In the zone

Two summers ago, more than a year after buying our house, we were making the first visible changes to it, painting the dark wallboard and refinishing the old pine floors. Don had already re-plumbed and replaced some of the old knob-and-tube wiring – enough for the most critical appliances (stove, refrigerator, washing machine, blow dryer). We took out walls and put in central heat and air. We made room for eating, sleeping and sitting; we left our books, our hobbies, in the basement. On everything else – bedrooms, cabinets, closets – we waited.

The planning was hard: I could see how things might look, where things might go. D saw that they weren’t there, that he wasn’t sure how they’d get that way.  Now, it’s finally more real than imagined, and there’s something new to see and do every day.  Last week, the framers nailed down floor joists and decking and raised walls; D took a rare day off and roughed in the plumbing. Today, the first rafters are up. There is actual, visible, noisy and dusty work in progress.

I know I’ll be happiest when the house is done and we’re in, but I think we’ll miss its evolution.

I know Jack will. At the end of the day, when the boys have left and everything is unplugged, he gets to work (Are the piles of boards climbable? Is the sawdust thick enough to write in?).

This is definitely the story of our summer. See what others’ look like at Tracey Clark’s, where it’s Best Shot Monday.