On the Cusp of a Real Breakthrough

As I write, I’m sitting up in bed, in my pajamas, waiting for the two extra-strength acetaminophen I took to take effect. Kimberly is next to me, sound asleep. It’s only 7:30 in the evening, and still bright light out.

I’m sore and tired in the kind of deep way that comes from having spent two weekends in a row, and a substantial portion of the week in between, on home demolition. Even though I’ve been trying to practice good self-care, stay aware of my limits, and not overdo, I’m afraid I have pushed myself too far. I probably shouldn’t have done anything at all today, so even though I tried to focus on using brain and not brawn, it was too much. I’m not going to be awake much longer, and tomorrow’s agenda will have to be all about recovery.

The good news is that we are almost done. All the decrepit plaster has been taken off the wall in the upstairs room. In the kitchen, we are down to the studs, the old flooring has been pryed up, and the wallboard and floor in the future breakfast nook have been taken out. We’ve taken out the wall sink in the half-bath, and taken out enough of the wallboard behind it to discover the completely bizarre framing and plumbing hidden there.

Of course, we didn’t do it all ourselves. We had help from our friends Janeen, Phil and Becca. Phil in particular was a Hero of Labor today, doing most of the muscle work that I was avoiding.

Even though I’m eager to write about the awesome ramps I built, one for the back steps and one up to the bed of the dump truck in the driveway, I’m too pooped. More later.

Pictures of the first stages of the project are up on Kimberly’s blog.