A Barn Raising Party

Yes, yes Kitkat. I know I have a lot to write about but the summer offers so many distractions. I admit that I have been a bit of a laggard. But between Bocci and non-Bocci days, Jann Arden, trips to Buffalo, the Highland Games, blading, biking, moving, painting, the new Harry Potter book etc, there have not been any spare moments.

None-the-less, you are correct in that I do have much to blog about. The biggest reason for the delay has been the moves (plural) this summer. What with the boyfriend heading back downtown, then my move and the delay in carpet installation, I haven’t had time to set up my computer.

With the dust beginning to settle, I will now put fingers to keys as I return to a familiar theme – one of many thanks! I have joked about friends helping me move bodies and other such silliness, but this one is said with the utmost sincerity.

I am of the ilk that likes things a certain way. “Picking away at things” over a period of time is not something I am very good at. Although thanks to the help of “How to be Free” and “How to be Idle” I am slowly getting better. When it came time to move however, I found myself with two weeks between taking possession of my house and vacating the apartment. That sounded like plenty of time to paint, lay cork floors, bamboo floors, carpet and paint. Wrong!

Well wrong to a certain degree anyway. I put out the call and got help in spades. I had a team of flooring experts show up. My sister and I handled the cork floor. Translation – I snapped two pieces together, they didn’t fit just as I wanted so I was ready to quit. My calm, patient, level headed sister saw otherwise and within hours had installed a truly beautiful floor. It is now behind a velvet rope for fear that someone might scratch it.

On the bamboo side of things, I had my sister (again), my father, my Uncle Ralph and his partner Fred. My dad has an air pig, Home Depot had the nailer (but not the nails) and they all had the skill and patience to make it happen. My mother chipped in as well by showing up with a picnic lunch fit for a king that even accommodated my vegetarian-for-July diet. I now have an environmentally friendly wood floor that makes my furniture pop.

KitKat heard the cry for help when it came to stripping wall paper. I think one of the hardest things, for me anyway, about asking for help is not being there in person. As he spritzed and pulled paper, I was helping with the floor. I felt bad abandoning him alone while I was off doing something else. But not a word of complaint and he even came back to help me install my fabric wall.

Pink Girl from the dollhouse was there to help paint and let the carpet layers in. CJ helped prime and paint as did Anna Banana. My bathroom is fabulous thanks to those girls!

Then there was the move itself. Again, I had more people than I knew what to do with. Even the dollhouse girls who couldn’t be there in person went to the house and put out food for lunch to make sure we didn’t go hungry! There was a mountain of food, drinks and snacks for all. As I have an affection for solid wood furniture (including a 300 lb, 9 foot pillar) and cast iron, it was not an ‘easy’ move. I have never been practical when it comes to furniture selection. Buy now, figure out where it will go and how to ship it later.

Undaunted, Fauntleroy, KitKat (bad back and all), my sister (yet again), Mr.Chung and the dollhouse girls (for the morning) all showed up and tolerated my, ummmm, ‘particular’ instructions on how to handle each piece in order to avoid scratches, dents and the like.

And then of course, there were the ‘few little bits’ left in the apartment that I was sure would fit into one, maybe two, loads of Lucy. Wrong again. The Boyfriend, my sister (yes, AGAIN) and I spent a good couple hours riding the elevator taking odds and sods over to the new pad. The apartment was cleaner than when we had arrived and I am sure the new tenants appreciated the Boyfriend’s efforts along with those of Mr. Clean.

Not sure how to close this entry other than to say “Thank You”, “I love you” and “I owe you all BIG time.” The house-warming is coming!!!!!