An Off-Season

Friday was supposed to be the post about my race plan for the Timberman sprint.  Unfortunately, it didn't happen.  The combination of some health problems and the new house has been too much for this triathlon season.

The house is really coming along, but it still seems to take up every spare moment of time and attention. It feels a bit like planning a wedding:  there are so many tiny detailed decisions to pore over and each one feels incredibly important.  Is that drawer pull a bit too dainty in it's curvature?  But with the wedding, I could sorta write it off and try to take the pressure off by thinking "I probably won't remember this tiny detail a year from now."  But with the house, that detail will be staring me in the face for many years to come.  Then again, I almost never am bothered by imperfections in my rental kitchen, but of course, I didn't make the decisions there.  Yes, these are first world problems, but you know what, I live in the first world.

What all have we done?  Paul and a friend demoed the kitchen and dining room, found old wall paper, a little mold, and plenty of ants.  They also took out a few non-load bearing walls, making our kitchen and dining room one large open space.  Then the pros came in.  They've upgraded the electrical services, took out a whole house trap, rewired the kitchen with lights and grounded outlets, refinished the walls where we took them down.  We've painted some upstairs and some down, with more to come.

The kitchen when we bought the house, seen from the hallway, looking through into the dining room

Roughly the same view after Paul completed demo

Framing removed, new blue board in place, new sliding doors

Basically where we are now: cabinetry in, new flooring, awaiting counter tops, appliances and backsplash

We've been moving things over to the new house a bit at a time with a truck borrowed from a friend and a couple of friends who were packing power-houses two weekends ago.  Last weekend we moved the heavy stuff, and as soon as the floors are done being refinished, we'll actually move in!

So, no more triathlons this season.  I still have the Philly Marathon that I'm already signed up for in November.  That's my next goal, you know, after choosing drawer pulls