One Foot on a Banana Peel

I can walk through my house.  Barely.

Yesterday, my wonderful husband decided to rip tear smash remove a major source of contention from our marriage.  After something like 8 years, he woke up and decided it was time for the fireplace-that-I-never-wanted-in-the-first-place to go.  And just like that, plastic was draped over the furniture, which was pushed to the far end of the room, the pictures came down off the walls and out came the sledgehammer and crowbar.

It really was a nice fireplace.  Tim built it himself.  It was just much to big for the space and I didn’t get a vote even on where in the room it was placed….on the lone long, solid wall in a room riddled with doorways and windows.  I was looking at and dreaming of a small woodburner or pellet stove when the fireplace made its appearance completely unannounced.  I wasn’t thrilled and it’s been a sore point from the beginning when it took months to complete (four months later we were attaching the final stones 30 minutes before guests arrived on Christmas Eve).  The attached entertainment center and bookshelves were never completely finished.  And of course there was the space issue.  Finding a comfortable furniture arrangement was difficult due to lack of wall space.

So, now it’s gone.  Ripped from my life in less than a day.  I’m now facing the task of remodeling the livingroom and adjoining kitchen.  The walls where the fireplace frame and the shelving were attached need repairs and so does the ceiling/roof where the chimney used to be.  Currently the roof is sporting a temporary patch made of, of all things, a Christmas patterned vinyl tablecloth.  How perfectly white trash is that?  Gotta love it.  The carpet has been ripped out.  The old wood trim is going.  Yep, it’s a major project.  And much like the Grinch’s Christmas, it came without boxes or bows or even any warning.

And how was your Sunday?