Done. Done. Done. Done with the cold Rainstream and all its drama. Done with the condensation wet walls. Done with the leaky windows. Done with the rain being dripped onto my head and feet in the middle of night. Done. Done. Done.

After having come back from the Pontificator and her warm, dry house to a cold, wet Rainstream I claimed calmly over dinner one night that I was done. Done. Done. Done. Since I am not one to verbally voice my complaint, you can imagine the surprise at the dinner table. There was a moment or two or three of utter silence. No bowls being scrapped, no chewing, no swallowing. Just silence.

It is hard to image winter is still coming as we are mostly in shorts and long sleeves with plants all abloom. But it is coming. This is Texas, specifically the coastal planes, and when winter does comes, it comes in January/February. It may not last long when it comes, but it comes with a vengeance, too. Remember the Great Freeze. Well the next cold front is scheduled to come and it is supposed to be wet and cold. Been there, done that.

Nope. Nope. Nope. I am not doing it again. Not when I have a perfectly dry dwelling with a perfectly weather free bathroom. It may not have heat but it will have the same space heaters as the Rainstream and it is better insulated. To prepare for said coming cold front, the water lines under the house were spray foamed with great stuff knock off. Using this will allow any heat that seeps out of the house to keep the water lines from freezing. PEX is suppose to tolerate freezing but when the weather is cold enough, long enough the water in PEX will slush. Case in point, Great Freeze. Finally, a secondary space heater was placed in the utility room to keep the pressure water tank from freezing. That was it, prep work completed.

Let’s move. This was such a moment for me, I completed all the work by myself. Happily. First, the Asian style futon mattress was rolled up and carried over. We will be sleeping in the pantry which is WAY bigger than the space we have been sleeping. In the Rainstream we sleep in a cubby the exact measurements of the bed with the only advantages is the bed is located off the ground. Now we have room on either side so nobody has to crawl over anybody else but it is on the ground. Oh, well we ain’t that old yet. The bathroom was emptied of its miniscule amount of contents and placed on a scrap lumber drop next to the new, wider, easier to wash face counter height sink. Such luxury!

When the Catter heard about our moving he gladly donated his old leather recliner. Heck yeah, two adult sized chairs. With help, the chairs were moved in and the TV was hung in the kitchen corner as it is the only place with electrical outlets installed and space. This is still a construction zone with table saws and saw horses and a stupid dart board on the wall. Modern life essentials in place. What else do we need?

Next a “temporary” kitchen counter was built. I say temporary because there are still temporary steps in front of the both the Work Box and the Shop Box. I say temporary because there are still outlets in the Rainstream that don’t have lights or fans attached, just electrical wires hanging out the opening. It was temporary. Something that was going to be fixed later.

Whatever, this temporary counter can stay forever as it is WAY bigger than the Rainstream. Dark thirty, dinner was late, but the counter was done. After dinner the boys moved the living room/the entertainment room/the tv room into its final location. A bathroom, a bedroom, a kitchen, and tv space. What space!

Kitchen light holes were cut, vacuumed, and hung for test lighting. Hey kid, your two don’t work. When neither the Kid nor I could get the last two to work, the poor Planner had to be called in for assistance. Help, please. With some adjustments here and there, even the Planner could not get them to work.

Poor Planner. Doing overhead work is challenging for most, no denying that. Being this tall seems to be even more challenging. Just look at his poor little head all wedged into the ceiling. Lights ended up being removed for better assessment. Bad wiring connection, an easy fix.

Kitchen work station and half the living room lights installed and looking beautiful. They add such warmth to the room. Especially when the only other lights before were the harsh contractor work lights.

Guess what? Winter arrived just as predicted. Cold, wet, miserable in Rainstream. Warm, dry, comfortable inside the Dwelling. Cheers, everyone!

Back to the bathroom. Many months ago when the bathroom sink was installed the Planner sent the Doubter plans for a bathroom vanity. When the Doubter came to help complete the Kid Box, he brought with him the completed vanity made from simple southern yellow pine 2x4s. The board was cut to desired length and then sealed with an orange zest mineral oil compound. Once this is fully cured the counters will be installed.

Keeping with the movement, the last two rows of lights were installed. When the ceiling was littered with paper lights first there was too many, then there was not enough, and finally we settled on something geometric and pleasing to the eye. We should have gone with not enough and used floor lamps instead. Good grief there were a lot of lights. Don’t give up now, we are almost done.

Gosh but was the results worth the effort. Just look at them. The outside rows are adjustable and all four rows is independent of each other. The outside rows are 6″ lights with six lights per row. The inside rows are above the kitchen table are 8″ lights with three lights per row. It was once mentioned to me by the Purist Kayaker than somebody old can never have enough lights. Oh, well we ain’t that old yet but better to be prepared. Besides, playing board games and completing puzzles requires lots of lights.

While I was cleaning up from the light mess and boy howdy how messy it was, the Planner built me a surprise. A “temporary” oven stand. “No since in keeping the oven in storage”, he said upon its delivery. I could have kissed him, married him, attacked him. Since I am already married, I did promptly attack him in kisses and promptly made him desert on my new temporary kitchen counter.

Shine a little light on the subject. What a difference lighting does to a closed in environment. With the windows closed against the cold, the warm lights brighten up a room. I just see how the room will look once the walls are erected. Just barely see it and it is amazing.

Bathroom mirror installed but the counter was still drying. Guess the wet winter weather is making the drying process difficult. Metal food pantry brought in from outside, scrubbed within an inch of its life, and filled to the brim with goodies. Storage in the Work Box resulted in some rust damage to the old hospital medicine cabinet but nothing that cannot be fixed with a coat of paint. I am thinking orange. Or pink. Something with color and feelings.

Lastly, the Harvey reject refrigerator was emptied, cleaned within inches of its life, and filled to the brim with goodies. This is the first time in years that all food products are within feet of the same location. No more walking from one box to the other to make dinner. Need a midnight snack, the fully stocked kitchen is just feet away. Waffles, pancakes, french toast. The sky is the limit. What a beautiful sight. All within a month of announcing that I was done, done, done.

After a week of cleaning the Rainstream, the power was unplugged, and the porch was removed. People keep asking me if I am sad about moving out of the Rainstream. It is such a monumental moment, they say. Hell, no! Not a moment too soon since you are asking. No wait, it should have happened sooner. Be that as it may, I am done with that portion of my life. Good, bad, otherwise. Done. Done. Done.

Temporary step leading into the front door had to be modified as they were too tall to fit once screwed into the deck. It took longer to get the extension cords, the portable saw, the screw driver, and the screws than it did to cut an install the steps.

Done. Boxes in Fields has officially moved into the Dwelling. No where near completion but livable. And livable is the best thing going.