seasonal blooms

Big heat wave. Eighty degrees in the afternoon. So odd, so wonderful, all at the same time.

It’s the day to push things forward at the farmhouse. Really make a dent, so that the crew can move rapidly toward the finale in the next few days.

Stain doors, build closet storage, vacuum off weeks of construction dust.

And I’m also starting to move things in. Welcome! Flowers, let’s start with flowers. (Wouldn’t you start with flowers in a move?)





On the odd, random shelf in the foyer, the one I painted yesterday (in the unfinished vestibule), I place my Polish carvings. The little ones. As if intended for a farmhouse.






We continue. Hauling the Craigs List armoire up the stairs... (Can you lift your end?  No... Try using your foot to help... Okay, I think... Okay...)





Sweeping off the bugs from the windows. Using the air compressor to blast construction dust off of tables and chairs that for some reason we hadn't cleared out before this all began. Buried now under construction grime.

In the middle of the afternoon we pause. Call it a coffee break (espresso from EVP – now the closest, and most wonderful café for me). With some baked goods. Shared with Isis, the cat who is absolutely thrilled to have us there for such long stretches of the day.





But the break can't last long. In the afternoon, we're furiously at it again. And I think – there’s a good side to doing so much of this yourself. You look forward not just to the end of it all, but also to the incremental stages along the way. To your efforts at creating something different. Fresh. It takes time, all of it takes so much time -- but it's not downtime for you. Time means that you have a chance to fix details, to change things. To do it well. Time becomes your friend.


Outside, the clouds are coming in. Stormy clouds. No matter, we did a lion’s share of work today. A final little piece --  I plant some pansies outside the entrance. The big clay pots that lined my condo balcony are at the farmhouse. It's time to fill them with seasonal flowers.