I’m starting to look at this phase as a sort of journey in itself. We really have to, in order to avoid being intimidated by the scope of the work to be done. As the proverb goes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with just a single step.” Every day we take another step and we try not to think too much about the hundreds of miles ahead.

And we are making good progress. We nailed down a few of the appliances. We’ve bought a refrigerator, cooktop, vent hood, dishwasher and toilets. We’ve settled on the kitchen cabinetry design. I’ve sealed the tile in all of the house (two coats) except for the living room and dining room where all of our boxes are.   We’ve turned the corner from demolishing to rebuilding, which is an important milestone.

Our good friend Rob Super has advised us to take breaks from this process once in a while and enjoy the “pleasures of civilization”. He’s right, of course, and in a few days we’ll slow down our frenzied pace. The initial sprint was just to get the ball rolling. Now that we’ve got the contractors lined up and the materials purchased for the first couple of weeks, we’ll be able to do some exploring of Tucson.

We’re also aware of the risk of burnout in a house renovation. It’s easy to go over budget, overwork yourself, get frustrated, and lose the joy. This is our third house renovation, so we’re working together very well.   We’ve done this hike before.

Tomorrow I get another hike … from Denver to Tucson.   It’s time to get that Honda Fit that we left up there. I’m flying up in the morning and will drive the car back over the next day or so.   900 miles.   Can you say, “ROADTRIP”?   Oh yeah.   I’m all packed and ready: iPod, overnight bag, snacks, camera, roadmap.   Once I’m done with this blog entry, the laptop goes in the bag too.   Hey, we’ve been stationary a whole week now.   It will be good to hit the road again, even if it is just a ferry job.