This Lack of Posting Brought To You By Real Life

You may have been wondering (or not) what I've been up to lately since I've obviously not been blogging.

This past weekend I finished cleaning up the master bedroom and got it re-arranged. Ditto with the master bedroom closet, to include the hanging of new shelves (take note, if you want them done right you don't want me to do them). The new arrangement has opened the room up and I like it a lot better than it was before. M is now making curtains for it, she's been a great help.

To facilitate cleaning the master bedroom I've started an office where I've moved the computer I am currently banging the keyboard on as well as my bookshelves and all of my books. Damn, I have a lot of books. But I digress. The office was M's suggestion as well, it was something I was considering anyway but she had a lot of good ideas about how to get it done.

I've had to become completely ruthless as I've gone about my cleaning, at first I was putting everything into boxes thinking "the girls might want this" but as I've come along I've adopted the attitude that if they wanted it they've had five years to come and claim it. I'm tossing about everything but pictures now. There certainly is a lot of it, and I'm sure the trash man will hate me.

Next on the agenda is the train room (bonus room off the master bedroom) and then on to the living room, dining room and family room. It really needs to get done, I've got dust bunnies the size of house cats, but the rest of the house shouldn't be as bad as the master suite. The dining room will be extra interesting because on the dining room table is this great honking dollhouse that I've been trying to complete for Grand-daughter.

The dollhouse was a project that Laura and I started, I did the building/assembling and she was to do the decorating. It's a huge Victorian, complete with corner turret, three stories and thirteen rooms all together. Laura decided she wanted Grand-daughter to have it when she got sick, but the decorating never got done (although the assembling is mostly done). I think I'll have Grand-daughter up for the summer to do the decorating and then maybe we can get the project completed.

Maybe she will let M help her. It's been tough on her, accepting M's presence, since she was her grandmother's heart and soul, so maybe she won't...but maybe she will. She was absolutely crushed when Laura died and she was distant when M and I were there at the beginning of the month. I hope that she will accept M's help, and in doing so perhaps be able to do some healing of her own.

At times it's been tough, but I've got proper motivation to keep me going.