We have new window frames. We have glass. And yesterday I spent three hours – and what seems like a fortune – sorting out locks and handles and other window hardware so that we can open them. Everywhere we turn there's a new challenge; a topsy-turvy floor (not necessarily a huge problem unless you're tiling it, which of course we are), a rotted window frame, the need for new safety glass for an existing window, an unreliable tile supplier, quotes we thought set in stone turning out to be incredibly fluid, things we imagined to be cheap turning out to be expensive... There are budget blowouts and time overruns. Welcome to a renovation! But we've become so bogged down in the day-to-day stuff that we've almost forgotten to look at the bigger picture: our builders are courteous, helpful and tidy (believe me it helps), ditto all the tradespeople on site. What was once an odd-shaped, dated, kitchen is now a huge and light-filled space thanks, in part, to the addition of floor-to-ceiling windows. We have insulation and a new hot-water cylinder. The house has been completely rewired and enough data cables installed to future proof it so we can keep up with new technology. (When we're finally able to afford speakers we'll be able to change a CD from any room in the house with our Smartphones.) Tomorrow, hopefully, the Gib goes up and Friday I get to see how our new kitchen is shaping up out at KitchenWorks. And I'm currently looking out of the window watching the light-play on the kauris and ferns and I'm not regretting the decision we made to turn our lives upside down one bit.
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