We've come a long way, baby... and I'm tired!

It is the new year and it has been a while since our last post. I am going to take the time to give all you devoted readers a quick update. We have made considerable progress since the last post. I urge you to check out the renovation photos to see what we have been up to and see an evolution of each space. We are about 90% complete with renovation work in the dining and living rooms. To name a few of our projects: We built a wall, installed a firebox and mantle, sanded, filled, stained, and poly'd the floors, had crown molding installed, painted the walls and trim, put in recessed lighting, put speakers in the wall and ceiling, built a custom media closet, not in that order.

Over our Christmas break we removed the carpet from the downstairs hallways and front steps. Megan is now a mighty staple puller as she is close to perfecting the art. I estimate there were at least 2000 staples in the hall floor and front steps. The hallways have had an initial sanding. We are getting ready to start filling the cracks and sanding the steps. We have accepted the fact that all of this work takes time... lots of time, energy and sweat, not to mention being covered with 100 year-old wood dust and blowing it out of your nose for days! My Dad has been a driving force for the last 2 weeks. He played our alarm clock almost every day by ringing the doorbell at 9 am, ready for work. I have to say I am ready for a little rest. It is time to go back to my day job!

Today we cleaned out our basement and organized things. Since the dining room is mostly complete, we have unpacked boxes and filled the cabinets with the nice dishes and such. This spurred the organization of the basement. I think I filled up the shop-vac with dirt at least 3 times! Now we can walk around down there without feeling so cramped and surrounded by dirt. Labeling all of the Rubbermaid containers will make it easier to find things.