Remodel Day 3: The Jubjub Interlude

There is a term the remodeling company uses for the stage homeowners arrive at during the remodeling process when it all comes down to "I want you people out of my house NOW." They call it remodeling fever. It occurs when you're just sick and tired of the workers, of the mess, of the drop cloths and thick plastic curtains, of being displaced from your normal routine, of breakfast being interrupted every morning at 7:30, pretty much done with the whole of it. During our previous remodel, my breaking point came over our garden hose. It was about a month into the process, which thankfully lasted only about 7 weeks. The roofers used our hose and it ended up with tar all over it. I couldn't get the spray nozzle off which was fine because they had broken the spray nozzle in the process of using it. I remember the builder VERY CALMLY speaking to the crazy woman in front of him who was carrying on and on and on about a spray nozzle that cost under $5 at Target. It was a fine example of remodeling fever and one that I'm trying not to recreate in this two-week, I brought it on myself, project.

Jub, however. I think he's at his breaking point. Two days of banishment and confinement to our bedroom (even though he normally spends most days in here) has been quite enough, thank you very much. The plastic, the drop clothes, the everything--he's D-O-N-E with it all. He's been doing the hairball-warning meow all morning so I've been following him to catch said hairball (even though there is plastic every where downstairs that isn't tile--force of habit I suppose). He spent much of the last hour and a half squawking at me, even though no one has yet to show up this morning. Now, he is hanging out by his BFF, the humidifier in our bedroom, still voicing his displeasure but taking solace in the one thing he loves unconditionally.

We have yet to determine why Jub has a crush on the humidifier. From the time we get it out in the fall until we put it away in the spring, he is right there beside it, a sentry standing guard over Holmes Model HM2408-UC. He knows the nightly refill routine and waits for Paul to take the tank to be refilled, loping beside him as Paul walks the bathroom then running back to get a little water from the reservoir before Paul comes back. We don't try to explain, we simply accept.
We call this "The Sniff" because Jub is, well, sniffing. We don't know if he likes to feel the breeze through his whiskers, if he's loving the extra moisture, or what it is but Jub is often found doing "The Sniff."
I think the carpet is permanently flattened in this spot. We've debated if it's the vibrations on the ground, the steady hum of the fan, or what it could be but even if the humidifier isn't running, Jub is still beside it. He isn't quite as interested in the larger humidifier we have downstairs although we have found him sitting on it doing The Sniff. Basically, this just confirms what we already knew--our cat is a simpleton.

Day Three update: Shortly after I was initially posted this, the contractor called. No countertops until Friday which is rotten because I won't be home until Sunday. This leaves Paul in charge of all decisions which means I'll probably get lots of phone calls and text messages. Thank goodness for picture messages. No word on the stucco guys, yet. I think I'll join Jub by the humidifier.