Tim Update – Slowly Adjusting and Still Married

Two friends who are related to contractors recently gave me some encouragement about Life With Tim. One said, “Living in a construction zone – not for the faint of heart!” The other said, “I know of marriages that didn’t survive remodels.”

Yeah, that second one isn’t happy on the surface. Rob and I have survived rougher waters, though, so I don’t doubt our wedding vows. But it was heartening to know that this remodeling stuff is widely considered HARD territory.

We’re a couple of weeks in and good gracious, we’re exhausted. And we’re not the ones pulling up tile and scraping mortar.

Seeing all this shattered tile is 
oddly therapeutic.
Progress and Change!

No, we’re just the ones trying to live out of what is essentially a hotel room – or in a couple nights’ case, an actual hotel room. Yeah, a nice little escape to Seattle for some wine tasting was just what the benevolent doctor ordered.

This wine smelled just like a dear friend's
berry cobbler. Mmmmm!

We are trying to do our normal stuff – volunteering, writing, meeting with friends, doctors’ appointments, haircuts, oil changes, paying bills – but we’re doing it without a haven to recharge in. Our nightly tradition of a quiet evening on the couch, snuggled up, watching an episode or three of “Cheers” isn’t quite the same in our bedroom. The bedroom that has been carefully and painstakingly curated to promote sleep so that I never revisit that horrendous Season of Insomnia from last year. All the Sleep Hygiene rules I have been so obedient to are now being conspicuously ignored. Sigh.

Mostly, though, we are spending our time trying to figure out where we are, where we put stuff, where we are going to eat, and how long this might last. We spend our days not in the house. We are grateful for sunny days outside, and the quiet escape of our church inside on not-so-sunny days.

It’s been very odd doing errands. Trying to take as much time as possible to complete my To Do list is weird. I am driving slower, I am waving cars to go in front of me, I am taking the long route, I am stopping for yellow lights. I am not in a hurry – at all – and it is very strange. And intriguingly, quite nice.

I did laundry on the first day of 2026 with temps in the high 70s. It wasn’t too bad, trotting across our back patio with my laundry tote. Other than the sock I thought I lost along the way (turned out it snuck into a different load). I also finally found a legitimately helpful use for the app our washer and dryer came with. Having my phone tell me when it is time to move wet clothes to the dryer and dry clothes to the closet is super handy since the sing-songy buzzer is now inaudible.

Grateful the for sun! Not sure how 
much fun I'll have doing this in the rain.
Stay tuned! Because Pacific Northwest.

It is disorienting seeing Woodhaven so empty, echoey, and somewhat dismantled. We still have access to key rooms, but they involve going through magnetic doors of plastic. Woodhaven’s interior is now drenched in plastic, to protect it from being drenched in dust. A few nights ago, I went into the room where we are storing our kitchen and dining room. I can’t remember what I was looking for. What I found was an unexpected comfort and peace in seeing Our Stuff again. Who knew a Tupperware strainer could bring so much joy? I plan to visit it regularly, the strainer, as a touchpoint of sanity.

Maze of Plastic.
Magnetic Door on left.

We’ve had a couple things go slightly off plan already.

Once our kitchen was completely empty of food, utensils, and life, I was better able to imagine its new version. In doing that, I realized I wasn’t going to be able to fully open one of the doors on our new fridge. A few measurements and a panicked call to Mel (our contractor) resulted in a last-hour design swap. Mel assures me it is no big deal.

In putting the finishing touches on the flooring update in our Master Bathroom a few weeks ago, we discovered an unknowingly fancy accessory needs its own circuit in our electrical panel. That will come later, when the electrician is doing work on the kitchen and is prepared to explore our crawl space. What, pray tell, did we buy for our bathroom that needs a dedicated circuit? 

A bidet toilet seat.

Yes, the reasoning and bargaining (with Rob) behind that little gadget could be a blog post in itself. Suffice it to say, an aging back + a trip to France + an evangelistic friend = fancy tushy cleaner. So fancy, apparently, that every time we flushed, lights flickered, internet connection sputtered, and everything else on that circuit surged like a house possessed. Without realizing it, I picked a Turbo Toity, which will remain unused and unplugged for…a while.

Fancy Toity with its own remote control.
And a rather extensive Owners Manual.
Good thing I have lots of time to read.

This week we’re spending LOTS of time at the airport. By the end of the week, we will have worked six volunteer shifts over three days and will likely have enough hours to get us through August. Next week will likely involve a meandery drive to a favorite café on the coast that just completed an extensive remodel. We assume the owners’ marriage is also still intact.

PDX is going through a remodel, too.
We can't escape construction!