Since moving the bathroom, the only calm place in the building IS the new bathroom.
Every other space in the house is torn up…. because with the removal of the old bathroom:
A) old walls were torn down then new walls were built
B) the wood stove had to be moved because of the new walls
C)the old hearth for the wood stove had to be taken out and a new hearth built where the woodstove now sits
D) the old floor where the old bathroom was had to be torn up and then replaced
E) the place where the old hearth was needed a new floor
F) you get the picture…
Its like cascading dominoes around- One little project catapulted us into about twenty other necessary fixes…… PLUS we decided as long as we were doing construction we “might as well rebuild all our bookshelves.” I must have breathed a bit too much plaster dust the night I had THAT thought.
What lunacy it was to compound the situation with this add on! Right now all our books are packed up in boxes and stacked in various bedrooms upstairs which means everyone trips over boxes on their way to bed and of course none of us can find any book we want.
Downstairs, sawdust is everywhere, and standards are getting lower and lower by the minute as dust covers everything in the house.
A Green Hope friend emailed me today and asked me to write a blog about watering plants. I did water all the plants in the greenhouse today, but it was bedlam out there as they too are covered in sawdust. I hosed some of them down and then felt that only meant they’d gather dust better. I am sure they too are feeling that water is the least of their problems right now- If they could, they would probably FIRE ME!
But to briefly and inadequately cover the topic of watering, I think watering plants is symbolic of self care. Watering takes time and it matters a lot – much like self care. A beloved gardener friend whom I learned a particular lot from lavished water on all seedlings and took watering extremely seriously. She also took really good care of herself. I try to follow her example, but sometimes I get bogged down and both me and my plants get a bit wilted.
Today was like that. The greenhouse plants looked bedraggled and so did I. At first, during this spurt of construction projects, I thought I was sailing along just great. I congratulated myself on being soooooooooo flexible. I did Christmas without any of my cookbooks and “loved it!” I had a livingroom/kitchen in which there was really no place to sit down except the floor and it was CHARMING!. La di di! I was CHILL.
I (sort of) managed this light hearted attitude for a number of weeks, but now I feel a bit growly!
Ten weeks in and I really don’t care if I have floors or hearths or a working wood stove, I just want it to be over- Its a little bit like labor really. At some point you lose all track of a baby coming or there being any point to the pain and I AM AT THAT POINT.
Jim tells me by next Friday we will turn the corner (I think this means all floors will be in place).
How exciting! I will be able to pull up a chair and look at the walls and ceiling that now need to be painted and also note that every thing in the whole house, including all the greenhouse plants, need to be washed. PLUS all those new bookshelves will need three coats of varnish!
Should be a wonderful moment!