floors and dust

Did not sleep more than three hours last night. Ugh. I didn't even go to bed until after 2 am -- drank too much bourbon and at some point got to work clearing away wood dust in the bathroom. I made a little progress but many surfaces are still coated with it. After lying awake for a while I listened to a podcast -- Here's the Thing -- and then another and another . . . I kept drifting in and out, and eventually I turned off the feed, at about 5:30. I tried to sleep in and managed to stay in bed until 9, floating in and out, almost pleasantly. Would have been pleasant if I'd had enough sleep.

I had forgotten to bring the bread home from Charlotte's and did not have any fruit in the house, so I walked to Butchertown Gourmet and had a cup of coffee (not very good) and a decent cinnamon roll. Sat for a while reading my Murakami novel, until I finished my breakfast. I came home and sat on the couch admiring the floor -- or what I can see of it and looking and stuff online, until I realized that it was noon and the rug cleaners close at 1:00. It took me a while to get the rugs in the car and I ended up driving down there via a circuitous route -- not sure if that was because I'd set the "no freeways" preference without realizing or if there was some kind of problem on 101 that the waze lady was helping me avoid. Anyway, I managed to get there about 7 minutes before 1:00.

I stopped at Good Life on the way home and bought figs, apples, yogurt, and a lime. Found Gene's car in the driveway, which made me cranky because I had to park and run up the steps to get him to move. He's such a sweet man, though.

When, oh when, will I have a kitchen and laundry?

Nick's

You would not know that it's a pretty great place from the outside. The guy who rang up my purchases would not charge me for the jalapeño.

floors

I am at Charlotte's tonight. So very kind of her to offer up her place. I met her here after work and she showed me around, made me practice unlocking all the doors, left, came back for her phone, and then left again. I made myself dinner in her kitchen -- such a pleasure to use a stove and a sink, even though she has no salt (for health reasons, I think) and all of her pans are large. I am feeling better, have gotten over my upset, Ariel has been working on getting the countertops installed sooner than mid-October. The living room was emptied out and mostly stacked up in the front bedroom, except for the stove, which is in the back bedroom. And now the sun room and the kitchen floors are being coated and the living room floor is being refinished.

Last night I got home from book group and the only place to sit was on my bed. I talked to Nola for a good while -- such a good conversation we had, why don't we do that more often? Then I tried and mostly failed to sleep. I was hungry, for one thing. While I was lying there I thought about the things that had upset me -- the countertops and the flooring -- and they didn't seem to matter all that much. I thought about JSV and felt sad but also relieved. Odd to think that my relationship with a contractor seems more vital, in a strange kind of way. I mean, I'm paying him, of course! But that makes it even more important to make things clear, as clear as they can be. The money is just money. The house, it's just a house, small and old. But of course it's more than that, for me.

five months and counting

I did yet another load of laundry at Nanci's place this afternoon. I will probably be doing at least one more before I get my own washer and dryer set up. I hung out with Charlotte and that was enjoyable. We made a plan to get dinner from the Mediterranean place on Mission and 30th next time I come over with my dirty laundry.

But even so, I am depressed and frustrated. I haven't been eating all that well lately -- tired of making do without a kitchen and giving up completely on the idea of cooking. I haven't renewed my CSA subscription and will not until whenever the kitchen is usable. I freaked out last week when Ariel told me that the countertops will cost a thousand more than our allowance and won't be installed for 3.5 weeks. On Friday, after the flooring for the sun room finally arrived, it was installed. Yay. Except that on Saturday morning I noticed that the strips don't match the rest of the flooring -- they are about a quarter-inch wider. I'm trying to figure out how to respond to this. I called Ariel and left a message about it, but he hasn't called back. He doesn't usually contact me over the weekend, so I'm not surprised that I haven't heard from him. I'm annoyed -- after all, I was told at one point that the engineered wood took so long to arrive because the strips had to be custom-cut to match the real oak flooring. But . . . it would be a big deal for them to tear out the mismatched flooring and order another batch. And, of course, I would be without laundry or kitchen for another couple/few weeks.

a better saturday

Feeling better today -- impatient but not depressed. John and Tanya have been having a party all afternoon -- outside, with a dj. Not deafeningly loud, but loud enough to be irritating after a couple of hours. I'm listening to the Giants score runs. It's not quite drowning out the music from across the street. But it's OK -- the party can't go on forever. Can it?

Earlier today I talked to Deborah about filling the trench and installing a new gate that will at least make it difficult for the raccoons to get on and off the roof. Then I walked over to Flora Grubb to take photos of plants that I might like in the back yard.

I also started moving books and other small items out of the living room. I even played the piano for the first time in weeks. I was going to try moving the rugs down to the car but I decided to wait, maybe until Monday when Ariel can help me. Eventually I'll take them to the rug cleaner in San Mateo; I'll retrieve them after the floors are done. This idea of doing all of the floors is a bit crazy but I hope it'll end up being a good one.

long tunnel

Hi, Ariel -- 

I just got home and it doesn't look like anything happened today -- painting or otherwise. I'm guessing that the wood for the sun room probably hasn't arrived. Seems like the counter people will need at least a couple of weeks to do their thing. 

Anyway, I guess I'm feeling a little depressed about how long I've gone without kitchen or laundry, and I need some sense of when I can have my house back. End of September? 

ALSO, will the siding on the sunroom that I can see from my bedroom window be painted?  

Hope you have a good weekend.

island

Getting closer -- even though Scott locked himself out shortly after I left for work this morning. He had to move his truck because of street sweeping. He will have to come back tomorrow.

kitchen

The cabinets are here! Not fully installed yet. The kitchen is getting there. I think I like it.

floors

color

Whoa, my house is part purple! I was alarmed when I saw it on Friday -- I came home early from work and the painting was in progress. Now that the paint has dried I am less concerned. I forgot to spec a dark gray for the window frames, and I might end up with a new/different trim color. You can't see the side of the house from most angles if you are down on the street. So . . . I am telling myself let's just wait a bit and see how the color settles in.