Update August 2

Had the electrician back out to the house on Monday, giving us lights! It's amazing what you can see you missed in the mudding process when lights are involved. Maybe we should just get low-wattage bulbs and call it mood lighting.

Seriously, until we get primer on the walls, we won't really know if we've done okay or not, but it seems to our untrained, yet critical eye that we've done okay so far with the mud and tape. There are still many places left to deal with, but it's getting better.

Each night now, we're coming home and putting our feet up and ice on various appendages. I can't remember feeling this hurt and old. We're only 40 ish, for Pete's sake! Rich's foot and ankle have developed a strange swollenness and deep bruising . . . presumably from the fall the other week. His other bruises are healing, but his leg that took the brunt is still a bit swollen. Once we get out of the apartment, regardless of the stage of renovation, I think we're taking a few days off.

On a bit of a serious note, we're starting to stress out about moving. Frankly, we're pretty disappointed with the boy crew we were hoping for, as all of them already have plans, have mending broken legs, won't respond, or are out of town. The timing of our lease end just sucks. So we're analyzing what we absolutely need another person for (the washing machine, which is heavier than 100 wet elephants with full trunks, apparently, as soon as you make it a front loader). Our fridge, grill and armoire we think we can get a dolly and a lift-gate truck and possibly just do them ourselves, but even if not, we have more time because they're in storage, which doesn't have to be emptied out right away. Everything else in the entire apartment Rich and I moved ourselves, so if need be, we can do again, all by ourselves. That definitely cuts into the time we have for reno, though, since it'll be me during the day and Rich and me with the big stuff in the evenings. Note to self: never buy anything that you can't move by yourselves in a pinch . . . At least the apartment will be easy to clean. I'm loathe to ask relatives because they all just moved my grandmother, sparing us because we've been so swamped, but it may come to that. We definitely need to come up with a plan soon, since we're to be totally out by next Friday.
Stress is starting to weigh fairly heavily . . . there wasn't a way to extend our lease because we just don't have enough $$ to carry apartment plus house payments that long and still put paint on the walls, flooring and countertops in the kitchen. With unexpected expenses of plumbing and everything, moola's a bit tight.

We're definitely blessed to have this problem, and really shouldn't be complaining, but sometimes you just gotta vent. Thank you Lord for my hubby and family, shelter, jobs, food, and the luxury of being able to renovate the house. Gotta focus on the positives. Out of the wallow pit, now.