• Home
  • ABOUT
  • VIDEOS
  • Contact
  • SHOP

The Impatient Gardener

Cottage

A new year’s revelation

January 3, 2011

You won’t catch me making any resolutions, but how about a revelation?

We were not supposed to be working on a renovation in 2011. That was never part of the plan. The plan, well, one version of it, at least, was to start this project in early May (2010) and be finished before the Fourth of July. Did you just do a spit-take? If you did, that would have been totally appropriate because anyone who has ever done a renovation or been following our renovation knows how ridiculous that is. The next plan was to start at the beginning of September (again, 2010) and finish two months later, at the beginning of November.

Photobucket

Go ahead, spit out whatever you’re drinking again.

So here we are, a whole new decade. I’m officially in the midst of a renovation that has spanned two decades. And it feels like it.

The good news is that we really are in the final stages. And I’ve learned a lot of lessons along the way (all of which will be shared with you, I promise). But when the holidays came and I looked at them more as a disturbance in my painting schedule than a celebratory season, I began to have a revelation (please forgive the cliche I’m about to lay on you):

Renovating is a marathon, not a sprint.

Photobucket

Remember when I was all gung ho to paint? In fact I even posted on the Facebook page that I actually liked painting (note: my opinion on that subject is changing). I was making decisions like a mad woman. I was bound and determined to be on top of everything, and to know the answer before the question was asked.

And I did a really good job of that until about the end of November, three weeks after when I thought we’d be finished. By then I was burned out. The deadline I had set in my head had come and gone. Some things weren’t going to get done when I wanted them to because Mr. Much More Patient was leaving town for an extended period of time for work, and I just stopped caring. I was on mile 17 of a marathon but I had been running a sprint. And I felt defeated.

Well, now that that pity party is over, it’s time to wrap this thing up. My lack of action has actually put the project further behind, and I can’t hold the contractor accountable when it’s my fault that it’s not getting finished.

So here we are at mile 22. And I’m going to cross that finish line running if it kills me. And if you ever decide to renovate here’s my advice: pace yourself; the finish line is where it is and you’ll get there soon enough.

remodel
by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
Leave a Comment

About Erin @ The Impatient Gardener

View all posts by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener

Related Posts

  • Back in the renovation saddle again
  • The unfinisher strikes again
  • House tour: Guest bedroom and hallway
  • House tour: Master bedroom
previous post: A great looking wood floor for pennies? You bet!
next post: Bang! Kapow! It’s a punch list

Leave Your Comments Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About

The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

Here's some more about me.

CONNECT

Winner

Garden Comm award

MY FAVORITE GEAR

https://www.amazon.com/shop/impatientgardener

Instagram

A glorious sunny start to the holiday week. I am taking the weekend off from work, so the gardening I do this weekend will be just for me. I’m looking forward to a bit of time with my audiobook (currently listening to Code Name Helene and I love it) and the soil, along with family time, rhubarb pie, sailing and more.
Did you know that you can semi-control the size of ornamental grasses in containers depending on how much water 💦 you give them? AD 

Give grasses like purple fountain grass a good amount of water and they’ll just keep on growing. If you limit water, they’ll stay smaller. If you want big, flowy grasses in your containers, consider using a drip irrigation system with a @rainpointirrigation timer so you never have to think about it. Check out my stories for info on the two types of timers I use. 

📷 by me, container design by @heydensgardens
The Impatient Gardener: Your stop for late-season daffodil content that you’re probably already sick of seeing. Also known as “Wait for me!”
European ginger is one of my favorite ground covers. I just love those shiny leaves.

Follow me

SEARCH

Popular posts

  • 2 ways to plant dahlias
  • No Mow May could backfire: Here’s why
  • HOW TO DEADHEAD DAHLIAS FOR BLOOMS ALL SEASON LONG
  • Plant to know: Geranium macrorrhizum

Find us on Facebook

Archives

  • ABOUT
  • TALK TO ME
  • TERMS & DISCLAIMERS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Home

STAY UPDATED

Copyright © 2022 · Prima Donna theme by Georgia Lou Studios

Copyright 2009-2021 ©The Impatient Gardener