One bite at a time.

Many times this weekend, I was forced to use CPM's motivational question on myself. I don't know where he got it, but it certainly helps to get me through the moments where I feel overwhelmed:

"How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

We spent the entire weekend at our new place continuing to demolish things. I never realized just how much stuff there is to demolish when you are renovating an entire house (all 900 square feet, just imagine if it were bigger). Just when you think that you are "almost done," you realize that you are not even close to almost done. In fact, you are so far from done that you better just go sit in the back yard and hyperventilate for a few moments, then run to Lowe's, then get lunch, then come back and face the mess some more. Thus far, we have produced 50 cubic yards of trash. Another 30 yard dumpster is arriving today. I feel confident that this too will be filled before we are done.

But really, I do feel like we are "almost done" the demo. Har. Har. Har.

The new house is a single level (with a basement). It has a peaked roof...it's basically shaped exactly like those houses you drew as a kid, a square with a triangle on top. One of CPM's first renovatory ideas was to vault the ceiling throughout the first floor. Since I'm only five feet two inches tall, fourteen foot ceilings were not a priority for me, but CPM insisted, so I'm along for the ride. It will look fabulous when it is done, I have no doubt. I just hope we get to live in it before December.

Oh, vaulting will be so easy CPM says. We just need to tear down this existing ceiling, and voila, VAULT! But wait, what's that, above the ceiling? A flat roof? This house had a flat roof first? And then they put the peaked roof on top of the flat roof? Okay, so we just also have to cut the flat roof out of the way, to expose the peak. And how many times did they coat the flat roof with tar BEFORE finally deciding to put the peak on? Okay, we'll just peel the four layers of tar off and then cut out the roof boards.

Luckily, I wasn't the one who spent two days in the tightly confined spaces between roofs, cutting and shaving tar off of roofing boards. No, I just got to assist in lugging the tar pieces to the dumpster and sweeping up and disposing of the assorted crap that rained from the ceiling. (It's no wonder that I decided to spend a portion of my Sunday, crow bar in hand, attacking the basement, demoing walls and ceilings by myself. In my mind, it was a far cleaner task.) We're about two-thirds of the way through opening up the ceiling. My goal is to be ready for framing during the first week of September.

I took no pictures this weekend, because to my eye, it all looks like "mess." I may try to go over tonight and get some shots. I'm supposed to be documenting this process after all.