A couple of years ago, family rolled into Seattle with plans to see a few sights, like the Museum of Flight and the Chihuly Garden & Glass, tour Grand Coulee Dam, go to a Mariners game, etc. We had so much fun joining them and playing tourist in our own area that last year we build our own Seattle summer list. We checked off quite a few items.

 

So, summer 2018, repeat: tape up a piece of butcher paper, brainstorm a short term local bucket list, start making those check marks.

 

 

Only this time around there was another long list sitting the kitchen counter: pull all main floor trim (front room, dining room, hallway, hall closet, kitchen, pantry, family room, office), pull and dispose of the carpet, tack board, staples (front room, dining room, family room, office).

Then we had to completely empty the main floor of EVERYTHING and move out for 4 days.  The reality of installing and refinishing our hardwood floors basically chewed up day after day of our summer.  We have tried to do all that we can ourselves to keep costs down. When we did have a stretch of free time, most everything on our summer list sounded too ambitious.

 

 

Along the way we decided we should do some painting so everything had to come off the walls, too.  And no way was I moving that old scratched up table back into our fresh dining room.  Why not refinish it while it was in the garage? Might as well paint those office desks, too.

So, summer; today I woke up to pouring rain with just a few days of the solstice left. There are still platters and boxes of dishes under the guest bed, pictures left to be hung, cable outlets to be re-located. The contractor is here now installing new baseboards, which means more dust and more items for the to-do list as I am the one who will do the caulking and painting.

Anyway, even though the last few months didn’t quite shape up to be ones of local site seeing, many, many items were crossed off the notepad.  There is something so satisfying about working hard and completing a multiphase project.  And the floors? They turned out beautiful, perfect, just what I imaged them to be.

Oh, I did manage to spend as many hours outdoors as possible hiking around the local area and added a challenging hike to the list. Goodbye summer, see you on the flip side.