Transformations

Change is slow and in spurts around our house...

Tile was picked out, then picked out again, then picked out again by our contractor, who after all knows a lot more about tile than I do and probably should have done it in the first place!

I've realized that renovating a house is like having a second job.

We still believe that our home improvements will be finished by Christmas. I've not had a kitchen since October 28.  I have very elaborate fantasies of baking and stocking the pantry and wiping down new, perfect, shiny granite countertops. I dream about making a pot of coffee. 

Sigh.

All the while we are still doing school and ballet lessons and basketball practice and homework and church and Christmas shopping.

Our days are very full, mostly of wonderful things. But I long for the simplicity of making a cup of coffee, washing the mug, and putting it away in a clean cabinet.

Remind me to read this in a year, when I've forgotten.

Here are scenes from our home right now, under construction.

A weekend away

We took a little "escape the dusty no kitchen house" vacation this weekend.

I mean, if I have to eat out every meal anyway, I may as well also sleep in a hotel bed. 

So here we are in non scenic New Jersey, enjoying some family time.

The kids explored the Liberty Science Center, which has great stuff for both little and big kids.

We ate our faces off at Harold's Dinner, and Agave Mexican, and a local Portugese place, and a Dunkin Donuts, because why not? We are on vacation. 

Weeks and weeks of eating my stress and it's really starting to show. A third chin may appear to keep the other two company. I think what I'm going to be cooking when I finally have a kitchen again is Kale.

Lots and lots of kale.

The kids loved the hotel pool, and quickly made friends with the other kids whose moms are cooler and remembered to bring floaties and pool toys.

We made a stop at the Newark Museum, a beautiful little oasis. Oh look, is that Grandma in that photo on the wall? Grandma used to work!? She didn't always spend her days looking for Barbie shoes and making chocolate pudding?!

Today we go back to reality. With maybe a few less donuts. 

Reprieve

It is raining today, for the first time in weeks, which means that my poor suffering plants are finally getting a good soaking. And, no work was done on the house today. So I got to sit in my quiet, gray house and drink a cup of coffee in solitude.

And maybe it was the solitude, or the massage I had this afternoon (a belated use of a birthday gift, thank you Andrew !)...

Or maybe it is the way the light was slanting into the living room just right. So beautifully that I forgot to worry, for a minute, about how messy and crowded our living space is right now. 

But I thought, just now, that Life is good. And this house is good.

Maybe beautiful even.

Haunted House!

BOO!

I hope you had a delightfully spooky sweet Halloween!

While we were out doing this:

Workmen were in our house doing this:

Look! A closet! A bathroom!

It's amazing to see rooms of your house being created from the inside out. 

It's also amazing that our house never burned down or exploded given all the wacky wiring and plumbing that's been discovered. (And, thankfully, corrected.)

I realized too late that our semi constructed house would have been the perfect spot for a Halloween Party. I mean, look how spooky the bare kitchen walks like under my phone's "noir" setting:

Ooooooohhhhhh...

Actually, I think the bare walls are kind of beautiful in their own way:

Marvelous...

Have a beautiful weekend!