renovation planning

I spent four and a half hours with the designer and two contractors at the house we will be renovating. The good news is that having the designer supervise the whole process seems to make sense to everyone (and his charge for that service is extremely reasonable). It was a productive meeting--everyone listened to everyone and they came up with some new ideas, particularly for how to improve a problematic stairway. But I'm tired; it is hard to deal with on top of my job and worrying about getting our current house ready to show. And it is going to cost more than I had hoped.

I'm going out of town tomorrow for three days. The person who is helping John declutter and organize his stuff will come twice while I am away. I hope it goes well and they get far.