For the first time ever, Sal gets two weeks of vacation during the holidays. I decide we should spend the second half of his vacation getting started on a new project.

He may have considered filing for separation, but the papers he needed were probably buried somewhere in all the displaced furniture.

Refinishing a floor is a backbreaking job. Having a Lord of the Rings marathon in the midst of it adds a degree of complication, but reduces the suckage quotient by a factor of three.

Home Improvement calculus...not for first year math students.

In which we drastically underestimate the time and effort involved in removing old paint.

In other words, pretty much a regular old day at Hall House.

Taking care of the niggling little details that eat up time and sap one's will to live.

Woo, home improvement.

Huzzah! The light at the end of the tunnel!

Which just happens to be a lovely pale yellow color.

A little bit of old, a little bit of new for that final bit of finishing detail. And for once, they didn't take fifty times longer than expected.