Well after working for six days straight I finally had a day off. I did not rest however. No, I got every box out of my kitchen/dining room and put them in the attic. Then after picking up the kids we got the table and chairs out of the shed and brought them in.
So now I am exhausted but happy.
We are making great progress on the unpacking. It is crazy how the same square footage c
an feel so much bigger simply by having a different floor plan. To the right is a picture of my computer space in the living room. Yes there is still a stack of things next to my Secretary desk and a couple of notebooks on the printer that still need a home but for the most part this is a cozy little den with a fire place. Below we see Jeremy's computer area and Ashton and Melaina watching TV. The Two couches create the perfect door to the "den" and we even found a piece of Plexiglas that we 
can slide out from between the couch and Jeremy's desk to keep the dogs out from under our feet. I love how bright the room is and even with the tree outside the window. In the next picture we can see that The DVD's need a little help but at least they are on shelves and Jeremy still needs to hang his swords over the TV so the clock doesn't look so out of place off to the side like that. The book cases need to be attached to the wall for safety and no it is not bowing that must just be the camera (I checked) You may also notice that off the far right there is 
a blue tub and in the picture above there are some computer cases. That would be the fringes of the small pile of things that Jeremy still needs to deal with. He makes a dent in it every day and when you figure that the couches were completely buried when my parents stopped by this is progress. I have to say that although the paint was poorly applied the boys who did it chose a great color. (Two tenants ago three twenty something partiers.) Now the picture below is the kitchen and you 
might think that there is not much to say about it but you would be wrong. To start it has a dishwasher. I have not had a dishwasher in almost ten years. next you will notice that there is no washer and dryer in here. Yes six years since I could cook without lint and do laundry without food in it. Plus while you can see the two drawers in this picture what you can't see is just out of the camera view next to the refrigerator is another three drawers. What is so exciting about this you ask? Well try six years without any drawers in your kitchen. Well we did get a little 
three drawer thing from Stacy's mom a couple of years ago. (we left it for the neighbors) To the right is what will become our dining room just as soon as the roof is fixed and we are able to put the Holiday decorations into the attic. This is the worst of what we have left to do. The wall to the left just out of sight is where the kids computer desk is. Next we have our room. While it is considerably smaller than the room we had downstairs it feels so much bigger with less furniture in it. No that is not a black pillow
on my bed that is Moonshadow. There are still some boxes on Jeremy's side under the window that he needs to take care of but as long as they are on his side I can ignore them. As you can see in the picture below Melaina has already started on what I am sure will become a full room collage. (brings back memories of my room when I was a teenager) Directly behind the camera are about four boxes that don't belong to her. Once we move them she gets the corner piece of the couch in her room. Next is the boys room. As you can see they did not read 
the part of the chore list that says no clutter put things away. Aside from the fact that they did not clean their room theirs is the most put together. They have no boxes left and Ashton has been enjoying his couch piece under his bunk. He kicks back there to play his video games. I would really like to find a new place to store that folding table. Julian insists that it is his and he does use it but it is ugly. (Hmm maybe behind their door.) Well, that is our new place. Except the bathroom. It is long and narrow so I could not get a
good picture of it. The features to mention would be the tub. I haven't had one of those in nearly ten years and the stacking washer and dryer are in there. (love that) I was pleasantly surprised to find that the linen closet is in the bathroom as well and that it is actually big enough for the towels, table cloths and bedding. While the chore list and chart have not necessarily helped the boys room just yet it is working quite well for the rest of the house. Check it out. Just so there is no confusion about what each 
chore entails I wrote them out in list form then I created a chart to show who does each chore each day. K=Kitchen, B=Bathroom, L=Living room, and P=Pets and Garbage. Everyone is supposed to do their bedrooms everyday and I do laundry. We all take turns making dinner too and it is working well for the whole family.
Well I got the Kitchen done yesterday. Wow is it white. I decided that was enough work for one day so I got my pj's on and while Jeremy and I were sitting out back he got a wild hair up his ... and decided to start ripping out the blackberries. Well let me give you a little visual of before and after.
This is as we first were starting you can see there is a pile of what Jeremy had already done.
Here is Julian's position in this. He was the only one skinny enough to get back there to cut the stalks.
This is what it looked like when we were done. Yes two rhododendrons and a tree. Oh and that wood thing.....OH YEAH a fence.
So the agenda for today? Steamer the rest of the floors, (bathroom, hall, entry) go steal Stacy's carpet cleaner, (Love you Stacy) pack those things that get put off until the last minute, and keep laundry going so we move only clean clothes.
So, today I will be concentrating on the kitchen. I need to clean under and behind the washer, dryer, range, fridge and book cases. (Used as pantry shelves.) So both me and my steamer will be getting quite the workout. Jeremy is patching damaged drywall and painting the bathroom. Julian is doing his usual chores then I think I will have him help me. Ok, wish me luck.
So, yesterday was quite the day. I managed to pack all the nick-knacks from the shelves of the built in. All my candles from every room are now packed and a separate box for the candle holders. I have a box full of Anne Rice books and a box of Stephen King books plus three other boxes of books in general. I boxed up four or five boxes of Jeremy's things. I still need to pack my Creative Memories albums and all the office stuff from my two book cases. Some of it I know I can get rid of the rest just needs to be filed or boxed. Oh and I almost forgot I need to empty the desk part of my secretary. The walk through closet is in pretty good shape just need to get the computer monitors and the old stereo out of there. the closet under the stairs is mostly holiday decorations so that is handled. I do need to go through the blankets and weed it down to just enough for our beds and something for an overnight guest to use. Closet space upstairs is a bit limited. To me that is a good thing because there will be less room to accumulate extra stuff that we really don't need. So, today I haven't gotten a whole lot done but I am sore and tired from yesterday so I think today is a plan and recuperate day. I think I did a few too many squats yesterday because my leg really hurt. If I keep up this pace though I should have a few days to rest before the actual move. Oh I need to get the glass bottles and vases from the kitchen window sill. Hmm, maybe it is time to stop typing and make a list. That requires no bending, squatting or lifting but is still productive. Well I hope everyone is well and enjoying the bit of sun that is peaking from behind the clouds today.
