The dream itself isn’t so uncommon, or so I’m told.

In my case, it involves trying to go somewhere or finish a project, as in meeting a deadline, except that interruptions and complications keep popping up.

Quite simply, like Zeno’s Paradox in philosophy, the finish line becomes more and more elusive and then impossible to cross. You can never get all the way there.

So that’s how I sometimes feel looking all that remains to be done on this old-house project, even before I confess to myself that I don’t even know about many of the other items on the list.

List? Where is it? Which one?

Having the upstairs buttoned up was our original goal.

People on the street can now see our intentions.

The roof is securely covered and we’ve gained more than 400 square feet of usable floor space. (Let’s see, with new home construction averaging $153 a square foot, according to a recent New York Times story, that would cost a bit over $40,000. Renovation, as we’re finding, can run well beyond that. I won’t say how much.)

We’re far from finished, I hate to confess. The front interior still needs to be framed, wired, and spray-foam insulated. Dry wall needs to go up and be painted, the new bathroom and laundry room plumbing fixtures installed, and something done with the flooring. We’re willing to keep the last item on the funky side as a historical touch. We’re still not sure about heating the space, either, though we’ve already found it has been comfortably warmed from downstairs, and perhaps we’ll hold off on a washer and dryer.

As for gutters? There’s more.

Downstairs, we’re looking at replacing the windows – 13 or 14, depending – and the front and back doors. Bigger is a kitchen redo, plus the tiny bathroom. And that leaves the back parlor to be tweaked into a combination dining and crafts room.

As for my remaining life’s savings? We have some difficult discussions ahead.

As all of the activity was picking up overhead, a mason our contractor had contacted earlier in the season showed up to touch up the top of our chimney and add a protective cap.

While Jason was at it, the exterior of the foundation could finally get some attention – the foundation itself was in good shape, thank you, despite the appearance from the sidewalk, but the housing inspector we had when bidding on the property suggested this as “something to do down the road.”

And it turned out, Jason the mason and his sidekick, Roger, could also relocate our new wood stove and its metal chimney to the corner of the front parlor. I was outvoted on that one (I hate taking steps backward) but will concede that the position will be safer and the flue will have a straighter shot to the sky, meaning less creosote buildup.

The chimney wound up needing a rebuild from the roofline up, but the results look great.

The foundation, meanwhile, got more than new mortar and concrete – it got a coating of Flex-Coat, too, which covered up the pink paint we had planned to replace anyway.

We had considered blue or perhaps gray as the new color, but seeing the gray in place sealed our decision. Somehow, it makes the place look more solid.

We do feel reassured seeing craftsmen who take pride in doing good work, and that includes taking extra steps on details joyfully.

Do we need say how excited we’re feeling?

Let’s look at the continuing progress from the inside.

Next steps will be the roofing, foam insulation, windows, siding, trim, and flooring.

Can this really be happening?