Socal Mom by Donna Schwartz Mills

A Look at Our New House

Eight months in the making, it really does FEEL like we've got a new house (the front part of the structure, anyway). On Saturday, our furniture will be shuffled out of the garage and back into place, along with dozens of cartons of contents that need to be unpacked -- so it also feels like we're just moving in.

Our home network was down while the floor was being laid, so this is my first opportunity to share these with you:

I guess I got used to living with the ugly blue-gray epoxy garage stuff that's on our concrete slab, because I decided that gray would be the perfect color for the new tile in our kitchen and dining area. (Actually, the very dark gray of the bitumen we laid below the cabinets is what prompted that - I ended up thinking it looked very nice next to the cherry stain).

Ironically, the shade of carpet we picked is called "portobello."

The Never Ending Home Renovation

We are coming to the end of of our home renovation nightmare.

On Monday, we ordered tile for the entryway, dining room and kitchen, and carpet for the living room and hallway. I was hopeful we'd be able to put our furniture back by Chanukah (December 11) -- but my husband insists that we (meaning I) finish painting the rest of the house before the floor is installed. And I can't do that until he finishes the drywall patches.

We're having family over for a holiday dinner on December 23. That is, if we do have our dining room table and china cabinet back up by then. And that can't happen until the floor has been installed.

My life since this renovation is like an Escher drawing. No matter how close I feel to the end of this journey, it isn't actually in sight.

There's still a lot of fine-tuning to be done to the kitchen: the microwave hood needs to be installed, the cabinets look like they need another round of protective coating, there's hardware waiting to be stuck to the drawers and doors, etc. But we're no longer on a steady diet of Lean Cuisine and takeout. I've been cooking again, and it feels great.

However, the near-completion of the kitchen just reminded me of what a time-suck this renovation has been. I have been telling myself that the reason I've not been able to complete tasks as quickly as I expect has been that hours I would have been working have been spent dealing with the details of living in a house that's been torn apart -- and the energy it is taking to put it back together again.

I expected that getting the kitchen to this point would give me back more of my personal time, but it just increased the urge to get this thing FINISHED so we could get our lives back. And so I was saddled with more tasks  -- some pleasant and some not as much fun as you would think:

• I had to unpack and replace all the kitchen stuff that had been sitting in cartons for several months. (You have NO IDEA how good that felt. Pleasant.)
• The packing gave me an opportunity to do some necessary cleaning out of old canned goods, herbs and spices... so now every grocery excursion turns into a quest to re-stock the pantry. (Mundane. And costly.) 
• The new cabinet configuration gives me less storage near the stove for items I need at hand when cooking. I purchased a new spice rack that can be displayed attractively on the counter. (Pleasant, but I spent more than I'd planned.)
• While I was at it, I got rid of our old knives and bought a new set of Henckels that was on sale at Costco. (Very pleasant. And I spent less than I'd planned.)

We designed the kitchen with the idea that family and friends could sit at the peninsula and socialize while I'm cooking -- even the earliest renderings included three stools. With the dining room table (my usual workspace) still disassembled in our garage, I had been looking forward to setting up shop at the counter. However, in all our planning, I'd never thought to actually price the cost of barstools. I figured I'd just find something appropriate at Cost Plus or Pier One and call it a day. I budgeted $150 for three stools.

Someone should have told me that I could expect to pay $80-$120 per stool. Or that they come in two heights. We purchased three $99 models at Cost Plus, brought them home and assembled the first one, only to discover that it was too tall. That's when I realized that I needed to look at chairs described as counter stools, or with a specified height of 24". 

I managed to move my workspace from the coffee table and couch to the new counter, but had to work standing up. It was better for my back, but hell on my feet. What followed was a 10-day quest to find counter stools that didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Every store I visited cost more than the previous one. Pottery Barn's stools are $220. There were beautiful ones at Crate and Barrel that started around $300. I drove up to Santa Clarita, where there is a store that sells nothing but barstools and billiard tables -- their huge selection ran between $200-$400.

Costco sells an attractive counterstool in a two-pack for around $200, but then we would be stuck with either two stools or four (and we had space for three). My Twitter friend @Trianglman referred me to a site with a ton of stools -- but none of the ones I liked came in that 24" height.

Then I remembered a store called Urban Home, which carries furniture similar to Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel but costs quite a bit less. That's where I found a discontinued 24" stool that had the right look... and a sale price of just $60. Victory.

So there's another little detail out of the way, and only slightly over my original budget. I have yet to add in the cost of all the time I spent looking for it.

I should feel less stressed... but just as I feel the pressure to get the house done before Christmas, I have clients who have patiently held onto work while I've been sorting through all of this. They also want their projects done so they can relax and enjoy their holidays.

Normal life will have to wait.

At Last...

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This Just In

Still working - way too slowly - on the book project for my sister's company. So any time I spend here makes me feel guilty, as I SHOULD BE FINISHING THE BOOK. Plus, I have a date tonight at the California Women's Conference (thanks to Lean Cuisine, who invited me to attend as their guest). So this will be short and sweet. 

Late Thursday, I finally got a firm date for my UFE: I report to the hospital at 6:00 AM on November 4. I'm still a little freaked out that I have to do this -- which is weird because I'm less bothered by the 10-centimeter and 8-centimeter growths inside my body. Still, it was a relief to finally have a date. I can MAKE PLANS AGAIN. This is good.

Progress has been made on the house: A nice man named Ricardo has stained the new cabinets a rich cherry. I got news Friday that my new sink and faucet have been shipped. We're finalizing the granite countertops with Costco on tomorrow. And my husband finished the living room drywall on Saturday. So yesterday, I spent an un-holy amount of time cleaning house (the resulting dust was literally an inch deep and it was EVERYWHERE).

But at the end of the day, we were able to move the minimal amount of furniture we've kept inside back where it belongs and now our home is an approximation of normal. The kitchen cabinet shelves and doors will be reinstalled on Friday, which means next weekend, we can empty out the boxes in the dining room.

I'm downright giddy.

In the meantime, I thought it might be fun to share a couple of the things I found in my inbox last week:

From VisitBath.co.uk:

Christmas lights switch-on with Nicolas Cage

This year's Bath Christmas Lights switch-on event takes place with Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage. The event takes place on Thursday 26th November and is the official start of late night shopping in the city and is also the first day of the popular Bath Christmas Market (26th November - 6th December). The entertainment will begin at 4:30pm with celebrity DJ Toby Anstis followed by the main switch on event with actor Nicolas Cage from 6pm.

Bath is one of my favorite UK towns, which I wrote about on our last visit. Has it really been THREE YEARS? This is the longest we've stayed put since we got married. Fingers crossed we'll be able to make it over there in 2010.

From the ASPCA:

1. Meet the ASPCA Cat of the Year Who says shelter cats can’t be prodigies? Nora was just a kitten when she was found gently tickling the ivories of her adoptive mom’s piano. Next week, Nora will receive a rare honor at the 2009 ASPCA Humane Awards, proving beyond a doubt that shelter pets make extraordinary companions. Read Nora’s story...

Decisions, Decisions

I met yesterday with the radiologist who will be performing the UFE procedure, and I am feeling a lot more confident about it. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the readers and friends who have phoned, emailed and tweeted me about their experiences with uterine fibroids. You have all been very helpful!

In the course of our discussion, I've learned that the fibroids have grown since I had the CT scan in the spring. "They're both really big," the radiologist said, pointing out the obvious: The larger one is now 10 centimeters - and so big, they were not able to image the entire thing on the MRI. The smaller one has grown to 8 centimeters. Because of their size, their shrinkage may take six months or longer... and, there is a possibility that they might require a second procedure.

"The upper one is so large that there may be additional arteries involved," the doctor explained. "We can't see them now, but after we've had some shrinkage we may be able to see others." Because of its location, he doesn't think I need to worry about the smaller growth... just the monstrous one on top, which is pushing against other organs.

The websites I looked at stated that I could expect an overnight stay in the hospital. My doctor says he keeps his patients in for two and sometimes even three nights. Since I'm told that the first couple of nights are extremely uncomfortable, I'm OK with this.

So now that I'm committed, it's just a matter of waiting for authorization from my insurance company... and then we'll schedule the thing as soon as possible so I can get it over with and get on with life.

So right now, that's the easy decision. If only the work on the house could be as cut and dried! We are stalled again: the new cabinets are beautiful, but need to be finished. Our carpenter referred us to two guys who do wood staining - and their bids were wildly different. We don't feel we can make a decision without a third bid... and are having a hard time finding someone to give one. (We've been very lucky so far with the people who have done the work on the house because we've used people who were referred by friends... we just don't know a lot of people who have had custom cabinetry put in like this.)

In the meantime, I've been busy selecting the countertop. We looked at all the options and while we like the look of some of the new materials available, we're going with granite because of its toughness and its chip-resistant qualities. Both Home Depot and Lowe's have a nice selection, but you can't get an accurate estimate of cost until someone from the store comes out and measures... and you have to pay them $100 for that privilege.

We went through this at the beginning of the kitchen renovation, shelling out $400 to different cabinet providers just so we could get an estimate... and then we went with the fifth guy, who did not charge us to measure. This time around, I compared the deals offered by the two major chains and picked the one that would give us the most for our money: Home Depot, give you a free stainless steel sink (there are three models to choose from) and an edging upgrade. Their guy came in on Friday, which means I should have my estimate today.

I also noticed that Costco is selling home improvement services, too. They have a relationship with a local contractor, who comes to your home with samples, does the measurements (at no charge!) and gives you an estimate on the spot. They also throw in a stainless steel sink, but you don't get a choice.

I was surprised at the quality of Costco's granite AND the low price their guy gave me, so I have a feeling we'll be ordering from them. I did not like the sink they give you. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's a double bowl and I've been thinking I want a single so I can soak an entire roasting pan in it. Fortunately, the Costco price is so inexpensive that I will be able to afford the single-bowl granite sink I've had an eye on.

It will take about three weeks to fabricate the granite - so we have to decide on someone to finish the cabinets soon. THEN we can have the plumber and electrician come back in to re-hook the appliances... after which, we can put in the new floor.

It would be nice to have all of this done before I go into the hospital, but I can't wait any longer - we are nearing the end of the year, and our deductible is likely to go up again. I need to get the procedure done NOW. At least, the recovery period will only be a week or so... and I won't have to deal with being stuck in our shambles of a house for a month or more, as I would with a hysterectomy.