Mandatory Renovations

I haven't really been crafting lately and there is a very good reason for that. We had a lot of rain this summer and my sunroom- where I do all of my painting and craft classes and basket making- was flooded out. It wasn't in great shape to begin with, but as we tore the carpet out it became apparent that the lower walls and framing were completely shot so everything from the windows down was gutted. I was a little bummed, but I knew it could be worse and tried to keep a positive attitude. We were getting a jump start on that renovation we hoped to do one day. Right?

The heat and rain have continued for months. Rain keeps coming in through the roof, windows, and floor. Then it heats up and instead of drying out it incubates mold. It has become dangerous so we have to start tearing it down now. When I say we I really mean my husband because I can't tolerate the mold.

Now, I am not writing all of this so that you feel sorry for me. There are a lot of people worse off than we are that have lost a lot more. I don’t want pity and I am not asking for money.

This post is the one no one wants to read. It is the junk. It is the low point (I hope!) No one is going to pin these nasty pictures. But I am still blogging about it. For me, part of authenticity in social media includes sharing the behind the scenes work that goes into a project. If something was hard or took a lot of time, I am not going to play it up as easy. I am hoping that one day I can share Pinterest-worthy pictures of a beautiful, new space. However, to keep it all in perspective, I am also sharing how and why it all started.

One final story…
When we had the initial flash flooding here huge rocks were washed down the creek and onto the road. My 8 foot lilac bush was washed away as if it were a clump of grass. In the middle of the road, among piles of large rocks, my husband found a Pepsi bottle. We often find old bottles washed up in the creek, but it was amazing that this one was completely unharmed in the midst of the destruction. Not a crack. I don’t drink soda, but I plan on keeping this one and eventually displaying it in our new sunroom. It is all going to be OK.