It's pretty hard to pressure one's offspring to do something especially when said offspring is incredibly busy (like traveling and such) but I had a plan.
You see, he lives in Calgary, Alberta and we, (that would be the better half and my Mom) live in Toronto. So my plan was deviously simple actually, I told him that we were coming to celebrate his birthday January 22 next year and it would be good if the house were ready to receive us. Now the pressures on. Problem is he lives in the hottest real estate market in the country and getting certain materials is proving to be difficult. Also, this is a major renovation with an addition, new kitchen, bathrooms, wiring, plumbing etc. You get the idea. Nevertheless seeing as how it will probably be my Mom's last trip (mobility issues), and she absolutely goes ga ga over the Rocky Mountains, I know every effort will be made at the other end. On this end, Mom's exercising daily and practicing going up and down stairs in preparation for the trip. I'm pretty impressed with her actually, she's been doing it for three weeks now without me reminding her.