This evening as I was pouring a bit of leftover red wine down the tub drain, I had to reflect on the tumultuous day (and week, and month) that having a house has caused us. I was using the tub to get rid of the leftover dribbles of wine because we don’t have any sinks yet. And we won’t have sinks for at least two more weeks. This in some way symbolizes to me the psychological challenge we are facing.
Having a half-finished house is worse than no house at all. We are committed at this point — as Eleanor puts it, we are seven months pregnant. There’s little choice but to proceed even if we have second thoughts or get bad news, both of which are happening with depressing regularity.
The day started off well. Bill is plowing ahead with the kitchen cabinets, and we continue to be impressed with his work and the way the kitchen is being transformed. I was so convinced that we had a kitchen that several times I took dishes to the kitchen sink, only to realize halfway that we don’t yet have a sink. Sometime in the next 48 hours the countertop people are supposed to call to schedule their visit to measure, and about two weeks after that we should have countertops, which will in turn lead to appliances, sinks, and a functioning house.
In the interim we have more work to do. Eleanor and I still have to get on the floors and put on another coat of sealant. We need to get more furniture items and unpack dozens of boxes. Overgrown plantings outside badly need to be trimmed. New tasks keep popping up like gophers. Late yesterday Handy Randy swung by to drop the bomb (“estimate” in contractor terms) on us about the rebuilding of the shower. That was a harsh dose of reality in itself, but it was compounded today when we spent three hours shopping tile for the shower. Here we are nearing the finish line and suddenly we’ve got another project to manage. We’re not basking in the sun yet.
Still, we can’t resist using the house as-is. Each night we have cleared the office equipment off the dining room table and brought in all six of us for family dinner. It gets prepared in the Airstreams and shuttled into the house, and after dinner all of the dishes are swept back into the Airstreams for washing, and the leftover liquids go down the tub drain. There’s sawdust on the floor and cardboard boxes everywhere, power tools in the kitchen, and extension cords in the entrance hallway, but still it’s something. We spent a lot of money to get to this point, so we’ll use it as best we can.
Bobby & Danine took the girls to the Sonoran Desert Museum today, which was apparently a big success. When they returned, the neighbor girls took the girls across the street to bounce on their trampoline. Then this evening they ate dinner “camped” in a leftover box from the kitchen cabinets. It has been kid heaven here lately.
Eleanor and I are reveling in the phenomenon of occasional baby-sitting, something we haven’t had much in the past two years. I know payback time is coming, but that’s fine. Our carport guests have been earning their keep and making great company, so a little reciprocal child management is perfectly OK. Besides, Valentine’s Day is coming up.
