I’m Back!!!!! Motel Work and Kitchen Transformations

I’m back!!!!! I had hoped to do a final blog post before surgery, but I completely ran out of time. Surgery was a lot more invasive than my previous surgeries, but I’ve honestly been in less pain than previous surgeries. Woohoo!!! My endometriosis had spread to my appendix, ovary, and bowel again which caused my surgeon to remove my appendix. I also had a lot of adhesions along my bowel and scar tissue around some of my organs. Yuck! It has been a big relief to know that the surgery wasn’t a waste of money. I tell you these things so that you can understand some of the difficulties of endometriosis. My goal is not to get sympathy, but to help people understand what a nasty disease this is.

Matt and I had to go to NYC for the surgery so we were there for two nights. We stayed in a beautiful one bedroom brownstone apartment a few blocks from the hospital. It definitely gave me some time to catch up on my reality television and get some decorating ideas from real estate shows:) My shows are finally going to be part of my workload!!! Yesssssss!!!!

I’m working partial days until I get the all clear from my doctor. I still have a couple of weeks as of right now. It feels so good to be able to get back to work. I used to love to sit and watch TV or read for days. Now, it starts to drive me nuts after day two. My biggest issue has just been feeling really tired while my body heals. Since I don’t have as much pain to hold me back, it’s been tough to remember to stick to partial days. I have to say that is a nice problem to have;) My sweet Aunt took care of me for the first week, but without her keeping an eye on me, it’s been tough reigning myself in.

I’ve been trying to focus on some easier projects for the time being. Our stairway in our house and the entryway were both painted dark brown like the original kitchen. They have been driving me crazy for the last ten months or so. I decided to paint them trim white so that they didn’t feel so small and claustrophobic. They are a work in progress, but already looking so much better!

Entryway partially painted

Stairway being painted in our house.

I never thought this day would come, but we started work on the motel!!! The week before my surgery, I needed an escape. I had to take my frustration out on something, and the motel room was it! It’s just the trim and fixtures in the two rooms plus bathrooms. It felt so good though. I had a really frustrating day and decided that I needed to do something productive. I turned up my filthy female rap music and started tearing it up. My muscles were so tired, but it felt amazing. I've been waiting so long to finally make some progress on the motel and it finally happened.

Motel room at the beginning of demolition.

We had a set back in the apartment when some of the heavy snow leaked through an area around a vent and damaged the ceiling in the bathroom. Of course this happened right after I did my last coat of paint on the ceiling.... Thankfully, we were able to find the problem area around the vent and fix it, but it was super frustrating and time consuming. At this point we have to hang new interior doors, replace the light above the kitchen sink, order a new appliance, replace the kitchen sink, and a few exterior things once the weather allows it. We are so close!

Old fan being dismantled

Water damage from leaky vent in apartment bathroom and new fan being installed.

I made the decision to paint the kitchen tiles black In the apartment. Normally, I wouldn't use such a dark color in a small space, but it was a color that matched the cabinets and wasn't orange. There was just way too many colors in that kitchen. I'm hoping that it looks a little sleeker and more professional. I really wanted to completely redo the kitchen, but time/money were not on our side. So I cleaned, scrapped paint off, replaced handles and hinges, and tried to give new life to the little kitchen. A lot of what you can't see is the paint smeared all over the cabinets, chipped grout, broken wall plates, dried food in the cabinets, etc. Again, I'm not saying this to complain just to give a little context.

Kitchen before we started work

New black paint, cabinet hinges, and handles.

Tile being painted in the apartment kitchen

We are hoping to have the big cottage and apartment on the market by the end of May or early June. A lot of that depends on some things that need to be done externally. One of the big external things is getting our driveway and parking area freshly tamped and graveled. Our contractor should be starting on that next week. Once this is done, we are hoping to asphalt next summer. Stay tuned!

So much gravel!

The weather has started to warm up and the grass is turning green again! Matt’s going to start transitioning more to outside jobs and transforming our sign space/green spaces. We will be putting our sign up before long:) I’m trying to hold off putting up the sign until we start getting our rooms closer to being finished.

I’ve started reaching out to some local businesses and individuals in the community to discuss our opening this fall. I’m hoping to reach out to one to two groups each week and start introducing our beautiful business. I had my first meeting yesterday with the owner of a local scone bakery, Moon Scones, and it was amazing. Moon Scones is easily one of my favorite bakeries. It’s a woman-owned business that is located in Shirley Jackson’s home. For those of you that don’t know, Shirley Jackson is my favorite author since high school. So to eat delicious scones, have a brilliant conversation with the owner, AND go to Shirley Jackson’s house is fantastic beyond words. If you get a chance, you have to go!

At our lunch, the owner was so encouraging and confirmed so many things I had been thinking. She governs her business with kindness and acceptance which are two of driving forces for Woodford Rest. It really gave me the confidence boost that I needed. This would be a task that old Elizabeth would have worried and fretted about for days. Thankfully, Vermont Elizabeth is excited and enjoying the idea of sharing her new business and killing people with her kindness and friendliness:) Fingers crossed that it pays off!

We’ll, that’s all for now. I’m hoping to get back to my usual timeframe of every two weeks or so posting a new blog post. This summer is going to be exciting with all of the motel things coming to fruition. Take care of yourselves, and don’t forget to rest:)

Out enjoying some of the first greenery of Spring last week.