The day started gloomy but by midday the sun came out, which effected a glorious transformation. Seattle was back to being bright and cheerful and not grey and dull. I walked the girls up to Phinney Ridge, bought them hot chocolate and then they told me stories as we walked home. I don’t quite remember Destroyer’s, but La Serpiente had a very long one about two houses that lived in a tent together and then had to travel across the country. I wonder if telling her ridiculous stories about pigs and men throwing gravel in canals has imbued her with some sense of the surreal.
We spoke with our contractor yesterday and our architect today, and the estimated cost to renovate the house is close to half a million dollars. I’m not sure this is something we can afford – it’s bad enough that I have a mortgage that lasts in theory until I’m 73, but adding extra debt to this situation feels like a very big commitment. But then maybe I’ll win the lottery tomorrow. If I ever bought lottery tickets.
