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| oldnewgreenredo |
First, I apologize. I really posted few of my passions last year. Our Gardening was horrible with the late cold/wet Spring and then 2 1/2 months of very hot and dry.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
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| oldnewgreenredo |
In Spring, I was even unable to water the seedlings in my kitchen which was floor to ceiling totes from the basement disaster.
Every room and area in our home was disrupted, the porch was and still is stacked high with totes.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Then the greenhouse was infested with ticks and mice...so I had to stay out of there until hubby could properly treat it for critter removal. One thing after another all year.,
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| oldnewgreenredo |
The huge upheaval in our home from a forced remodeling disaster was so bad, I had to live at my son's for almost a month in March.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Our old wood shelving which saved our Holiday belongings.
While our belongings were almost all high and dry, the physical walls, some shelving, cabinetry and floors filled a HUGE dumpster. The cabinetry was damaged beyond saving. Most of our family room furniture was saved as everything was raised up on legs and out of danger and/or washable.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
The abatement services and movers were excellent but really expensive, far exceeding what was covered by insurance. We had a huge tent outside stacked floor to ceiling until August.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
The tent was a god-send, and really helped the decisions that didn't have to be made so quickly when we emptied the basement. Most everything was tagged and sorted into categories which helped in disposing and sorting later when not under duress!
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Everything in our basement had to be removed and half of all the walls and all floors had to be removed and then replaced.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Everything had to be treated and sanitized.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
We chose to paint the floors, because of the huge expenses already incurred.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Some areas are barely finished, even now---10 months later. We also had to replace many tote containers because the abatement treatments ate holes in them. Nothing like buying a dozen rubber/plastic totes at a time with a price tag of over $150.00. I think we did this three times.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Replacement of doors was also a huge expense---but, these solid wood ones were undamaged except from abatement spray---so, they received a new coat of paint. The office floor was not removable, so treated and then covered in new vinyl.
All this chaos/disaster affected my ability to blog about antiques(stuck in storage), decorating, my doll blog posts, and even our holiday seasonal posts which were limited as our kids did Christmas.
I did discover CHAOS sucks out your soul and also kills creativity. I found my mental energy levels limited on top of injuring my shoulder. Ten weeks of rehab helped but it still nags at me daily. Small tasks were difficult on any given day. Gardening was too hot---and sitting in the shade doesn't accomplish much.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
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| oldnewgreenredo |
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| oldnewgreenredo |
My daughter-in-law, her mom and our Grand had helped me carefully pack up everything in the doll room...really a monumental feat in less than 4 hours and then carry all the totes to the back porch or our extra bedroom. I must confess, I'm still looking for specific things though---eventually it will all show up. I got hung up trying to post Christmas in all the doll houses, and never completed Trish's garden center or the Hotel before Christmas. But, thank goodness for all our storage furniture on wheels, which saved so many personal things from any damage.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Eventually, my doll room walls were replaced with new insulation and pegboard instead of my the original lovely plank paneling.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
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| oldnewgreenredo |
What we also accomplished, we had new sump pumps, major plumbing, a new half bathroom, new water-filtration, upgraded electrical, an an all house generator installed. We are now ready for anything, I hope!
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| oldnewgreenredo |
But, replacing the walls, doors, trim, in 1400 square feet, labor wise from my husband, was like replacing a small house. To say the least we are broke and tired.
There was really no time or money for any fun decorating. I had so few blog posts I feel guilty even mentioning the popular ones now as most were old repeats. I was guilty of reposting/regurgitating those with new dialogue. SIGH, thankfully my followers seemed to stick with me, anyway. So HUGS to all of you who managed to visit and still comment.
Am I going to look back, I think not---I'm going to charge forward into the fray of 2024. Thanks for putting up with my creative lull, and I plan to do some great things in 2024! Now where is that seed catalog???
Hugs in the New Year!
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