November 24, 2023 - Friday

Dad and Ben finished installing the toilet this morning and then dad and MJ headed out shortly afterward. I am so glad we've gotten work started on the bathroom and even glad to have my expectations get a reality check. This project took MUCH longer than I expected. I think the tear-out took a couple more days than I thought it would and the electrical took astronomically longer than I expected. I thought it would be, like, a day. In reality, I think dad spent maybe four days on electrical? Granted, he told me that electrical is not his strong suit and that it takes him a lot longer than it might take someone else. He double, triple, and quadruple checks each and every move he makes, so that he doesn't make any frustrating and time-consuming mistakes. And it's really a one-man job, so he couldn't even have any of us help him with these things. I am also really glad to have learned some new skills, so that I'll be able to continue on with some aspects of the project while he's gone. Now, me and Ben just need to get up the gumption to actually do work without him here spearheading things! I think they'll head back the second week of January. 

In the meantime, I think me and the kids will head out to DE for a Christmas visit mid-December. I'm not really eager to drive out there alone, but I think the kids would be so sad if they didn't get to see family for the holidays. 

I spent about 100 hours cleaning and organizing the house today. I think the last two weeks have just made me feel like we have way too much crap crammed in here. Having one room cleared out has made the rest of the house a mess! I went through our bedroom closet and our room, but ran out of time before I could do the bathroom. So much to do before we get the Christmas decorations out!

I don't know why I chose this photo to post, but it caught my eye when I was looking at fall 2011 pictures to fill in for today's lack of current photos!