Back into the swing

Well, Monday and Tuesday I was pretty much out of it. I did get a few things done, but nowhere near where I usually do (which barely makes a dent around here). C and I are just over the moon about being done with this permit, although the absurdity of it taking 17 months is astounding. You can build an entire house or apartment building in that time.

Wednesday I spent most of the day on Wednesday catching up on mail, filing and small tasks that have gotten backlogged in the last week and a half when I've been focused on closing the permit. I finally got 90% of the filing done from the first 9 months or so we lived here and I couldn't do it because we didn't have our files set up. Everything went into a big duffel bag, and I've been chipping away at it for weeks. The last 10% is stuff that doesn't go into our regular files, so it needs a little extra special treatment. I know this isn't strictly remodeling related, but as the filing backlog arose because of the remodeling, it is important to convey this to accurately describe our living conditions.

Wednesday night I got home and there was a very polite, well-written note from our back neighbors asking if we could dim and/or turn off our backyard lighting at night (it has a photo sensor and goes on at dusk and off at dawn). Seems it shines into their bedroom. C and I were quite upset to hear this, as we LOVE our backyard lights. We love having the photo sensor because we never have to think about the light. We like the added security and being able to walk right out there at night. We also love the way it looks from the inside. Instead of seeing huge "black" panes of glass at night, you see the yard. We are now in a total quandry about how to handle this. We want to be good neighbors, but we want our lights! We have a few ideas - one is to build some sort of box (think kind of Japanese shoji style) to contain some of the light and block the light from traveling up to their window (third floor). The problem with this is that any time you install something attached to the house and screw it in, you pierce the waterproof layer under the stucco. This would need to be dealt with. Another is to add some outdoor spotlights which can light the yard but be directed so that they don't hit the neighbor's window. Ultimately, we may put an awning or pergola up over the back door anyway, so the light may be fine at that point. The first thing I am going to try is a lower-watt bulb. We are hoping to find a low-cost, low-effort remedy that makes everyone happy. Unfortunately, we are still so swamped that I am dreading yet another project, especially one that causes me to drive all over town and has unclear parameters.

I met today with the contractor who did the windows and door and we closed out our contract. He is going to get me a proposal for the stucco and new front and side doors. He said I'd have it by Tuesday. I am really hoping to knock this out quickly. The new doors and stucco will be a huge improvement to the outside of the house, and will be a big step towards making the house not look abandoned and junkyard-ish. People still think nobody lives here. Also, time is ticking for me to start graduate school in the fall, at which time all work will probably stop. It is very distressing to think about living in a mess for so much longer.