We did it! Or, to be precise, we’re doing it right at the moment this post is being published.
Wait; get that look off your face! We’re not ‘doing it’; we’re doing ‘IT’: That is, moving into our finally-at-last-thank-God-could-it-possibly-have-taken-ANY-BLOODY-LONGER?!? much-anticipated and mostly-complete second floor (we still have to hang doors and do some finish carpentry). As of 9:00 this morning, the movers are hauling all my office, fitness, sewing, and art equipment, along with Hubby’s N-scale model train layout and all his astronomy gear, out of the garage and into its final home upstairs.
Are we relieved? OH HELL YES!!!
Are we still sane?
Not even close.
Our intellectual capacity has diminished to the point where we can’t retain even the most basic snippets of information for more than ten seconds. Our most frequent conversation for the past couple of weeks has been:
“What about (fill in construction question)?”
“Are you really asking me that?!? I just told you half an hour ago!”
“You did not.”
“Did too!”
“Did not!”
“Did too…”
I’d love to say that it’s all Hubby’s fault because he never listens to me; but I’m not quite sure how that would explain the fact that I’ve done exactly the same thing. ’Cause I always listen to him. (Hubby, stop laughing.) Maybe we’re simultaneously developing acute dementia caused by paint fumes.
I’m so brain-dead I can’t even feed myself. When the building inspector departed after giving us a passing grade on our final inspection, I allowed myself a celebratory Lindt truffle (or maybe several; but I’ll only admit to one). They’re one of my favourite indulgences: An oh-so-smooth-and-delicious soft chocolate centre enclosed in a chocolate sphere and wrapped in pretty foil.
So I peeled off the foil and put it into my mouth. The foil, not the chocolate. Seriously; if I had to take a mental competence test right now, they’d lock me up so fast I wouldn’t even have time to yell, “Hey, where’s my truffle?”
I’ve also developed an unnerving tendency to forget where I’m going and why; resulting in a scenario where I stop in my tracks, thump my forehead, and mutter, “Come on, brain, you can do this.” (For the record: It can’t.)
But I can hardly wait to unpack and settle into a period of blissful normalcy… at least until our budget recovers enough that we can afford to install flooring up there instead of the painted plywood we have now. Then the renovation insanity will begin all over again; but we’re both so heartily sick of construction that there’s an excellent chance we’ll put off installing flooring for another ten years. Maybe longer.
Or maybe we’ll just wait until the trauma fades; which, given the current state of my short-term memory, could be as early as next week.
Anyhow, I’m looking forward to resuming my life now that I no longer have to spend every spare moment either thinking about or doing construction. We’re done! HOORAY!!!
*does happy dance*
And in other news… I just hit the halfway point on Book 13 – woohoo! Now I’m looking forward to having some quality time to bomb ahead with it.
*does another happy dance*
Author Diane Henders 
Yay! The space looks fantastic! So much light it will be a wonderful work space. You’ve only likely sacrificed half of your brain cells so lots more where that came from. Now do try to stop eating the foil. I do hate to see good chocolate go to waste.
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LOL! Thanks – I’ve consistently managed to eat the chocolate instead of the wrapper this week. Baby steps… 😉
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Congratulations!! The space looks awesome and I know you guys are way past ready to get settled into it!! Looking good!! (and congrats on the half way point of your book!!)
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Thanks, Kirt! I took some time this week to get everything put in its place, and it’s such a luxury to have a desk where I can actually lay out paperwork. Whew! 🙂
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I get it…I’m fortunate enough to have a nice and organized home office…does make a difference!!
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Ah Diane, this reminds me of when my family moved into my parents’ house when I was in high school. Like you, the upstairs (where my bedroom was) had plywood floors (unpainted), no trim, no bedroom or closet doors and no light fixture, just a bulb hanging down. It remained like that for years until after I moved out. Hopefully, yours won’t take so long. For the record, I LOVE yellow and love the space that you two have created. It looks so airy and light. Oh, to have a proper art studio… Can I move in? 😉
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LOL! I think you may have to put your name on a waiting list – half my painting group (art, not walls; thank God) wants to move in, too. And I love my yellow – it’s so bright and cheery when the days are dull (like the past couple of days when we got 4″ of rain).
I don’t intend to let the finishing drag on too long – I’m much too compulsive for that. I can put up with unfinished stuff for a few weeks, but then it starts to drive me crazy(er). Trim boards are going on this week!
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You had me worried with the headline “done” but I now realize that you have retained enough sanity to enjoy your new work space because you used the phrase “mostly complete.” I hope a future post will tell us what rhododendrons you will be planting; I still miss the ones from my previous house.
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We’re thrilled to be able to grow rhodos here! We went crazy and bought about 20 last year, but they’re no more than a foot or two high. Still, it looks as though we’ll have a bloom or two this year on Kabarett (purple), Carey Ann (hot pink), Pomegranate Splash (white with red), Blue Jay (bluish purple), Shrimp Girl (pink), Snow Lady (white, fragrant), Tapestry (purple) and also on our Golden Comet deciduous azalea and a couple of our dwarf red azaleas (Mother’s Day and Girard’s Hot Shot). I planted about 800 bulbs last fall, too, and they’re all starting to poke their noses up – I may have crocuses in a couple of weeks!
Oh, you shouldn’t have gotten me started… 😉
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Add Vulcan (deep, deep red) as another rhodo and Geisha (variegated) for azaleas.
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Uh-oh. Now I have to go shopping again. We have Taurus, which is also supposed to be a deep red, but I don’t think it’ll bloom this year – it’s still pretty tiny. A Vulcan would balance the garden nicely…
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How GORGEOUS – all that light and those beautiful wall and ceiling lines . . . well done, you two – well done! Enjoy!
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Thank you! We’re slowly getting settled up there – still no doors, trim, or bookshelves, but for the first time in over a year I have an actual desk and chair – woohoo! 🙂
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Your new working space is beautiful. It is so bright and cozy. I even don’t know how it is possible to work there. Maybe just to meditate and enjoy the place.
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Thanks, Victor! As a personal trainer, I’m sure you’ll understand how eager I am to have my gym set up, too. SO looking forward to that! 🙂
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A home gym always was my dream, but it seems like it will not be translated into reality.
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That’s unfortunate. 😦 My “gym” isn’t very glamorous – I’ve only got old mismatched odds and ends of weights and equipment that I’ve slowly accumulated over the years. I’ve found I can buy used fitness equipment cheaply around mid-summer, when the people who made New Year’s fitness resolutions give up and sell the equipment they bought so optimistically in January. 😉 The true luxury for me is finally having room to put it together in one space!
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In fitness, consistency is much more important than any equipment.
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If the prospect of being finished wasn’t enough to make you happy, those colors sure would! Great space. Congrats! And if it helps, the bag of Lindt truffles I have says That a serving size is THREE! Bon apetit! 😁.
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A serving size is three?!? Well, dang, I’ve been shortchanging myself all this time. I’d better eat a bunch just to catch up!
And thank you – I love yellow, especially here on the coast where it’s dark and rainy a lot in the winter. I know yellow walls would drive some people crazy; but I’m already there, so it’s all good. 😉
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I’m still trying to get my treadmill out of the living room (going on about 10 years now). Your space looks great. Do some geometric or stenciled designs on the painted floor. Love all the natural light it looks like you’ve got.
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Thanks, Donna! Yes, it’s wonderfully bright, especially when the sun’s shining. And stencils are a great idea! I could make an “area rug” or two. But maybe not for a day or two… 😉
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Wow! Congratulations on another milestone! You’re THIS close to being done…! (Yep, this is me quitting right there. No comments about which shoe’s turn it is to drop next. Nothing at all about how long it’s taken–or the TOLL it’s taken. Zip. Nada. Just congratulations.) Well done, sista.
And FIFTY PERTHENT!! THWEET! Congratulathionth again!
If nobody’t told you today that you rock, please allow me to be the first.
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Thank you, kind sir!
And the nice thing about a shitty short-term memory is that I’m already forgetting the trauma as I look at my nice big desk in my nice bright office. Ahhhh…. 😀
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Absolutely. Look for the positives. 🙂
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How exciting! It looks wonderful. Congrats on being done. I know how good it feels because we just finished the renovations in our place, and it was nothing compared to yours. Now, go sit back, relax, and eat some foil.
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(snort!)
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*munch, munch* Hmmmm… not very tasty chocolate…
Thanks for the good wishes, and congratulations on finishing your reno, too! Now we can both take a nice deep breath. Or ten. 🙂
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oh my. Um, well. Okay, great news on the moving in. Hopefully your sanity will recover soon and the whole memory and vocabulary thing will improve too. I don’t know about hanging doors – I mean what crime did the doors commit that deserves being hung for? and don’t get me started on a “hung” door.
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I’ll make it my personal mission to ensure that all our doors are well-hung. 😉 And their only crime is their mere existence…
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Wow, you will enjoy this space! Looks fantastic. Now take a breath and have a drink, put your feet up and bask in these few moments of peace. It won’t last. You will find something to drive you crazy soon enough.
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Ain’t that the truth! The movers are about half done now, and already I’m starting to twitch. The space looked a lot bigger without furniture… 😉
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We’ve got a lot of Finnish carpenters around here. Some Swedish and Norwegian ones, too. It took me nearly twenty years to finish my house and there are still a few details I need to do, but now I call them “remodeling” or “maintenance”. Paint fumes definitely cause brain injury and behavioral problems, but the application of said paint can cause severe psychosis if left unchecked or unfinished. Be careful out there!
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LOL! You’re absolutely right about the psychosis if painting is left unfinished! That would truly drive me nuts.
We could sure use one of those Scandihoovian carpenters right now. The bookshelf is going to be a pain in the butt – I can bang together just about anything and it won’t fall down, but making it pretty is another story altogether. That’ll be Hubby’s job… 😉
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