floors are done, finally

Three days of having workmen, speaking mostly Spanish, tromping up and down my stairs, in and out the door; dragging old flooring out and carrying new stuff in.  I never realized how much pounding there would be, mostly because they had to remove and then replace all the floor molding.  But, it's done now.  Hurray!  It looks beautiful - hurray again!  My part in all this, in addition to paying, was to pack away all the photos and little knick-knacks, and glassware from the hutch, so the guys could move the furniture.  I took down curtains and cleared out the floors of the closets as well.  And, of course, when each room was finished, I had to put everything back!  To add to the mix, I developed a nasty sore throat and drippy-nose cold the night before the 'party' started.  I spent a lot of time just sitting in a chair, sniffling and sneezing and trying to ignore all the commotion.  It was worth it, no doubt, but I'm very glad that I'll never need to do it again.

   First photo is the guest/sewing room. Second is the floor in my bedroom.  I have two area rugs, currently at the cleaners, which will go in the bedrooms near the beds.  I have discovered that the laminate floor is very COLD this time of year when one has bare feet!  My slippers live on the floor near my bed at night.  Last  photo is self-explanatory - stairs.  They are very soft and nice to walk on barefoot.  Third photo is self-explanatory - stairs.  The new carpet is very soft and feels good under bare feet.

Tom and Peggy (brother and sister-in-law) are arriving for a very brief visit tomorrow afternoon.  They will leave Monday AM to drive to Lorton, VA and board the AutoTrain to Florida.  It'll be nice to see them, albeit briefly.  However, the timing of the visit with the flooring and my cold is not exactly optimal.  Not that I could have done anything to keep from catching a cold.  And I'm glad they get to see the new floors.  (They very seldom come down to see me.  Mostly they go to our other brother's place or I go up to NY State).  Today and tomorrow I will be doing a bit more cleaning, now that the workmen are no longer tracking leaves and dust into the house.  The upstairs is clean, so it's just the living room that needs attention.

Random thoughts:  I didn't realize how dirty the sides of my stove were until it was pulled out from the cabinets.  Yeuch!  It was embarrassingly dirty.  It's clean now. I didn't realize how easy it is to remove the top part of the hutch in the dining room.  Two little screws are all that hold the top and bottom together.  Beds slide around more on smooth floors.  I did know this, but hadn't figured out what to do about it.  I guess I'll invest in some rubber thingies that go under legs.  I have them in the living room for the chairs and couch.  Just need a few more for the beds. 

There is something making a whistling noise in my house.  I think it's in the basement, but I don't know what it is.  Perhaps the smoke alarm makes a whistle when the battery is low?  It isn't beeping or chirping, which is what the ones in my last house did.  These are hard wired into the electrical system, but they also have a back-up battery.  Guess I'd better go downstairs and check on the one in the basement.  That's where the sound is the loudest.  Ah, the joys of home ownership!