Reminiscing This And That.

I was going to post more pix of the whole-house carnage, but decided on this instead. I present to you:

[Part Of] "Oodelally," Sung By A Slightly Crabby Swedish Chef.

Forget The Girls- I'M Going To Trade School.

ALL the furniture must be moved. All.

Sometimes I feel like I'm hosting a contractor convention- and I'm the keynote speaker as well as the janitor.

On Friday afternoon, we had our heating and cooling guys out yet again. "But Keely," you ask. "Didn't you just pay close to 4k for an a brand new a/c system?" Yup. Yes, we did. "And Keely," you insist. "Didn't they leave the job with only one floor cooled, completely undermining the crux of the project, which was to get non-polluted air into your infant's room, the one on the first floor?" Yes, but we'll leave that alone for now.

Last week we had one night that was in the upper 80s. And, being that the two larger bedrooms are in what is essentially a converted attic, 'twas boiling. We were excited(ish) to use our new a/c. And that jubilation lasted until hour six of having the system on. Because, even after six hours of "cooling," the thermostat read 86 degrees.

THAT'S NOT RIGHT, we said to ourselves. WE'VE SPENT WAAAAAY TOO MUCH MONEY FOR 86 DEGREES. 

So our guys came out. And found that the compressor was completely devoid of freon. Because there was a leak somewhere in the 3-week old system. AND THAT'S NOT GOOD.

It was found within an hour and easily [?] patched. The guy was slightly shocked at how sloppy one of the connectors was. I wasn't. If you'll recall, the a/c guy left our home a few weeks ago after telling me how much he hated our house. (I mean, I hate our house, too, but I rarely let it affect the job.)

And lest you think that, just because the plumbers have finished their two-week downstairs pilgrimage, the work is DONE...oh no. Because yesterday, right around the time we were playing Whole House Jenga in preparation of the renovation, we discovered a leak. In the tub. You know, the tub that wasn't part of this demolition? And in the under-stair crawlspace (where we were attempting to Tetris some more storage boxes), we found that the newly dug and re-cemented concrete was wet. Whether from the extreme rain yesterday or someone's tears, I cared not. Because it meant that the plumbers had to come back today. The day that the renovators were to have started.

There's really only one explanation: Ghosts.

Back when I was hugely pregnant with Nora and we were "fixing up" this place (hahahahahaha), I could swear that I felt someone behind me all the time. Then it stopped. Or maybe I was too tired with a newborn to care if someone was stomping about upstairs. But now? Maybe the previous owner is pissed that we're digging up his house. Or perhaps he's the one causing the splodey-ness.

It's honestly the only rational cause for this ruckus.

Have you ever had ghosts/a slum for a house? Do you have a drink for me? Doesn't having these questions in bold remind you of Encyclopedia Brown endings? Comment below. 

Or walk over with a drink. I'm not picky. (Clearly.)

Keely Jinxes Herself Into Oblivion.

That frog takes up so much real estate.

Things are starting to look up. (And not just because we're crammed into the top floor of our house.)

Yesterday I featured a [poorly lit] photo array of my new window seat. It's simply glorious. It marks one of the few occasions where we've added something to this home because it would look nice or because it is time to no longer look like a crack den. (More like a crack palace!)

So often we're renovating and fixing the house because of "structural issues" or "safety reasons."

But on Tuesday? We hired people to come and rip out the front of our house (not to be confused with the people we've hired to come and rip out the downstairs of our house) because we've [I've] decided it was high time to have something pretty happen here. Granted, we [I] made this decision well before SewageGate 2012...but since we had already paid the deposit, new window it is!

There were a few dark moments on Tuesday, however. For starters, since the plumbers had taped plastic sheeting up the stairwell from the lower level (and over the side door), and since the window guys had done the same to the front door and living room- we were trapped inside a plastic rectangle.

I do not, as a rule, thrive under conditions best described as Outbreak-esque.

The jackhammering and drilling coming from ALL SIDES was a bit...much. Susannah's cheeks, yet again, threatened to vibrate off of her face. Nora, at one point, screamed until she was purple- and I couldn't even hear her.

And, at one point, the lower level's plastic sheeting slipped- and in an instant, the entirety of the main floor was coated in a thick layer of concrete dust. The biggest casualty was the enormous vat of stewed pears and apples that I had cooked for Suzy's consumption this week. (Now she may actually have consumption. Awesome.)

But- and this cannot be stated enough- THE WINDOW IS AWESOME.

This is the window where I (miraculously showered and all) shall sit and read and have a drink and take a nap and not smell sewage and not have to explain- yet again- that the men were not done jackhammering.

Because they will be done. The jackhammering has to stop. (After awhile it's just, like, dirt. Right?) And when this noise and mayhem and filth ceases...I will be on my window seat.

That is, if I can convince Nora to lemme have a turn.

Something Actually Works!

Please pardon the complete and utter lack of artistry in these photos- they're too dark, and they barely show what I'm trying to convey. BUT. Here's the thing. After weeks of things falling down, we have something new. Something awesome. And it's a bay window with a wide seat board. 

And it is good.

Old window in dim light. Note: janky/creaky wooden windows,
various scratches, three layers of ill-placed caulking.

NEW window in dim lighting. Note: HOW AWESOME IT IS.

Old front of house. Notice: good God, remember when that top window
 was shot out? We bought a house that had been SHOT AT?

New bay window. Also, no more shot-out window.
(And who's that mini person in two of these pix?)