Dancing bears, painted wings Things I almost remember And a song someone sings Once upon a December...

Once upon a December .. in March..

Forgive my absence in posting and also the lack of my usual prompt and continuous dancing, bears. This is a uber busy and crazy time in my world and it can't be helped. Andreas (), and I believe the fabulous one () know I'm knee deep in renovations and we're at the final push to get things back in place so I have my home back. Water leaking thru a light fixture, mold, a detatching back room with the roof caving in and constantly freezing pipes made it impossible to live here any longer so I have been staying at my daughters which is a very busy place with insanely unstable internet. BUT!! We are putting Mom back where she belongs this week!! There's a ton of stuff left to do but the basics are in place and secure, and altho I can't participate like I usually would in the masquerade, I'm sure you'll understand.

Before

During

Tonight

None of this would have happened without my kids. They've covered almost all the expenses and we worked out a way of using the menards and home depot ccards that my payments are both reasonable and interest free <3 I honestly don't know what I would do without them, they've been busting their butts to get this taken care of.

ARRRR MATEYS! This be how ye walk the plank!

Life happens sweetie. No apologies necessary. Hugs.

Hey it's coming together :)Almost there dear....

Whoa, what a difference! hugs Glad you're getting repairs made!

Amazing work, and well worth the time and effort to be living mold free. Which can be very toxic. Congrats on the renovations!!!

said it best if nicer then the typical saying snickers ...take care . I didn't know why but knew you had a good reason and am personally just happy you are OK. sends huggles

Holy Renovations Bat Girl...that is some serious work ! ❤ You concentrate on home base sweetie...the Lair is in safe hands and we promise to clean up our little mess before you get back (hey can someone please get the Shetland pony out of the ladies room...it doesn't matter if he's dressed up like Shirley Temple) 🙀

: Holy COW! That is some renovation! You have not only endured, you have suffered. I'm just glad you are getting some work done to make your place SAFE and comfortable. You are so loved, there is no need to apologize, you just hang in there, we're keeping you in our prayers.

omg, you've done alot of work and it is looking great.

Looks great! Happy to hear you are getting those done. ❤

Renovations are both stressful and fun. My hubby and I did a little of that when we first moved into our house a year and a half ago. It seemed like forever, but now that it's done I just love it. We had a really ugly fireplace/wall removed from the middle of the living room and it opened up the space so much. What you are doing is far more work and it's looking great so far!

Holy hell that looks good sis, and I'm glad you get to go home finally.

At last, it's getting done, and no apology needed hun! Just let us know if you need any tokens.

Thanks y'all I need to add this to the first post - None of this would have happened without my kids. They've covered almost all the expenses and we worked out a way of using the menards and home depot ccards that my payments are both reasonable and interest free <3 I honestly don't know what I would do without them, they've been busting their butts to get this taken care of.

It started with the back room caving in - which exposed the mold in the outer wall. That was dangerous and I was staying with my sister but I couldn't handle it so we sprayed the exposed mold surfaces to kill it, replaced the boards, plasticed that section off and I thought ok.. you got this. Then water started dripping from the light fixture in the bathroom which is never a good sign.. then the addition starts pulling away from the main section of the house and next thing I know I'm told my house could be condemned if it gets much worse. It was like oh-my-gawd this mess has gone from bad to worse and I don't know what to do about it.

So .. I'm having a bad day, pipes are frozen solid again, the furnace isn't working and I'm already feeling pretty emotional about nothing and everything when Sicca called. She asks me whats wrong Mom and I just started crying. I told her I didn't want to have to give up our home even if it's a POS and she's like wait wait wait, who said you had to.. and I told her all about everything going wrong. She called her brother, my brother and my oldest sister and they all came over. We hashed out what had to be done at a bare minimum to prevent any more damage from mold, leaky pipes and a leaky roof and how to pay for all the repairs.

Both kids offered their charge cards for whatever we couldn't scratch together on our own. My son's new bride said her dad was just starting a renovation job on a townhome. New to me kitchen cupboards complete with garbage disposal which I've never had before.

My sister knew a guy who bought a new shower stall and his wife didn't like it. New to me still in the box shower. My son didn't like the vanity in the house he just bought so that's now mine. My daughter decided she wanted magenta HE washer and dryer instead of the white set she has so those are now mine along with her portable dishwasher that makes a great cutting board. (Not a fan of dishwashers) Habitat for humanity had this huge chunk of carpet that will cover every room in the house that my son got for a song, my son-in-law works in a cabinet making plant which I knew but totally forgot about - he took the edging/molding and is replacing it with pieces he makes during his lunch break at work for pennies. We had a plan in place in a matter of hours and next thing ya know they're off picking up insulation, plastic, sheet-rock, everything we figured we would need and we got started right after the superbowl.

My perfect plan was room by room but the guys got a little carried away. Instead of one room started, redone, buttoned up and ok to occupy at a time they started taking down walls and didn't stop until the entire place was gutted back to its 1889 shell. Needless to say I was not impressed. I have to admit they did the right thing, in 3 months we've got the major work done with the floor in the kitchen being the only thing left to replace. That and the stove. I need a different one, mine's down to 2 burners working part of the time last time I used it xD

I was gonna tell y'all about it sooner but with the shock of whats happening with lil' Lia I forgot. The back room floor is still balanced on concrete/rock chunks, still don't know who's brilliant idea that was, but we'll fix that this summer. Sicca's dryer is a "220" and the house isn't wired for that so may as well fix the foundation while they're rewiring for the dryer, amirite?

I'm set with tokens, had enough banked for this year but thank you luv. I just don't like not being here like I use to be but it's been a crazy winter.

Boy it all came together so good with all the planning, help from family and friends. Congrats! Your a very giving person, and all the good karma got together and took care of you in time of need. I call it, absolutely amazing.

P.S. I for one, dont feel any apology needed to be made. Girl RL really needed your attention. You were dearly missed, BUT so much was going on in RL. Enjoy your new home, will you have someone do a blessing on your home?

No worries! Life happens, I totally get that! And I can also really relate to having poor/unstable internet! Hopefully, you'll finish with renovations soon and your house will become more livable again. Sounds very stressful!

Oh my gosh. That's one serious renovation you all have going on. Your family is amazing for getting all that together.

No way you should be worrying about an online game when you have that to take care. Do what you need to do and don't stress.

, not wanting to move from my home where the children were raised I can really relate to the attachment you get to your home. I am so glad your children were able to help out and fix it for you!

Busy scooping up the shetland pony road apples. SSHHH It never happened, a little febreeze who will ever know. Pat the Shirley Temple want be on the rump, she will leave the bathroom. If not I will get some apples to use as a bribe.