First things first. The big things we knew we’d have to do:

Replace the roof
Remodel the upstairs bathroom
Repair and paint walls and ceilings throughout the house
A couple of bigger plumbing repairs
Regrade just a little outside
Paint the basement apartment
Find a few (used) appliances

We took possession on Friday, May 1. The first few days we explored, made lists, cleaned, threw away trash. We started planning. I picked colors. We demoed a few small things like the strange, wonky built-in shelf and front porch railing. I painted the front door red (the kids picked the color.) I spruced up the front porch light with black spray paint and parts I found in closets. It was fun! We were excited! My skepticism finally waned.

Monday the 4th, it started raining early in the morning. It was a heavy rain. And wouldn’t you know it, water came in along the south wall of the basement, soaking the carpet of the finished basement apartment. BAM. My worry returned. Brian, on the other hand, stayed cool.

It was the beginning of quite an ordeal in the basement involving foundation repair, and a complete remodel. I’m going to skip that story for now and concentrate on what we did upstairs. Just keep in mind while we did all that hard work upstairs, Brian was juggling foundation repair specialists, managing framers and drywallers and dealing with flaky contractors. All with the patience of a saint.

p.s. Brian is the hardest working person I know.