A month (ish) to go
Check out how nicely the hardscaping is coming along!
On the inside, we were giving off real meth lab vibes for a few days. Every surface was covered over and the windows look like this:
But now, they look like this!
I got to admire my freshly painted windows for about a hot second before they too disappeared beneath plastic sheeting. Next, the doors came off their hinges, and they and the trim work got blasted with Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace:
Unfortunately, I suspect we’re going to be moving in closer to the beginning of July rather than June 21st. My best guess is that painting has at least two more weeks to go, and nothing more can be done on the inside while they are working. Once the painters are done, the floors will be sanded and finished a final time, and then all the other trades return to complete the work they started:
electrical comes back to install outlets, switches, and fixtures
plumbing connects the faucets, toilets, and shower heads
all appliances are installed (washer and dryer were delivered today!)
all finish work (doorknobs, drawer handles, curtain rods, closets, etc) is done
Meanwhile, the outside work continues on a parallel track. Once the hardscape is done, the irrigation and landscaping will begin. Our priority will be the front yard, because that’s the part that the city cares about.
We plan to spend the long weekend cleaning and oiling our existing outdoor teak furniture. Originally, I had hoped to buy some new items (ones that don’t, say, weigh 1,000 lbs each and require so much maintenance) but we’re feeling the end-of-project cash crunch over here. Sadly, we do need new cushions, which seem to be nearly as expensive as the pieces themselves.
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to try reaaaalllly hard not to obsess over any real (or perceived) delays and focus on all the good that is coming our way in the next few weeks: Daughter #1 graduates from high school and the Husband and I celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. I tend to focus on the stressors in my life (example: I think of the last few years as “brain surgery, spinal surgery, dad died, brain surgery”) instead of the joys and the blessings. Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of how stupid fortunate I really am.
