Thoughts of Escape
It is rewarding to renovate your house, especially when you are doing the work yourself. Unfortunately, it is maddening to renovate your house, especially when you are doing the work yourself. Such are the dualities of life. In order to experience the good, we must withstand the evil. Therein lies the difficulty.
When your house is a mess, and you just discovered another glitch in the plan, it is hard to keep your eyes on the prize. The light at the end of the tunnel seems awfully far away.
The key is not to turn on each other. It can be difficult, because you are often the only ones around, all of your friends being too smart to stop by mid-project. There were a few times that Douglas looked at me with his “I hate your guts” look. The effect is chilling; I feared divorce to be imminent. I was too afraid to capture that look on camera, but here is an example of his “You are annoying the crap out of me” look.
At times like that, even the cat is trying to escape the rings of hell. If she had just been a couple of pounds lighter, we might have lost her forever.
Perhaps she was driven to desperation due to having to forage for her own food for too long.
Kahlua holds up the best of all of us. Of course, this is because she holes up in the bedroom and stays far away from the work. She thinks the house is perfect in its current state and that we are crazy for trying to change anything. This girl does NOT approve of transformation, variation or modification. Yet, even she was not immune to dangerous side effects overcoming us all; she started to view Crème with a hungry look in her eye. I guess we forget to feed any of the animals in the midst of the renovation. We might have finished the work just in time to avoid losing a pet.
However, things cannot be all bad while renovating, or we would never do it. There are times when sleep-deprivation turns to giddiness. There can be great laughter on the project site; it helps to be a little silly.
Choice beverages also help.
The greatest high comes at the end, when you put in the last piece of the puzzle, pound the final nail, saw the ultimate board. These are the moments that keep us going. The trick is to have faith. You must believe that everything is going to look great in the end. Keep reminding yourself of that as you mire though the crap of a job half done. It is worth it!
Happy Homemaking!
I am a teacher, traveler, artist, writer, homemaker and a whole lot more. In January 2009, I bought the Cape of Dreams. It was the second house that I had ever owned, but it was the first that I bought by myself. I now live in the house with my husband Douglas, our dog Kahlua, and Crème de Menthe, the cat. Because, what life is complete without a little Kahlua and Cream? I love arts and crafts of all kinds, and I refinish furniture as well. We are slowly redoing our entire house. You can read about my projects on my blog www.CapeofDreams.com
I am so glad you wrote this post. Too often (heck it seems like ALL of the DIY blogs I read) it seems like things are just smooth sailing all the way. I think it helps tremendously to interject a little reality. I know for a fact that things would not go well if my husband and I attempted to do DIY renovation. I applaud you and yours in doing what you are doing.
I do try to keep it real. It is definitely hard to do these kinds of projects yourself, but the end is rewarding. Of course, the end can be rewarding even if you pay someone to do the job for you! You have to know what is best for you.
Love your blogs. You are so honest! Creme reminds me of Speedbump, who tries to escape everytime Jack takes his bike out the front door.! Looking forward to seeing your Cape of Dreams soon.
We are excited to have visitors from Hawaii. Too bad Speedbump can’t come!
I am proud and amazed at what you have both done!
Thank you! We try and so far everything has turned out pretty well, but it’s not always fun.
I can SO relate to this! Two little words struck me: final nail. Yes, someday there really WILL be a final nail in our coffin–er, I mean kitchen!!! It will be months from now, but thanks for reminding me that just as there was a beginning to this project, there will also be a victorious end if we just keep pluggin’ away!
Lacy says “mew” to Creme. (Actually she says something like “reh!” I’m not sure how she spells it.)
Keep your eyes on the prize. You will make it! Lacy and her siblings will keep cheering you on. Reh!