Bob and I observe New Years Day, in that we note the passage of time and the change of date. We say “Happy New Year!” to each other before turning into bed, and again when we wake up. We may say it to family, friends, and strangers we interact with. But other than that, life goes on. We eat no special food and drink no alcoholic beverage. We retire at about 9:00 pm and (I, always the earlier riser) arise on January 1st before 6:00 am. We attend no parties. We do, however, observe that neighbors like to set off firecrackers at midnight. We observe that some people enjoy making promises to themselves that they will be better people than they have been. For us, that’s always a daily goal.
Yes, we observe New Years Day. But we really don’t celebrate it.
The bathroom rehab plods on. I always imagine that projects like this will happen like they do on tv shows. One day to demo! The next day to lay flooring! Then a third day to pull out the toilet, remove the six tiles still around the hole in the floor, lay flooring over that area and replace the toilet with the new one! Granted, that might be a few hours more but we can finish in one day, right? Then, hey, take a week to finish up the flooring, touch up the walls, and add trim molding. Don’t push yourself. Maybe have painters come out and do their thing. Modify that vanity that used to be a dresser, let’s call that another week. So all in all, we are talking 2 1/2 weeks, start to finish.
Hahahahahahaha!
It’s been five days so far and most of the tile is removed, with the help of our super-strong grandson and a very loud tool we rented from Home Depot. Maybe half of the nails that hold the subfloor in place have even removed. We’re not sure if the subfloor has been nailed and glued down but that’s a definite possibility since the people who originally laid this floor didn’t intend for it ever to be changed. Grandson Alex is willing to come over daily for an hour or two but it’s hard work and there’s only room for one person at a time in that room, so it’s slow-going.
It will get finished!
I find myself reflecting on hidden blessings. About a year ago we were in Mesa, AZ and got the word that our basement in NJ had flooded. Such an aggravation at the time, arranging for people to pump the basement, pump it again, then install a new sump pump. Because of that, we decided to move up our relocation date. If we hadn’t done that, we may not have done all the work on the house that we have done, so a lot of that would still be ahead of us. I wouldn’t have volunteered my time at the local thrift store, which has been fun for me as well as a help for our community. And I might have continued to worship virtually rather than finding a home church and women’s Bible study, which have enriched my life immensely. So it was definitely the right decision.
I’ll keep you posted on the bathroom project as it progresses. I’m also finishing up a roller towel weaving project and will share that next time if I can get it finished.
