A big pile of bricks!

This afternoon there's a big pile of bricks in the yard, from the soon-to-be excised chimney. Yay, construction!

We're under a lot of stress to get the house livable as soon as possible. We have tenants moving in at Chateau Danneel on August 15, so we really need to be out by the first of that month so we have time to get the place ready for its new inhabitants. With work on That Old House starting so late in the summer, I'm pretty anxious about having someplace safe to move into. If it were just Mr. Nola and I, we could handle living in a construction zone, but with baby Stella at home with me during the day, living on-site isn't going to work out.

We're weighing the options, but there's a good chance I'll just take Stella and leave for a few weeks at the end of August. We could rent an apartment for a while, but would prefer to avoid the expense. I'll feel bad leaving Mr. Nola to fend for himself onsite, but on the other hand, leaving New Orleans in August is always a good idea.