Ain't Nobody Got Time For That

It feels like I don't have time for anything not related to my house these days.  I guess it's good that work has been slightly calmer this week and that "Jack" works most hours that I'm not sleeping or working myself.  Luckily, when I do see him, he's very patient; my house is all I talk about, but he has yet to complain.  It's all I really talk about anywhere, if I'm being honest.  I seem to be becoming relentlessly single-minded in my conversations.  Recently, I've started to worry that I'm boring my friends, coworkers, and family when I go on and on about the house, but they all seem pretty interested in hearing about the progress and they ask about it, so they're either really great actors or they're actually interested.  And based on the number of actors who are terrible and get paid for it, as well as the fact that I can't help from constantly bringing up it anyway, I'm going to say that my friends are genuinely interested in the proceedings of my home renovations and let that be that.

As the time between the present moment and the first night I sleep in my new house quickly winds down, I find my stress level inversely ramping up.  My mom said over winter break that I was the calmest new homeowner she'd ever seen.  And in defense of her statement, I felt pretty calm about it at the time.  But she hasn't see me in a week or two, not since my contractor gave me my keys back and the leftover work was mine to do and finish before move-in.  It's like getting dropped off at school for the first time.  No, please, contractor, don't leave me! What will I do without you?

And then I realized that I couldn't find the right dryer vent to match the hole he put in the wall for it, and then I realized that I really needed my door fixed, and now my contractor is picking up the keys from me again tomorrow night.  I feel better already.

The amount of time I have spent at my new house has been ramping up as well.  This past Saturday, I spent about eight hours painting my house with my dad and some amazing friends.  I went into avoidance mode (my favorite stress-coping mechanism) and stayed away on Sunday and Monday (though I did get talk about it way too much and get supplies at Home Depot).  But Tuesday night I was back over there, and we finished the painting (yay!).  Today I stopped by to check out the dried paint, and tomorrow night we're ripping up the old carpet.  Sunday we install laminate in two rooms.  Tuesday, the house gets cleaned.  At some point, my door gets fixed.  And after that point, it's moving in and decorating, dealing with washer/dryer stuff, getting the subfloor and attic insulated, and then slowly tackling the little things that kind of drive me crazy.  Like the backyard.  And installing lattice between the foundation piers.  And outside lighting.  And so many other things.

I apologize for the long time gaps between posts and the brevity of this post, but I hope that upon move-in, things will slow down, and I'll have a few moments to reflect.  In the meantime, here are some "Before" and "During" collages to keep your renovation-update appetite sated.