You do not always get the answer you are looking for the first time you ask. Often you get told something is not likely to be able to be done - not easily or at all. Or that it will cost a lot.
That’s probably why so few of these deep retro fits get done. My husband says I am the patron saint of lost causes - the more unlikely a thing is to happen the more I try to bring it into being. To be fair, he is every bit as determined as I once he sets his mind to something. We decided to make this a net zero project and we do not intend to abandon the goal. In French there is a phrase that perfectly sums it up “contre vents et marees” . This phrase, which dates back to the first half of the 17th century, was borrowed from the vocabulary of the navy. It means that the sailors braved the natural obstacles which are the wind and the opposite tides to advance their boat when they were at sea. This expression is a metaphor which symbolizes the perseverance of a person who braves the difficulties to reach his purposes.
We expect frustrations and set backs along the way (you will hear about this) but they can be braved and if we are successful we hope we will make it easier for the next person to achieve their net zero project. No matter how well we planned - we did not count on the Corona virus. Any delay in the interest of protecting the health of the people who work on this project is worth taking.
I loved this sign the moment I spied it en route to lunch at the Legislature dining room. We will brook no opposition official or otherwise.