And so it begins...

Garden to be removed and room added.

This is the first time we've renovated a house we live in. The dynamics of planning such a project are daunting at best. Everything has to be packed up and moved out to prepare for ripping off the entire roof, but when we are still using the house until that day comes, what does one leave in tact: a dish, a glass, a pot; one spoon, knife, fork; a sofa, a twin bed, a TV and cable. Larry will be doing some glorified camping at the lake house until the demolition guys show up, and I have to hope he doesn't get too lonely or hurt himself in this remote area while I'm gone with the pups. We leave on Saturday to return to RI, so I can continue with chorus. I am so conflicted about leaving him, but he is encouraging me to go and continue with an activity that brings me such joy. My husband is the best!

Packing has begun and has to be finished in two days. Last minute items will be left for Larry to take care of, but I am having such trouble letting go of wanting to control the entire process. I'll do it, but not without some pain. Larry's brother, Billy, is taking half a day off from work today to help him break beds down and pack mattresses in sleeves. Yes, they make mattress sleeves for storage. This was news to us, but welcomed. We've packed mattresses in plastic with duct tape, and it is much harder. I'll be packing lamps and linens, while finishing up the kitchen and the utility closet. I have to pack all our clothes, and the dilemma is: wash them now or later? I've decided later will do. Maybe I can actually use my new laundry room to do it when it's all done and we move back in, rather than spend a day at the laundromat.

Before

After

 

Our first big project has been completed and has made this entire renovation real to us for the first time. We have been talking about renovating this lake house for so many years, we were convinced it would never happen. Granted, we are renovating it to sell when the market comes back, but we will get to enjoy a new house until it does sell. We realized in February, that we lost about four feet of shoreline from erosion. We've been losing land slowly over time, but this past year was the worst. So, we hired a company and this week they brought in little machines that moved and planted sixty tons of fill, cloth to keep it in place, and covered it with eighty tons of rock. The area to which we added rip rap was never covered, and it is way past time. It looks beautiful, and in the process we gained about eight feet of land back. That doesn't sound like much, but it is. Rip Rap: check! Our list has begun.

Dance of the Machines

Finished

 

Yellow and Black Garden Spider

The renovation truly became real yesterday when Bill, our General Contractor, came buy with the window/door guy. Bill chipped out a brick from under one of the bedroom windows outside, and we saw the flimsy construction inside. No wonder that back bedroom gets musty and the most critter invasion of any other room in the house. There's nothing behind the faux-panelling but cinder blocks with holes! This house will be so much different when new windows are installed with real framing surrounding them, and insulation. Once Bill chipped out that brick, we knew this project was real and going to happen. And so it begins.