My Life in Reverse
Ever since March, when we got the green light to go ahead and begin another phase of the reconstruction of The Pokeaway, my life has been in reverse. What do I mean by this, you might be asking. Good question. I will try and explain.
First, there was the pulling up of the floor in the dining room to drill a hole through to the crawl space, so that the plumbing could be installed. Once the plumbing was in place, we had to find someone who would know how to treat the radiators we bought - they were very grungy-looking and needed testing to make sure that they wouldn't leak once they were installed. [We had found them on Ebay. They were working but had been taken out for a newer application.] This actually took a VERY long time. Radiators, and the care of them is not something that is common anymore.
But because my designer husband wanted to restore the look of this house built in the 1940's, work was stalled until the radiators were done. The radiator pictured here, took four grown men to move (although once or twice it was moved in and out by the tractor - where it was suspended by a chain from the bucket and 'flown in' onto the deck and set down on a dolly and then rolled in. I could go on and on about the process, but I don't want to bore you with the details.
Once the radiators were dealt with, it was onto the crawl space. We had to have a 'skin' put down over the dirt in the crawl space and Styrofoam insulation put in to cut the draft and the moisture. This took several days. Then the plywood floor had to be installed. The house floors were sloped and needed to be leveled. This meant all the furniture had to be put in different places or pulled out of the house. The biggest blessing for us was that this summer was hot and dry for much of it. So we didn't have to worry too much about our stuff being outside. Once that work was done, all the furniture got moved back into place. Sort of. Some of it ended up in places where we hadn't put it originally. This gave us a chance to evaluate whether new configurations were in order, or if we liked it the way it had been.
In the meantime, there were trips to Mexico, and other provinces taking place. And we welcomed some visitors who came to enjoy some holidays with us.
When we returned from holidays, we found all the laundry machines and sinks and dishwashers outside, and the powder room sink disconnected. Tiling in the mudroom had been completed, but it wasn't dried. Our visitors had to work in and around having one communal sink. We went sight seeing a lot in those days. I took laundry to a laundromat and paid 40$ to have all my laundry washed, dried, folded (and only one shirt shrunk). We ordered pizza. And pretended like we were used to living like this. No problem.
Then we bought the vanity and tile for the ensuite. I haven't had a bath in three years. Ha ha. But now, I have a tub - even though it still isn't hooked up, it sure looks pretty and tomorrow, the tile that we have had for over a month, will be installed (fingers crossed, eyes crossed too..for good measure). So there's hope for that bath yet. Maybe before the month is through.
And then school started. Holidays ended. Kids got jobs. Kids joined teams. Kids joined choir. Oh and did I mention that my husband's office was also being renovated at the same time - only with too many glitches to go into on this post.
We decided not to keep all the radiators because some of our space was too small. So we moved these ones out again onto the porch. Quite the addition.
This week, the flooring arrived and as of tomorrow, will be completely installed. We moved everything out again - in stages - to make room for it.
The flooring is is SOOOOOO beautiful. I can't stop looking at it. I want to take a random piece and tuck it in beside me while I sleep, like it's a stuffie. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful it is to have flooring beneath my feet on the level where I spend most of my time. It's like the floor has become the soothing balm of order to my soul in this chaotic process. This picture was taken after the first day of installation. It has taken them all week to work on it. I am over-the-moon-happy with it - and almost can't wait to get everything put back.
So that, dear cyber reader has been my life in reverse.
First, there was the pulling up of the floor in the dining room to drill a hole through to the crawl space, so that the plumbing could be installed. Once the plumbing was in place, we had to find someone who would know how to treat the radiators we bought - they were very grungy-looking and needed testing to make sure that they wouldn't leak once they were installed. [We had found them on Ebay. They were working but had been taken out for a newer application.] This actually took a VERY long time. Radiators, and the care of them is not something that is common anymore.But because my designer husband wanted to restore the look of this house built in the 1940's, work was stalled until the radiators were done. The radiator pictured here, took four grown men to move (although once or twice it was moved in and out by the tractor - where it was suspended by a chain from the bucket and 'flown in' onto the deck and set down on a dolly and then rolled in. I could go on and on about the process, but I don't want to bore you with the details.
Once the radiators were dealt with, it was onto the crawl space. We had to have a 'skin' put down over the dirt in the crawl space and Styrofoam insulation put in to cut the draft and the moisture. This took several days. Then the plywood floor had to be installed. The house floors were sloped and needed to be leveled. This meant all the furniture had to be put in different places or pulled out of the house. The biggest blessing for us was that this summer was hot and dry for much of it. So we didn't have to worry too much about our stuff being outside. Once that work was done, all the furniture got moved back into place. Sort of. Some of it ended up in places where we hadn't put it originally. This gave us a chance to evaluate whether new configurations were in order, or if we liked it the way it had been. 
When we returned from holidays, we found all the laundry machines and sinks and dishwashers outside, and the powder room sink disconnected. Tiling in the mudroom had been completed, but it wasn't dried. Our visitors had to work in and around having one communal sink. We went sight seeing a lot in those days. I took laundry to a laundromat and paid 40$ to have all my laundry washed, dried, folded (and only one shirt shrunk). We ordered pizza. And pretended like we were used to living like this. No problem.
Then we bought the vanity and tile for the ensuite. I haven't had a bath in three years. Ha ha. But now, I have a tub - even though it still isn't hooked up, it sure looks pretty and tomorrow, the tile that we have had for over a month, will be installed (fingers crossed, eyes crossed too..for good measure). So there's hope for that bath yet. Maybe before the month is through.
And then school started. Holidays ended. Kids got jobs. Kids joined teams. Kids joined choir. Oh and did I mention that my husband's office was also being renovated at the same time - only with too many glitches to go into on this post. 
The flooring is is SOOOOOO beautiful. I can't stop looking at it. I want to take a random piece and tuck it in beside me while I sleep, like it's a stuffie. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful it is to have flooring beneath my feet on the level where I spend most of my time. It's like the floor has become the soothing balm of order to my soul in this chaotic process. This picture was taken after the first day of installation. It has taken them all week to work on it. I am over-the-moon-happy with it - and almost can't wait to get everything put back.
So that, dear cyber reader has been my life in reverse.
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