New Fireplace

When Rita stays home for a week instead of traveling for work…she sure makes it count, by god.  Which more often than not….involves a minor renovation of some sort.  Behold our soon-to-be-new-fireplace. 

I guess suffering through these 70 degree days has finally gotten to us and we are ready to do something about the previous “Trading Spaces” fireplace.  I mean, we have no heat for chrissakes, when it dips into the 50s….I need some relief. 

Here’s the thing though – I’m on the road for work….what…48 weeks out of the year?  Wouldn’t scheduling all this demolition and commotion while we’re GONE be the smarter way to go???  [Obviously, someone doesn’t trust random workmen with their own key and full run of the house like I do.]

Monday morning brought all kinds of excitement.  First of all, we moved every single thing out of the living room so as to make the rest of the house largely uninhabitable too.  [Imagine Rita’s surprise when the remote control we lost in 2009 showed up behind my VHS movie collection – I could have SWORN the cleaning lady lost that.]   And who knew that when you take out the rug in the living room, it has the acoustics of the Metropolitan Opera.  Now when Molly barks at the mailman you can hear it from six blocks away instead of just two.    

Speaking of acoustics….I wasn’t expecting the guys to have to use that jack hammer all day Monday.  In the room next to my office.  During my conference calls. 

But the workguys were really good.  They sealed off the room with a sheet of plastic and barely ever tried to sing along to southern rock station playing from their radio.  In fact, it took our vicious guard dog a day and a half to realize someone else was in the house [those clear plastic sheets can be DECEPTIVE, I tell you].  But when she did figure out we had intruders….she really showed them who was boss [please see earlier comment re:  acoustics-amplified barking].

But I think little Molly Magoo likes the new fireplace.  Last night when the workguys left, she went right over to it and stood on the base. 

I thought the paw prints in the new hearth were cute.