Autumn Update

A clean kitchen is a happy kitchen!

Uncluttered counters leave room for food prep!

I took the white chair rail off the walls and like the look better. Eventually I'll remove all the wallpaper and paint the walls my favorite pale pink.

TopDad surprised me with a bouquet of gorgeous flowers!

Our first snowfall on October 14.

It began to look a lot like Christmas! And I'm not ready.

The cold, gloomy weather called for a pot of "Cowgirl Stew".

This image of the dining room ceiling is proof of why I can't just quickly paint. There is tons of prep work to do and I'm not sure of how solid the plaster underneath is. In other places the plaster is actually falling down!

The painted over wallpaper is cracking and separating from the wall. I had hoped to paint over it, but in the spots where I tested paint, it looks terrible so it must come off.

More cracks and separation in the dining room.

The living room is even worse!

No way I'm going to paint over this mess. It has to be removed.

More of the living room.

The walls are over nine feet tall, and the middle of the ceiling is almost eleven feet tall. It makes me tired just to look at it! I'm a slow worker so I'm not eager to tear into it and live in a mess for a year or two. I have to "gird up my loins, fresh courage take" and proceed! Anyone want to come over and help?

I love the space of this home. It is what I wanted for our family. Just have to get rid of the soul-sucking decor and paint it the colors that enliven my soul, put up my artwork and pretty plates, and then it will be as close to perfect as I'll get in this life.