My office is done!

Last week we took a long weekend and visited our children and grandson in Iowa. Rowan continues to grow like crazy and was able to grab a toy for the first time. He and the Guitar Guy spent a lot of time enjoying each other's company (when I wasn't holding Rowan).














The day we got home, Nicole and Pat arrived to finish the office. While I still have a lot of work to do hanging art, putting glassware back and setting up office files, the big stuff is done.














You can see what a difference some paint and new furniture makes! Plus the amazingly decorative Ragdoll really adds to the room. I'm told I might get wood laminate on my floor for next year's present!

In addition to finishing the room, the dynamic duo hung a new ceiling fan in the family room, painted the kitchen ceiling, hung a new chandelier, hung track lighting in the kitchen and took all of their garbage to the landfill!

Part 2: Cleaning out the closet

None of us thought of sealing the cracks in the closet door so the office closet was covered in drywall dust. If you've ever dealt with drywall dust, you know how fine and tenacious the stuff is. It sticks to absolutely everything! All my out-of -season or out-of-size clothing was stored in that closet plus a hodgepodge of "don't know where else to stuff it".






Here is the clothing left after I threw 2 garbage bags full. I'm getting more brutal with my "thin" clothing. Even if I ever got back in to it, the styles are totally outdated.














After I pulled everything else out of the closet, this was some of the mess I had left. I finally pitched 3 paint by number horse pictures my Gramps painted in 1963. They've totally yellowed and I'll never hang them. Took pictures for posterity and in the trash can they went. (I'm currently reading a book called The Boomer Burden which is about cleaning out the mess parents leave behind. It is making me less sentimental and more ruthless with my stuff)














This is all of the glassware that has to be washed and put back in the next couple of weeks. It has taken over Guitar Guy's studio/amp workshop/library. Thankfully he's not building anything right now. Hopefully he doesn't need any of the guitars stuck back in the corner before I'm done














A parting Rowan shot while on vacation in Colorado. I love this one because you can see how long his eyelashes are. My son had beautiful eyelashes too. Why boys seem to get them is one of life's great mysteries!

Now I'm back to work on the bedroom. The painting crew arrives tomorrow - hurray!

Remodel in progress

For your viewing pleasure (and at Roxie's request) I'm documenting the remodel of the office. What a mess! My darling Nicole and her boyfriend worked long hours to get the room ready to be painted. He spent most of Tuesday sanding down the walls since we decided not to retexture. They are now wonderfully smooth.





Step 1 was to remove the wallpaper. The steamer did a great job - much better than the paste dissolving fluid I've used before.
Step 2 involved cleaning up the initial mess and preparing to put drywall mud on all of the walls.














Meriadoc had to check out the crinkling plastic while the workers were on a break.
Step 3 involved covering the walls with the mud to provide an even foundation for the paint.
Step 4 After the walls dried overnight, Pat spent many hours sanding. By the time he was done he was coated in white powder from head to toe.

I didn't get any pictures of Nicole sanding baseboards but there are more still to do! We also had multiple trips to Lowe's, Home Depot and assorted hardware stores for paint and supplies.
We stayed up way to late talking, went out to eat several times and laughed a lot. Hopefully my remodeling crew will return next Sunday to begin painting. I'm so excited!

(If my pictures jump out of alignment it isn't my doing. Blogger is being difficult again!)

Quick update

Just got back from watching two international soccer matches in Phoenix. The tickets were Guitar Guy's anniversary present since he loves soccer. Got to see our daughter, eat at Red Lobster and spend a relaxing weekend together.

My daughter-in-law posted a picture with her February Lady sweater I wanted to share with you.





She also posted a photo of my grandson Rowan wearing the socks knitted for him by no otherthan Amy Lane. They are so cute! For those on Facebook you can visit a video of Rowan smiling while wearing his new socks on my profile page. We were all touched that Amy found the time to add to Rowan's hand knit collection!

A real grown-up home office

My darling daughter Nicole has volunteered she and her boyfriend to redo my office (her former bedroom). This is what it currently looks like (note the lovely pink walls and teenage wall and ceiling decorations.
They will need to remove the 15 year old wallpaper and may have to retexture depending on the condition of the walls.

My job is to remove everything except the computer desk so they can paint. This wouldn't be quite so bad if I didn't have a 40 year collection of glassware stored here. I'm slowly moving it in to another bedroom. Of course after two years, it all needs to be washed before I put it back on the new bookcases I bought. Someday when I hit the lottery it is going to be in sealed cases!

Let's see - today is Friday and they start painting Monday - yikes! I know what I'm going to be doing tonight and tomorrow. But it will be awesome when it is done. I will try to get more pics of the process for your viewing pleasure.

On the knitting front I've finally finished the first Embossed Leaves sock in Sanguine Gryphon Bugga. While I love the yarn, for some reason this pattern went slowly for me. I started it as part of a Bugga KAL but everyone else finished long ago. And with the new Harry Potter set to open I am rushing to finish some new socks in Sunshine Yarns Gryffindor. Not sure whether I'll make it but I'll give it my best shot! Yes, I am a geek.

And now, back to moving glassware.

The Guitar Guy returns

Just arrived home with the Guitar Guy after an exciting week in Virginia. He learned a lot, loved his time there and is really glad to be home. Tonight he has to meet with his band to plan the set list for two gigs tomorrow. So much for spending time together! I'm not planning to go to either gig. Too hot and way to many people in town for the holiday.

Got to spend some time with Nicole and her friend Briana last night and today. Having just returned from India, Briana is off to Ghana in 3 weeks. She'll be spending a year working in communities there and supervising the volunteers working on projects with the citizenry. As we headed back home she was off to get innoculations for Yellow Fever, Meningitis and Rabies. That didn't sound too promising. Nicole is hoping to go visit with Briana is there. I am thinking about it but not sure I want all those shots (I'd need a bunch more). A nice cruise is probably more my speed.

Have an excellent July 4th weekend for those in the US.