“You know the walls aren’t really that bad. We can patch them up, here and there, and then paint. I like the old plaster look.” I suggest as Hubby and I were examining the house for renovation.
“Uh-huh.” Hubby quietly responds.
“The kitchen cabinets need a lot of scrubbing and painting, but we could make it work.”
“Uh-huh.” He responds again, as he keeps on investigating.
“I just love this window and door trim in the parlor and hallway. That’s what makes this place special. Some fixing up and some paint, and it will be beautiful.”
“Uh-huh.”
The whole time we were going through the house I was the only one really talking. It seemed like his mind was somewhere else. Because of his response, I was assuming he agreed. What I didn’t know then, what I was suggesting and what he was thinking, were two different things. Well actually, that is typical of our relationship. I want the easy way. He takes the longer, more difficult way. Doing it his way has the best results, but it always takes
So, he lets me think he’s agreeing with me and later, he slowly gives me hints of his intentions. Just a little at a time, even days or months later. Sometimes he does things without even telling me. Those are stories to come.
As you can see, from the pictures, he didn’t agree with my idea to keep the plaster walls. He ordered a huge dumpster, hired a few men, and we took down all the plaster in the whole house. Yes, I helped. Yes indeed, I helped! I bet that’s one job a lot of women can’t say they have experienced. It was a dirty mess to clean up, and I was glad when that job was done.
Installing furnace ducts. 
Installing electric
Blowing in insulation. 
Blowing in insulation.
After the demolition and cleaning up of the plaster, the house was ready for the next stage of construction. The mechanical work which includes plumbing, electrical, heating, cooling, TV/phone/audio and security wiring, insulation and drywall. Those went very well and as planned.
Putting up drywall. 
Taping and mudding the joints. 
Sanding the drywall.
After the drywall was all completed and the workers left the job, Hubby inspected the whole house. Trust me he was watching all the crews and was making sure things were done right. For some reason, he let the drywall guys leave, even though he was not totally satisfied. They did a good job, but he still checked and touched up all the drywall, in every room of the house. Which took him a few weeks to accomplish. Talk about a perfectionist. I also think another one of his personalities traits is a performer. He’s so highly driven.
Our son Matthew told us when he comes home from Iraq that he wanted to work on the farm until we were able to move in. We were so grateful for his offer. When he came home, he faithfully worked on many different projects. The one thing he did the most was clean up all the old wood. He removed all the wood trim inside the house and the window trim on the outside of the house. I was saddened that Hubby wanted it removed. I loved the fancy trim. (The story about the new trim will be my next blog.) This trim was old but beautiful. I just couldn’t throw it away. It just so happened when we were taking care of both of our parent’s estates, we had a sale. I sold a lot of the old fancy window trim there.
A little information about my son Matthew. He graduated from college and then enlisted in the Marines. Just when his four years of service were completed, they needed him longer, because of the war in Iraq. He was in the first group that invaded Iraq.
A mother’s heart ached. There were lots of prayers and watching the invasion on TV. I finally had to stop watching, and I etched this Bible verse in my heart. Psalm 139:16 Your eyes saw his unformed body; all the days ordained for him were written in your book before one of them came to be.
God knew all about my son, if he was going to live or die. Matthew’s days were already established. Any worrying on my part would not help. Trust me it was a happy day when he returned home.
He lived and worked for us as he promised for two years. He brought us much happiness in so many ways.
