Waiting for the Dust to Settle: That's my excuse anyway...

Now that the A to Z Blogging Challenge has come to an end, I may have a tiny bit more time on my hands.  We are nearing the completion (in comparison to the beginning, we are much closer to the end!) of the work at 507; hopefully it will be ready to show in a couple of weeks.

There are only five cabinet doors and four drawers left to finish; seven passage doors (including closets) to paint/repair and install; two bedrooms, the kitchen and the garage to paint, and the outside to repair and paint. Ornery and I finished painting the hall bathroom last night, and Elizabeth came over and finished lining the kitchen cabinets with tiles, so those big items are happy to be crossed off the list! There are a few other little projects that need to be finished, but by and large we really are nearing the end. Phew!

Meanwhile, Zoe Cottage is looking rather weary.  I haven't dusted since we put away the Christmas decor, (hence the blog post title!) and have only vacuumed a couple of times since then.  At the end of March our new bed arrived, but it is still in boxes piled in the living room and library where CW and Ornery dragged it the day it arrived. 

We are moving up from a queen- to a king-size bed, which necessitated purchasing new sheets, spread, mattress pad, and pillows--which weren't really necessary to complete the ensemble, but ours were worn out.  Ornery is going to build a platform for the bed to rest on, as opposed to buying a whole new bedroom suite.  There is a certain course of events that must take place first, and with the time all taken up at 507 we are still waiting to begin the process which begins in the library, then the guest room, then finally the master bedroom.  Maybe by August 1 we can sleep in the new bed!

My studio has had a noticeable lack of attention as well.  Things get carried in and dropped onto the table, but never really put away.  The last thing I did in there was shortly after we returned from Florida in February.  It feels like so long ago I made all those birthday cards!

So far I have managed to get all those cards sent at least, and we are 1/3 of the way through the year.  This is much better than usual, with the exception of the first year I made everyone birthday cards at the beginning of the year.  That seems to be the ticket for me to actually follow through with my resolution!

Other things have been neglected as well--my garden is still just dirt, with the exception of one pot with perennial flowers and the asparagus that has come back from last year.  I haven't even had a chance to get out there to see if my onion sets are starting to come up.  Thank goodness we have had some rain!

I am also sad to say the freezer is empty of all my carefully prepared meals. We have eaten out most of the time we worked on the house since energy plus time to cook have been spent elsewhere. I really don't care to ever see another chicken nugget as long as I live! : P

Our dishwasher was getting the dishes dirtier than they were when they went in, so I have been washing by hand for the last few weeks.  Between that and keeping up with the laundry, I haven't found a lot of time for other house keeper things.  I never thought I would say it, but I really miss my "old" job as homemaker!