Changing rooms

While we were in Colorado, we helped Josh remove the carpet from his livingroom, revealing the hardwood (and some plywood) underneath. It really got Glenn in the mood to get started on a few things around our house. So, when we got back from our trip, he was all ready to attack the first thing on our to-do list... we wanted to switch the guest room and the sewing room around. We are going to be doing some rearranging of closets in the future, so we wanted to get started by moving the sewing room into the smallest bedroom. This entailed mattress and boxsprings in the hallway, stacks of books in the office area, plastic boxes of beads, buttons and trims in every corner and piles and boxes of fabric everywhere. What a mess! There wasn't room to take everything out at once, so we worked in stages. We pulled up the first piece of carpet only to discover that there was peel and stick tile under it... ugh!

We were expecting just the original concrete so it was rather disheartening to see the tile, but we kept on moving forward...

Glenn used a flat bladed shovel to remove the tile, which actually came up pretty easily, all things considered. Then there was the adhesive left behind... it didn't come up so easily... he had to use a razor blade to remove it.

We also tried vinegar and water, which did help some, but he was still scraping away with his razor blades. The only other alternative was to use a chemical stripper, and there was nooooo way we were gonna use that nasty stuff when it was 113° (45°C) outside, which meant we couldn't get adequate ventilation. Finally, we decided that as long as it looked OK, and there was no stickiness left on the floor, we would call it good. Somewhere down the road, we'll be removing all the flooring in the house and replacing it with wood, so we'll worry about it then. Here's what it looks like with the guest room furniture replacing the sewing room furniture...

That vinyl tablecloth draped across the bed is my "design wall!"

We are working on it a little bit every night. Moving books back in and deciding what goes where. Sorting, too. Getting rid of fabric I'll never use, books that don't interest us anymore, and pieces of furniture that just plain don't fit anywhere. It will all be good once it is done; however, it's still a bit of a mess and there definitely hasn't been any stitching going on. That will start as soon as I can walk into the sewing room!!!

One other very special item I must show you... meet Gus...

He's standing amid the stacks of books. He's a briard that showed up at the Arizona Humane Society and he went home with me last week. Here's a front view...

His owner died and he was taken to the Humane Society... he was so scared! I just fell in love with him on the spot. His fur was apparently pretty badly matted because he really had a chopped up coat, as you can see. He is a real sweetie, though. He hasn't had any accidents in the house, he doesn't bark much and he's all around a pretty good addition to the pack. We are going to have to get a bigger bed, though, he likes to stay really close to his humans!!

That's the latest update from Phoenix... plans are to finish up with the major moving, sorting and stashing by the end of this coming weekend. I'm getting antsy to get started again on my Midsummer CQ. We put the "design wall" up in the sewing room, with the outer blocks still on it. It made me realize how much I have to do yet... gotta get going on it!! Until next time, kiddies!