Demolition update . . .

The Humpty Dumpty rhyme keeps running through my head . . .

Will we be able to put Humpty together again?

Here's the china cabinet in two pieces, resting in front of the fireplace . . .

Coat closet door has been removed . . . we should've moved the coats first . . . oh, well . . .

And when we removed some of the molding in the kitchen, we found a hole . . . Now how on earth does that happen . . . ?  What, did they run out of dry wall . . . ? Was that a mouse's attempt to get inside . . . ?  Argh!  Add this to the repair list . . .

My husband pulled the cabinet off the wall so the contractor can add wood flooring underneath the cabinet instead of butting up the new floor against the old cabinet.  We won't need any quarter round trim at the bottom, but now we have to repair the wall . . . And did I mention that we are also getting a new stove?



The "may-as-well" syndrome is alive and well at our house.  Our existing stove came with the house and we would have been replacing it within a year or two anyway.  We just moved up the timeline a little.  I'm very excited to start shopping for a new stove!  Every stove I've ever owned has come with the house!  This is going to be fun!

I'm trying to stay positive in the midst of this chaos.  I keep reminding myself of the six months that it took to remodel the 2nd floor bathroom.  A month-and-a-half for beautiful new floors and a new stove . . . ?  Piece of cake!

“Honey, where are your car keys?”

"On the coat rack, where I usually hang them,” I said talking into the intercom.

“They are not there,” says my husband.

“Are they on the kitchen table?,” I asked.

“Nope.”

“I don't know where they are, Leo.  I thought I put them on the little hook on the coat rack.”

“Well, they are not there!”

“Check, my purse.  Maybe I put them in there.”

“I already did.  They are not there either.”

“Why do you need my keys, anyway?”

“I need to switch cars because I leave earlier than you tomorrow morning.”

“Ah, geez!  Are you sure you can't find them?”

“I'm positive!”

“Really, Leo, if I have to come down to look for my keys and find them right away I'm going to be ticked!” 

You see, once I'm upstairs, I've crossed the Rubicon.  It's not just that I'm in a different floor of the house.  It's that I'm on a different mental plane.  I'd already checked off many tasks that form part of the nightly ritual: 

• Water with ice on the nightstand . . .
• Changed into nightgown . . .
• Clothes hung up in the closet . . .
• Makeup removed, and much of the night's toilette already performed . . .
• Bed reading material selected . . .
• Mind quieting down for prayer/meditation . . .

If I go downstairs, it'll take me a while to settle my thoughts again.  On the other hand, searching for keys in the morning is the last thing I want to do, not to mention that I'd probably lose sleep worrying about it all night.  It couldn't be helped.  I had to come down. 

In the kitchen, my husband is very irritated, and a little worried that I'll come down and find the keys right away.  But it didn't happen!  I, Maria, finder of all lost things, couldn't find them!  Now I'm worried and second guessing every move I made that night!  I usually hang my keys right away, but I do remember being distracted when I came in by a couple of UPS boxes that were waiting for me on the kitchen table . . . Did I start opening boxes before I hung the keys?  Maybe I thought I hung them, but they fell into a fold in one of the coats on the coat rack . . .

My husband is feeling superior, and in a sing-song voice says:  “I always hang up my keys.”  “I never lose my keys.”  Wait, is that supposed to be me???  We'll deal with the smug attitude later, mister, after I find my keys . . .

“Never mind,” says Lee, “I'll go get my keys upstairs.”  And, testily, I think:  “Well, why didn't you do that to begin with?”  But I don't say anything because now I'm totally freaked out that I cannot find my keys anywhere!

While my husband goes outside to move the cars, I tear the kitchen apart looking for the keys - a real challenge since we are in the middle of floor remodeling.  I did take a minute to say the St. Anthony prayer:

“Tony, Tony, look around,

Something's lost and must be found.”

(I've heard nicer prayers to St. Anthony, but in the heat of the moment, I could only remember this one which a co-worker taught me - and it's now stuck in my head.)

Since I can't find the keys, I start thinking about how I'm going to manage the next day:  I can borrow Lee's set of car keys to get to work, but what am I going to do about the key to my desk?  I won't be able to open any drawers . . .  I guess I'll have to figure out something once I get there . . .

Lee comes back in and asks me:  “Did you find them?”  “No.  I'll just borrow your keys to get to work tomorrow.”  As frustrated as I feel, I'm ready to forgive him.  I mean, it's NOT his fault that I misplaced my keys.  I pat his pocket, and smiling, I ask:  “Are you sure they are not in your pocket?”

Shaking his head, he reached into his pocket, and guess what he pulled out?  My keys!  The look on his face was priceless!  He was completely flabbergasted . . .  Oh, that look! I wish I could have captured it on camera! If there is a facial dictionary out there, his expression would have purely defined “bewilderment.”  I could almost imagine a bubble forming on top of his head capturing his thoughts: “How did these get in here?”  I just burst into laughter!   What a relief! 

I suppose I could have taken the high road and let the matter drop . . . Nah . . . this calls for some retribution . . . This story is about to become material for the blog.

Well, it did take me a while to settle down for the night . . . but I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

Here we go again . . .

It wouldn't be our normal, unless there was a major remodeling project going on at our house at the beginning of Spring . . .

The time has finally come to take out the old flooring - several kinds of flooring, in fact . . .

First, we have the creaky, imitation hardwood in the Living Room and Dining area, above showing a partially exposed sub-flooring and a still-to-be-removed floor in the Dining Room . . .

Here's a shot of the Living Room.  Five bookcases down and two to go.  We've been packing books for weeks.  The boxes are now stacked in the basement.  Oh, well, I guess I still have my Kindle . . .

Another shot of the debris waiting to be taken out to the curb on Garbage Day.  We found out we could save $1,000 by removing the flooring ourselves -  a no brainer for my husband, who's not used to letting anybody else work on our house.  Oh, and look!  my crocheting project is on the chair!  Another thing to be packed away until the floor is finished. 

Close-up of the linoleum in the Breakfast Nook.  We seem to lose a bit more flooring every time we move those chairs . . .

The floor in the Kitchen is going, too . . .  Too dark, don't you think?

Out with the carpeting!  I CANNOT KEEP THIS CARPET CLEAN!  Notice that the builder carpeted even the sides of the stairs.  Isn't that the silliest thing ever?  A center runner to dampen the noise and avoid slippage makes sense to me, but I'd never have covered the whole thing, especially with light -colored carpeting in such a high traffic area!

More linoleum in the hallway.  Every single one of these floors was sloppily installed, and ugly to boot.  We are ripping it all out and replacing it with warm, beautiful hardwood floors that will unify the entire space! 

So, we've been busy selecting the right contractor and finding the best price, not to mention scrounging around for boxes, packing books and the contents of the china cabinet, and removing old flooring . . . Everything is out of place . . .  I am very tired lately . . .

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

A perfect day begins with a bowl of Super Oatmeal, click here for the recipe, freshly squeezed orange juice and a cup of decaf with cream.

It's remarkable that generation after generation orchestra musicians dress so much alike.  Here I am in high school getting ready for a concert.

This was taken in the hotel room of my perfectly sweet, but technology-mad in-laws.  Mary Ann and Bill, and their two kids love their gadgets, and they travel with a lot of them!  The power strip has outlets in every direction, to maximize the number of adapters that can be plugged in at one time.

It would have been too easy to show socks in the "Mismatch" category.  I mean, who doesn't have a stash of orphan socks?  I love socks!  I wear them practically every day to work!  Thank heaven the days of mandatory panty hose are long gone!!!

Boy, this was a tough one for me because I'm very much a matchy-matchy sort of person.  But the organization gods were with me (or actually, NOT with me), and somehow my Birkenstock clogs got mixed up!  And now, if you'll excuse me a minute, I'll go fix them . . .

Stop over at Ashley Sisk's for her delightful Scavenger Hunt Sunday blog party.  Have a great week!