about 800 sq. ft.

Needless to say it's full. What.....may I ask do 2 people need with this much stuff??? Some days I feel like Alice in Wonderland falling down the Rabbit Hole.

The industrial metal stairs that have been such a part of our life now ( that were actually part of the recycling line at the facility) have been removed to make way for an actual set of real oak stairs.

It took 5 men to move them out of the house. Thanks to a little creative thinking, the front door did not have to be removed to get them out.

Now there is an empty hole & you have to go to the garage to get to the second level.

So, allow me to digress again and fill you in about the garage stairs. Tom from day one, had not been happy with the fact that there was only one set of stairs he & the architect worked at it but could not come up with a plan that suited all our needs. One day I come home & find out the house has been extended by 6 feet (cause the flippin thing isn't big enough as it is). The framing had 6 feet added to it & now there is sufficient space to install a set of stairs in the rear of the garage. Imagine Tom's surprise when I said yesterday...."Good thing you made the house bigger & put in the 2nd set of stairs, since that is now the only way to the 2nd floor for at least a couple of weeks."

So, construction continues... Tom's 7 foot shower is enclosed, backer board installed , ready to begin tiling this week. The rain shower head is recessed dead center, 2 hand held showers & 4 body sprays on each side & ready to outfit for a steam sauna.

My soaking tub? Well lets just say it has a long way to go....

We have a very talented young lady to help Tom with the porcelain tiling of the floors, master bath & shower, She's like a Jill of all trades. Her specialty is a muralist & we met her when we were looking at have a mural done in the restaurant. She has a 4 month old daughter, in addition to 2 boys, 5 & 9. Tiling is not my thing & Mandy loves it, so......since she's not ready to leave Eva with a sitter, I'm not quite the caliber tiler that she is; the logical solution is she brings Eva to work here & "Auntie Martha" takes care of her on the days Daddy's not home. I can't have her when Daddy's home-I was told I had to share! But she is a joy & keeps me busy (and I don't have to work when she's here!!!!).

So the house continues to be a work in progress. We finally have the kitchen laid out & the Infamous Kitchen Cabinets have their place. They're now being stored in the Family room (or what will be some day) so the elect., gas & plumbing, etc. can be finished. There are a few extra-you don't get to pick & choose from an auction you know. We have a surplus of 7 upper cabinets ( 42”H) if anyone’s interested, I'll make you a heck of a deal, otherwise they'll end up in Tom’s garage-it'll definitely class up the place!

The infamous kitchen cupboards

Well we are off on a long overdue vacation, so don't look for an update in March.Tom thinks we need to get away & come back & look at the house with "fresh eyes". I'm certainly not going to tell him "No". We're driving to Florida to sit on the beach & see some friends, then stopping in Savannah for a few days, then to Raleigh to meet our great nephew & see his parents.

So........Tom & Kae; Rick, Steph & Ali; Michele, Kem & Zane-we'll see you all soon!

Until April......

Martha, the window washer & Tom the thinker