Remodel - Week 9

Week 9 - The Doldrums

dol-drums \'dōl-drəmz\ n pl

1. a spell of listlessness or despondency: BLUES;
2. a part of the ocean near the equator abounding in calms, squalls, and light shifting winds;
3. a state of inactivity, stagnation, or slump.

and, as everyone who has lived through a remodeling project knows:

4. a period in the remodeling project, usually about 1/2-way through, when the home-owners feel despair and remorse, and wonder "What on earth ever possessed us to do this project?"

That was week 9 for us. Even though there was a steady stream of sub-contractors and Jason was making progress on the exterior, we both felt that we were in the remodeling doldrums. After all, 9 weeks of having the entire house in disarray, drop cloths over the furniture and rosin paper on the floor can be a little wearying.

Not to mention having to have Molly the Cat's food dishes and litter pan in our bedroom 24/7 - she certainly couldn't wend her way to the basement during the day through the construction. After all, this is a cat who scurries under the bed at the slightest noise. And to move her stuff back-and-forth twice a day was not worth the effort. Nevertheless, in case anyone needs this data for research, we now can attest to the frequency that a cat eats, drinks and uses the litter pan during an average night. Indeed they are nocturnal beasties.

By midweek, Steve and I talked ourselves out of our remodeling angst, realizing that we'd had the exact same experience midway through the 1994 remodel project. By the end of the week, when we passed another inspection and were told that the project was ready for insulation and drywall, the gloom lifted and we forged onward.

The following pixs show the faux eave and the cat-slide roof wearing their new roof shingles, which are in the handsome "Weathered Wood" color:






Interestingly, this color must be all the rage across the US of A, because best-friend-Sandy and her hubby are currently building a home in northern Alabama and their builder has recommended this same multi-hued shingle for their project. Talk about being kindred spirits, this is sort of like us going shopping and buying the same pair of shoes (or not).

So, onward to Week 10...

PS - in the interest of full disclosure, this post was written at the end of week 10 - friend hubby and I spent the doldrums weekend vegging and watching 8 movies on DVD - nothing like a little quality couch time to raise the spirits. In between DVDs, when I mentioned that I needed to blog, Steve said "why don't you skip this week?" Never one to not act on a good suggestion, I did that very thing!