I believe this is IT!

 The penultimate act in decorating the living room was to hang the artwork. The very last thing to add  are the new sheers I got yesterday at our speed-shop trip to IKEA. I had a list and since it is almost a two hour drive, we left at 8, right after walking and feeding the dogs. The window to return was short, 1:30 pm, but we made it, and with a carload of stuff.

 I was determined to replace our cream leather Poang chair cushions with the grey tweed fabric. Luck was with us and they were in stock. Yay!

And I wanted another set of those white nesting tables, but now they only had black, so OKAY, that will work too.

To make the living room fit together better, we moved one of the white chairs to the tv room.

We hung the new curtains above the wood trim, keeping the sheers on the inside tension rod to cover the window at night. No holes were drilled into the walls for anything we hung in the living/dining room. Command hooks and picture hanging strips. Yay!

There's always a dog in the picture, and that is Chumley on the new plastic runner, which works best for us. I got red and white ones for the kitchen and the screened porch entrance.

Tony likes a cushy perch. All those duck feather pillow inserts were on clearance and covers will be a sewing project in the near future.
Speaking of sewing, my worktable has rubber wheels and marks up my floor when I move it, which I do often. My solution was to put it on a plastic rug, again, something necessary for spills and doggie hair.

I managed to mount my design wall in the studio a few days ago, so it begins to feel like my space again. We brought the ceiling light from the old house to make it dazzlingly bright in here. For some time in the plan this was going to be the tv room, but of course that changed.

Outside my studio window, just yesterday they have moved the earth in preparation for another two or three homes.  I look forward to the new neighbor moving here, and her house blocking that hot southern exposure.

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One of the most wonderful things so far is that I live so close to my friend Mary, and my sister works about 7 minutes from here and has dropped in several times. I couldn't be  happier with the company.

Early Days

I got up early to walk the dogs and grabbed my camera. The sun isn't quite up, so the air is as cool as it will get today. Inside, the first art quilt was hung two days ago, and curtains are up in the living room and bedrooms. More art will get hung today, I presume, since I now have all the Command strips and hooks that I required.

 The paintings to be hung are waiting for their place on the walls. A couple more quilts will be chosen too. I  used Command hooks to hang the first two and days later they remain hanging. Yay! The paintings are adhered with Command strips made from two pieces of velcro and hold 18 pounds! Wonderful product. 

 Two painting and Matchstick Moons #2 are up. When the sun pours in, the colors are really set ablaze.

Out front, we have delivered the last of the plants and planters, and exhausted, we left the shade loving hostas in the sun for just one day. That's all it took to burn the top leaves to a crisp. Heartbreaking but not deadly. They'll get moved into the shade TODAY as it will be another scorcher.

Those on the porch are protected and just fine.

On Saturday we made two very early morning trips to the old house, and moved our bikes and all my canvases, finishing at 11:30. More to go, but we'll wait til tomorrow. 

SPACED OUT

 The movers couldn't get everything in the big truck, so we are not finished moving. We'll have to rent a truck to bring the big flower pots full o'hosta, all my canvases, all my fabric, all the rest of my kitchen stuff, and Dave's workbench and lawn mower.
But we decided to postpone the rest of the move and enjoy a relaxing three day weekend.
OK I am over being relaxed and have moved furniture around several times already in various configurations, and I am not quite ready to call it settled. Just now I moved a lot of stuff out of the hall closet and into the garage, on a rolling rack. What will be put in that closet? Hmmm. It should be something linen-y, like blankets, functional quilts, pillows, table cloths, towels and stuff like that.

The studio is once again in the master bedroom space and even that room seemed crowded, so I moved the currently empty fabric shelves into the master bath/laundry room and feel a whole lot better. Now I have an empty wall in the studio where I can install my design wall again.
Across from the fabric shelves is the chest of drawers that holds my bed sheets, and not much else.
I am thinking that it is going to get a new function: the site of my fused fabrics and WIPS. My current chest is showing signs of drawer fatigue. Since it is an IKEA cheapie, which we got in the scratch and dent room, I don't feel bad about waving bye-bye to it. 
 
The material is chipboard and has disintegrated to the point that the screws are coming out and the drawers drop down if I am not careful. It is really not worth fixing and I have a nice dumpster right across the street which will gladly take it. I like getting rid of stuff just as much as getting stuff.
I should be done with this move this coming week, God willing, and then maybe, just maybe I can get back to doing something creative. My friends and family keep mentioning that the place looks empty without art on the walls, but that would be the finishing touch and we just aren't there yet. Everything in good time.

Movin' On UP

...to the Southside, where all the kool kids live!
Today is moving day and to say I have been busy is a massive understatement. I don't pack. I bring. It's different. Today I put all my crystal beverage glasses in socks and then into my hamper. At 5am I brought my clothes and curtains here, had a shower, got gas, stopped at Hardee's for takeout breakfast and got back to the old house by 7:30.
My pots and pans have been here for days, then dishes, glasses and food, but the very first thing we did was plant the garden. Yes. First things first. It was so hot that I only did the small bed and quit. Later after 5, we returned and finished the other bed.

Half of our hosta is here, acting as a living guardrail on the porch.

 We had planned to rent a small truck to bring our trees and bigger hosta, but in a blast of enthusiasm we wrapped the bigger coral bark with handy wrap and got it into the car without breaking anything. Buoyed by that success we next wedged in the smaller maple and voila, here they are. The big hosta will be next. 

Once the garden was in, I could relax and have my first guests. My sister and niece came over after church (so fun to have the whole family attending together) and had our first meal with the new dishes!

 I love that white counter top...my dreams realized.

 The whiteness...pre Dawgs. We did bring them and then experienced muddy paw prints everywhere, GASP, but guess what? The floor cleans up in a flash and the proof is in the pudding. Why even try to hide the dirt? If I can see, I can clean it.

My studio-to-be and the doors to the screened porch, (doggie house) which is where I am sitting now, with the pugs. A ceiling fan was installed and I am gratefully enjoying the breeze while I wait for Dave and the movers to arrive. So glad I am an old woman and won't have any heavy lifting to do ever again. Until I decide to rearrange the furniture...O well.

The hall bath which I set up immediately.  It's your standard issue, but it does match the kitchen cabinets.

It's been three month since we listed our other house and while we've had lots of viewings, no nibbles. So our real estate guy decided we should lower the asking price. This resulted in immediate calls for showings, which we postponed as the house is a wreck during the move. Grrr. But I am glad to have the renewed interest, and once it's empty, we won't have that awful routine of frantic cleaning, leaving with the dogs, and holding our breath.
We've met our young neighbors and Dave has already suggested sharing our lawn mower with them. The amount of grass we have is minuscule, but they have a front yard, so sharing has saved them from getting a mower.
Did I mention that I got a bike? Dave has two, so I am catching his enthusiasm.  The streets are flat here, and bike lanes are everywhere. I can't wait to visit my pal Mary, on my bike!
  
It matches my petunias!

Garden Dreams Come True

The current garden is flourishing, but my thoughts have been directed to the new house garden which I designed, marked out and hoped would look like my plan. The idea was an integrated set of beds which would not look like an afterthought. 

I am WELL PLEASED. Over the moon, ecstatic, thrilled, and delighted! The new beds are level and fit the curves of the sidewalk. The interior was cemented and drain holes were added at the ground course, and trimmed out on top with half bricks for a finished look. 

The grade of the yard is sloped but the genius bricklayers dug down and started the bricks so that the top would be level, just what I had hoped. At the moment, in these pictures taken last night, there remains globs of wet cement sitting in the middle of the bed, but I am certain that will be removed before we add garden soil.

Around the perimeter I have about 18" of walkway, which will be first mulched and then my cobalt blue flower pots will be ensconced. 

The long bed is tapered and narrows on the south end. The other bed is pretty square, and wider.

 Our neighbor's house has normal landscaping, and it looks lovely. Boxwood, arborvitae, gardenias and Annabelle hydrangeas. 

Between the houses, where it is quite shaded all day, the builder has spread river rock. I must say I detest covering the earth with more rock, but you can bet I will have pots of shade loving hostas sitting happily in that spot.

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I didn't sleep a wink last night, so excited over the prospect of moving in this weekend. Friday we close, and Saturday at the crack of dawn I will have the refrigerator delivered and phone and internet installed.
We have the movers scheduled for June 2nd, and in the meantime we are moving the soft things, like clothes, kitchen items and such. And we are renting a truck to bring in the pots of hostas, trees, and new plants I just bought, half price of course, at Lowe's.

The Countdown Begins

We were informed that closing was bumped up four days earlier to May 27th . Weeeeee! Everything is happening all at once.

I've called the movers and we have begun condensing the stuff we intend to move ourselves, and stacking it all in the garage. Two men and a truck are coming June 2nd but we'll make several trips before and after they move the heavy things. I will not be doing any serious lifting. Just pointing at where things go.

No bids yet on our current house, which means that we can empty it, and scrub everything down and it will stay clean once we are out. 

The pantry shelves are in and the floor is getting its second coat of whiteness. Then two coats of polyurethane will finish the job. 

Dave stands in the alley, admiring the concrete patio extension, which says PARTY!! and  he is already dreaming of pumping up the stereo, full blast. Don't worry, I am still the sheriff. Because of the placement of our house on the curved street, we are the only ones with such a large apron off the garage, so we'll gladly host. It looks like we may be the first house finished.

My front garden has shrunk considerably since the sidewalks are now in. I've discussed my plans with the designer and asked to have the rubble and clay removed and the grade leveled, and then I will come and mark out the proposed garden walls. We'll use the same brick and each side will be separated from the house by a narrow space, so I can work all sides without stepping in the interior. The house faces east, morning sun, and shade in the afternoon. These photos were taken at 4pm, so the plants can rest from the intense heat this summer. My hostas will have a spot on the porch and out back on the patio, in the cool shade.