Hurry home, Ameranth!

Jeepers, what a week this has been since Ameranth went to Massachusetts to housesit Mabel for Ms.M and Mr. C.  Not even a whole week, just 5 days, but 3 of them had me taking care of Winston by myself. It is amazing how heavy a 15+ baby feels after just a few times picking him up. I think new parents build up to it gradually, like that old story of the boy who lifted his baby calf every day until he was a lifting a full grown bull. Bull is right!

And as if that wasn't enough, J and I decided we had to start finishing up projects. He finished the taping on the patch in the living room wall, so I can wallpaper in there as soon as I can lift my arms over my head again.  Then we started on the bathroom walls that were still lath over the tub surround since we installed the new tub, back in June, of 2010! Yikes. Hey, the shower was completely usable and we got busy. And if we had another bathroom to use, it would be easier to work on this one. Anyway, yesterday was the day.

We had to carefully loosen the surround to get the wallboard behind it (and yes I know the wallboard should be on the walls before the tub was in but that's not the way it works in this old house. The tub area takes only the smallest size with no room for extra layers of wall) It went fairly smoothly until we got to the area over the door. The lath used there was thicker than the rest and we had to remove it, and replace it with 'new' old lath that we had saved. Yucky stuff in there too, rat's nest and full size corn cobs- I don't know how they got them into the attic and down the wall.

We were racing the clock to get the mess cleaned before Winston was delivered and of course, he came early!  Stashed him in the relatively clean living room while J used the shop vac in the bathroom and kitchen. Then switched places while I vacuumed the dog hair off the living room rug.

I collapsed in a chair with the baby, while J took one more admiring glance at our handiwork. Says he: "you should take a picture of those walls"  Me: "Oh, do you think I need to hurry?"

Later, while watching Alex chat to the players on Jeopardy, one contestant said she had found (a picture of) a Japanese couple in her grandmother's old drawers. J and I looked at each other and started giggling, enjoying a silly moment without a word needed.