Headway (or) Decisions Through Injuries

Ok, so, it's been a really long time since I updated anything. Not that nothing has happened - far to the contrary! Lots of things have happened! However, one unfortunate occurrence is that the blogger app for my phone no longer seems to want to upload pictures. That means that I need to copy pictures that I take with my phone to my desktop to add them to a post. Which explains why this post that I started in July is only being posted now.

That out of the way, here's the bit from July:

This is the hottest part of the year, but I'm still pushing ahead with construction. I could be working more, but it's been 100 degrees outside, so forget that!
As noted in the title, I've made some serious headway, at least as far as construction is concerned.
Electrical: Finished, except for tying it into the main house wiring.
Sewage and sewage vents: the new bathroom is 100% complete, and the master bathroom has the major sewage pipes in. Huzzah!
Framing: exterior framing is 100% finished, and interior framing is done except for where I need to make holes in walls (such as the nook, or the bedroom-to-closet doorway).
Siding: In progress; of the seven sections, two are complete, one is nearly complete, and one is partially complete. The "hard spot" is one of the ones that I finished; the exterior door is in, and all the siding has been installed around it. Huzzah!

Progress! (or) Non-Livable Space

It's been over a year since I wrote anything here. That is a really long time, and I'm sorry that I haven't been able to get much done. There are all sorts of projects that have been left unfinished, but sometimes, life gets in the way.

That said, we've finally begun step one of The Big Project! As a planner, a dreamer, and a super-logical person, I have always had big plans, and this house is no exception. I have a huge spreadsheet with all sorts of bells and whistles that tells me what I should work on, what projects cost, and even how far I have to go before I am done with everything. It's a staggeringly huge project, overall. That's why I've chopped it into smaller pieces. For instance, the top-level plan includes "Finish Upstairs", which has the sub-task "Build Addition", which includes "Complete new bathroom", which includes "install toilet"... you get the idea. Well, up to now, I've been stuck with working on all those smaller pieces: making drawers, filling holes, that sort of thing. Today, however, I am pleased to show you the really, really big piece I've been working on.

Of Shelves and Structures

Recently, I've worked on a lot of little things, but nothing I can point at and say, "Look at this amazing finished project! I've made huge changes, but most of those changes are "make a bigger mess," rather than "make a smaller mess." Still, we have gotten a few things done, here and there. You will see a difference in my "to do" list - including some parts that were rather unexpected.

The biggest section that's been marked off my list is my security section; I wasn't planning on working on any of that for months, if not a year. However, I got a good deal on equipment, so I went ahead and installed it. I don't have all the automation in place that I will want, but the important pieces like window or door intrusion, and smoke/fire alarms, work just fine. I need to learn more about the system so I can hack in some of my own devices... but, that can wait.
Meanwhile, I've also been working on some hard-core remodeling. I've decided to tackle the Kitchen - a bit early, I know, but we are so low on kitchen storage that it just needed done. Plus, this is a "stand alone" improvement; unlike moving sinks, installing floors, or repainting all the things, all this required was making a huge mess.

Rot & Relief

The last month has really been a roller coaster ride. Our insurance deadline is today, and after countless days and nights of work, I sent in the pictures of all our hard labor and waited. After three hours of very tense silence, I finally got the email back - the improvements pass inspection, and our insurance is saved! Huzzah! That is an amazing load off my chest. We still have a lot of work to do, getting all the trim painted, getting the last bits finished - but I don't have a looming deadline hanging over me. No longer will I feel guilty for going to bed at 11:00 at night, instead of staying up until midnight - or later. Nor will I feel guilty for taking off a whole day! God really, really came through for us - as did all our friends!

Let me just take a moment to mark something off my todo list:
Roof: repaired. Done.

Whew.

All that being said, now we can take a deep breath before we get back to work! I think the first "next task" is getting rid of the rotting supports, and replacing them with something a little more stable. I've been trying to think of a good way to do that, and I may have come up with a way.

Getting Ideas Out of My Head

There are a lot of things to do in this house, and we've only just begun to scrape the surface of what needs doing. But, as with all my projects, I've started with a huge pile of notes. Notes help focus my thinking - when I have a project bouncing around in my head, I can't stop thinking about it until I write it down. Sometimes, it means that I just stop thinking about that project, either because I've written a complete plan, or because it's no longer worrying me. Other times, I keep thinking about it, and return again and again to my notes, eventually ending up with sometime amazing. Often, I'll just delete (or throw away) my notes, because whatever was worrying me at the time was really not all that important - but I didn't realize that until I wrote it all down.