The drywall in the basement is coming along slowly, with H. and helpers Erik, Neil, Elliot and Robert - despite the flood resulting from someone unplugging the sump pump, which left the entire basement in water, just barely below the 2x4's holding the drywall off the actual concrete floor... Picture me in the dark (only one light in the basement at the moment) trying to find and plug in extension cords and portable lights (broken) to see the extent of the problem, without electrocuting myself; borrowing a wet-vac and dehumidifiers; Erik and family helping to mop, vac, and haul out the wet boxes of books, stored where I thought they'd be safe... The recently hung drywall and boxes of books, soaking water up from the floor. Huge packages of new insulation, opened just enough to act like sponges, bags of old insulation sopping all over the floor... I was not a happy camper. Enter Hugh, "What's the big deal, Mom? Just finish wet-vac'ing it, and let the dehumidifiers dry it all out." No problem, now that I've found and safely installed light and recruited help... But the neighbours came back for dinner and a good time was had by all. And, the drywall is fine. Phew! H. is planning to teach us to tape the seams, then we'll get a mudder in and move on to paint. I can't wait to have the drywall done, the painting finished and lights on at the flick of a switch. Imagine!
Andrew spent the summer nesting in the garden - planting 14 trees and over 80 small, flowering shrubs, to bloom next spring in mounds of carefully selected colours. Cedar mulch sets off the garden beds, and soaker hoses keep the new shrubs alive when rain fails. With the "new" deck and pots of blossoms, we transformed the back yard into outdoor living space, where we hosted barbecues at every opportunity throughout the summer. Seventy volunteers for the CORK regatta came one night, bringing their own mussels to steam and lots of yummy side dishes to complement our chicken on the grill. H. grilled, mussels steamed, and there wasn't much left over! With some rainy weather, everyone just grabbed their foul weather gear, huddled under patio umbrellas and an awning and let the potluck roll. So far, so good!
Erik Vreeken was building a new deck, after renovating his house with Hugh's and Andrew's help. Andrew thought a quick deck would be nice at our house, until we can custom-build something more in keeping with our long-range plans, so he arranged to reclaim Erik's old deck. Why waste all that lumber? There must be another 5-10 years in it!
The Yaris backed the deck frame into the driveway, missing the boat on its trailer by inches. How would I explain if my husband backed a deck into the boat? Doesn't a boat usually back into a deck? But have no fear, Andrew is the only person I know who can parallel park a trailer with a boat on it, and maybe some bikes on the trunk, in Downtown Anywhere.
It looked fine in the end, after neighbours helped us carry it to the back, and Andrew put the decking back on the frame - presto! Instant deck. For now.
We realized that a fence was required to contain Ollie, the puppy who hasn't learned to "Come!" when he's called. So Andrew approached the neighbours about a line fence. They were amenable to enhancing the privacy between yards, so we embarked on the building of a fence together, with the help of our buddy Erik Vreeken.
Aligning and digging the post-holes...
Andrew, Neil, H., Paul (neighbour), and Erik take a short break.
Stay tuned for progress (slowed by lack of stain at Home Depot - "on order" for three weeks!)
Finally able to sit again at a desk and write, I pause to look at how we took a crow-bar to not just our house, but to our life - moving away from Channelview, into the R&R chapter at Stormont, while the crow-bar tore apart the basement of Bicknell.
A barometer of how hectic or calm life is at any given moment, the linen closet has always reflected whether life is in order or coming apart at the seams. The banana-box linen shelves initially had me worried.
Preparing and beginning a physical renovation paralleled our life renovation. How long would we live in/out of boxes?! With kids in new chapters of their own, H. at home and Neil abroad, it is time to reinvent ourselves, too. Not-quite-empty nesters, making a nest for the chapters to come. Caught in the construction phase, between the reinvention and its manifestation. Such physical chaos expresses personal chaos as we find our way through a maze of challenges. New inner order both precedes and follows outer order, through sifting and sorting, unpacking priorities.
Things appear to be looking up, at least temporarily.
We have some distance to go yet - insulating, dry walling and painting the basement, replacing closet rods and shelves, ripping out and replacing the kitchen, creating a new heart-of-the-house around a H-built island. We will continue to plan it all together as a family, creating a new space for this new era in our lives. Competing methods, styles and preferences are reconciled, building understanding and learning through compromise. I can live with cardboard shelves, for awhile.
Moving day arrived, on Good Friday - an apt metaphor as our life on Stormont was being crucified... Gentleman Movers took everything I’d labeled with green tape out the front door, and Andrew’s army of friends taking everything labeled with blue tape out the back. Or sometimes the front – congenial congestion! Rob, Eric and Alex hauled the lawn furniture, mowers, and wheelbarrows in our trailer. Rebecca and Stefan toted all the art with loving care. Mark and Debbie cleaned the hardwood dust from the new house, while Beth scoured the fridge to make it usable. (Without hot or running water, buckets were filled at the neighbours' hose and heated on the stove for cleaning...) Pat and Brian pitched in with cleaning and moving, Carrie tackled the vacuuming at the old house, and Maggie excavated and defrosted the fridge and freezer. With our big freezer in storage, Maggie took our food to her house, where we now shop for frozen food until our freezer comes home! H. and his truck took the heaviest, bulkiest loads. Boxes filled every room. Furniture, tools and debris of every description littered the garage and driveway.
The only phone was my cell, which failed and was replaced with a loaner, which I couldn’t figure out how to answer.
The puppy went to the new house with Andrew, and the cat and dog waited patiently in the car until the last minute, when I drove them over to the new house where they waited in the bedroom until the front door was reliably closed. Oops – no interior doors reliably close; the door hardware was all removed in preparation for replacement. At one point, as I leaned against the wall gazing at the chaos, the cat emerged from an open duct. Good thing the furnace wasn’t on yet...
Ollie supervised from the shade of the front yard
Andrew found a use for the bottoms of boxes. Without closet rods or shelving restored after painting, at least there was something in the linen closet to put the towels on...
Andrew and Beth peered over the chaos, taking a break from organizing the kitchen.
But it wasn't utter chaos for long!
By the end of the day, the boxes were in rooms where they belonged, the sparkling fridge full of food, dishes in the cupboards, bathroom plumbing worked without hot water, and one bed was made – for us to fall into. Martin and Maggie graciously had us over for dinner, their house just a short walk around the block. We picked up a few remaining items from Stormont in the following days, including the garbage and recycling, and Andrew hand-washed the kitchen floor before we said good-bye to a lovely neighbourhood, a happy interlude in our lives. Neighbours said good-bye and good luck, and we left.
26 Stormont Ave.
On to 230 Bicknell, another lovely neighbourhood, with wonderful neighbours emerging from every house to welcome us. And, the bulbs I planted last fall were popping up – the beginning of the garden.
The last of the team paused for a champagne toast - a split that we "split" among 8 of us!
Lots of food and lots of friends got lots of flooring laid before moving in commenced. Connor Vreeken sorted pieces by size, so a quick fit was easy to find. Eric Vreeken and Cam MacDougall helped H. to cut and lay the pieces perfectly, finishing in our bedroom.
Wait - why isn't there any heat? H. returned to finish cutting the holes over the heat vents, but the wood was so hard the drill bit melted before it got through the wood! "Hello, Gaylord Flooring? What cuts into this stuff???" Another adventure in renovation...
Barbara Roberts is an expert in disability accommodation, with over 30 years' experience as an occupational therapist and disability advisor. Barbara integrates medical and social models of disability to achieve accessible participation for people with disabilities in education and employment settings. Barbara is also a trained and experienced mediator. Her doctoral research is in the area of human rights law as applied to professional education.
