so this is happening

 When we bought this house, my husband was the one who could see the potential of the little mother-in-law suite out back.  I had a hard time looking past the nicotine stained drop-ceiling, the mildew in the bathroom, and the cost of renovating it all.  We've hemmed and hawed about the timing and budget of gutting it down to the studs.  In 2019, we spoke to a friend about doing it for us, but he had too many projects already underway.  We waited.   

And then in the space of an hour last week, our friend suddenly became available and there was a dumpster scheduled for delivery.  Or maybe it was two hours?  Either way, we've now got a mostly full dumpster in our driveway, and a mostly empty little cottage.  We're choosing flooring and light fixtures,  debating about replacing that insulation, deciding about cabinets and countertops, and hoping that it will be livable by the next time we have guests.

With a heavy dose of wild irony, I landed on the word "renovate" as my 2021 word, way, way back in December. (Just now it was the word "construct." I sense an inescapable theme.) My interpretation was metaphorical, applying to my soul and body, but clearly the literal meaning is apt, too.  Ha.