A House is not a Home-if there is no ceiling...correct?

This week, we squeaked by several plumbing leaks.  We thought we were going to have to change up the piping all the way out to the septic tank, however the rusting stopped at the u-joint at the end of the bathroom...but we had to chew up quite a bit of concrete and dig a bunch of dirt till we found it.  Good thing that our plumber on site is really good, so he knows how far he has to go to meet code.  

My partner began looking at the ceiling after we pulled down drywall from a bedroom wall to soundproof it with foam.  There was termite and roof damage.  He made a decision to take down the whole ceiling and see if there were any leaks or more termites.  Of course we found 2 ceiling leaks in the bedrooms.  Have you ever heard the "renovation scream?"  It is somewhere between a sci-fi scream and sob.  I am so frustrated with all these things we keep finding wrong in the 50+ ya home that was never protected from termites or taken care of.  This last week, we got the disgruntling news that we would not be able to move in until after the New Year. For me, it was more of a grieving and acceptance--get on with it- kind of a thing. But for my partner, who has a really strong sense of "home" in the house he lives in...it was pretty maddening.  I was well trained as a Peace Corps volunteer some 35+ years ago that we are only on this Earth a short while and I have always questioned whether we really do own anything anyway.  It helps me when things like this happen.  

On the plus side, our front doors went in this week, and they are awesome.  Really changes the appearance of the house.  So today,  I got out our patio furniture and cushions for friends who are going to come see our not-yet-home house.  I unburied the teak oil and oiled the wood and put the cushions together, then sat there for a while enjoying the feeling of "being on the porch."  It gives me pleasure to know that I will be doing this for the rest of my life in between all my travels. 

This week has a been a delightful one here in Tucson.  I finally found a local beer called Barrio Rojo that has a nice aftertaste.  We paired that with Angry Calamari found at local restaurant Risky Business that is  close to our house.  Interestingly, I don't know why we have not been there.  They have great salads too. We continue to find really cool places here in Tucson, but I still have a bit of the Nomad in me so we will be heading  out to Tempe, AZ for Thanksgiving with some of our kids and then off to CA to explore places unknown.