Empty Boxes

This past week we worked in the basement. Jay did even more than I did. I don't know how he's still standing, because I have crashed and burned.

But how many people can say they have put away everything in their basement? I know that I have never been able to say that before.

The picture below is the lineup of EMPTY boxes and containers that we decided to keep.

These are the boxes that are going to get cut up and recycled.

We've been Living Together 8 Months

Last Tuesday we put together an assemble-it-yourself TV table for our cacti. We put it together backward, inside out, and with great patience and determination as it flopped all over and pieces didn't fit right.

I admit by mid afternoon I would have happily carried it out to the trash, but Jay insisted he was having fun so we kept dissembling and reassembling until it was functional. We did eventually throw out three major pieces that we're never going to miss.

The cacti are happy, Jay's happy, and I'm happy that Tuesday is over.

While we were making a mess of the cacti table, the UPS man brought the next day's project - a tall cabinet for the deck.

This had way better instructions and went together much quicker. We got the entire project done right the first time.

The sorting and organizing continues.

Jay is working on tools now. It appears we have a few. This picture only includes tools from the main level. There's a workroom in the basement that also has a few tools to be sorted.

I didn't bother moving any of my tools from my previous house. That means we can leave out all the discussions about whose to keep and whose to give away.

For the record, this table of tool stuff was empty in half a day. We're getting very good at sorting and culling.

Last winter during the months I wasn't blogging, we got shades for our condo. After several false starts with businesses that didn't respond, we went through Costco. (What kind of business that sells window coverings wouldn't be happy to outfit a new condo for non-cranky customers?)

Costco sent us to a large showroom that has been in business thirty-five years, had an excellent selection, and was a pleasure to do business with. They educated us, answered all our questions, helped us select the right thing, came to the condo and measured, and installed the entire condo in two hours. Plus we got a great Costco discount.

Last week we got notified that the furniture we bought in Arcola, Illinois from Countryside Amish Furniture has been built and only needs 7 to 21 days for the finish to cure and the odor to dissipate before delivering.

This is very exciting and delivery will be a huge step in making our condo into our home.

The picture below is my current dresser. It ranks a D = better than nothing.