The bathroom countdown continues . . . and continues . . . and continues. Will it ever be done?
Of course, certain phases are done. Demolition has long been over; upgrading the plumbing and the electric has come and gone; and the major reconstruction is all but complete. I thought I would feel good about this; and in some ways I do. But what’s left – the minor details that make something look finished – lurk this week.
We have to hang mirrors over the vanity sinks, put knobs on the drawers, glue the new baseboard in place, and touch up the scratches all this makes on the fresh paint. We have to purchase towel hooks and toilet paper holders and even new towels. We have to figure out how to operate the heated floor, which can be programmed just like a fancy thermostat on a furnace. So if you want to shower at midnight, you can preset the floor to get warm at 11:45.
Then we have to find our clothes, which have been scattered to other closets around the house waiting to return to their new home. I’m not even sure I can remember where everything is.
On top of that, today we had every single carpet in our house steam cleaned, which means all the furniture in every room has been moved. I had scheduled this appointment more than a couple months ago, never dreaming it would butt against the remodeling disarray. But my carpet cleaning guy books way out, so I didn’t dare cancel. Instead, we’re walking around in damp socks, waiting for the carpet to dry, and figuring out how I’m going to tell the workers that they can’t wear shoes in the house anymore.
The real solution is that Earl and I are leaving town on Wednesday for the Thanksgiving holiday, while the workers will be left behind with a key to our house and a giant punchlist to accomplish in our absence. I guess we won’t know if they wear shoes inside or not. I just hope that when we return we can return to a normal existence too.
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