Still unpacking

I have become very good at tossing and donating. Part of the encouragement/problem is limited closet space. The stains and holes in items also make it easy to let go. So far I am still only working on the boxes in the garage. Tom wants to park his car. My goal is to clear the garage so he can park.

The mousy couches are still in the garage. I put them in his parking space. When they get hauled off, he can park his car.

The blackberries are beginning to encroach on the house again. I haven't had time to cut them back. I am going to have the boys tackle them. Pretend they are in the land of the lost or Jurassic Park, hacking a path through the wilderness. I need a machete, but I worry someone might hit someone else with it.

The handy man came. He will get back to me with a bid in a few days. He said he is booked out until the middle of next month. That works fine for me as we probably need to look at the finances after the move before we go doing anything. The renters don't move in until next week. I am waiting on that windfall. Tom said to not count on anything until they have officially moved in.

I had the handy man look at my plan to put a wall with closet in Riley's room. Take down the wall with his door in it now. He would then put the laundry room upstairs in the existing closet which is 6 x 8 feet, plenty of room for the machines. The 220 power for the dryer is our hardest hurdle. He saw a way to bring that through the basement just as I had thought. He doesn't do gas lines, so we will have to find someone else to run the gas to the kitchen.

That kitchen is just a pain of poor planning. I feel cramped like rush hour in the big city on the train. I have to keep my elbows in, or I might hit something or someone accidentally. The granite counters are the 12 inch squares. The many grout lines bother me. I fear breakage. I am noticing little dings on our glasses already where I imagine someone has landed their glass a bit too hard on the granite. We will probably go through a lot of replacement dishes in this house with the boys. On the other hand I am noticing that they have become more gentle when laying dishes on the counters.

The kitchen is really designed for a couple, not a family. Yet they put it in a 5000 square foot house built for a large family. I look forward to the remodel of the kitchen, but first I really want that laundry room upstairs. I really want a place to put my clothes.

The boys are growing so fast. Trevor had on a pair of pants the other day. His ankles showed below the cuff. I will be a little cranky if I have to go buy him another wardrobe for school when I just bought him one at the beginning of summer.

We went to the parent football meeting, Trevor and I. I sat next to a dad who looked familiar. He signed his name to a paper and I realized I did know him. He was the dad of an old cubscout from my troop. I was excited that the boy will be doing football with Trevor. His dad said he played running back and was worried there weren't any line men. He said he would let his son know that Trevor definitely is big enough to protect him.

We are plugging right along as we get things accomplished. The heat pump and furnace are both getting cleaned today. I am off to put away more boxes.