One red dot

mainly sunny, mild, temps 8

A wonderful, mild, day. Ended up getting quite a bit of snow yesterday too - but it's all gone now. Beautiful day.

We set the alarm for 6am - and out of the house by 7:30 - over to the main house. Lise was already there - Deanna, Donna and Rose arrived a few minutes before 8. And the Big Cleanup began. Very impressive to see four women who hate dirt and disorder get rid of both. I was almost in tears.

While they did all the filthy work inside I decided to take advantage of the unusually mild day and clean the new windows outside. first, scrape with a razor the flecks of paint...then windex. All on top of a step ladder. I wondered if I'd feel uncomfortable, but it just wasn't all that high. It was actually quite fun - except for the torrential melt streaming off the roof and onto my head. I'd put on a raincoat and a hat, but of course it came down right on top of me. Sunny everywhere else on the property, except where I needed to stand. Felt a bit like a keystone cop.

but what a difference it makes to the windows. Feels wonderful.

I've come back to the cottage briefly to pack more things and get some lunch - and now will hop on back. The other people who came today was an Ikea guy who needed to fix something....and Mike.

He came initially to help move furniture but ended up doing the million-and-one things that suddenly pop up. The plates for the light switches. Putting bits of wood under furniture that wasn't level, figuring out which breaker had blown. It -

All the above was written two days ago...interrupted by the ringing of.the phone. It was Lise at the main house saying two fellows had just shown up with a truckload of furniture. I stopped in mid-sentence and flew out of the cottage. It was all the furniture we'd had re=upholstered....it had arrived!!! We'd been waiting three months for this moment, wondering what the 'new' old furniture would look like in our 'new' old home. How many times Michael and I discussed placement - and asked Kirk his opinion. To be honest, i couldn't even remember what fabric we'd chosen! So long ago and so many decisions.

Sure enough, when we got back to the main house the furniture was being unloaded - into the chaos....but they managed....and unwrapped and placed it. Wow - you can see the photo, taken today...even better than I dared dream. Oh, it gives me such pleasure, and at the same time a lovely, settled feeling of peace.

Home.

By five o'clock Friday evening everyone had left and Michael and I dropped into the chairs on either side of the fireplace, poured a diet ginger, got out some fruit cake - and sighed. Dear Lord, we made it.

As you can see, the kitchen isn't quite finished - but close enough so that we can live here and cook.

Saturday at 8am, Darol, who was putting on the wallpaper, arrived to finish the job. Then Ikea arrived with the new sofa that needed to be assembled (not just the feet put on, but it arrived in 5 boxes!! Then Mike arrived to help assemble it. I say 'help' as though he didn't do the whole thing - which he did. I was assigned the cushions....you can imagine how much assembly was necessary. It was the Ikea equivalent of being told to roll bandages and boil water.

by 1:30 the wallpapering was finished, Mike had assembled the sofa, we'd all sat on it and ate sandwiches. surrounded still by boxes and 'stuff' all over the place. I spent the afternoon picking up things at random and wandering around the house, trying to figure out where to put it.

To be honest, we got rid of a lot of 'stuff' when we packed up - and we're again 'editing' our belongings....paring them down. simplicity...though I think it's a little late for that. But we're doing our best.

Now - Sunday - it is quiet, finally. The day Michael and I have dreamed of since last winter when we first started thinking about this renovation - spurred on by the need to replace a solarium that was falling down and wouldn't survive another winter. We found Bob Ray, and he found Maurice and his men, and Mike and the electrician and plumber and painters. Gary joined us - and over just three months two roofs were completely rebuilt and replaced, the glass solarium became a sunroom with fireplace - new floors - a bathroom was remodeled so that if one day one of us can't make the stairs we can turn the TV room into a bedroom....the door to the bathroom widened to accommodate a wheelchair. In case. This house is a home. Forever, we hope.

We know how lucky we are. In our fiends. In Lise and Gary and Bob and Mike and so many others who've helped. In having this home - in having the ability to live here. A home we adore in a community we love. In having a certain stability in uncertain times.

On the fridge, I placed a single small red dot....a magnet. It can be seen from almost anywhere in the 'new' space. If you get really, really close, you can see there are three small words written beneath the red glass.

I am thankful.