framing begins.

The past few days haven’t seemed too eventful, at least visually. The electricians have been working long hours, and there have been a lot of dangling legs from holes in the ceiling and muffled shouting about wires and where they go and how much more line is needed. It’s kind of like a weird catholic-electrician call-and-response thing. Oh, and yesterday one of the guys fed a wire through the ceiling in the basement right over where I was working and it sneaked/curled down in front of my face LIKE A SNAKE and I DIED FOR ABOUT THREE MINUTES. Other than that, they tromp around and drill small holes in things and make can lights appear out of nowhere.

The plumber came through two days ago and drilled larger holes in things. He’ll be back today for I-don’t-know-what.

Then the framers came in with their giant saws and boards and nail guns and made MADE CLOSETS FROM NOTHING. It’s magical. There was also a not-so-magical moment when a framer shot a nail through his hand and our contractor yelled, “DON’T BLEED ON THE FLOOR! WE’RE PAINTING THE FLOOR IN HERE!”

I cracked up.

Speaking of our contractor…well, quite simply, she is pretty awesome. All of the people she brings in seem to really respect her and a couple have even made a point to tell us how great she is at what she does. Everyone has been polite, respectful to us, hard-working, and they’ve helped this seem fun and exciting instead of scary. I’m so thankful for that.

So here’s a little day-in-the-life right now. Breakfast is on the back patio. We only have a few outlets that work, so unless we want to build a fire every morning in the firepit, we huddle around our electric griddle for quick meals.

This cute little bucket is our dishpan.

And this is where we live. Don’t be alarmed. :) We’ve set it up like loft living in the garment district!

The boys’ beds are under a sports canopy to keep it clean and give them a space. We set their mattresses on our throw rugs and the canopy keeps debris that might fall through out of the area. I sweep up the debris and vacuum after the crews are gone each day. I set up our mattress the same way and we pull a tarp over our bed each day.

Our kitchen area is a table and a portable baker’s rack. Each day, they get tarped, too. (Oh, bonus picture of my office chair. I don’t know why.) Yes, those are safety glasses and eye drops. It’s dusty here.

Ewan has been busily picking out paint possibilities for his new room. He wants all of these colors. Um…

Now, on to the main floor.

The kitchen has taken a lot of time this week. The electricians have pulled wire and pulled sheetrock from the walls and drilled so many holes in here. It’s absolutely amazing to me how all of these things work in tandem. They are at the point now where they will move on to the bedrooms, since we have new windows being cut in today. The framers have cut in the new windows in the kitchen, but until the actual windows are here (I think today?), they will not cut through to the outside of the house. After they’ve framed in the new windows, the electricians can finish wiring without worrying about framers cutting through their wires.

The far wall will have a new GIANT window. The framers are adding a new header to balance the weight of the window there.

This is the hallway toward the basement entry on the left, the new master bedroom on the left, and new laundry room on the right (currently our only working bathroom). The framed in area will be a new wall.

The new master bathroom (previously a bedroom), looking at the shower.

This window is going away since our master vanity will be along this wall. It hits me in the gut to take out windows and light, but our bathroom will have a glass door that will lead out to a private patio and give us that light back. We also have plans to add a skylight or tube option in here down the road, but not during this phase of renovation.

Our new master closets are framed in. They’re the perfect size for us and Hank and I each have our own. I’m looking forward to unpacking and paring down what we don’t use or find necessary. Amen to simple, and super amen to right-sizing our stuff.

The guest room closets are going in as well. I had never thought about it before, but of course they build them this way: The frames are measured and built on the floor, then raised and fitted in.

Our living room’s current state. Yes, there’s a toilet. Not quite sure why this is its new home, but some things I don’t want to ask. This area is framing central. And also, those curtains. They just stay there, hanging and mocking.