17 months Down

It has been right at 17 months since we flooded....wow....how quickly that went by and to think, I thought that we would be done in a year. That didn't happen-maybe we will make it in 2 years!

It is almost Christmas; our second Christmas since the reconstruction. Last year, we had demolished most of the house, had open studs, subfloors, no doors in most of the house, and had only finished one room. We were sleeping in the guest room, and after 6 months, Katherine had finally moved from a trundle in the living room to the office.

I forget sometimes what we have accomplished. There are days when all I can see is what we have left to do, and then I reflect back on where we were. This Christmas, we have refloored most of the house, walls are painted, new wall plates, light fixtures, three of the four bedroom are done. We have been our bedroom for quite awhile now! Our living room is done except for a bit of trim work that needs another coat of paint. Our guest room and bathroom are done too.

What do we have left: the other guest room and two bathrooms, the floor and trim in the den which we are working on right now. The slats are out in one corner. We will have those glued down this week. We have priced a gas heater for this room which might be a reality in the next few weeks. Maybe, just maybe, we will have this floor in by Christmas....which would be just too sweet!

We have formed a plan for our bathroom (quite an accomplishment), chosen our tub, and now need to move some plumbing around and build a wall, replace the ceiling and subfloor...and then install bathroom fixtures! Whew...it is taking a lot of time and costing a lot of money. We are down about $50,000 right now and still have much more to go!!!