I know I've been in your shoes and regretted a snarky comment. Good for you for apologizing! It's hard to remember the different viewpoints we are all coming in from. When we were at this stage...

reading posts about people obsessing over cabinet hardware seemed foreign. Then, we got to that stage. Now, I'm at the 'we are redoing things because I made poor decisions initially' stage, which may be driving other people crazy.

I love reading your posts and hearing about your finds and progress. Hope you can get some sleep. That does make all the difference. Best, oldbat2be

Christine -- I hadn't read your post, when I replied. That was no rant. I am so sorry for all you are facing. We were lucky enough to have a builder help with much of our renovation and some of the finish work. Wish I could help. (Maybe a road trip of handy DIY's GW-ers some weekend? DH does carpentry, electrical, plumbing. I can paint and do some drywall. I bet I could talk him into it).

Don't apologize. I, for one, admire what you do on your own. The tenacity that you show to learn how to do everything and then do it. I'm always eager to read about your new find and how you are going to use it and always look forward to see your newly completed project.

I'm sorry that in the meantime you're cold and uncomfortable and having an ex that was a jerk and then having a fire. There are all kinds of people on this site and I enjoy them all - bad days, warts and all. (((hugs)))

Sorry, Christine. What you wrote was not a rant so much as a rightfully won cathartic howl. The fact of your having elected to apologize shows both 1) that the catharsis worked, and 2) you have no idea how to be mean or self-indulgent enough to warrant apologizing in this forum. Here, apologizing for anything other than hijacking thread equals admitting fallibility, and who would do that?

Meanwhile, the fact of your determination and skill in rebuilding your dwelling and your home has many of us slack-jawed with awe and envy.

Cheers. hbk

PS. Another coping mechanism is finding someone just a smidgeon worse off than you are. One Christmas during the Carter Administration, I went off to Ohio leaving the heat in my house off because "it never gets that cold in DC until January." I came back to a burst pipe upstairs and a sagging plaster ceiling in my dining room that I had to pierce with a broom handle to drain. It turned out that even the Pentagon had suffered burst pipes during that cold spell, but the only story that comforted me was that Carter's press secretary had suffered not only burst pipes and failing plaster in his house, but also bats flying out of the resulting hole in the wall.

I was still an idiot, but at least I wasn't an idiot with bats.

Since you apparently have used no defective drywall that gives rise to toxic mold or had your entire house succumb to subsiding soil or a sink hole, I think your schadenfreude moment may be imminent. Best wishes.

sagging plaster ceiling in my dining room that I had to pierce with a broom handle to drain

Reminds me of a scene out of Breaking Bad. ;-)

Christine,

What the others said: "Meanwhile, the fact of your determination and skill in rebuilding your dwelling and your home has many of us slack-jawed with awe and envy."

Part of catharsis is like crying - gets rid of all sorts of nasty chemicals and gets us back to a place where we can think again.

I admire you greatly.

OG

Your exuberance and enthusiasm far outweigh an occasional whine/rant. I look forward to reading your threads, admiring new treasures, and always enjoy dreaming with you. :)

Thank you all for being so gracious and supportive.

Today my gutter company with a life-time warranty emailed me to say their gutters weren't the cause of the water damage to my front porch so they're not responsible. (Thank you for calling, 'click')
Strange. When I had no gutters and let the water fall into drywall buckets, I didn't have this surface tension bring water down and under the porch, rotting the plywood. And to think I paid them for a year just to have this done once, done right. What the heck was I thinking?

Honorbilt, I have snakes, not bats. But I kinda like them. They keep the mice down in warmer weather. [LOL] They freak the cats out, though. I know when they jump up and backwards at a 90degree angle, it's a snake either coming thru the holes in the floor or dangling out of the ceiling. hehehe

oldbat2b, thank you for the offer! I'm at such odd stages in so many different projects, it's hard to figure out where to start! I am getting my drywall up slowly. I did the bottom pieces in my den this week, so I have that 1/2 way up. When I have $$, my drywall guy comes and handles the upper part, taping and mudding. I could use electrical help and some plumbing, but it's so much.

I won't ask when I can't pay, but it's so nice of you to think of it. Perhaps when I am ready to paint (hate to paint, but can't wait to!) I'll propose a painting party. I'll put together the grill that's been sitting in a box in my living room since December 2009, supply materials, beer, wine, 'dogs & steaks and hope someone shows! [LOL]

In the meanwhile, I appreciate your kindnesses. I'll plug away. My goal this week is to hang drywall in my laundry room. Wish me luck.

Sincerely,
Christine

Christine...so sorry about the gutters. Are they saying the product isn't responsible, but you might still persuade them that the installation is?

It was fun yesterday...let me know when you're coming to Baltimore. Maybe we can meet up again.

After I quit crying in frustration, I think the gutter owner is confused.
They right about a patio room and a leak. I don't have a leak and I sure don't have a patio room.

The gutters are absolutely beautiful. The installation doesn't deal with my almost flat elevation of my roof, coupled with a pointy roof over the entrance (gable? portico?) which creates two, odd valleys that shoot the water down hard. Hard enough to fill my buckets fast!

I might be coming up next Wednesday with another local victim, er, GWer!! I meant GWer!!