A Day in the Life

     Plastic hanging from the ceiling, paper on the floor, a hammer crashing through the family room walls...things are finally back to normal in my house. This is all my sister and I have known, having lived through three major house remodels, which our parents do themselves with the help of my sister and I, who are mainly on the clean-up crew. Before I was seven I was helping scrape wallpaper off walls (which is why I will NEVER put it up on my own). Exposed beams and wires hanging from the ceiling? Completely normal. We've gotten used to referring to rooms as the "future" this or that, like the room next to our current kitchen, which is the "future kitchen." I must confess that I don't take people completely seriously when they "remodeled" by painting and installing new fixtures. Don't get me wrong, I understand that both my parents are handy (and slightly crazy), and most people don't have the time or talent for this kind of thing. This is my life. Our last house? We knocked down about 14 walls.
     I wouldn't recommend this for everybody. It takes a certain kind of person to do major remodels. And patience. A lot of patience. Yet from this experience my view of a home and the possibilities in one is completely different than if I had lived in the same new (younger than 100) house for years. It's an art form, a way of expressing ourselves. We can manipulate our house into something new, something better. Our dream home.
     As soon as we finished remodeling our last Victorian, we moved into this one. Our last house took 8 years to complete, and we've lived in this one for about 7 years, and we may be halfway finished. As I said, it takes patience. Also endurance, especially for the lovely black dust that settles everywhere, and the plastic and sheets covering everything to keep the black dust off. If only they had heard of drywall back in the late 1800s/early 1900s, instead of the heavy lath and plaster. Good things are worth waiting and working for, though. I appreciate all the hard work that my parents have put into this house, all the time my dad has spent tearing down lath and plaster and putting up drywall when he came home from work and would prefer to rest.
     We are ready for this house to be FINISHED. We joke that my and my sister's future kids will be able to come over here to help grandma and grandpa work on the house. Hopefully it won't take that long. I know that when my sister moves out she will avoid getting a fixer-upper at all costs. I'm not so sure about myself; I may have some of my parents' craziness in me.

The family room, aka Demolition Central. So named by me. Just now.

The covered countertops.

One very unhappy puppy who does not appreciate loud banging noises.

The Secret Portal

Since my bedroom is right above the demo zone, I put newsprint on the floor to keep the black dust from coming up. That stuff is insidious.

Then I realized that I was standing on a giant notepad. This is too much fun...