Out of Synch

By Thursday night I had to admit that having Bruce working at home for four days was a tad too much. Here's his set up:

Please don't think I'm ungrateful. I'm only speaking the truth. Plus, I'm not telling you anything I haven't already told Bruce. After explaining to him that I'm accustomed to silence and order, he understood. Or so he said. He's there but he's not. He is on the phone constantly using his boss tone. I imagine that some people who work from home slack a bit, however, you've already gathered that Bruce is not in the camp. He actually works harder and longer.

Sooo...on Friday he decided to not work at home. In fact, he didn't work at all. We used the opportunity to head out to Lukas Nursery (http://www.lukasnursery.com/) in Slavia. What a treat. The plants are wonderful and there are so MANY to choose from. Butterflies were flying free and here's one:

You will note the beautiful blue sky as well as the magnificent color of bougainvillea. Good stuff.

Primarily it was a recognizance mission. Naturally Bruce had a notebook and sketch he'd drawn and he made notes as to what plants we most liked. The weather was hot but we'd arrived just before 9:00 so it wasn't too bad. Wonderful pots and garden ornaments. Terrific!

Because we were driving right I showed Bruce the museum gift shop to get his feedback. At the same time he was able to see our wonderful new exhibit of works by Charles Turzak: http://historyrat.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/charles-turzak-coming-to-the-front/ Michelle has made a case with all his wood block cutting tools which was very impressive.  And then on to lunch at El Porto. If you live in Orlando and haven't tried it, you are missing the boat. I know I was. It's one of those places that someone who has been there before lets you in on the secret that it's not only delicious but cheap as well. If you like Mexican food, check it out in the KMart shopping center across from Winter Park Village.

Umbrella ordered--check. Colorful large ceramic pots--still working on. Glass tiles for pool edge--check.

Moving on, I'll be picking Nancy up at the airport in a few hours. There's a wedding in the family on Sunday evening at 5:00.  Lisa's daughter is marrying her high school sweetheart in less than 48 hours. Sound familiar? Here's hoping their love continues to grow like some other couple you know. Excitement is in the air

For those of you who don't know much about Nancy, let me just tell you she is an organizing queen! Years ago she did my not only my spice cabinet, but my closet as well. Wonder of wonders, I've been able to mostly maintain her ideas. She loves the stuff, whereas you know that I'm not so into it. Do I sound selfish wanting her to help me with a few other closets? I'm only thinking of her obsession! Seriously, we'll see what she can find to make better around here.

In case you were wondering, the door is finally fixed in excellent fashion.

Time to hang the clothes on the line now so I'll leave you to your holiday weekend plans. Hope it's as nice as ours will be. As I type, Bruce is out on the lake fishing, something he's been able to do a few times this week. The fish are biting!

P.S. Probably the real reason I don't like having Bruce work at home is that it highlights how hard he works and how little I do. You think? Ouch!

Collaboration

It may not have taken a village to remodel our home, but it took a bunch of us!

First among the helpers was our Ethan Allen lady who gave me some great ideas to work with. I'm certain without her help, you'd be looking at carpet because it never occurred to me to use the pavers. My golly, they are beautiful! There was nothing fun about the week of mess, but as Lisa kept reminding me, it would all be worth it. I fully intended to purchase something from EA when I went into the store asking for help, however, to date, nothing has come from there. Aside from the two chairs, a little table, and the new media cabinet, we are using what we had, albeit in updated fabrics. Additionally she suggested I put the curtains aside the french doors, another great idea that I'd never thought of. I love how it pulls the whole room together.

The tiling guys were awesome, keeping things as neat as possible with a spectacular finished product. They were proud of themselves as they should be. A little history on the tile boxes describes how sometimes there are animal prints in the tiles because after forming them they bake in the sun. Occasionally animals walk through leaving their mark. We are the proud owners of two such tiles strategically placed for maximum viewing! Very fun.

Timing was on our side as well. Matt changed his arrival time to 6:30 on Wednesday evening. The guys finished grouting around 7:30 and said the grout sets up immediately. You know Matt, he loves a project, and if you need someone to help you with same, you could not do better than Matt. We began moving the furniture to the spaces you'd seen previously, however, Matt was not happy with the sofa in front of the door, suggesting we make a second seating area on the other side of the room. Wow, wow, wow! Perfect! So there was yet another partner. If you can imagine I stayed up until 1:00 that night because I was so excited. Another thing he's amazing at is vignettes. Creating little treats for the eye comes naturally to him as you've probably seen in the past. I've no shame in taking advantage of his skills!

I've got to thank the guy at "Something Different", the store where I purchased the chairs. He mentioned that a fabric store near Florida Mall carried cool fabric and indeed they did. In the past I'd seen the place, but thought it was junky. Not so. One of the rugs came from there, the drapery rods, as well as all of the fabrics. I can't wait to see my orange zebra stripe on that antique chair! As well, he gave me the name of an upholsterer who has yet to work for me, but he comes highly regarded.

Bruce. Where would we be without him? He took the red eye home from California, arriving around 9 on Friday morning. Immediately he went to work cutting off the bottoms of SIX doors! Let me tell you those french doors are heavy, heavy, heavy. Next he put up three rods, only collapsing for a little nap mid-afternoon. I may not have told you about the media cabinet I got for $30 at my local thrift store. I was there donating things when I saw it. Because I donate so much, the man said I could have it for the aforementioned $30, instead of the $75 price tag. I have to thank David for coming over and helping me get it in the house during the rain three weeks ago. I don't know what I was thinking, when I told them I'd take it home in the Element. Although it fit fine, once home, I realized it had to come out. Fortunately Dave is a strong man, carrying most of the weight as we got it just inside the door. After Bruce spray painted it a gorgeous satin brown espresso color, it not only looks fantastic, but it's keeping some of my clutter out of sight. Unintentionally I hurt Bruce's feelings when I asked him why he was cutting a hole in the back. Duh!!! For all the cord clutter Gail...

Marhsalls, Ross, and TJMaxx played their part as well, but you knew that already, didn't you? Great lamp find at Marshalls!

So, if you haven't peeked already, here it is:

Not completely done, but we're getting there. I'm hoping we'll have our first dinner party for Bill and Dave's 31st birthday which is just around the corner.

Just prior to Matt's leave taking on Sunday, the table was in use for a game of Scrabble. I took a thrashing.

Polasek time my friends...no time for editing if you'll forgive me...