A good day - I think

I met with Heidi this morning to try to select lighting for anyplace in the house. I don't know why I am having so much trouble with this. I can make unwavering decisions about everything but lighting fixtures. I did manage to select and order sconces for the 2nd floor guest room. So add that to the chandelier for the dining room and we've got 2 down and only about 80,000 to go.

The good news is that we have finalized the selection for the master bedroom carpet. Tomorrow I will order it and never look back.

Also, Heidi brought some sample fabrics for the living room and dining room - cushions, chairseats, window treatments - and when I showed them to Peter, he actually liked them! Another thing we've agreed on. It doesn't get any better.

When I got to the house, I found that all the doors on the 2nd floor were blocked off. The painters had sprayed the primer on all the trim, so there was paint everywhere. I thought they had covered the floors and windows in case of the occasional spill, but in fact it was so they could spray with abandon. And they did. Paul said he was going to get the trim paint today or tomorrow. I can't wait to see a finished room. You can't really tell from the photos, but the windows are completely covered in paint. The theory is that the film they had put on in the prep work will just peel off with the paint leaving just glass.

So the sanding has moved to the first floor. Between the smell of the primer and the dust flying, the only way these guys can keep working is by wearing masks. These are really heavy duty - I don't think I could wear one for more than about 5 minutes. I wonder if I'll ever see their faces.

I found Katelyn up on the third floor. Apparently she is the one staining the built-ins up there. She was wearing a charming babushka-type thing - unusual for her. She said she had dipped her hair into the stain. After a quick run home to wash her hair of the unwanted red highlights, I guess she figured better to look like the little match girl than ruin the blonde. The last I saw of her she was lying under the shelf in the suitcase closet, hopefully not overcome by the fumes of the stain. Maybe we should get her one of those gas masks.

Kenny was also in a third floor closet. He's installing the floors in the larger closets. No muss, no fuss, no fumes - the guys really have it easy around here, right, Katelyn?

Brian the electrician was back today. He's hooking up the switches for the heating elements under the walkways and the terrace over the front door. So we may never have central heat inside, but if it gets really cold I guess we can go sit on the back steps. Actually, I'm really curious to try it out. It's supposed to snow on Wednesday - we'll see what happens.

The living room ceiling looks pretty interesting now. There's a lovely pattern of silver screws. Lee thinks it looks like stars and is considering leaving it that way. Kidding, right, Lee???

Tomorrow I am going to the cabinet place to meet with Wendy hopefully to finalize the selection of the countertop for the den furniture. Then I'll go to the house where the interior HVAC equipment is supposed to be arriving.