We have spent the past three days cleaning. Irene and Clyde lived in such small spaces, there was never any room to move anything to be able to clean to the corners.

We took down the closet doors, refinished them, and used them in Irene’s new bedroom.

I measured the distance between the end of her old bed and the closet: 16 inches. Not a lot of room to get anything in or out of the space behind her bed. Bad for easily bruised skin. Terrible for trip hazards.

My grandparents bought those beds, which my mother modified to be bunk beds, when my mom was 5 years old. My sister Mariluz and I refinished them in 1978. They have been used by three generations, and I’m looking forward to having them for the fourt… — My grandparents bought those beds, which my mother modified to be bunk beds, when my mom was 5 years old. My sister Mariluz and I refinished them in 1978. They have been used by three generations, and I’m looking forward to having them for the fourth generation as well.

We brought in the bed our daughter Persephone is using at the moment, after banishing the dust. We also have 8 large black garbage bags awaiting disposal. We burned the broken furniture. Persephone had been staying in our hunting cabin, which really is not meant for long-term occupation. We plan to eventually take out the closet, as having no airflow against that north wall fosters the growth of mold. We also want to put windows in the north side. I’m hoping to have an office in that space.

We emptied and cleaned Irene’s old living room before moving her bedroom furniture.

Notice that there are no lights installed in any of the walls or ceilings of the old bedroom or living room. The ceilings are painted the same color as the walls. This makes for some very dark rooms. We will look for track lighting we can modify to be plugged in until we start tearing out walls to put in better (and bigger) windows. Then we (meaning Michael!) can reroute electricity for ceiling fans and lights. In the short term, we will move the dining table into the old living room. This will allow us to start punching a 6 foot wide hole in the wall where the dining room table now sits. That will allow a connection between the addition and the original house.

The doorway with a door leads to the addition. The doorway without a door leads to the current kitchen/dining room.

The wall with the clock on it has a stairwell on the other side. We have space for a longer and wider stairwell in the addition. We will eventually remove the stairwell in the old living room, which will make that room 40” wider. It will become our bedroom. We will wall off the doorway into the addition (after punching a hole in the wall between the addition and th kitchen) and that space will become a closet. We will make sure it has adequate ventilation!

Now you know why I will have a construction journal for a while yet.