Floor Here

The carpet is gone in the future boys' room. Jim, Jimmy and Paul worked like he-men to rip it up. Jim thought that detaching the tacking strips was going to be a major hassle since this is a cement floor, but they were only shallowly nailed into the cement. So it came up in a short time. I got no pictures of the process since I was at my mother's house at the time, listening to piano lessons and reading Mom's mail. (Mom gets a lot of mail--REAL mail, actual letters from people not selling anything. Letters from grandchildren, children, cousins, nieces, nephews, college friends, high school friends, old neighbors, church friends. She gets it because she sends a lot of mail. That woman is single-handedly supporting the United States Postal Service. Don't ever stop writing letters, Mom. I don't want to be left with a huge suitcase full of blank stationary that I know you have. I'm also not making fun. Well, only a little. Mom, you are a bringer of joy to many people with your letters. I am grateful that you take the time to write to Katie, especially) Anyway, back to the floor.
They did leave a patch of carpet in the closet. Jim explained why, but I wasn't listening. I was thinking how come the cats have to shed every-flippin-where. See the little clumps of gray? Cat hair. Kilroy was there. No we didn't paint the closet. I didn't feel like it.
The writing on the wall--when we moved into the house, the former owner came by the day we moved all our junk in. He wanted to point out a few things like how to take off the downstairs window to get big things into the room because the stairs, doorway, and hall downstairs do not allow for anything bigger than a bag of groceries or a small child to maneuver into the downstairs family room without getting wedged in some obstacular way (obstacular: resembling an obstacle or blockage). Former owner also pointed out this little map above the doorframe in Hayley's closet. I wasn't listening then either. I have no idea what this means. It's just fun to think of this little map to some unknown THING in my house. I didn't paint over it just in case it could provide important (albeit indecipherable) information at some future date. I also don't dust it so that someday, some spelunker will have to brush cobwebs out of his way, Indiana Jones style, to reach the fabled map to the unknown round thing and it will enhance the spelunker's experience and provide a sense of awe for antiquity.

Former owner apparently didn't think the subcontractors would know where to put the floor.
Former owner is FAMOUS in our family for labeling things. When we first looked at this house, we all snickered behind our hands because we saw that one cupboard had a label for each of its two shelves: Round containers and Square containers.

Some of his labeling is very helpful, like the labeling of the exterior faucet shut-off valves. When we want to shut the water off for the hoses, we know exactly which pipe in the laundry room leads to which of three outside spigots. We also know which pipes lead to which bathroom and to what appliance.

Today, I am skipping church to go to see Wicked (appropriate, no?) with my mother. I am rationalizing my truancy by saying I am spending time with family. But it will be just the two of us. And I, her eldest child and most closely-situated-by-distance daughter and one who loves the music of Wicked, was not her original choice of companion. No, that honor went to my cousin Jurgan, who had other plans and could not attend (he is hunting). My mother asked a cousin, a boy cousin, to see Wicked with her. Sigh. She and he went to see Spamalot too. I didn't get to see Spamalot because she took my COUSIN instead. Oh, the injustice. I plan on getting my mother back by singing along right in my mother's ear with Galinda when she sings "Popular". And since I plan to be sporting a raw throat from a cold, I should sound REALLY WONDERFUL.

Comments

Jenni said…
The idea of secret maps in one's house is fascinating. We know all about carpet removal here. Our project moves forward like a snail. At least it moves forward. You can see pictures of it on my Werewolf post.
You are seriously funny! I love it when your mom writes, it's nice to read correspondences that don't say "LOL" or "prolly". Enjoy Wicked!
Froggy--you should post more pictures of your remodeling.

Mrs. Fouquette--I think my mom doesn't even know the "word" LOL exists, and her head would explode if she were ever to write the word "prolly." And thank you.
Jen said…
I, too, am grateful for the letters your mother sends. My girls always enjoy those and carry them around for days.

How exciting to see the floors almost done in the boys' room. That must mean it's getting really close to being done. Yay!

I still remember seeing some of the labels your previous owner left. I think my dad would have been the same way if he had gotten ahold of a label maker.

I wish I could go to Wicked with you ladies. I was actually talking to Mike about Spamalot just last night. Apparently, it will be playing in Chicago in January (some church folks were talking about it at the cannery yesterday). I told him that if he likes Monty Python, then he'd supposedly like Spamalot (this is all hearsay because I really have no idea what it's about). He proceeded to tell me that MP is like MP and that nobody is ever going to convince he needs to see a musical. So I guess we'll not be going to Spamalot.
You know, Jen, if you could wrangle tix to a weekend show, I might could wanna go with you to Spamalot... And Mike wants to get all up in your grill about Monty Python saying it's all special and sacred, just tell him that Eric Idle WROTE Spamalot.
Oh, yeah! I forget about the labels on the light switches. I removed most of them. After living here 10 years, I've pretty much memorized the lighting system.
Karie said…
How'd the whole truancy thing work out for you? Did you enjoy the show? I've heard so much about Wicked that I'm actually considering going. The book was nothing special, IMO.

And congrats on the reno moving forward! It'll be interesting to see how it all looks when you're finished. (I'm living in the middle of a reno right now that involves kitchen appliances, etc., so it's fun to hear about yours and how much less aggravating it is.)
Mike said…
I shouldnt have to justify not wanting to see a musical, simply put, "I hate the arts". I put that in quotes because I am quoting myself. I frequently find people trying to debate the validity of that statement, my only response it that I cant be entertained by something I dont like (for example; the arts). Its not like I am telling others not to like 'the arts', I just dont like them. One thing I have found about sophisticated and cultured people is that it drives them nuts to witness someone be satisfied in their own lack of couth or refinement. With all that being said, I find it difficult to believe that people with fashion sense and musical taste dont like yodeling and jumpsuits (not necessarily combined), but to each their own.
Concerned Citizen
Jen said…
Oooh, that's a fabulous idea, Sara! Let's plan on it. I did a quick search and found that Spamalot is going to be in Chicago from Jan 20 thru Feb 1. Pick a date, and we can buy the tickets early before they sell out (not sure of the popularity). The prices range from $22.50 to $122.50. I'm guessing we'd want to keep it on the low end (the nose-bleed section).

If I knew that I just had to wave tickets for a musical to get you to come here, then I would've done it ages ago.
Karie, I did enjoy the show! And I had read the book and HATED it. The book was so heavy-handedly political. The show focused more on the meaning of friendship. It was a good show. If you do get a chance to go, I recommend it. Really, the show is MUCH better than the book. Much.

CC, Mom and I laughed that you would not have liked seeing the men dancing around onstage in tights. One guy even wore a skirt, although I have no idea why. It's not like he was playing a girl, he was just a crowd member. For the record, I like yodeling.

Jen, any weekend will do!!! Matinee weekend would be fine, nosebleed seats, I'll take 'em! Hurry! Buy!
Anonymous said…
I LOVE Wicked! We saw it in San Francisco years ago before it officially opened on Broadway. Kristin Chenowith was in the cast. What a fun night that was and what a really fun musical. I hope you had a fabulous time even if you were second choice! Cindy