Homeowner Heaven Part II

I cannot believe how much we got done today. Mom and Jay came down to help us paint. That was the goal: go to Lowe's, pick out a color, come home and paint the hell out of our front room, dining room and hallway. Yesterday, Chud and I moved the furniture and put painter's tape along all of the baseboards, doorways and windows, just to get ready. So when they arrived this morning, all we had to do was PAINT.

However, since we moved in, both of us have been wanting to tear up the carpet and redo the hardwood floors. This is tricky business. Best case scenario: pull up the carpet to find beautiful hardwood floors underneath that just need a good sanding and waxing. Worst case scenario: pull up the carpet to find hideous floors that would require a professional to come and redo, or that would require a professional to install new carpet.

While we were painting I tried to explain to my mother that beautiful hardwood floors were my goal, but if I had to settle for new carpet, I'd be happy to do that too, because I HATE the carpet that was already on the floor. No, we cannot afford new carpet, and our housewarming party is a few weeks away, but I would make it work. Mom and I went back and forth, back and forth, back and forth about the whole thing until finally I just shouted "Forget it!" and decided to leave the carpet where it was and deal with it later......then I spilled a gallon of paint.

I tossed Mom a rag to wipe some paint off a baseboard and by doing so, knocked over a jar of paint sitting on a piece of funrniture. It didn't just fall to the floor, either. It fell and spread paint ALL across the living room floor: one big splotch in the middle with many small streams radiating from its center. We both started screaming, Chud and Jay ran inside from the yard, and we all looked at each other as if to say, "Well, shit. Now we HAVE to tear up the carpet." Chud was chuckling inside because he wanted nothing more than to tear it up and he didn't want to say "I told you so." Mom and I went outside to clean off the paint supplies while Jay and Chud started the massive tear-up job. I couldn't bear to watch. Before I knew it, Chud came running around the corner of the house and said, "Rach, you have to come see this."

I ran inside and looked down the hallway. Don't you know, the hardwood floors were in PERFECT condition. A few staples here and there, but the holes are undetectable. It was better than "best case scenario." No sanding, no buffing, no NOTHING needed to be done. We worked for a couple of hours and got all of the carpet up, moved the furniture around to tear up the liners along the wall, pulled out all of the staples with pliers, and now we're sitting at home with beautiful hardwood floors all throughout our house. Phew!! Mom swears that God was telling me something when he made me knock over that jar of paint and I believe her. If it weren't for that, we'd still have ugly brown carpet and we'd be calling contractors for estimates on flooring in the spring. How lucky!!

So, by dinner time, we had new paint on the walls and new floors under our feet. It looks like a completely different house. I can't wait for all of you to see it!