Winter Blahs - Trying not to Complain...

Well, not trying hard enough!

Doesn't look like much in these photos but our kitchen now has a new floor of ceramic tiles.  By noon today the grout will have set for 24 hours so we can start putting the kitchen back together. I know a big part of my winter blahs is caused by every room in this house being in an uproar! Just finding a pair of scissors this morning I felt like Roald Amundsen looking for the Northwest Passage!

Another crinkle in the reno plans because they wouldn't be reno plans if there weren't any crinkles (or is that wrinkle??)- where the floor of the foyer meets the hardwood - can't put ceramic tile there as planned because then the ceramic would be way above the hardwood (floor wasn't level BIG SURPRISE so had to be levelled) so having to make a change to vinyl flooring which is thinner - I am SO NOT happy about that!. We went across the city yesterday to return the ceramic tiles which we can't use now only to find out that we only had 30 days to replace them AND we can't return them anyways on a Saturday as THAT person doesn't work on Saturdays...WHAT???  On the bright side (gotta look for that bright side) we are hopeful we can return the leftover ceramic tile in exchange for vinyl and we found a piece of vinyl that is on for half-price that looks almost the same as the ceramic. Michael will have to make another trip there tomorrow to see if it can be worked out. Sigh.

So it doesn't look like this place is going to get decorated for Christmas this year, which is too bad as it will likely be our last Christmas here. Things are costing way more than I thought AND taking a lot longer to complete. I did some number juggling yesterday to see if we could afford to stay in the condo longer than anticipated if we need more time for the renos before listing for sale. It could be done though it would be tight. I'm also going to let Kazi know that she has until June 30th next year to live here rent-free, then I'll be charging her some rent. It's time to spread your wings, little birdie, and fly, dammit, fly!

Are some of you in the path of that nasty winter storm going on in the U.S.? Looks awful! Most of our big snow has melted away so the world looks grey and grubby. Not that I'm complaining - HAH! Ok, time to look for the positives:

• only the foyer, 2 bathrooms and basement steps left to "refloor", then the painting can begin
• only 2 weeks of school left, then 2 weeks of holidays (trying NOT to think of the UNPAID day our lovely schoolboard is giving us (yes an extra day of holidays!! Who needs that day of pay anyways...right before Christmas...with all the extra bills and expenses...
• taking a mini-holiday with Kazi to see Les Mis in Toronto :) (will NOT think about the money spent...will ONLY think about the great time we'll have!!!)
• at lease I don't have to deal with fir tree needles everywhere this year...I wonder if we still have the fake tree in the basement somewhere - will have to go exploring again!
• I feel healthy again though have a bunch of tests to complete for my physical and I have to start taking iron supplements as my iron is low (I don't eat much meat) so perhaps that will help with my feeling tired most of the time

Okay, time to wrap it up. I'm going on safari as my cup of coffee is cold and I'm going to try and find the microwave!

Keep warm!