The Closer

August.

The summer is almost over. I told a friend yesterday that it is the beginning of the end. The countdown to school starting has begun. T minus 24 and counting...

I couldn't let summer end without sharing what one of my secret identities this summer has been- I'm "THE CLOSER". You see, before the summer began, we had about 6 rooms with "open" projects in our house. During the year, this didn't bother me too much. I was too caught up in lesson plans and progress reports to notice, actually.

But this summer was the first in a long time that I have not worked. And I have to say, that it is the first of many summers where I will not work again. It's been GREAT! What was I thinking to try and use the summer to make money? Anyway...

I was spending so much time at my house that those "open" projects started to irritate me. The Closer came out and got busy. Lowe's got a lot of money. The Hubby pitched in after work and on the weekends to help me with the stuff I could not do on my own. He's great. Now we have "closed" the projects in the den, hall, kitchen, and porch. The dining and living rooms are still works in progress, but that is okay. They are progressing and we'll get to them soon.

This was our hall before The Closer got to work. Ripped up ceiling after taking down asbestos tiles. New attic door that was still raw wood. Walls that had not seen new paint in 10 years.

Here is the hall after the Closer and the Hubby did their thing. Nice smooth ceiling. New crown moulding. Fresh paint on the trim and walls. The walls are a charming color called "Oat Bran". Attic door that does not stand out like a sore thumb. The Closer even got on her hands and knees to wash the hardwood floors in murphey's oil soap. She's really good when she has time on her hands. Project #1- CLOSED.

Onto the den. I don't have any before pictures because the Hubby knows that the Closer does not like the prep work involved in getting a room ready to paint (she's into closing, not opening projects, remember) and he did it for her when she was at water aerobics one night. I told you he's great! The den needed another coat of paint because when the Hubby and his dad put in a new door last summer, the new door was 4 inches wider than the old one. A light switch box had to be moved and the door facings adjusted, so the sheet rock next to the door had to be cut out and replaced. It bore a ragged gash from floor to ceiling that needed patching, and since the den had not seen fresh paint in 10 years, it also needed that after the wall was patched up. For the main walls, The Closer chose a lovely shade of green called "Weeping Willow" and it is very relaxing. The hall color, "Oat Bran", is above the picture rail. The Hubby rearranged the room too, so it felt brand new! Again, the Closer astounded me with her willingness to clean the walls, baseboards, windows, curtains, blinds, and hand mop the floor. Project #2- CLOSED

The Closer then decided that it was time to close the project in the kitchen. If you look back to some older posts, you can see what the Hubby did to make a pantry in our kitchen. The pantry doors were raw wood so they needed painting too. The Closer made a quick job of these doors, as well as the shelves in the pantry once the Hubby made and installed them. Then she even helped me line the shelves and "move into" the pantry last weekend. Project #3 - CLOSED! Yahoo!

Last but not least was our front porch. The new doors looked great, but were still framed in raw wood. The porch ceiling sported an original light fixture that looked like an upside down mason jar. I love spending summer mornings on our porch in a glider, so I thought that a fan would be nice. The Hubby had already put in a new front porch light next to the door when he installed the door, so we had a light. The Hubby did most of this work. He put up the fan. The Closer only came by and closed the job by painting the door facings. Still, when she and I sit outside in the mornings, it feels like a job well done. Project #4- CLOSED!

I suppose you could say that the last post I did about the guest room, was project #5. If you are interested, it's the one just before this one. She cleaned that room, along with our bedroom, from floor to ceiling too. Ahhhhh!

I love the Closer, and I love it that she came with so much gusto and productivity this summer. She might be seen again on weekends during the school year, but I don't count on it. I paid her well- sent her to the beach with her college roommate and dear friend last week. She loved the R&R. If I can talk her into it, there are still 3 more rooms to deep clean before the summer is over. We'll see what she says about that.