Making it merry. Again.

 

It’s been a difficult few years, right? And I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this holiday season. So much has changed in our world, cities and homes. If you’ve been reading here, you’ll know my home has been through a lot of changes. Some bad. And some good. That’s why it was even more important to me this year to make it all merry, again. 

Most of my downstairs due to water damage has been completely reconstructed. All the floors, counter tops, cabinetry and wall colors have changed. So using the decorations from previous years was a challenge. Some fit. Some didn’t. 

Tweaking the tree. 

Before we even set up the tree, I knew I’d need to change my color scheme. With the burgundy wall painted grey and the mantle painted black, it was time for new ideas. 

White reindeers now sit along the mantle driven by a black sleigh surrounded by white trees. 

Bold black and white check bows went on the wreath and stairway. 

More black and white check ribbon encircled the re-usable tree. 

The challenge: Do more with less.  

Before the reconstruction, we used to have more room. The nook hutch was taken out and the demolished old desk area shelves were deeper and wider. The new combined cabinet and desk area is beautiful. But it gave me a lot less display space than before. I was determined to find a new way to do more with less. 

Childhood Christmas books found a new place alongside a newly edited Santa collection. The teapot collection still features the Spode teapot alongside just a few teacups and teapots.

Finding new ways to use old favorites. 

The change from a white tile island to a black quartz countertop is a big one. But it does work with the new black, white and red theme, too. And my white porcelain leaf, jars in red, white and black and the red porcelain bowl keep the island looking merry and bright.

White and red poinsettias look good by the sink. 

Yes, the house was flooded and broken. 

But now, it’s all reconstructed and redone.

And I’m so grateful.   

We are all well and together. 

And making it merry. 

Again. 

  

A List of Many Thanks

Looking around this year, I have a long list of ‘thanks’.  Many to people I’ll never know. Thanks to all the hard-working plumbers, cabinet builders and tilers.  

I now have a sink that works. 

Gorgeous hand built cabinets. 

Tile backsplash. 

More thanks to all the painters and flooring installers. I also have waterproof flooring that looks beautiful. 

 

Freshly painted walls and mantle look amazing. 

Even more thanks to a devoted reconstruction team of project advisers and planners. Last year was very hard and at times the problems seemed endless. But with their help and determination, our flooded house is now a cozy, beautiful home again. 

I know there are many others. Friends and neighbors and family who helped, advised, encouraged and supported me. The unsung hero’s of the reconstruction office. The extra helpers on the job site. The guys who haul in the supplies. And the ones who haul it all out. To the packers and movers. To all who I saw and all who I didn’t. 

Many Many Many Thanks. 

Moving Back In

If you’ve been reading here, you’ll have heard the back story. If not, I’ll simplify it here: water damage in July led to mold, demolition, moving out, reconstruction, moving back in. 

This all sounds like a nice, straight line, right? Wrong. It’s been a long, twisting tromp through the woods of insurance adjusters, agents, construction estimators, reconstruction teams, moving teams, hotel rooms and hundreds of boxes to unpack. 

But we’re here. Now. Finally. And it only took 11 months. 

Boxed Up. 

I’ve always moved myself. I’ve packed, labeled, moved and unpacked the boxes. So having a moving company come in and do it seems like heaven, right? Kinda. 

The movers arrived and unloaded the truck starting with the big pieces: couch, tables, chairs, art work. Then came the boxes, oh my.  I did try to get the boxes in the right rooms, but with an open floor plan and over 160 boxes, stacking was the best option. 

We couldn’t see out the nook windows, but we did have space to eat. And I was able to find the coffee maker and toaster almost right away. 

Unboxing days. 

It took 10 days. Slicing open boxes marked: kitchen, dining room or living room to find paper, bubble wrapped things. Sometimes one box had one thing. Sometimes many, many small things. From paper towels and paper clips to china and crystal, we found it all.  Somethings I’d thought I’d lost and some things, I wanted to lose. 

I unpacked and washed and re-organized. With new cabinets, things didn’t fit exactly as they had before which was a good thing. It made me choose: things I wanted and use vs things I’d just had. I didn’t expect unpacking boxes would be a roller coaster ride through my past. Bringing grief and tears as well as happiness and smiles.

Living in my new/old home. 

Because of the water damage, many things needed to be reconstructed. I walked through the process of picking new cabinets, countertops, tile, flooring with many mixed feelings. My husband and I built this house 29 years ago. I carefully chose all the finishes: floors, countertops, tile and paint. Now I had to do it all over again. 

Many people were excited for me to have, they said, “A new kitchen.” But you see, I didn’t want a new kitchen because I loved what I’d chosen all those years ago. I had to face that it was gone and I had to move on. I made my new choices with crossed fingers. And after choosing tile for the kitchen island and moving out of our home, I realized it wouldn’t work. I decided on a quartz top for the island. Not everyone agreed, but now, it’s obvious it was the right choice. 

At home at last. 

This morning, I walked down the stairs, turned the corner and for the first time, I wasn’t shocked. It all felt right. I knew where everything was: coffee maker, plates, cups, silverware. And I had everything Michael needed to make his wonderful pancakes, a Sunday favorite. 

It’s been 16 days now. 

All the boxes are unpacked.

We’ve moved everything back in. 

But most important, our house is, now home. 

Finally.  

May Day

 

Today is May Day, an ancient celebration that marks the start of summer. Celebrated in many cultures around the world in many different ways. Dancing around a maypole. Gathering wild flowers to make crowns and garlands. Setting up bonfires. 

My cultural heritage the celebration was called Beltane. The Celtic traditions included lighting bonfires or candles. And making offerings to the aos si, or fairies to stay in their good favor. 

How do I make my own May Day?

With my home still under construction, I’m having a hard time celebrating this year. There is dust covering every surface downstairs. I made my best effort to clean the upstairs and get ready to move back in last week but, sadly, that didn’t happen. 

Floors are still not complete. Moldings not finished. Plumbing is not connected to our sink, dishwasher or refrigerator. In fact, our refrigerator is still in the garage. Our furniture, pillows, pictures, chairs, dining table, dishes, glasses, cookware and laundry are still packed away in a secure storage facility. Somewhere. 

So it’s a little hard to celebrate Beltane right now. 

May Day…May Day. 

I’ve always been proud to be independent, self-sufficient and strong. I hate to ask anyone, family, friend or neighbor for help. I don’t want to impose. But it’s become clear to me that I can’t do all of this myself. 

Many, many people had to be called in to clear out, repair, install and reconstruct my home. I’ve seen so many skilled hands at work: crafting cabinets, setting countertops, putting in tile, installing the oven, cooktop, microwave and sink. I’m very grateful for all the craftsmanship that went into re-making my home. 

Seeing the light. 

So today, I’m going to celebrate Beltane anyway. 

I’m going to gather some flowers and put them in vases. 

I’m going to light a candle or two.  

I’m going to make offerings in honor of all the helpers:

Friends, family, craftsmen and even, a fairy or two. 

 

Rise and Shine

I’ve heard these words all my life. Sometimes it was an order or a song or a hope. This week, it feels like things around me are starting to rise and shine. 

The kitchen countertops arrived. Finally the cabinets and island are topped with the black quartz I picked out months ago. While, right now, they are still covered with blue protective plastic, I can see a working kitchen rising. 

A place to roll out biscuits. Cut out cookies. Make muffins and omelets and soups. When the cooktop and oven is finally in, I can’t wait to make mac and cheese from scratch. Bake scones and brownies and spinach pie. 

Oh my, tile too. 

Also this week, the tile was installed between the counter tops and the cupboards. I’ve always had a tile backsplash, which I loved. And I wondered and worried what this new tile would look like with the countertops. 

Would I like it just as much as my original tile? I wasn’t sure. As an artist, (ok, I have trouble using that word on myself), I do have the ability to visualize. Especially for others, it’s very easy for me to see what works and what doesn’t. It’s harder be so sure in my own home, especially this time, when the choice to change wasn’t mine. 

So I was surprised when it all came together. It’s not exactly what I envisioned but it works. 

Rising takes time. 

As I’ve said many times, I’m not a patient person. But what life continues to teach me is things take time. The water damage in July has taken a long time to fix. Our move in date has moved back another week, but tomorrow new floors are going in. 

So things are rising out of the damage. 

New cabinets. New countertops. New sink. New tile.  

And once all the dust gets cleaned up.

It will shine. Again.   

Glimmers of Light

I cried. But this week, they were happy tears. I walked into my demolished kitchen and saw a wall of newly built and installed solid wood cabinets. They looked so beautiful. I am amazed by and grateful to the wonderful local cabinet builders. 

When we helped design and build this house, we knew what we wanted, solid oak cabinets. We’d worked with a local builder and cabinet maker to design and build red oak cabinets, desk and island. Yes, we paid more but it was worth it. 

So after all the water damage, we fought to make sure we had the same local cabinet makers and quality wood cabinets again. It was a difficult fight. But it was worth it. 

Natural beauty. 

As an artist, nature and earth elements are a big part of my creative work. But I realize even before I started working in clay, which comes directly from the earth, nature was my inspiration. Coastal landscapes. Rocks. Trees. Clouds and skies. 

My first painting class was from a local landscape painter, Charles Mulvey. His work focused on coastal scenes that I knew and loved. But what I loved best was his ability to work wet into wet creating beautiful soft skies and balance it with trees and rocks. 

When I look at wood, whether it’s trees, floors or cabinet doors, I see shapes and images in the grain. The flow of the color and texture inspires me. 

Light after the fight. 

I don’t like fighting. As a child, I was surrounded by it and I hated it. I tried to find quiet and peace burying myself in books, making mud villages in the yard, riding my bike to the woods. The woods were my safe space. 

That’s why having real wood cabinets and floors in my home is so important to me. I can see now, why I got so mad when the insurance company refused to give us the money to replace our real oak cabinets.

I had to fight. And the fight was worth it. Finally, over 8 months after all the water damage, mold and demolition, I see the light. My home is being rebuilt. 

My woods are back. And I get to see them everyday.