I took off my rings June first.

No, not my wedding ring. But the other two rings that I tend to wear constantly. One on the forefinger of my left hand, the other on the thumb of my right hand.

They aren’t costume jewelry—they’re both handmade by artists and they have some meaning to me.

I didn’t take them off because I was worried about them. I did it because it’s that time of year, when I’m starting major projects around the property and they kind of get in the way. Particularly the thumb ring when I’m doing things like hammering. Or using the impact hammer. Or—you get the picture.

Yesterday, I started the work I need to do to TH1. There are a number of things which need doing in there. For example, before I moved into TH1, I built myself a bedframe. Because it’s a tiny house, and the space is so small, I built it in place. Therefore, in order to take it out, I had to take it all apart.

This is where praise for the impact hammer comes in. I put it together using a regular drill. OMG it took forever.

Using the impact hammer? Took maybe 15 minutes to take it apart. I cannot tell you how much I love that thing.

I took apart most of the kitchen counter. Started taking apart the window frames, where the water was getting in, to see what exactly I’m dealing with. Etc.

Today, I’m a bit stiff and sore. In part, that was because I did all the work in TH1 after spending 2 hours Saturday morning doing Tai Chi in the park, and learning cane form. Which involved swinging a cane over my head for an hour.

Yeah, fun times.

I have neither the strength or the stamina I once did, say, last year at this time. I’ll regain it. I figure I’ll be a lot better by the end of the month.

There’s a lot still to do in TH1 to make it habitable again. However, there’s a chance there isn’t as much work as I’d feared, and I won’t have to tear out all the sheetrock on the first floor. I’m still taking it out in places, doing tests, seeing what it looks like underneath, if I have mold there or not. I now suspect that I have a LOT less than I thought I did, which honestly? YAY.

I will say one other thing about TH1: I made the right decision about building TH2 to be all on one floor. Those stairs were killing me yesterday. Particularly when hauling long pieces of wood down them.

Today is something of a recovery day, though I still have a lot to do today. I will need Blaze’s help for the next part of TH1 work, as I’m just not strong enough to do it myself. Maybe half an hour. Then I’ll just be working on it by myself for all of June.

SO MUCH TO DO.

But on the other hand, I’m kind of excited about doing all the things that need doing for TH1, so I can cross that off my list and move onto other summer plans.

At the end of the year, possibly October first, I’ll put my rings back on. Kind of a seasonal indicator that it’s time to head into winter, and I won’t be doing as much.

Probably.