And the Months Get A Little Longer
Jan. 13th, 2016 09:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blairmacgAs you know, Bob, one of the reasons I moved to Colorado was to move in with my parents. They need the support, and I saw no reason to run up my own costs maintaining a separate household that, by 2017, I don't plan to spend a huge amount of time inhabiting and Dev is unlikely to be inhabiting. (See past mentions of travel trailers and road trips.) So we went in together on a lovely home with an unfinished walkout basement--one that has bedrooms enough on the main floor for all of us to inhabit while we work on the basement.
We already have the designs, and I'm truly looking forward to building out the space the way I'd like. I mean, I've almost 500 sq. ft more in this basement than I had in my previous home, and the fact it's a walkout gives me windows galore. Big windows and a patio door to the backyard.
The plan was to begin construction this month, with a completion goal of about April. That was before two things happened. First, we were told the pre-existing plumbing for the basement bathroom was installed incorrectly, and we must jackhammer up a bunch of concrete to remedy it. That's... very expensive. Much more expensive than just hooking bathroom fixtures to existing plumbing. I'm a DIY kind of gal, but one stint with a jackhammer convinced me its proper operation was not in my skill set.
Second, the large and deliciously lucrative project I thought would be starting this month has been pushed back because the main person in charge of it unexpectedly and shockingly lost his spouse a couple weeks before Christmas. There are four kids under age 18 who need him more than the company does, and way more than I do.
Money will be quite tight, though, and so there will be no basement remodeling until around April.
Which is... frustrating.
We're all adults in this house, and are all committed to talking through conflicts and practicing consideration for each other. We really do well, actually. But we've also all discussed the fact my folks live to different rhythms than Dev and I do, and no matter how much we consider the other person, it's the constant consideration itself that wears us out sometimes!
So Dev and I have set up a living room of sorts in the basement, complete with our much-beloved comfy couch the dogs are permitted to sit upon with us. (Oh, how we've missed cuddle-pups on the couch!) That gives us an escape when we need it, and gives my folks the space they're missing, too.
And if it looks like we can swing just the bathroom in the next couple months, I'll likely move my bedroom and office down here anyway and live bohemian until we can finish out the rest. That notion is completely unappealing to Dev. Me, I'd be just fine with swags of fabric for walls and a big rug on the concrete floor. There are some days that sounds like absolute bliss, actually. :)
I'm working in the basement right now, with my back to the boxes and stacked furniture that will one day make up my home again. I've a pup on each side, contentedly snoozing, and so much bright sunshine streaming in I don't need to turn on any other lights in order to work. I'm ready to dive into transferring my on-paper revisions to the computer.
Life is still good, even though the months of winter will feel a bit longer than anticipated.
We already have the designs, and I'm truly looking forward to building out the space the way I'd like. I mean, I've almost 500 sq. ft more in this basement than I had in my previous home, and the fact it's a walkout gives me windows galore. Big windows and a patio door to the backyard.
The plan was to begin construction this month, with a completion goal of about April. That was before two things happened. First, we were told the pre-existing plumbing for the basement bathroom was installed incorrectly, and we must jackhammer up a bunch of concrete to remedy it. That's... very expensive. Much more expensive than just hooking bathroom fixtures to existing plumbing. I'm a DIY kind of gal, but one stint with a jackhammer convinced me its proper operation was not in my skill set.
Second, the large and deliciously lucrative project I thought would be starting this month has been pushed back because the main person in charge of it unexpectedly and shockingly lost his spouse a couple weeks before Christmas. There are four kids under age 18 who need him more than the company does, and way more than I do.
Money will be quite tight, though, and so there will be no basement remodeling until around April.
Which is... frustrating.
We're all adults in this house, and are all committed to talking through conflicts and practicing consideration for each other. We really do well, actually. But we've also all discussed the fact my folks live to different rhythms than Dev and I do, and no matter how much we consider the other person, it's the constant consideration itself that wears us out sometimes!
So Dev and I have set up a living room of sorts in the basement, complete with our much-beloved comfy couch the dogs are permitted to sit upon with us. (Oh, how we've missed cuddle-pups on the couch!) That gives us an escape when we need it, and gives my folks the space they're missing, too.
And if it looks like we can swing just the bathroom in the next couple months, I'll likely move my bedroom and office down here anyway and live bohemian until we can finish out the rest. That notion is completely unappealing to Dev. Me, I'd be just fine with swags of fabric for walls and a big rug on the concrete floor. There are some days that sounds like absolute bliss, actually. :)
I'm working in the basement right now, with my back to the boxes and stacked furniture that will one day make up my home again. I've a pup on each side, contentedly snoozing, and so much bright sunshine streaming in I don't need to turn on any other lights in order to work. I'm ready to dive into transferring my on-paper revisions to the computer.
Life is still good, even though the months of winter will feel a bit longer than anticipated.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2016-01-13 04:54 pm (UTC)I'm sorry, though, that you have had to delay your original plans and that it's going to cost more than expected.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-15 02:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-13 07:30 pm (UTC)My heart goes out to that poor gent!
no subject
Date: 2016-01-15 02:49 am (UTC)Ow.
Date: 2016-01-14 04:00 pm (UTC)Re: Ow.
Date: 2016-01-15 02:50 am (UTC)