Crystal Walls

The interior painters are finished. Hooray!

Goofing around with a toilet seat that needed replacing.

The bad news, however, is that this means that I now have 3 months of keeping the kids’ hands, toys, feet, musical instruments, etc. off the walls. I told them this weekend to pretend that we literally live in a glass house — that the walls and doors and trim are all glass, and the best way to keep them all safe is not to touch them at all. Elizabeth decided to one-up me: she said that glass isn’t expensive enough, so she decided that this is a Crystal Palace with crystal walls. And so all weekend I’ve been saying, “Be careful! Remember, those walls are crystal!”

We are getting closer — much closer. On the house to-do list, I can tick off more than I think we have left to do:

First floor: Library – done; Dining room – done; Living room — was done, but is now a staging/sorting area, so needs to be done yet again; powder room – done; kitchen – semi-done; entryway/front hall closet – not done.
Second floor: Master bedroom – done; my closet – not even close holy hell that’s going to suck Mike’s closet – not done; master bathroom — awaiting the carpenter to complete the shower rebuild; playroom – done; girls’ bedroom – done now let’s pray they can keep it that way for even 48 hours in a row; main bathroom – done; linen closet – not done.
Third floor: Guest room – done; 3rd floor bath – done; office – yes it’s basically done which is still mind blowing (let’s just say that my husband is a hero); attic – done.
Basement: Good grief that is going to suck — next weekend.
Outdoors: Not done — Will clean this up, cover the veggie garden with ground cloth and wood chips, and handle some of the places where I’ve been more neglectful of my perennial beds in the past year or two.

Now it’s time to engage a realtor and find some renters. Honestly? I think it’s a great deal!

There’s not much to write these days as it feels like a slog right now. I know the end is in sight, but I imagine right now is kind of like being at around mile 20 in a marathon. Just. Make. It. Stop.

Thankfully, no one felt the desire to jump out the window hole.

Soon, though, I know it will all be over — and the amazing part is that although we’ve certainly had some spats and tense exchanges here and there, we haven’t had any major explosions/arguments. It helps that everyone is starting to remember that the walls are crystal!