lonely

We closed on our house on June 1 and Chris left the country on June 3. Mae said to me tonight "I miss Daddy 'around the world' (a lot). Except for when I was playing pbskidsgo.com games."  Ah, the fickle love of a 5 year old.

Oh, you didn't know? Mae turned 5 a couple days ago. We celebrated with a pool party last week, a school party a day later, and a really laid back family celebration (me and her) on the actual day. Five years old. My goodness.

I miss Chris. I miss his company, his conversation, his cheerfulness, his hands....they would be soooo useful at the new house. So useful.

In the meantime, my hands will have to do. Between the two older girls with their school parties and birthday parties and commitments, and a 6 month old who has been struggling at nap time and turning her nose up at my milk in a bottle, new house time has been very hard to come by.

My mom came for a few days though and we tore up some stuff. She spent two days ripping that nasty carpet off the stairs. I stripped paint, worked on floors, and literally pummeled a nasty old refrigerator in an attempt to squeeze it out through a nasty little pantry door.

So, while we wait for Chris to come back from Documenta and the work he's doing in Germany with Theaster Gates I'll share here the few pictures of the little work I've done and reminisce about the fact that I was supposed to accompany him on his trip. Instead I'm spending my afternoons crouched on the floor of a kitchen pantry between piles of dust and mouse droppings.

 On the agenda this week? Tackling the two feet of grass in the back yard, stripping a few layers of paint off the fireplace mantel prior to repainting the brick, changing locks on doors, removing kitchen cabinets so I can sand and paint, removing light fixtures and ceiling fans, painting ceilings.

although quite green, this is just over 2 feet of grass. Back yard.

Even though I shaved off a few inches at a time over the course of a week, it still looks pretty brown. But at least we can walk through it. Now it's time to nurture it back to green.

Many layers.

Relieved to find pretty wood underneath, after all that work.

Looking better.

Almost finished. Just need to sand, refinish, and then repaint shelves and brick a nice crisp white. And one day remove that silly air conditioner spoiling the view up there.