It was a bit of a beast, but a couple of weeks ago all the carpet was installed! The day before the installers came, the saleswoman called me & said they would like to install the carpet in ONE day rather than two. Since we were doing all of our own furniture moving, this was going to be a crazy challenge. Where to put all that furniture? They’d offered to move two rooms for free if we’d let them do it in one day…UGH! Within a few hours, we had all but one room of furniture moved & all the rooms except the kitchen & bathrooms were empty. This was the scene by late Sunday night…the only place in the house to sit. It was weird to see the house mostly empty…I kept thinking…the next time I see it this empty, maybe we’ll be moving??? One can only hope.
The next day was super crazy…installers did not start this job until mid afternoon. At 8:30pm, Danny’s bedroom furniture was still outside in the backyard. The installers finished up around 9pm & we started the late night drudgery of moving the furniture back inside. We did the heaviest pieces & around midnight we hit the sack. Early the next morning I was up moving the rest of the furniture, unpacking boxes, putting everything back away & dusting, dusting, dusting every little nook & cranny, every framed photo, everything! Living on the concrete had layered a fine coat of white dust all over & I was determined to get the house back in order asap! It really took all that day & 1/2 of the next, but Phase 1 was done! I love the feel & look of the new carpet!
Other than ‘out with that old crappy shitty carpet & in with the new’ the most enjoyment I got out of the project was late at the end of the second day. Prior to moving all the furniture back, I had decided to re-arrange the ‘red room’ (our living room/dining room…which is painted a bright red). It’s the room I refer to as filled with “dead people’s furniture’ (my Mom’s & Grandparents) & way too much of it (I’ve unsuccessfully tried to get rid of some of it over the years, but Danny can’t part with any of this old stuff.) But once rearranged, I decided to blow up new photographs for the walls. I already had the frames, so it was a matter of choosing which photos to enlarge…which is something I LOVE doing! I take thousands of photos on my trips & a gazillion of Claire too. In my living room, I have more than 50 ‘scenic’ photos I’ve taken from all my travels. In my bedroom, I have the walls lined with 'action’ shots of the kids, Danny & me playing in the outdoors…snowboarding, soccer, hiking, water skiing, parasailing, etc. Claire now even has her very own wall of her adventures…(all before turning 2!). Danny’s bedroom has older photos, but they are all of the two of us hiking & backpacking etc. For the red room I chose more ‘artsy & quirky’ photos I’ve taken & I love how they turned out! Taking photos for me is such an enjoyable hobby. Like most everything else I do, I don’t have (& sort of shun) formal training & just learn as I go (I learn best by doing; not book-learning & it’s so very, very helpful that I’m NOT a perfectonist)….but I take so many photographs, & the subject matter is so awesome, I always have a lot that turn out great! But the wonderful & truly lovely gift I get from my photos is how I feel whenever I look at them. I remember where it was taken & have a moment of re-living that place & experience. That always makes me smile & feel so grateful for all my adventures. And adding those new photographs to the project, was the cherry on top for Phase 1! And, now on to Phase 2….
PS: In between the carpet being laid & this blog post, I made a quick trip to Florida to see Claire! It was so spectacular to see her!