Things are slowly, but surely (don’t call me Shirley!) getting back to normal as we get reunited and reacquainted with our condo.

I now punch the microwave buttons correctly (the interfaces between the condo’s 1997 model and the studio’s 2007 model were distinctly different), my office is returning to normal (only a few files and books that I haven’t yet unearthed), and it’s more wonderful than ever sleeping in our own bedroom and lounging on the new sofa.

So, just for old time’s sake, here’s one final photo of the remodel. Cheers to it being over and done with!

The painter’s plastic is down; the floors are sanded and refinished; the beams in the ceiling are boxed in, drywalled, and painted; the new low-voltage lighting is in; and the walls are freshly painted.

Here’s the view from my office (still sans new desk, so still not quite technically my office) but we’re makin’ great progress.

New desk will be delivered tomorrow or Monday; new sofa on Monday or Tuesday. We are slowly but surely unpacking boxes, finding “new” treasures and glad to see old familiar items again.

And, as of Tuesday, we started sleeping and cooking here again, and it feels so good to be back.

Cheers to our wonderful contractors, MODELREMODEL (especially Rick and Ronnie) for all their hard and expert work, and putting up with us throughout these past six weeks.

With the expected finish date of our remodel just about 1 1/2 weeks out, I wanted to snap a few photos to show you how much progress has been made, but how our belongings are still in boxes and behind painter’s plastic.

Here is an actual view from my office. Note the beautiful expanse of maple floors, which have been undergoing sanding and three coats of finish over the past week or so.

And here’s’ a shot looking back towards my office and all my bookcases (behind plastic).

Here’s the kitchen. . .more plastic and an indeterminate amount of construction dust lurking everywhere. We have scheduled two deep cleanings before we move back in!

Finally, here’s a shot looking out from the “kitchen,” over the big granite counter, and towards the Four Seasons Hotel (our neighbor just across the courtyard). We will both be so very happy when the remodel is complete, the workers have moved on, and we can get back to “normal” life!

I’ve been remiss in posting photos of the remodel currently engulfing our condominium and my home office, but suffice to say, there’s been A LOT of progress in the last week or so.

Here is the actual view from the place where my computer used to sit and should (we hope) return by month’s end.

And here’s the view looking inward. Note the floor sander in the foreground, which was used to sand down our wood floors prior to refinishing them.

You may remember that the floors were severely damaged on July 4, 2007, when our elderly neighbor left the plug in his kitchen sink while doing his dishes, forgot about the water, and went to bed.

Several hours later, water had intruded into five units here in the building, with our unit one of the most severely hit.

So we are so happy to finally have the floor situation resolved.

In addition to the floors; new ceiling beams; a new, low-voltage lighting system; and overall painting, here is our new pride and joy: a floor-to-ceiling Sub-Zero wine cooler.

The remodel is supposed to end in another two weeks, god willin’ and the creeks don’t rise. Keeping fingers crossed. . .

This is no April’s Fool prank!

One nice thing about undergoing a remodel of our condo has been that it has forced me to clean out my office. Here’s the actual top of my desk, something I literally hadn’t seen totally naked in years and years.

Of course, all that stuff had to go somewhere. So here is the pile of boxes (full of files and papers) right behind my desk. Note the painter’s plastic and pogo-stick-like poles that formed the “bubble” (for lack of a better word) that has surrounded my office for the past several weeks.

And here is yours truly, a.k.a., Bubble Girl, looking a bit doubtful that this will ever be over and life will return to normal in my office and the rest of our condo.

Breaking with the tradition of my new blog category, A View From My Office, for today’s post I’m offering up A View of My Office. Note the metal bracing that will be covered with sheetrock beginning next week, god willin’ and the creeks don’t rise.

As of today, March 1, I have started a new section of my blog entitled, A View From My Office.

This is a total rip-off from my darling and brilliant Web-site designer, Christopher Prouty, principal at Studio 99 Creative. Chris, along with his wife, Amy, and their super-talented staff, produce award-winning Web sites around the globe.

Anyway, here’s a photo from my office in early-February, when things were still normal (above).

And here’s one about a week before the construction crew came in (notice there are no photos on the walls and nothing on the granite countertops!).

Here’s the condo with wooden floor and granite countertops all covered.

Sawhorses and tall ladders are our new accent pieces. LOL.

And here’s the job manager, Rick, checking his drawings one last time.

Here’s a view looking into my office (where the light is coming from) after Rick and Ronnie built a “door” and put up Zip Walls (like giant pogo sticks) with Painter’s Plastic attached to keep out the construction dust.

And from inside my office. . .just call me “Bubble Girl.”

A darling friend of mine calls these “uptown problems,” when we lucky types _itch and moan about our therapists or psychoanalysts or remodels while other less-fortunate people in the world are starving or in the Chilean earthquake.

And this is all long overdue. . .we bought our condo in 1992 and have remodeled it twice since. . . in 1992 and 1997. In this go-round we are adding ceiling beams and new lighting, wine storage, and painting the entire unit stark white.

Nonetheless, this is my rather stark reality for now. . .as a writer who craves solitude and quiet, I want to share it with all of you. . .and I totally appreciate your understanding and good, positive thoughts moving forward. And if I don’t answer your e-mails as quickly as usual, you’ll know the reason why!