ILONA ANDREWS

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

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Comments

  1. I feel the pain! Bring on the Pollyanna vibes.. I’m grateful for having a house, the means to renovate etc. This too will pass…sorry, sometimes past memories are the only way to cope with immediate stress.

  2. In a few weeks we are getting a new roof. You have my sympathy because I know you sanity becomes a factor after several days of loud, unpredictable noise. Wonder if noise canceling headphones would help? I hope you’re house is beautiful when they’re done.

  6. Your expression says it all! You have my total sympathy, I hope this completely gets sorted soon!!

  8. I just want to hug you. I hope they will be done soon and they clean after themselves.

  10. OMG!! Poor you!! I could not even!! The dogs look ok. I really, really feel for you guys! Work like this is never, ever easy and always takes longer. Thinking of you!

  11. You look maxed stressed. Hugs. Find a good audiobook, grab your best pair of headphones, make yourself some tea and sit and knit for a while. Something in awesome bright colors that makes your heart smile. Breathe. It’ll be over soon.

  13. You poor dears! Between the noise (the people & the machines) and the drywall compound & the paint smells… it’s not a soothing work or home environment.
    My heart goes out to you all.

  15. Ice cream, and pour a lot of Southern Comfort on it. Alternatively, iced Peach Tea with generous Jameson’s in it. Or, both. This too will pass.

    • In a stressful situation, I’ll take both, please 🙂 I just had the frustration of my fence installers coming to put my cat fence enclosure up, only to find out, I need 2x what the order was in terms of material! So 1/2 the project done, paid the guys, they are coming back to do more work when the fencing arrives (probably sometime 28th?)Sigh. The cats are impatient to have their outdoor time restored, but I won’t do it until the fencing is solid – such that I am sure we’ve got no dangerous animals in the yard (eg coyote, other cats, turtles/tortoises .. ahem, black snakes..) or at any rate animals approaches to the house are limited to mine only..Also the plumber, the countertop guy, and the local ‘smart home’ installers all came by today too. Soo many many things needing updates and fixing –

    • I’d settle for the Jameson’s over Bear Creek Caramel ice cream…instant Bailey’s.

  17. Awwh!! So sorry it’s not finished, yet, but it’s getting better, correct?Love ya all!

  18. So the first time you came home to crap. You cleaned everything up and still have fog. Now you are going through hell with the noise and mess. Who is going to have to clean this new mess. I hope they have a professional cleaning crew on hand to clean up this new mess. The noise is unbearable to hear. Blessings to you all and OMG.

  19. I’ve done work for a contractor: hanging plastic sheets, laying drop sheets, and taping siding. that video really brought back some (better forgotten) memories! Just know that the taped paper and plastic isn’t meant to trap you, it’s meant to keep your office space free from drifting particulates in the air when they spray paint or blow ceiling texture. Since they didn’t lay drop sheet there, they don’t want scattered specks of paint getting blown in. We’d usually ask (when doing a job that covered multiple rooms) that they turn off the AC while we painted or blew texture. If just one room, we’d butcher paper the vents so it wouldn’t cause so much particle drift.
    It’s also not the best thing to be breathing, though a bit won’t hurt anymore than breathing smoke from a fire. The guys I worked with were in their 50s and had that “if I don’t have cancer from breathing it yet, I’m not going to wear protective gear now” attitude (and expected a 20 something woman to happily work without protection too! NOPE!).
    Feel free to break out of there anytime; the tape is sticky enough to seal again many times to allow for bathroom or drink breaks. They will not mind and it will not mess anything up.
    But, yeah, the noise of a commercial capacity compressor is deafening, agreed. I always shoved ear plugs in to dull it to a hum. It’s the sort of job that will really damage your hearing, vision, and lungs if you’re not taking care to protect them.

  22. Sorry curiosity has struck!

    You have beautiful high ceilings (although I’m guessing you’re disliking them right now, more wall to paint) – do they help with the heat in Texas? As in are they more than just decorative? I’m always struck when watching US TV programmes that the architecture of homes is so very different in the North compared to the South and both compared to the UK – does the temperature/climate affect the physical structure of your homes in general in ways that are positive? I mean I know the high ceilings in our 10th Century church make it beautifully cool, but that’s a big space to seat 200-odd; does the same principal really work in a home?

    Lots of questions – must be in a curiosity killed the cat mood today!

  23. I think you have the big, bad boss thing down. Judging by the posture of the workers in this video. They are afraid and intimidated, properly cowed.

    • They are not cowed, Gretchen. We appreciate people who work on our home. They are skilled craftsmen, and we do not stand over them. The worker on top of the scaffolding is crouching because he is spraying texture. The gentleman on the left is Estian, who is in charge and who has single handedly repaired our walls.

  25. Well,
    Just keep telling yourself..
    they’re fixing it
    they’re fixing it
    they’re fixing it

    And you’re there to keep an eye on them to make sure they do fix it right this time!

  26. This has to be an additional circle of hell, from Dante’s Inferno. Wow, wow wow! If you used it in a story line readers could not fathom the craziness ????

    • Yes, Ilona said higher up in the comments that it is at no additional cost 🙂

  28. YOU
    ARE
    WRONG ! ! ! . . . Just wrong, as in

    Not, no. Make that NOT right …
    ok, alright O K the house is … I’m
    gonna leave this alone, Cause there is nothing to be said that … ok

    You’re Right, Oy works

  29. I audibly gasped when I saw the video! I can’t imagine how stressful/rage-y and over it you probably are. But I do love your high ceiling and the study off the (bedroom?). The floors and wood and fireplace are dreamy. Hope everything ends well, quickly, and as cheaply as possible.

  37. After seeing the chaos I am impressed by your professionalism in sending out such a solid Innkeeper excerpt yesterday. I hope the workmen leave soon and your house is where you want it to be.

  39. Egads. Do you have noise-cancelling headphones (and if so, do they help at all)? It’s still Amazon Prime day, you could order some…
    There’s also Loop earplugs that work pretty well.
    Man I hope this is over for you soon. I can tell you’re hovering on that “homicidal state” line.
    {{{{HUGS}}}}

  41. This too will pass. Soon you will have peace and tranquility and the heat wave will end and things will be quiet and cool. Try to find calming videos on line that can be viewed with comfy headphones. ASMR videos are prolific and you may find one you like. If one is too stressed though sometimes nothing works. That’s when I pull out a UFO I don’t really like and work on it. Though nothing will make me pull out the full size table cloth from 50 years ago that is stamped with a blue willow embroidery pattern and has about 6 inches finished so far. I had done several card table size stamped ones but this particular project, no. While cleaning I still run across it periodically. I really should donate it.

  42. I love your fireplace room with the panelling and wood floors ????

    Hope that it is all done soon and to your satisfaction.

  43. O my – it feels like a scene out of criminal minds. At least the pets are serene…so sorry! It will be great when it’s done this time…

  44. I am so, so sorry. I have no idea how you continue to write amazing things while in that noisy environment. I’m just super grateful that you do.

  46. Nothing like living in a construction zone. Hopefully, the work will be completed to your satisfaction soon.

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