I only have from now until April to get all the needed paperwork handled to take to the tax man AND.. get the house back in order before my sister in law comes. Well, not back in order but finish the various aspects of home imporvement we have going on.

To perhaps put a hint of understanding on why it would need finished allow me to explain. My husband is a contractor. By day he builds cabinets, trims houses or installs kitchen cabinets. He's pretty good at his job too. And.. at the end of the day, he's ready for a break, not to come home and do more of the same work he's been doing. If we had the space though he would love to rebuild a Mustang.

I understand this concept well as I was once married to a mechanic and our cars were always in need of repair but he'd have rather worked on other projects on his time off.

But, now, it's HIS sister coming. That silver tape holding up the tile that started to fall out in the bathtub has got to go!!

With that said I must take my own blame in the delay of remodeling the bathroom. Do you know how many options for tile there are? Smooth, rough, rustic, bordered, mosaic, ceramic, baked, earth tones, pictures and even murals out of tile. It's enough to make one's head spin! Finally, the other day I found some tile I like so maybe we can begin that project soon. Oh, wait.. the current hang up is the handicaped bar issue that I'm fussing about.

Then, there is the living room. Anyone that has ever done this kind of remodelling knows you must also replace drapes, furniture, accents and possibly wall hangings. I narrowed down the paint choice to two colors that I need to put test squares up so I can see how they look during various times of day and changing light before deciding on the right one. Then of course, do I want chair rail or not? Yes. Well, if you do, it will need a piece over on a wall that looks like the chair rail will meet at the center of the door. Goofy..So.. I say.. No I don't want chair rail. "But, I'm putting it in all the other rooms are you sure you don't want it in here?" At this point I'm really wondering why he asked me.. just finish it. The chair rail is laying under the couch. On the wall would be nice. But then, I see him drifting off to some much needed sleep and I lose all desire to argue the issue. He works hard, he needs his rest. Chair rail is trivial.

Of course, the beginning of all projects like this is the purging of the old to make room for the new. That, which is also my part, is the hardest. As I look at the shelves directly in front of me I have a hodge podge of things. Ceramic clowns I painted. A Jack in the Box bobble head thing. Someone stole the first Jack in the Box(fast food restaurant they don't have out here.)head off my car antennea so I keep the other one on the shelf too. I have a couple beer steins from my years in Germany, a Lionel train clock, a cup my daughter made, and another cup given to my younger daughter when she graduated. I have a jewelry box my husband helped my daughter make one Mother's Day. A model train engine and some books. Thankfully this mess is in our bedroom but it's a hint of a representation of how our home is... filled with things that all seem to reflect our family.

Maybe therein lies the answer so to speak. Why remodel at all? Just dust and sweep and keep our house a home. A place filled with the reminders of the children that have grown. Afterall, even if we get all finished I can tell you what would happen. One day, my husband would be bored and he'd start all over again until work picked up again. Then, we'd be once more in the middle of remodeling again and quite frankly, it's way too many decisions for me!!