Be happy anyway

Be happy anyway 25 Jul, 2026 Last year, my wife and I hired a contractor to demolish and rebuild a dilapidated house we had bought. We did the maths and took out a mortgage with a bank to cover the remaining costs. That's how the world works nowadays, I guess. Even then, we chose not to complete the full interiors because it would be beyond our budget. I'll do the work myself or with a little help here and there in the years to come. As soon as the work started, things didn't go very well with the contractor. Before signing the contract, we agreed that I wanted to be included in the decision-making process and kept informed about the schedule, etc. Nobody contacted me. I always have to be the one to call them and ask to meet, etc. Every time we have to choose colors or things like that, we are always in a hurry because they call us with very little notice. I even designed the inner walls because our architect wanted to draw them on site in one afternoon. It took me several evenings…