Selective seeing

Last weekend, we figured out the landing for our staircase. The teak left over from the shed we built in 2005 looked great surrounded by the poplar we were using for the treads. All I needed to do was spend some time with the orbital sander to make the edges of the teak more level with the poplar. Teak laughs at sandpaper. Countless hours of sanding spread over two days, and the teak was still laughing.

On Sunday, we abruptly stopped trying to make progress, leaving barely enough time to prepare for our guests: Matt’s mom and two sisters. This meant a lot of spot cleaning. In other words, go ahead and look at this spot, but politely avert your eyes when it comes to that spot.

Moments before they arrived, Matt returned from the rented storage unit and we carried chairs from the truck, through the snow, down the hill and into the house. This was the first time in months our living room looked inviting—if you focused on the crackling fire instead of the stacked trim and tile on worn sub-flooring.

Our house tour included comments about what we will do, what a spot will become and admissions like, “and we have to figure out we are doing here.”

Gathering around the newly exposed kitchen island afterwards, we dined on Chinese take-out, toasting Jennifer’s visit from the frozen lakes of Minnesota to our frozen lake in New Jersey.

Thanks to bringing back a few sticks of furniture, adding a trio of VIPs and emptying several bottles of beer and wine, Matt and I started to see our vision for this project coming true: Casa de Roo as a cozy and fun place to hang out.

It had been a while since this was the case.

Flashback…

July 20 was the type of day that made a dame sweat as she stood still while minding her own business. It was hot, humid and not unlike getting a face full of pasta steam. It was the kind of Sunday that inspired us to wake up and say: Now that we have the permit, we should rent a storage unit and start getting our stuff out of the house! And so we did. A simple 10’ x 15’ metal box lacking both internal lighting and climate control.

Once the temperature “dipped” to just above 90 degrees, it was time to begin making use of our investment. We believed the crew would begin downstairs, and start schlepping the first truck load up the stairs from the utility room, up the stairs in front of the house and up into the pick-up. I could feel my blood pumping—in my face. One truckload was all we could take.

On July 27, Sam and Nick helped us move out bigger items. They are not only great workers, they are great fun to hang out with.

On October 1, we made the last critical run to the storage unit. The contractors were about to demolish much of our great room.

Our concern? We wouldn’t want much more of our stuff back once the renovation is complete.