So it begins. Boxes everywhere. Furniture in rooms I’m not sure what to do with yet. Can’t find things I’m certain we put in THAT box. Eating fast food and sleeping on top of our mattress in sleeping bags because we cannot locate the linen box and we are exhausted! Yes indeed, that’s the joy of moving across the country.

Box times 400 = !!!!!!

But the real joy is moving into an extremely cool 1928 Tudor Revival house with so much character we can’t help but smile. She’s a lovely old lady in need of a makeover. Great bones and muscle tone, but in need of a new wardrobe and color scheme. My husband and I have talked about taking on this type of challenge for as long as we’ve been married – 29 years. Then a job change came along and we found this house. Or she found us. There is so much to do! Not just the unpacking and reorganizing, but the projects. Heavens, the projects! There’s the mosaic floor hidden under a very ugly carpet waiting to be refurnished. Beautiful wooden windows and trim which have been painted and are waiting to be returned to their true glory. Walls begging to be painted in a decent and historically appropriate color. But infrastructure must be handled first. Three days in the house and the boiler quit on us. A definite “fix it now” item since it’s winter. Plumbing issues in the laundry area and strange electrical lines had to be fixed. The garage door opener had to be replaced. Our priority now is cleaning out the cobwebs and dust – literally – and unpacking 400 boxes. In the past, when we’ve moved to a new house, it usually took three or four days to unpack and put things away. But not here. I’ve learned that moving into an 85-year old house means there’s dust and “stuff” everywhere. I’ve cleaned all the ceilings, washed walls and shelves and drawers and ceiling fans and light fixtures. Washed my Dyson filter three times and counting because of all the cobwebs and dust I’ve vacuumed. I’ve watched walls change color as I wash the dirt off of them. Really, I’m not kidding. I didn’t know the original marble mosaic floor in the upstairs bath had dark green inserts. I thought they were black. No, not black, they were just covered in dust. Unreal has become my word of the day as I discover this house under the dust. Unreal how charming this house really is. I want to get it all done and just enjoy her! Now!

Wait, need to demolish the suspended ceiling and horrendous paneling in the basement first.