Letting Go...of Perfection

This house has changed us - mentally and physically.  In the cerebral realm, for the good, I think.  We've slowly but surely come to the realization that, when it comes to renovating charming old homes, perfection is an unattainable goal.  Just this weekend, Rob, Mr. Perfectionist himself, admitted OUT LOUD that he's had to let go of that standard.  And, that's okay.  Because otherwise, we'd never be done...never, ever.   Letting go of perfection feels good, freeing, and allows us to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Although Glenlochan will probably never be "done", we will have our COV (Certificate of Occupancy) sometime this fall.  It will happen.

In the physical realm, changes indeed, but definitely not as positive.  I have now joined Rob on the injured list.  Yup, he's been working through a partially torn rotator cuff and a bone spur for a few months now (both made somewhat manageable for a short while with cortisone) and I now have a blown out (up?) knee.  I'm currently elevated, iced, and braced,(the swelling is coming down and I can now bend it slightly!) but will be doing follow-up with the orthopedic to determine long term fixes.  In the short term, like Rob, I'll have to get back to work after I baby it through this episode. 

So, letting go of perfection was timely and, coincidentally, came just before this injury that will cost me valuable work time.  Despite the fact that I got precious little accomplished this weekend due to the injury, Rob's been an utter, non-perfect machine.  Here's a few photos of recent progress:

You may remember where we left off at the game room fireplace:

 This project is now done - here's the sequence:

 Wow - one can actually smile when perfection is out the window...

Like a giant jigsaw puzzle - the key is not to over think which stone goes where....!

The mantel still needs to be added - we are repurposing an old beam from the house as the mantel, but this is otherwise done.  The pictures don't really capture the dramatic effect of the stone against the wall.

And, in other news, the main upstairs bathroom tub and floor is now tiled and just awaiting grout and the addition of the beautiful tile baseboards - here's a few shots of the tub progress:

 I'm loving the vintage black and white look.  Here's the floor (I don't know how Rob laid this without going cross-eyed!). First tile going in:

Looking good:

Check out the black marble transition strip...

Pretty darn good - one might say, almost perfect, but, since we've let go of that standard, I'm loving it, imperfections and all.