Week from Hell Wrap-Up

I'm not burying the lead with that subject line, am I? Honestly, it's just better to get it out there and move on. By Monday, I will (if there is a God) have a new upbeat attitude but for now, this week has been the worst of the renovation mostly due to the tile debacle (click here for the gruesome details). Mostly because it didn't end there.

On Wednesday, after sedating myself to sleep Tuesday night I looked out our patio doors to find that the white-trash vista I'd grown used to 

The rotted, falling down fence. The tree in front of it flowered in the spring and is a nice source of shade for the back of the house.

This is actually prior to the real renovation work so add heaps of concrete, discarded paint cans, wood, and small hazmat ponds of mortar with cigarette butts and empty soda cans floating in them and that's accurate.

All that GONE. As was the massive hydrangea bush and the 60-year-old rose tree (and if you think I'm kidding to call it a tree):

 Part of two of the main trunks, each over 6' ft tall

 This tangled mess is one group of branches. On the left you can see the new growth and on the right is the old branch.

In case you think old age means rot and decreased productivity, this is what I salvaged from the debris. I had cut dozens throughout the spring and summer and they just kept coming. Some of the most fragrant roses I've ever smelled. 

Was I shocked? Yes, but not completely. We knew the plants would have to go in order to have a deck but, once again, communication was non-existent and the outdoor crew showed up and got started at 6am before I could even attempt to save either plant. Granted, it was a long shot with the roses but to see everything gone was visually disorienting. All that was left was the tree you see above with the fence leaning on it. This would be the lovely shade tree for our deck. It had a split trunk and was situated at what would be the edge of the deck so it was decided that the two limbs that hung over the deck would be removed but the trunk could stay. And so it did, right up until 20 minutes later when the men inadvertently cut through the main root causing the tree to lose stability and tip precariously over the yard, necessitating its removal as well. 

The backyard has now been denuded of the main vegetation close to the house- everything that would make a deck inviting in the hot summer months. Did I start to cry? Yes. Did I do so in front of anyone? No. I went to the closet in the basement bedroom, the only place in the house that affords me any privacy and quiet at this time and I cried. And cried. This renovation has officially kicked my ass.

Today, everyone was back and all the important stuff, like installing an extra gas line under the deck so Mr. G could have his gas grill located where he wants it, was completed. And if you think I'm being sarcastic, you're right. We have a deck. A deck in a dirt patch. And that, my dears, sums up my week. I will return next week with my humor restored. 

The deck. And yes, the color of the house is hideous but the budget for repainting it is long gone. Maybe next year.

Side view so you can see that the debris pit still exists but has just been shoved over to what is the space behind my office.

Forget renovations and all that malarky...how was your week? Was it just me or are the planets misaligned? Share your news!