The Brawny Guy says, “Have an Extra Strong Halloween.”
This is his last year trick-or-treating. He’s only going because one of his best buddies is a bit younger and wants to uphold their long standing tradition. But, you know it’s time to stop* when you’re bumming your dad’s footwear for your costume. Happy Halloween, everyone. Stay Safe. See you soon.
*or when your mother says, “let’s take some photos” and you just give her that teenager angst look. Yeah, time for YOU to stay home and hand out candy. Good thing you’re living out of a hotel right now, buster!
I’ve become somewhat obsessed with the view out our hotel window. Ships coming and going. It’s particularly beautiful (if not a bit eery) Â at night, how silent and yet how present these behemoths are floating past our view. And of course, there is an interactive map that lets me spy on the inhabitants of the river. Obsession Information is good, right?
I’m hoping to do a house update tomorrow. You know, fingers crossed. It was on my agenda for today’s blog post—but I was up way past my bedtime into the wee hours of the morning—Ok, just 1:30 am, but I’m geriatric!—sourcing bathtubs and toilets and kitchen cabinets, OH. MY. Â So, I’m just a bit too bleary and frankly, drained, to talk about this house project today. However, I’m hopeful we’ll get there tomorrow or Wednesday.
In the meantime, how’s your week shaping up? Any grand adventures planned?
Day Forty-eight: Has it really been a week already?
My week has flown by. We’re feeling so much better in a larger space. But the days just meld together—it’s a continual stream of logistics. Up to stagger breakfast (since Sophie can’t be left alone in the room.) Then off for a morning walk. Back to the hotel for a quick cuppa and then up to the house with Sophie to work for most of the day. Leave Sophie at the house around 4 to meet the boys back at the hotel for dinner. Squeeze in a walk after dinner (assuming we don’t walk TO dinner) and then back to the house to pick up the dog. Â Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
It makes for a very choppy day, especially when you get to one place or the other only to realize you forgot something. Oy.
And our one month stay has quickly become two. I’m hopeful that will be the end of it. It all depends on how quickly our insurance can get around to issuing checks (and if they have to go through our bank, or can directly issue the checks to us. If they go through the bank, well… it’s Bank of America. Need I say more?)
As of this moment, the scope of work includes: (please keep in mind, this all started with a bathroom floor)
Electrical: Removal of all the knob and tube electrical. Apparently, the electrical upgrade we were told happened about 10 years ago, was a “cosmetic” upgrade. When you dig into the walls, it’s clear that only the places that would be checked were upgraded, everything still ties into the old knob and tube. Frankly, we were a house fire waiting to happen and are very fortunate to have escaped it. So the entire house will have be brought up to code in order for it pass inspection and for us to be able to move back in.
Plaster: Our home is lathe and plaster (JOY) and so everything that gets damaged in the rewiring will have to be replaced. Presently, that’s the bathroom and the kitchen–and will probably mean assorted walls and ceilings as the electrical is upgraded.
Bathroom: It’s an entire gut. Everything has been stripped at this point. There isn’t even a floor. It will all need to be replaced.
Kitchen: It’s not quite a gut, but the flooring, walls, ceiling, and cabinetry will have to be replaced.
Plumbing: Um.. yeah, it’s looking like everything will have to be brought up to code. It’s a central plumbing situation, so one repair means it ALL has to be repaired.
Structural supports: When the bathroom was renovated 10 years ago, and plumbing was put in for a shower, all sorts of “short-cuts” were taken, putting the structural integrity of some portions of the house at risk. One wall isn’t supported and will need to be remediated before construction can commence.
<wende putting on her angry eyes> Whoever did this work. . . a POX on you and yours. The very idea anyone would put their OWN family at risk, doing home repair work just boggles my little brain. Doing a half-assed job tiling a bathroom because you watched some show on HGTV and think you’ve got the mojo to fake it, I get. Doing a home installation of plumbing that cuts into support beams in an illegal DIY job… insanity. You know who you are, and you should be ashamed. </angry eyes>
Ahem.
So that’s where we are. Or where we’re not. I suppose it depends on how full your glass is.
Day Forty-one: New Digs. These aren’t the most artistic shots, but my muse took one look at the state of our house and booked a ticket to Boca for the next month. Shameless hussy.
I’m breathing a bit better now. The new suite has one real bedroom, a living area, and another sleeping alcove. No kitchen, but with the wet bar we’ve moved in our espresso machine and Zojirushi. No more drinking yucky hotel coffee in the morning. THAT alone should improve our living conditions.
We’ll still be eating out (or take-out) for most meals, but we’re figuring out how to do that with least amount of stress. We’re not allowed to leave the dog unattended, so we’re tag teaming breakfast and then dropping Sophie off at the house while we eat dinner. She seems OK with that, happy to be back in her home.
IZ brought over his big computer so he can work. I think this might be the biggest complication for us. Since we both work from home, it means a lot of trips to the house and trying to juggle working from a distance. I’m sure we’ll figure out a rhythm eventually. In fact, IZ’s computer is set up just behind the chair I’m working in presently, and he just reached out and gave me a mini head massage. So, it’s not ALL bad. Plus, IZ and I have a beautiful king sized bed with a view of the river and bridge. Tres romantic. Not that I can think that way right now, but give me time, people.
On the down side, the damage. Oh. My.
I think I’ll put up the final list on Tuesday once the adjuster comes back out to reinspect the current scope of the work. But let’s just say, we’re very fortunate to never have had a fire!
Ok, off to dinner. I think I’ll be back tomorrow with a post on how to make a Hotel your Home.
I wish I could say that it was good news. That I’m hanging in a hotel enjoying a sunset on the river, just because.  But, we’ve been displaced courtesy of the construction going on out our little house. Right now, due to insurance/bank red tape, it’s looking like we’ll be living the Hotel life for at least 4 weeks. That’s the BEST case scenario. I can’t even wrap my head around  eating out for a month, much less managing the hotel’s requirement that we never leave Sophie unattended.
Presently, we’re hanging out in a hotel room with 2 double beds. But, on Sunday we’ll be upgraded to a suite with rooms and larger beds. Our son, ever the optimist, keeps reminding us of the “bright-sides” of our current predicament. I’m thankful for a child who can see past the destruction and displacement, because after spending the day packing my kitchen and watching my house implode on itself I’m not feeling so optimistic.
So, stay tuned. I’m pretty sure there are stories coming your way.
