Standing Into Danger: 2025

Friday, December 12, 2025

Ten Tips for Surviving a Major Renovation Without Killing Each Other!

A year ago, Terry and I took the plunge and decided to renovate our main living space.

Knowing that neither of us had the skills nor the desire to do the work ourselves,

we knew we had to hire a contractor.

We had delayed taking this step too long, paralyzed by horror stories

about shady contractors and shoddy workmanship.

Our number one concern was finding an experienced,

knowledgeable, and honest contractor.

Worries, the Stuff of Nightmares!

www.renovation

Now, a year later we have a beautiful new space, after renovating

our kitchen, our living room, the dining room, two bathrooms,

two bedrooms, a hallway, a stairwell, and a deck.

And we survived the process without killing each other!

We're thrilled with the results!

#1 Before ~ Sorry About the Mess! 😂

Cleaning, Sorting and Packing

#2 Before ~ Sorry About the Mess! 😂

Cleaning, sorting, Packing

#3 Before ~ Our Breakfast Nook

Always a Bit of a Disaster

After #1

After #2

After #3

After #4 That Breakfast Nook Repurposed as an Exercise Space and Open Area

Since we survived, I'm sharing some tips for getting through a major renovation.

#1: Understand what you are getting into.

There are many factors to consider before undertaking a major renovation, among them:

whether or not you will hire professionals
the cost
how long it will take
whether you stay in your home or move out during the renovation
what to pack and where to store the things you pack
the design and materials
the disruption to your lives, especially if you have children and/or pets
how to handle disagreements over decisions you must make.
the impact a renovation may have on your relationship with your partner

So, before you commit and start demolishing your home's interior, understand what you are getting into.

Demolition Underway ~ No Turning Back Now!

April 14, 2025

#2. Remember You Love Your Spouse or Partner.

A renovation is one of the most stressful things you can undertake, often resulting in conflicts over control, money, taste, and managing the inevitable anxiety that surfaces during the process.

There are countless decisions that have to be made, and no decision is worth harming or risking your relationship. Never forget that you love each other and that must take priority over everything. I love Terry. He loves me. Bottom line.

Terry and I

Byodo-in Temple Grounds, Oahu, Hawaii

March 15, 2025

#3. Communicate.

The stress of upheaval, constant dust and disarray, and the coming and going of workers at all hours can ignite your emotions. You always need to remember that comments made under duress may not reflect how you or your partner really feel. 😂 Wait for a calmer moment and talk and listen to each other.

#4. Compromise.

There is no hill worth dying on, if you put your relationship first. Really, is your kitchen hardware, the tile in your shower, or the pattern of tile resurfacing your fireplace the be-all and end-all? Be open with each other and work together to solve problems that arise. Each of you should be willing to make concessions.

Before

After

#5. Complement each other.

Complement each other generously. Appreciation calms stressed-out emotions.

Great Job, Babe! You Make Delicious Air Fryer Chicken

Under Challenging Conditions!

April 17, 2025

#6. Be Kind, To Your Spouse or Partner and Yourself.

A major renovation is a marathon. Things will never go exactly as planned. Have empathy, compassion, and respect for each other and yourself. Many mornings when I woke up and crawled out of my futon on the floor, Terry handed me a fresh cup of hot coffee, a simple thing, but so appreciated. And I actively looked for ways I could be kind to Terry every day.

Yes, You Can Survive Living Like This for Four Months

if You Are Kind to Each Other.

#7. Be Flexible.

Nothing goes perfectly according to the timeline you have worked out with your contractor. In our case, somehow the carpet didn't get ordered. The world didn't end. The renovation took longer than we expected. It's no big deal, especially looking back. 😂. So go with the flow and don't get bent out of shape. If you can, take a break and go somewhere fun ~ which for us is Las Vegas!

Almost Nothing Beats Meeting a Special Friend, Jon, in Las Vegas

8 East, Fremont Street, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

July 1, 2025

#8. Keep your end goal in sight.

Our contractor told us that we would love them in the beginning and wish they were long gone near the end. We did love Tivoli Renovation, Inc. in the beginning, and we were glad when they were finished. But we always appreciated the skilled workers and their conscientious attitudes. During the challenging times Terry and I focused on our end goal to pull us through.

Looking back, I remember all the great people who made our renovation a success. Really, a great contractor who stands by his work is worth the cost!

How did we find them? Word of mouth through Terry's pickleball friends. And, very importantly, we went and looked at their work in a home that had recently been renovated by them.

Al Straarup, Our Contractor, Mapping Out Our Kitchen Island

April 16, 2025

Al and Logan Finishing the Very Last Thing ~ Grab Bars in Our Master Bath Shower

September 7, 2025

#9. Stay Positive!

You can overcome any obstacles you encounter together. There are always unexpected glitches. Roll with them. You'll get there in the end, and when you're enjoying your new renovated spaces, it will be well worth it.

My Sister Donnie and Terry Enjoying Our New Kitchen

November 18, 2025

#10. Take Many Photos During the Renovation.

A good friend of mine, Julie, gave me invaluable advice. She said to photograph everything along the way. When all is done, you may not remember where things are behind the walls and under the floors. A photo can help you locate electrical wiring, plumbing, and other details in the future if you need to. And take some photos to remember all the great people who worked on your renovation.

Some of the Kitchen Wiring

Mauro, An Artist with Tile

Juan, a Skilled Painter with a Great Sense of Humor

June 6, 2025

A huge thanks to Kim at Kitchen Creations, Jessica at The Floor Club,

and Lacey at Aurora Winnelson for their expertise and excellent design work.

Al Straaup certainly knew who to recommend to help us with design and materials.

We still have art to hang and a few old things to replace with new,

but we are enjoying every minute in our new living space.

If anyone has a tip to share, I'd love to hear it.

You never know, we might want to renovate more in the future.

Wishing all my blogging buddies a great weekend!

Enjoy the holiday season!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be

Friday, December 19, 2025 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

IWSG: Wednesday, December 3, 2025 ~ My Best Writer's Gift Ever

It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.

To visit the IWSG website, click here.

To become a member of the IWSG, click here.

Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are

Tara Tyler, Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, Liza, and Natalie Aguirre!

Stop by their posts and thank them for hosting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every month the IWSG announces a question that members can answer
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.

Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.

Remember the question is optional.

This month's optional question is:

As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy December, Everyone!

I hope all is well with each of you.

Yes, a straightforward and noncontroversial question,

definitely a gift at this busy time of year!

The best gift I ever received as writer was a framed picture

of the cover of The Antigonish Review which published my first short story

together with the title page of my story "Ugly Little Bastards."

My family surprised me with it on Christmas morning 1982

the year my story was published.

This gift symbolized my family's love for me and their unconditional support

during one of the most difficult times in my life.

Personally for me, that story in that literary journal was validation.

I was a writer.

The Antigonish Review ~ Number 48, Winter, 1982

"Ugly Little Bastards" p. 75

My writing journey has followed a different course from what I imagined,

but whenever I doubt myself and my writing,

I look at that framed picture and feel the validation.

The best gift I've ever received in my life?

The gift of a loving and supportive family.

including Terry, my parents, my siblings, their spouses, and my extended family.

Our Generation

Back: Roy, Terry, Peter, and Martin

Front: Sue, Barb, Me, Bertie, and Donnie

Missing: Pat

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 7, 2019

Just in case you don't know, we have an IWSG Facebook site with thousands of members.

Today, if you'd like to link your IWSG post to our Facebook site,

you can post a link in the comments on our FB site.

We share our monthly IWSG question with our Facebook members,

and they can share their answers on today's FB post as well.

And here's a plug for me! 😂

Today on the home page of our IWSG website,

I have posted "What is the Point?" asking what is the point

of your writing and why do you persist during a difficult time.

Discussion is always welcome!

Have a healthy, happy, and creative December!

Take care!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be Friday, December 12th 🤞

Just so you know, I monitor my comments before publishing them. This means your comment won't appear immediately. I will not publish mean spirited or commercial comments.

Friday, November 28, 2025

My Self Portrait 😂

Have you drawn your self portrait for Nicole's FFO challenge tomorrow?

I just finished mine.

I haven't drawn a face in a long, long time, but it was fun.

I didn't capture my sparkle, but at least it's a face.

Of course, Last Minute Louise, started her self portrait

for Nicole's challenge on Thanksgiving Day,

and she worked on it between cooking dinner and watching football!

What can I say? I've been busy! 😂

Since I'm a geologist and not an artist,

I decided to map my face like it was a geological feature.

I printed off a recent photo of me, and I drew a half-inch grid on it.

My father taught me this technique for copying maps when I was eleven or twelve.

Sparkly Me at the Carousel Bar with Terry

The Plaza, Las Vegas, ⁨Nevada, ⁨United States⁩

July 1, 2025

Half-Inch Grid

Aurora, ⁨Colorado ⁨United States⁩

November 27, 2025

Next I drew a half inch grid on another piece of paper,

using my trusty third grade classroom ruler and my Twist Erase 0.7 pencil.

That was the easy part.

My Second Half-Inch Grid

Ready! Set! Go!

Then I began carefully drawing my ~~geological formation~~ face.

An Ear's a Start

Starting on My Glasses

Eyes and Nose

It took me a nanosecond to realize that rocks are way easier to draw,

but I was not going to back down and not participate in Nicole's FFO challenge.

Meanwhile I had to push aside my art work to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with Terry.

He was really happy that I made his favorites, roasted chicken breasts,

sweet potatoes, dressing, cranberry jelly, and a blueberry and spring greens salad.

No china or silverware or serving dishes ~ They're still packed.

But we did have a delicious chilled chardonnay.

We having pumpkin pie and homemade whipped cream when I finish this post.

Roasted Chicken Breasts

Enough for Leftovers

Thanksgiving Dinner ~ For Rain's Dinner Date #1

Thanksgiving Dinner ~ For Rain's Dinner Date #2

Meanwhile, a coyote ran down the golf course in the middle of dinner.

I haven't see one in ages, so both of us ran out with our iPhones to capture it.

I hate the zoom lens on my iPhone! 😂

A Coyote Looking for Dinner

Once I got going, I began to sketch more than map.

A one-inch grid would have been better.

I erased more than I drew, I swear, and I draw dinosaur teeth way better than human.

But it was fun, especially with a glass of chardonnay,

and the Cowboys beating the Chiefs 31 to 28.

😂🥂

Overall I was quite happy with the results.

Maybe I'll try so more faces down the road.

VOILÀ !

I'm linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off, Rain's Kitchen and Garden, Tom's Aloha Friday, and Gillena's Lunch Break.

For Rain: Crescent Moon ~ Rain shared some beautiful photos of crescent moons. As I hunted through my photos, I realize I really like full moons. A crescent moon was hard to find.

Crescent Moon Over Aurora

March 4, 2022

For Tom: Full Moon Over Waikiki! ~ I am so missing Hawaii!

Full Moon Over Waikiki

March 14, 2025

For Gillena: Walk the Moon! ~ You literally cannot stand still listening to Walk the Moon sing "Shut Up and Dance with Me."

Walk the Moon Performing on Fremont Street

Downtown Vegas, Nevada, USA

June 3, 2023

Walk the Moon ~ Shut Up and Dance with Me!

YouTube

Have a great weekend!

Terry and I are looking forward to yummy Thanksgiving leftovers.

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be

Wednesday, December 3, 2025 🤞

Pages

Friday, December 12, 2025

Ten Tips for Surviving a Major Renovation Without Killing Each Other!

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

IWSG: Wednesday, December 3, 2025 ~ My Best Writer's Gift Ever

Friday, November 28, 2025

My Self Portrait 😂