the beginning and the always

Well, the always is in the sink. It's more dishes, and as soon as those somehow get plowed through, there are more. And you know our house, we only eat at the table, and at the counter (pretty much, except that we have a sick person tray for bringing food all the way 8 feet to the couch...) and it's in the washer, or near it. and this is the official beginning of me recording the process anyway, of our house getting remodeled and though it started in February, shortly after my rant, when I called our long-suffering architect ...AGAIN... but also called the money people and we pretty much got our finances where we wanted them, with a few little exceptions, and then. We designed, through a very civilized and inspired process, more space for our family here on the corner. No, still no basement. no, no extra room (three bedrooms altogether). no, we aren't going out the back. No, we're not going straight up all the way around. we have a lovely, dignified, fitting design for our house with a second floor. There will be two bathrooms up there, and the kitchen is going unchanged. (but i get a new oven fan) then, once we had the design, and we had the yes from the money people, and we finally chose the contractor, then he brought all the drawings down to the city, and now we are waiting. But not worrying, now we have other things to do. Like grovel, and beg people to give us a short term lease, with a dog. I haven't had such a strange feeling as I did, the first time I realized that we were the least likely folks to get rentals! all this time I've been romanticizing the renting process.... no responsibility, no major money commitment, the ability to leave when you want! and none of the other things, like, you are at the mercy of people charging LOTS of money for hovels, and refusing you outright as a contender because of your most fabulous dog. Do not get me started on my fixation with bedbugs. i took pictures of the rental we are thinking of, and drove around the block. Rowan spied another (much nicer looking) place with a for Rent sign out front! (yes, he reads!) and so I took a pic of that too. Hopefully we can figure out how we'll do all this money thing. ah, details. ISO: a place that is smaller than ours and with a big garage so we don't have to pay for a storage place too. near our actual house. big yard, and tolerance for shedding. good counter for cooking. please no electric stove. off to liberate the pesto from the basil leaves the boys harvested. -s