Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Havoc!


The office/studio, always a refuge of sorts where I can engross myself in the mystery and beauty of gemstones and beads, has become even more of a refuge the last 2 weeks. We are remodeling two bathrooms and putting down wood floors in our master bedroom, the study, and the den. We are also putting tile/granite down on the master bathroom floor and replacing the tub with a shower with seating. Upstairs we put in a Jacuzzi bathtub and had the wallpaper taken off and the walls and ceiling painted. The house is a mess; a layer of dust at least a 1/4" thick covers most surfaces (did I mention that I was allergic to dust mites?).
My own jewelry lies scattered about the house in various plastic bins at the moment. We are sleeping upstairs in my son's old room (it does have a queen bed and a tv) while our bedroom is downstairs. I don't know where half my clothes are; getting dressed in the morning is an adventure as I go up and down the rather steep stairs looking for a top, then a bottom, trying to stay out of sight of the workmen when I haven't found one or the other (what happened to my robe!?), and telling myself that no one will notice that I am not wearing makeup.

Meanwhile, kitty Cluny, my little dear who is terrified of everyone but my husband and me, basically hates the workmen, their sounds, their voices, their movements. He is always hiding, but when he hadn't shown up after the workmen left last week, I feared the worst: that he had fled outside and was lost and terrified, shivering with fear somewhere on the golf course, not knowing how to get home. I slept little that night - on the couch in the den with the garage door up and only the glass door locked so I could see if he came back home. He didn't.
At 6 o'clock the next morning, I'm still looking when my other cat, Cuervo, starts acting strangely. I hear faint meowing and Cuervo goes crazy scratching at the walls. I follow the meows and find that Cluny has hidden himself underneath the new Jacuzzi bathtub (before they put the panels on the outside) and now he can't get out. The man has to come and take the heater off, but since he is present, Cluny still won't come out, even though now he is physically able. I send the workmen downstairs, but Cluny can still hear them. I lure him with albacore tuna (the stuff we eat), he turns up his nose and takes a nap now that he knows he can get out.
No, he's not still in there; when the workmen left at 6:40 that evening, he came out.
It took me two days to catch up on the sleep and recover from the emotional trauma!
What does this have to do with jewelry? Nothing, and in the last two weeks, about the only thing I've done is work on custom orders since my all creativity seems to have left me in the series of sneezes I've been prone to.
So only 2 pieces that aren't on the site: the top bracelet made with peach aventurine, borosilicate lampwork beads, and aquamarines and the necklace created from lampwork beads by James Derrick Reeves, rose quartz and emeralds (yes, emeralds). Of course, Reeves' beads were the catalyst for the necklace. It's a strange mixture, but I like it.
Here's hoping the remodeling is soon finished. Believe me, I'll be thinking twice before we attempt any changes involving the creation of heavy dust in the house!


3 comments:

Andrew Thornton said...

It does sound like complete chaotic nightmare. At least when everything is finished, you'll have an even nicer home. Good luck though! I know how trying rennovations can be.

clunygrey said...

Yes, the vision of a nicer, cleaner house is the only thing keeping me sane! Thanks for your commiseration!
Cluny

Andrew Thornton said...

It's my pleasure! Did I mention how much I enjoyed your designs?