Today it is quiet (relatively) at Julia’s house. For the last two days we have heard pounding and sawing noises in the basement. Often I would feel the floor vibrating under my feet. Gradually the large open basement has become filled with stud walls, and duct work ceilings in preparation for the new office/bedroom suite/gym/storage basement of the future.

I say “large, open” in the description only to indicate that there were no walls previously. However, the basement was, in fact, full. For several years it held things from my Florida house that were still dear to me. It held a great deal of Julia’s pre-marriage household, and her husband’s pre-marriage household. It held two refrigerators, and a large freezer, mattresses, furniture, tools and workshop, several exercise machines and weight sets.

I won’t say that Julia considers herself a “prepper” but she does shop sales for things she uses and the basement was where much of it got stored. There were two large shelf units full of canned goods, bottled drinks, boxes of snacks, cereals, and pastas. Two more shelf units held kitchen appliances that didn’t fit in the kitchen. Paper goods, veterinary equipment, clothing, blankets, holiday decorations and costumes, pictures and frames from the past, and more. To be honest, we all have had places like Julia’s basement where we store (or have stored in the past) these kinds of things. These are places things go to be forgotten.

Forgotten, until we have to find another place to put them. This coming week the drywall crew is coming to work in the basement and the dust from years of storage will be joined by drywall dust a’plenty. Julia’s plan for today was to get as much out of the basement as possible, to make it easier for the men to work and to protect stuff from the dust. Box after box went up the stairs to be deposited in the upstairs living spaces. Chaos and clutter.

The food has now been dusted off and shelved in the kitchen, and that is a good thing. There are some scary expiration dates on a few things and having it all in plain sight is a good reminder that it was bought to be eaten while it was still edible.

There are boxes stacked by the front door to be given to Goodwill. Many things will just rest where they are until it is safe to go back into the basement.

There is an air about this beginning of the new year. Things are happening. It might look messy and discouraging at times. As I sit here writing, there is quiet talk going on in the kitchen as Julia and Kevin discuss. For sure, there is a lot to talk about here at Riverbend Farm – the basement remodel is only one of many projects under way.

But experience tells me that the outcome will be good. Patience. Discipline. Throw in some fun. Oh, and a baby, four kids, eight sheep, six horses, two ponies, two donkeys, three goats, three cats, three dogs… and me, writing about it all, when there is time (just sayin’).