*Lyrics from Phantogram’s You Are The Ocean off their album Eyelid Movies. I considered using the lyric “This song is about you, ’cause I can’t live without you” regarding Brad, since his work was so essential, but thought that the above sentiment was more accurate now. Not that I don’t think that I can live without Brad. I’m sure I can’t.

I can barely remember where I last left you. I mean, I think it was somewhere around painting the walls and floor delivery. Or something. Honestly, I had to look it up. Since then, so much has been done. Let’s see: the walls were patched and painted (last coats, minus touch ups if needed); the baseboards were completed (painted, patched, sanded, etc.); the dishwasher was installed; the sink faucet was swapped out; the (cheap-O, IKEA, it’ll do until we can really afford to tackle the kitchen) undercabinet lighting was installed; we installed the underlayment to prep for the flooring; and, some lights were swapped out (from 150watt flood lights to LED replacement kits). Also, Brad and Eric of Osgood Electric came by to add some closet lights, wire and install a fan/light in the bathroom, swap out some switches here and there, add some boxes for lighting in the stairway and the laundry area, and installed recessed lighting in the living room. Phew, again.

Seriously, between all the hours of driving, painting, cleaning, organizing, coordinating, and hauling, it’s all I can do to take my contact lenses out at the end of the day. Professionals in this business work so hard, and so relentlessly to get our homes looking and functioning beautifully… I honestly don’t know how they do it. My hat is off to you. You know who you are. But, it’s been a labor of love, and I’ve learned so much by doing so much of it (sometimes wrong). Between the odd days of help from friends and family, and the sheer volume of things we tried to accomplish on our own, I’m impressed that we’ve managed to get so far so fast.

We also had the floors installed, but I don’t have pictures of that for you today. Patience, dear ones. Patience. I need my mother to see them first, so she doesn’t have a heart attack at home alone from witnessing their beauty via the interwebs. But, once we get her over there I’ll share more pictures of even more progress. It’s amazing what a few days and a few skilled craftspeople can do with a heap of wood.

In this case, words can only tell part of the story. Pictures – now there’s where the real story is. Enjoy! xoxo