The Perfect Time
6:45 a.m.
October 11, 2022
It was a perfect time. Drinking coffee, sitting in our current back room, looking out the window, seeing the silhouette of our cat, Hannibal, standing on the credenza next to the window, my feet up on a bin of towels, leaning back into our Morticia chair. It was sunrise and the dark skies were making way for the sunlight blue skies, interrupted only by horizontal cloud formations. No reds, oranges or pink...only blues and purples with clean air.
My digestive system seems to be getting back to normal: only a little gas. We'll see about my bowel movements later this morning, but feel the antibiotic's affects on my digestive tract bacteria is waning.
Slept well. I am sure I had dreams but I can't remember. Woke a little later than normal: 5:57 a.m. but the cats were less demonstrative.
When I fed the cats, they all ate in the kitchen and all had their fill (no cat ran out after not eating or eating only a bit).
I am not as worried about how we are going to do the backroom. Some of the money will probably have to come from a line of credit mortgaged from our house as collateral ("Home Equity Line of Credit" or HELoC") just to do things correctly.
Really can't think of a better use of our money: present money or future money. The important thing is to just get on with it.
Once underway, I can set up realistic goals and back-up plans.
First of all, I need to complete my work to prepare for the back room. I didn't complete the work because I like doing things "just in time." As I had no idea when they would begin, I had no incentive. So, let's say they come up with a plan I like and I sign off on it. That is, by no means, going to be to-day. The plan needs to match what we want. "Any materials, details, or options discussed with the Owner during design development not specifically called out in this remodel scope of work are specifically NOT part of the Home Improvement Contract."
* windows-- two and two upstairs, standard size, wood, egress window in basement-- in-swing, fiberglass (not vinyl).
* door-- wood
* floor-- no floor?
* steps-- pull in by three steps to limit railing and provide a more direct route between dining room/ back room door and outside door.
* no baseboard
* paint--only finish drywall, no interior paint. Exterior--unsure.
* stairwell light needs to be a ceiling light: on the plans it appears to be attached to the wall.
* no sink, just valves for cold and hot water located to take flexible pipes to a future sink.
At that point I set up whatever is necessary to pay for it, then get a proposed schedule (earliest dates).
With a proposed schedule I can plan my work:
[] cut foam
[] remove bricks and concrete pieces
[] prepare parking space for rain barrel
[] goodwill donation trip
[] more carpet removal in dining room followed by dump trip
[] move cowboy chair to dining room
[] move stuff to cellar
[] move safe to front room
[] move credenza and table parts to cellar
[] move more front room stuff to cellar
[] move workout machine to front room
[] move more front room stuff to cellar
[] prepare empty space for washer and drier in front room
[] remove and bag asbestos tiles
[] deconstruct more of back room
[] buy tool to remove floor tiles.
[] move washer/drier to access floor tiles and remove all, bag as asbestos.
[] dump trip
[] reorganize side yard to accept new wood
With the back room deconstructed I should have enough lumber and roofing material to build both of my sheds! The contract allows me to keep whatever I want, so I expect to keep most of it. I am even considering keeping the back door, although it will need a lot of work to return it to its original condition (sand, restore bottom, new hinges, door knob). If the back door has a door knob, not a two hole thing, I can reuse the same lock set. I may still use the door knob but would also need to buy a keyed deadlock bolt as well.
October 11, 2022
It was a perfect time. Drinking coffee, sitting in our current back room, looking out the window, seeing the silhouette of our cat, Hannibal, standing on the credenza next to the window, my feet up on a bin of towels, leaning back into our Morticia chair. It was sunrise and the dark skies were making way for the sunlight blue skies, interrupted only by horizontal cloud formations. No reds, oranges or pink...only blues and purples with clean air.
My digestive system seems to be getting back to normal: only a little gas. We'll see about my bowel movements later this morning, but feel the antibiotic's affects on my digestive tract bacteria is waning.
Slept well. I am sure I had dreams but I can't remember. Woke a little later than normal: 5:57 a.m. but the cats were less demonstrative.
When I fed the cats, they all ate in the kitchen and all had their fill (no cat ran out after not eating or eating only a bit).
I am not as worried about how we are going to do the backroom. Some of the money will probably have to come from a line of credit mortgaged from our house as collateral ("Home Equity Line of Credit" or HELoC") just to do things correctly.
Really can't think of a better use of our money: present money or future money. The important thing is to just get on with it.
Once underway, I can set up realistic goals and back-up plans.
First of all, I need to complete my work to prepare for the back room. I didn't complete the work because I like doing things "just in time." As I had no idea when they would begin, I had no incentive. So, let's say they come up with a plan I like and I sign off on it. That is, by no means, going to be to-day. The plan needs to match what we want. "Any materials, details, or options discussed with the Owner during design development not specifically called out in this remodel scope of work are specifically NOT part of the Home Improvement Contract."
* windows-- two and two upstairs, standard size, wood, egress window in basement-- in-swing, fiberglass (not vinyl).
* door-- wood
* floor-- no floor?
* steps-- pull in by three steps to limit railing and provide a more direct route between dining room/ back room door and outside door.
* no baseboard
* paint--only finish drywall, no interior paint. Exterior--unsure.
* stairwell light needs to be a ceiling light: on the plans it appears to be attached to the wall.
* no sink, just valves for cold and hot water located to take flexible pipes to a future sink.
At that point I set up whatever is necessary to pay for it, then get a proposed schedule (earliest dates).
With a proposed schedule I can plan my work:
[] cut foam
[] remove bricks and concrete pieces
[] prepare parking space for rain barrel
[] goodwill donation trip
[] more carpet removal in dining room followed by dump trip
[] move cowboy chair to dining room
[] move stuff to cellar
[] move safe to front room
[] move credenza and table parts to cellar
[] move more front room stuff to cellar
[] move workout machine to front room
[] move more front room stuff to cellar
[] prepare empty space for washer and drier in front room
[] remove and bag asbestos tiles
[] deconstruct more of back room
[] buy tool to remove floor tiles.
[] move washer/drier to access floor tiles and remove all, bag as asbestos.
[] dump trip
[] reorganize side yard to accept new wood
With the back room deconstructed I should have enough lumber and roofing material to build both of my sheds! The contract allows me to keep whatever I want, so I expect to keep most of it. I am even considering keeping the back door, although it will need a lot of work to return it to its original condition (sand, restore bottom, new hinges, door knob). If the back door has a door knob, not a two hole thing, I can reuse the same lock set. I may still use the door knob but would also need to buy a keyed deadlock bolt as well.