The finale!

OK, so it's been a long couple of weeks. We've missed family dearly since leaving the family reunion, but we've been busy, busy, busy with our house. We only had a few projects that really needed to be completed before school started, but they were rather intensive for me who was, at least at the beginning of the process, quite a novice with handy things like tools and sheetrock mud. So armed with a few well-thought plans, a careful budget, and a nearby Lowe's and Menards (I think they know me by name now,) I set out to turn our downstairs into exactly what we needed.

Project 1 was books. We have books. We have more books than I care to admit, and I know I'm excited to grow that collection into the space we created. We now have fifteen feet of built-in bookcases that also hold our sheet music, television, games, and some nice knick-knacks. They're not perfect, mostly because of cheap wood, but they'll last for years and I'm going to love them. They even have adjustable shelves that the boys helped me create.

Project 2 was school room, and this involved a little more effort. We removed molding, carpeting, and painted to match the back of the

bookcases in the family room. I thought it would be nice to create a cohesive multi-room feel, and now that it's done, I don't regret it a bit. After that was IKEA, and despite the joy of my favorite flat-pack store, the visit was one of the worst in history. Everything around which I had planned my rooms had been discontinued in the last month and had sold out completely. So, in a panic I started running around IKEA trying to re-plan the space for the same, or less money. I finally succeeded, and we returned, ready to throw ourselves pell-mell into the joy of the new projects. Yesterday Joe and I laid the floor replaced the molding, which conveniently matches the new floor, installed the desk, removed the ugly blinds, hung the cabinets, and rolled out the pretty rug. Today Liz took over and unpacked the stuff (I never interfere during this process) and tonight we are enjoying the well-earned fruits of our labors. There are a few photos of the process as well as a video tour of the two rooms. The first two photos are the Before photos—first the family room, then the office. The video is its own joy.