5 - If you build it, will they come?
We are doing it. Each construction step is getting us closer to welcoming others to this mountain home for retreats. Retreats are for reflecting, so we are intentionally doing that throughout this renovation process. This photo is from the lower level, as I was building what I dubbed the potentially final wall of my life. I have had the great pleasure of framing many walls, both when we originally built the home, an
d now in the renovation. A friend asked if I was being sarcastic when I said I was a little sad it was likely my final wall. Nope. There is something so satisfying knowing how to frame and then actually build a wall…measuring and cutting the wood, sinking the screws, and then securing it. However, there is also some wisdom that I have gained in this process. In the initial photo half of the wall is up and ready to go. As I mentioned in last blog, I often do as much as I can then bring Mark in to lift and do the final securing together. We were getting ready to raise the second half of the wall and it was late in the day. It suddenly occurred to me that we were both super tired and I wasn’t certain that if it turned out I had mismeasured the connection of the two walls with the framed door that I would have the reserves to respond graciously. Thankfully, we decided to call it a day, rest, and come back to the raising of the wall the next day. It turned out that I had totally mismeasured, but because we were fresh, I was able to just do the work to solve it, and up the wall went. As a result, we were satisfied and delighted rather than stressed and exhausted. I am proud of that pause and listening.
This photo is also great to show the original walls behind us. One of my next tasks has been to begin focusing on painting. When we painted this TV room in the late 90s, Mark and the boys wanted it to be the awesome color palette of Starbucks. Haha, remember when the coffee shops were always brown and dark? I have been undercoating - priming over these dated colors and have chosen a wonderful neutral throughout the house. The other day, Mark was going to go purchase some more paint and he asked “What is the name of the color again? ‘Everything is possible?” HAHAHAHA! I loved that that was his interpretation. Actually, the name of the color is ‘Blank Canvas’ which I love almost as much as ‘Everything is possible! I sense a theme.
The yard is coming together too. Mark found these great Adirondak chairs on Craigslist and you can see them and Mark mowing through the filthy kitchen window we plan to clean. We are now prioritizing our worklists in preparation for our Open House next month (October 24th). The name of this blog post is “If you build it will they come?” My hope and believe is a big ‘YES’! So, we keep working.
Our crew has grown temporarily again. We have had the pleasure of Daniel and Ellie’s dog, Peepo for three weeks while they are on a work and pleasure trip.
In this photo we are all heading to the worksite together to put in another day of work.
For now, we'll keep making space, one layer at a time, for what's next.
We're so glad you're here.
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