Changes

 I can’t believe it’s been so long since I posted. Like so many life has changed. We lost my mother to COVID last year and I’m finally getting back to feeling somewhat normal. I still haven’t written thank you notes, I just can’t, yet. I’ve started so many times, but just get the shakes a strong sense of dread. I’ll get them done, just not yet.

We’ve lived here 22 years. We did a major remodel in 2009. We’ve decided we’re going to be here until it’s no longer possible to remain here. This is helped by the fact that we live in a rancher and only have to go downstairs to do laundry. We considered moving to Florida, but all our family are here, so we’ll stay here and perhaps spend the winters (or at least part of them) in Florida. Since we’re going to be here, we decided to do some improvements.

I’ve never liked the kitchen. It’s a small galley kitchen and we refer to it as a “one butt” kitchen. The wall between the kitchen and dining room coming down. An island will go in about 15 inches away from where the base cabinets are now. The dining room will be smaller. That furniture will no longer fit so I’ll be on the look out for a smaller round table.  

Currently there are 3 floor finishes. Hardwood under the carpet in the living room and dining room. Hardwood in the hall and tile in the kitchen. I’m going with hardwood in the kitchen so there will be one cohesive look. The bedrooms open onto the hall. The contractor suggested refinishing all the floors at once so they match. So much easier said than done. The entire first floor had to be emptied and placed in storage. I lost track of the number of times I said “just another couple of boxes”! The movers came Thursday and with the exception of a few odds and ends that floor is empty. The upstairs family room is the only that has furniture as that room is only going to be painted. The living room, dining room, hall and kitchen will be painted to match. The bedrooms will also be painted.

This journey has not been uneventful. We put in new windows across the back and one in the front. The grid in that window was supposed to match the others. It doesn’t. The refrigerator and cabinet in the kitchen were supposed to go downstairs. The cabinet won’t go down the stairs or through the basement door, so it went to storage. I emptied the chine cabinets and storage cabinet upstairs, planning to use that cabinet for storage and a bar downstairs. There is wall to wall glassware downstairs. The refrigerator will not fit through the doors. It’s in the foyer downstairs.

We’re staying here for the duration, sleeping downstairs. It’s not bad, but we may take a weekend and go to a hotel for a break. 

I’d like to think we’ve gotten all of the problems out of the way, but I doubt it. There’s one big question - the condition of the floors under the carpet. The plan now is to refinish them regardless of condition. Hopefully, it won’t be a budget buster.

Some furniture will be gotten rid of, some repurposed and some new.

It seems as if , “while we’re at it, we may as well...” has become the theme for this project. We’re going to replace the tile in the downstairs foyer (the refrigerator’s current location). Harold is going to move his office upstairs into the former yarn room. His room needs new lighting, tile and paint. My sewing room needs new tile.

The absolute last project will be our bathroom, but that’s later this year.

The most surprising part is that it’s a lot less expensive than it sounds. At the end we’ll have a new home in a house and neighborhood that we love. 

Tomorrow - pics of the old.