topsy turvy

For anyone who has tried to live a normal life while remodeling any portion of their home-I get it now. The extra energy spent just trying to remember where you put the strainer, or the extra coffee filters, makes for a tired brain at the end of the day. And to add to the kitchen mess, our kitty needs to be confined to a couple of rooms, which means blocking off the doorway from the dining room to the kitchen, and the living room to the hallway. So on top of having to make extra trips, you also have to exert extra energy lifting yourself over the barricades every time you go in or out of the living room. (which doesn't sound like a big deal, but imagine doing 527 leg lifts in one day...)

The kitchen is all ready to be painted. Mike spent all day Saturday doing the yuckiest job of all, (next to stripping three layers of old painted wallpaper), sanding all of the plaster repairs he had to make to the walls. Even though we hung drop cloths in the doorways, there is still a fine layer of nasty dust everywhere. I am sure it got embedded in Mike's skin-but he was a trooper. We pay homage to anyone who does this for a living, and feel they should make about $100 an hour.

Really, the hardest part of this whole remodeling thing is that I like things kind of tidy. And things won't be even near tidy in my house for a while yet. So I just have to switch my brain into "Deal With It" mode, and escape to my back yard every so often, where things are relatively normal, other than the giant pile of old cupboards sitting in my driveway. So I just have to turn my chair the other way, and look at some flowers.

Do It Yourself Remodeling doesn't just take a physical toll, it takes a mental swipe at your psyche too. Not to mention the fun you get to have when you do it with your husband, and the whole Mars vs. Venus thing.

Maybe we will just go out for some eggs and toast, and take a little break from it all.