So on the 15th we were back in Romulus. Jody went and drove the bus like Super Man himself after such a hard day moving us again. Ben went back to Ithaca to his new place. (hes renting a room from family friends in Ithaca and working at Barns and Noble) The girls and I set to unpacking the house.
I started with the kitchen so we could just function. Here are all the jars back in their rightful place.
'So how was the house' you might ask.
Weeeelllllll- its was a wreck! Erika and Mark Grutel- our leasers- trashed the joint.
Some of the issues included...
-there was 20 wheel barrow loads of horse manure filling the garage a foot deep
-there was a five gallon pail full of dog shit covering the root cellar floor
-there was crayon, marker, pen, chalk, buggers and- I am hoping- chocolate covering every wall in every room from the 3' mark down.
-there was milk and slime on every window and wall. We had to use a knife to chip the cereal off the walls.
-there were door knobs broken, screens wripped, cieling fan chains broken, small holes in the walls.
-they tore up half of the bathroom floor
-they
half painted two rooms
-there was plastic tacked and duck taped to the wood work
-there were 100 small hammer marks pounded into the wooden floor
-the yard was covered in toys, tools, animal equiptment
ETC!
So after the kitchen was unpacked and rescoured we set to scouring and re-renovating every room in the house.
With all the moving we down sized soooo much. We got rid of loads of stuff. (thank goodness for that concidering how much moving we ended up doing)
Among the things we got rid of was my purple couch and chair. I like it so much better then the family room plaid set but this one is sturdier and looks cleaner. So- we kept this set and went with it.
The one thing I didnt want with this move was to reproduce exactly how we lived before so I tried to mix our stuff up.
Though we had a green plaid living room set, I didnt want to settle for a country cute thing.
Instead of loading the room with lots of family pics I kept them to the one shelving area and added art instead.
Jody bought me these two baticks at an art show. I just adore them! I finally got around to framing them and now they are on either side of the wood stove. I also added sculptures from africa and isreal and a few Baha'i pieces as well as Hindu and chinese peices.
I bought a few red pillows to bring out the red in the couch.
Its very cozy and user friendly. A real flop and chill kind of room. We are very happy with it. :)
Jody has wanted a real space of his own for ages and ages. So now with all the extra space he got one. What was once my rubber stamp shop is now Jodys office.
The leasers had started to paint it a deep green that wasnt too bad so we went with that. I had to redo all the walls that the stamp shelves were on. Lots of plaster and sanding.
The best part for me is this is a space to display all the "man" stuff Jody has collected over the years without having to put it in the living room or something.
The leasers had painted Bens red room a grey green :( Ick. Vayda wanted the room but not the drab color.
Shes nearly 16 and has been hands on with most projects around here for 7 yrs so I knew she was totally capable of painting her own space.
I told her too that if she was going to paint it then I would let her pick ANY color she wanted. So- thats what led to cheeto orange! She wanted cheery and she got cheery!
It was a drastic change and she just loves it. Its not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. And suprisingly, its matches soooo much.
As for her painting capabilities- she did great. She says she'll never paint again....but she did great.
The leasers took or burned the shelves that where in the red room. ???? No idea what went on there. We still have to install a few shelves and some curtains for Vayda but for the most part shes all moved in.
I do not care! I have let this house dictate to me the way it is to be decorated for 7 yrs. Then in an effort to move all the thinking was about what other people would like best. 
With 3000 sq ft and only 4 people we have all the room in the world for extras like this. I made this room comfortable for all of us girls. There is a mom zone but there is also a craft table, TONS of kid and teen friendly supplies and a sewing station.
We went to the bank for a good old fashioned loan. Got it! Thats progress in itself :)
Here is the very first fire!
With the stove we bought an Eco Fan. It moves 150 cubic feet of air around and uses NO electric. It transfers the heat into its own electric. Cool thing. In this pic it looks like the pattles are clear but they are just moving. Its made of heavy metal.
My newest and most favorite pass time.
My favorite sight.
That led to new walls, fixing the shower faucet and installing the sink too.
I did all the caulking (4 tubes worth!) and the paint.
I chose the colors based on the floor tile. Matched the walls exactly to the tile and went for navy blue for the upper walls and ceiling. We all just love it! Its been said that it feels like you are standing behind short walls with the night sky above you. Eventually I will find several antique hanging mirrors to hang on the walls on the navy to bounce the light around.
