Full Home Repair/Construction Mode...

Holy Cow is our house ever a disaster area. Seriously.

It.is.a.mess!

Today is day 6 of our home repairs. Any ideas on how long it will take to finish? I had high hopes for this weekend. I don't see it happening though. Bummer.

The workers are really quite nice. Honestly, I wouldn't know if they weren't as only a couple of them speak any English. So, they could be calling me anything out of the book and as long as they said it in their nice polite tone, I'd never know the slightest.

Which reminds me of a fun story.

My father was an Air Force Officer and we lived in Germany for about 17 years. Yes, 17 years. Anyway, as growing up in Germany will often do, I learned to speak German. As my friends slowly learned that I could speak another language they've asked me to say something "in German."

My favorite saying, of all time, to share with them is....

"Darf ich mein Bleistift spitzen?"

Of course, I always say it in an incredibly seductive tone (at least when I was single and.... uh... on the market).

It's always hilarious to hear the comments about how romantic the German language is, or how much they love to hear it. Seriously. I love Germany and the German people. However, the German language is NOT romantic nor is it a lovely sounding language.

It's a spitting, hocking, and generally messy language - at least to hear it. But, I do love it anyway.

So, back to the workers. They are awesome! The house is going to be SO nice when it's all done. When that will be remains to be seen. All of the work is being paid for upfront and in cash. Lately, I've written some checks that make my eyes water. So sad to see some of that money go to things that are necessary but not at all fun or exciting.

Don't get me wrong, tile is cool. The pattern it's laid in is cool. But, realizing that I have to give up new furniture to pay for the tile isn't cool. Of course, in all logic, the tile will outlast almost any furniture we purchse and we'll recoup our costs in the resale value if we ever move.

Which of course we are NOT ever moving from this house. They'll have to carry my rotting carcass out. I am SO not about moving. ever again.

Ever.

I hate moving.

I would do it if I absolutely had to, but I would REALLY prefer not to.

That being said, and against my deepest wishes and begging... I have to pack up my studio so that new carpet can be laid in it. Seriously. SUCKS rotten eggs. Now I'm going to stress about dropping anything onto the new carpet. I SO wish I could get out of it... I'm happy with my space and I SO don't want to think about packing up all of the little and medium sized things so that the workers can do their job. It's going to be a nightmare. Oh well... it just sucks. Not much I can do about it now. Grrr.

Oh well.

That's all.

Oh yes... what does my seductive favorite German saying mean auf English?

May I sharpen my pencil?

ha. ha. ha. ha. ha. love it!

7 comments:

Simone said...

Hey,"darf ich meinen Bleistift spitzen" is a very often used sentence here in Germany,haha!!
Good story!
Viel Spaß mit den Arbeitern ;))

Anonymous said...

You jogged some very pleasant memories for me, Schatzie, and it makes me wonder just how much you have retained of the language. Dad and I are taking a conversational Spanish class and frequently the teacher will tell us to "walk around the room" and using the Spanish we have learned carry on a conversation with different people. When I can't think of the Spanish word for what I want to say, the German just slips right on out. The looks I get are quite funny. The people I'm talking to think they should be able to understand what I'm saying and when they don't, they get these panic stricken looks on their faces because they wonder what I've said and how they should answer me. It's quite entertaining actually. Dad is experiencing some problems mixing up his Spanish with German too, but he knows a whole lot more Spanish than I do. I told one couple Tuesday night in class that my main reason for taking Spanish is so I can get my weekly dose of "feeling stupid." The only thing that keeps me going is remembering having the same feelings when I started learning German. Anyway, thanks for the memories, und du hast ein gute tage. Bis nexten mal.

Mom

Anonymous said...

Having just finished a little remodeling project of my own, I feel your pain. Especially the packing up of the scrapbooking room. That's a painful one! Hope it all goes smoothly and as quickly as possible!

Lanna said...

Young kids often ask me to say something in Spanish (yes, white girls can speak Spanish!). My replies are a little duller than sharpened pencils. Ha!
Because I edit a construction law newsletter, I wanted to pass along this advice--be careful about paying your contractor up front for everything. Too many take off without finishing the work (especially those operating without a valid license). I'm sure you'll be fine, but I wanted to pass along that tidbit of info. Can't wait to see photos.
Cheers!

Kristy said...

Love the new layout. Good luck with the new carpet.

Danke!

Griff said...

My suggestion would be to roll up the piece of carpet that should go in your studio, put it out in the garage, then, if and when you are rich and famous and move into your hilltop mansion, you can have it installed and it will be nice, shiny and clean. Then you can throw paint around your studio till your little heart's content, and NOT have to worry about the new carpet. At least that is what I would do...I am just saying, is all.

Amy Pennington said...

hey girl...I am up for that exchange of goods anyday! call me!