Home at Last

I'm writing this post from my desk in my new home - with my new fiber optic Internet connection - surrounded by the most lovely blue green walls that only needed one coat of paint. The past week has been a total whirlwind and Jay and I are both sore and sleep deprived. We managed to get the entire lower level of the house painted, but ran out of paint before completely finishing the dining room. So the painter's tape is still on the walls, and since that room is currently full of boxes, I'm not sure when the rest of the paint will be going up and the tape coming down.

I painted for two solid days, thanks in part to the Ya-Ya who kept Lois happy over at Martha's pad. (In fact, the Ya-Ya ended up with Lois duty for 5 days. I know she loves the kid, but that's a lot to ask.) The first day I managed to get everything taped and the office painted. That evening when Jay got home from work, we labored like dogs to get a first coat on the family room/kitchen. That room seemed to expand as we worked. It was a lovely gold color I thought would work well with the dark wood wainscoting. The next morning, as I stared at the walls, all I could think of was baby poo. I hated it. But we had worked so hard to get it on the walls, I couldn't imagine what Jay would say if I called him to report a change was needed. I stewed on it all morning as I touched up the office and when I finally placed the phone call, he seemed to be expecting it. Gotta love my man. He gave me permission to paint over it and was only a tad bit put out with me. When he got home that night I had put a first coat on the living room and cut in the entire family room/kitchen. It wasn't hard to roll on the rest of the paint, and in doing so, he admitted I was right about the color change. Luckily, it took only one coat of the new color - so I told him to think of that first coat of gold as very expensive, colorful primer.

Friday's excursion to Cedar Bluff went well, but with 10 hours of travel time involved, it was after midnight when we got back to Richmond with our treasures from Cedar Bluff and the rest of our furniture and belongings from Christiansburg. Our boys A and N showed up in the nick of time to lend a hand, and Scootie earned his stripes as world's best brother in law for carrying endless heavy pieces of furniture onto the truck. He even drove home with Jay, armed with Red Bull and sunflower seeds, and helped keep him awake.

Meanwhile, back at Martha's house, Auntie Gina was holding down the fort - including caring for my butter bean and getting the cousins on to and off of the bus. Martha and the Ya-Ya arrived home around 9pm to help out, but I know it was a long day for her. She even took detailed notes as to what Lois ate and when. She also added notes as to what she had eaten which was rather amusing.

Saturday was the big move in - and Jay and Gina and I got an early start at the house peeling tape off the walls and fixing some boo-boos that resulted from my rather over zealous tape removal. Gina is a whiz with a paint brush and I defy anyone to find paint where it shouldn't be in that room. Pops, Scootie, Jay, me, Martha, and Gina got everything off the truck with little or no damage to walls, furniture, or physical being. I take that back. Jay bored a hole in the wall with the leg of our dresser - but it's easily fixed. I hope. Soon. Although Andy assessed the situation that the men had done all the work, I distinctly remember Martha carrying numerous large, bulky dresser drawers full of clothes up the stairs. And my thighs need to have a talk with Andy about this little theory of his.

Sunday we had to go to Martha's and pack up everything we had at her house which took much longer than we expected. And can I tell you what a mess we left in her basement?! I have promised her I'll be over to clean it up - and it's a promise I intend to keep. Yuck-o. By Sunday evening we were dead tired, but faced with 50 trillion boxes to unpack, we worked into the night. And only today am I starting to feel not quite as tired and sore and cranky.

The bottom line? Moving SUCKS, people. I recommend you avoid it at all costs. But if you have to do it, ask the Pops to come organize your belongings in the truck, Scootie to be your muscle, the Ya-Ya to watch your kid, Martha to provide comic relief (and carry drawers) and Gina to start unpacking and organizing your kitchen. They made a great team.

Here are a few before and after pictures of the painting we did. No furniture yet, and there is still painter's tape on the walls, but you'll get the general idea. When all the boxes are unpacked, I'll post some more photos of the finished product. Better yet, why not come see for yourselves? Our new front door is open anytime.

THE OFFICE:

Before

After

THE FAMILY ROOM

Before

After
These pictures are making it look almost pink??! Good Lord! Me paint a room pink? I think not. The paint color is called paprika. Go to your spice cabinet right now and look inside the jar of paprika - and that's what color my walls are.


THE DINING ROOM

Before

After


Did I mention I like color? I promise that if you are frightened by these pictures, the final product should set your mind at ease. As Tim Gunn would say, I'm going to "make it work."

Lois's 11 month pictures are done and ready for posting tomorrow - they just need some photoshop work. Stay tuned, friends....