Adventures In Flexibility

The last big piece of getting our house ready to go on the market is new carpet. A crew of three installers arrived yesterday morning to complete the job. They removed all the doors from their hinges, then crammed the majority of the furniture from three of the bedrooms into the fourth. The overflow went into the master bathroom. After unplugging my beloved internet connection they moved the living and family room furniture into the dining room and kitchen, which turned into a maze of tables, chairs, couches and entertainment center pieces.

I wanted to stay out of the crew's way, and that pretty much meant staying in the kitchen. Without the ability to do anything online I cleaned up my computer hard drive, ultimately removing more than 2,000 obsolete photos and files. Hubby Tony picked up some carryout Chinese for dinner. We still ate at the kitchen table. It was just pushed over to the preparation side of the room, right next to the dishwasher. The slight change made the meal feel like an adventure.

Our installation crew worked at a steady pace, but we knew in advance the job was going to take two days. At the end of the day the crew leader told me that two of the four bedrooms were done (neither of which was the master), and asked if Tony and I would mind sleeping in those. We agreed.

Tony had to leave for a meeting, but as soon as the installation company vans had left the driveway I found the cable box and router and re-connected the internet, placing the equipment on the floor. There was no seating in the family room, so I went back into the kitchen and settled down into 'my' end of the couch. When Tony got home he sat at 'his' end of the couch, which made the whole thing feel more normal.

At bed time I started to gather everything I would need for the morning, starting with a set of clothes, and discovered that my dresser was inaccessible. However, the tub containing my travel clothes was, so I pulled out what I needed from there. I also discovered that my toothbrush was in the master bathroom, buried behind a cedar chest and some closet doors. I figured one night without good dental hygiene wouldn't make my teeth fall out, so I put toothpaste on my finger and 'brushed', then took a swig of water and swished the foam around my mouth. I followed up with a swig of hydrogen peroxide to kill any remaining bacteria.

After Tony and I retired to our separate rooms we texted back and forth a bit, which made me feel like I was back at camp and breaking the lights out rule. When I didn't get a reply to my last message, I decided it was time to hit the hay. The installation crew was going to be at the house bright and early to finish up the job. Thank goodness.

Five years ago today: A Bite Of A Bell