Living-Deliberately.com

I’m behind on posting updates only because we’ve been pumping all we have into this project + the curve balls. I underestimated this on every single level and that thought stuns me anew regularly. It has taken more money, more time, more effort, more mess, more everything than I could have imagined. What’s inane about that is that I am the daughter of a builder; no home we’ve ever lived in has ever been “finished”, and EVERY project comes with hidden surprises. But really…who would have thought we’d get a family stomach virus on top of this?! Yes, we all stand there with our paint brushes, with audibly gurgling intestines, not complaining as much as we can, while we get the next coat on, build the boxes, lift the items upstairs, make meals, referree arguing children… it makes for an interesting pace. I’d started the week intending to maintain my work week in the twilight hours; the virus did that in. We need our hours of sleep and while others take vacations, I’m taking time off to work my tail off with my parents and to concentrate on not concentrating on what it feels like to be nauseated 24/7. And yet I feel guilty about this…. someone tell me why?

So, to catch those following this saga up, I’ll back up to Wednesday. Mom and I had to shop for 3 mattresses and 1 bed set, which was fascinating because I do not understand HOW one mile of commercial district space can support 5 or more different mattress stores. They seem to be everywhere and all have cars in the parking lot…..someone tell me why?

We did find a great deal at Beds For Less; good mattresses with mismatched fabric (like I care?) right at our budget.

After mattresses we had to find Celia a headboard/footboard, which we did, for a beatuful $25 at the Habitat for Humanity Store. The finials are solid brass and it’s old, which I love. We are painting it black to match the fabric we got for her quilt. Speaking of her quilt, and the boys’, we got most of the fabric from the mecca of quilt stores: Mammaw’s Thimble. This place was decadently organized by color; Mom isn’t going to have time to make the quilts until she gets home but we had a lot of fun getting the stuff. Well, I say, “we”, but maybe not so much the youngest among us!

Wednesday also brought the start of box construction for the boys’ berths! Into Thursday we got pink paint on Celia’s walls, “Glowing Ember” on the stairwell, brown on the hall and closet floors…I forget what else.

Today, Friday, everything that needed it still got primed. The painting has spread into the living room, as “Glowing Ember” looks atrocious next to the olive in there, and they touch. Unfortunately, the color I had mixed looks more like calamine lotion, so tomorrow it’s back for another shot. Dad got the berths fully constructed, save for the drawers, which will get done tomorrow. David heads back to the city to pick up the mattresses and Celia will likely move into her very pink room! The list of details is piling up; the fun outings we had planned along the way are getting cut in order to

finish closer on time (they may have to stay an extra day as it is).

I may not post it until this is all done but several times I’ve been reminded of how GREAT a crock pot can be when cooking for a crowd with little time to actually cook! I started this week with a written meal plan and it was one of the smartest things I did. I also am compiling a mental note of what I didn’t do, that I’ve learned the hard way from, that will likely become a separate post, such is the length of the list!

With no TV and the living room Full.Of.Stuff, this is where we have “break time”. We also sit chatting after dark out here.

The weather finally checked the calendar and it’s chilly! We even had to start the wood stove to not affect dry-time.

The evidence is everywhere:

Sewing the new futon cover:

First time with a roller:

When I was loading the images, I saw that Andrew had taken my camera and gotten a shot of his dog. Good job!

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