REMODELING--FINALLY!

Monday morning our builder arrived at our door and told us that the demolition team was on its way and wanted to know how soon we could be out of our house. We called the mover and he came late Monday night to get our furniture and remaining boxes. During the day a procession of neighbors were in and out helping with the packing, organizing and feeding of our very busy day!

Many, many thanks to good neighbor, Cheryl, who masterminded much of the organizing and packing that happened so quickly that day--amidst all the banging and jack-hammering outside.

Yesterday was amazing. As the sidewalks, patio and brick disappeared from the outside of our house, the forms went up for our new addition. There were swarms of workers, Bobcats, dump trucks and diesel pickups there all day!

Meanwhile, Hubby and I are still looking for all those lost articles that may or may not surface in the next few weeks. Ah, the joys of remodeling.

A GATHERING OF THE COUSINS

Our Son #2 rode in the MS 150 Bike Ride from Houston to Austin this weekend. Son #4 and family met us and we all gathered to cheer him on. The ride stopped midway the first night and we went to eat together along with the five cousins. Son #2 looked a bit weary, but was eager for the next day to begin the second half of his ride.

All five cousins with Son #2 at the restaurant.

The second day we all gathered at our half-empty house to eat and let the children play. I had already packed all the toys and books but the children managed to find enough to entertain themselves in the living room and in our backyard.

And, of course, we had the usual art session. The exhibit on our mantle includes one of my latest pictures--not quite finished.

And still no word on when we will actually have to move out of our house for remodeling. We are waiting for the building permits and the builder says that it should be next week. I am learning to live with less and less STUFF each week. I think there must be a lesson for me in that statement!

SWITCHING GEARS

We have decided to remodel our 1950s style house that we have lived in for almost 40 years. Our plans began because nothing in our house is very accessible for the handicapped. My mother had trouble going up the two steps at every entry to the house. When I had both hip replacements I could not shower for a week because I could not climb into our tub-showers. We had friends over for dinner one night and it was very difficult getting his wheelchair up onto our front porch with the two steps even though she brought a folding ramp. And maneuvering the wheelchair down our hall into our bathroom was almost impossible.

About a month ago we began talking to a builder and decided to update one bathroom and take out the wall between the living room and den. The more we talked to the builder the more the project developed what our son says his company calls "scope creep." The scope of the project keeps creeping bigger and bigger. Yesterday my husband said our project has developed "scope leap" and now includes almost a whole house renovation.

The real crunch came when the builder said that we would have to move out of our house for the 4 months or so of remodeling. That sent me into a dither when I looked around at our accumulations over the years. We plan to pull a travel trailer into our backyard for the time we have to be out of the house, but I stayed awake all night trying to figure out how I was going to accomplish packing and storing all of our stuff. What would I need for the 4 months? Clothes for two seasons, a few dishes, my painting stuff (or would I have time or a place to paint??), bathroom items, computer (and how would I connect it to the Internet?). Would they disconnect our cable and my washer and dryer (probably)? So many questions and no organization forming in my mind. First of all, I did not know how much time I would have--today the builder said at least a month--WHEW! Yikes! Only a month??

A friend who does not live here suggested that I share some before and after pictures and keep a running report on my blog so that those who live away will know what is happening to us the next few months. An exciting adventure, but a bit overwhelming right now! Below are a few of the BEFORE pictures.

Our tiny den that is part of the den/kitchen area. We will take out the wall between den and living room (seen through the doorway).

My kitchen and kitchen table (which is now disguised as my art studio) and will need to be cleaned up before I serve supper. I will continue to post pictures as we progress through this project!