Floored

As a matter of compromise, we chose to have all of the carpet ripped out of the house and the hardwood floors underneath sanded and refinished, with total replacement to come sometime in the far-off future.

When we walked in today for the first time in a few days -- had to let it dry -- we gasped. It looks awesome.

After we'd gingerly walked around the whole house like kids on Christmas morning, visibly taking in breath with every room we entered, Rich looked at me and said, "Are you tearing up?"

Yeah, I was. But so was he.*

For me, it felt like the first real moment of homeownerdom: a decision made, the realization that it was ours to live in, that it was really going to be OK ... and that we'd finally put our own stamp on the place.

I can't wait to paint. After that, the house will be nearly unrecognizable.

One of our neighbors is a landscaper, and he very kindly offered to trim up the lawn after Rich's first mowing experience the other day. Our yard looks so much better, and it's really exciting. (Suddenly, it doesn't look so daunting.)

Tomorrow or Tuesday, the pool is being disassembled and taken away, so we'll have to fill the resulting hole with dirt.

Plans, they await.

*OK, OK, fine. As Rich pointed out this morning, did I really have to emasculate him on the blog? Apparently ... yeah.