Gettin' Spiffy

None of the following happened because of the impending wedding. It just seems that way. But right now—my house is looking pret-ty goood!

It began with replacing the toilet in our powder room and then escalated from there. I’ve learned that the four most dangerous words in home improvement are “While we’re at it…”

My house is almost twenty years old and it shows. Most of it needs to be refinished, refurbished or replaced. So once we decided to replace the toilet, we determined we should replace the floor, which encompasses the bathroom, laundry room, kitchen and breakfast room.

While we were at it, we took down an oak railing that separated our breakfast room from our family room. Removing it left a narrow gap of family room flooring uncarpeted. Our floor people (who replaced our family room carpet a few years ago) said they could stretch it to meet the new kitchen floor. Of course, to stretch the carpet and install the new flooring, all the furniture and appliances had to be removed. While we were moving our old beast of a TV, we decided to move it right out the front door to benefit the Vietnam Veteran’s Association. A new television is now on the list, but not a priority (at least not till football season). So with an empty kitchen, breakfast room and family room, we decided to paint—all that trim and woodwork was probably the worst part of the entire job!

Since we were updating the flooring, we decided that while we were at it, we would replace the refrigerator and stove and install a microwave over the stove, all to match our relatively new dishwasher. Fortunately, our cabinets are in good shape but new counter tops are slated for another day! Then there are the little things: a new laundry room door, new fixtures in the bathroom, new cabinet hardware and new curtains.

It’s all slowly coming together, but what a job! We have to find that magic stopping point before the wedding so the house isn’t in an uproar. I’ve worked harder over the past month than I have in years, but without Henry’s help, the job would have been impossible. Although, working together on home improvements as a couple opened up a side of our personalities that we don’t often see. Enough said.

This Thursday, I’m off to Seattle to spend a long weekend with Calvin and Vicki—our chance to visit, relax and have fun before the wedding. Calvin has planned a whole itinerary of things to do. I’m fine with anything as long as it doesn’t involve spackle and a paintbrush!