It's a-maze-ing how much stuff we have

On Wednesday the guys are coming to refinish our living room floors. We are very excited around Chez Ragged. Visions of shiney new floors are dancing in our heads. We get giddy each time someone mentions it.

However, amongst all of the glee is a bit of stress. You see we have to cram everything in our living room into our kitchen. This sounds like a small feat, but in reality it's a seemingly impossible challenge. It's also heaven for someone who readily admits to suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. (The challenge includes leaving a path to my closet and to the bathroom. I have every intention of wearing clean clothes and showering regularly during all of our renovations.)

So, I have laid awake nights planning how to put together this rather intricate puzzle and maze. With Cynical working late this week and me with limited time, we had to start unloading the room early, like today. It wasn't nearly as cool as that sped-up footage at the beginning of "Trading Spaces". And there wasn't a theme song. However, we have started making a dent and I am just glad I didn't have to wear a golf course green shirt to do it.

I must say that even though I resisted the urge to make a diagram, it is coming together nicely. Now, keep your fingers crossed that Tuesday night we are able to push the couch through the kitchen door without ripping out the frame or losing a finger or two.

The weekend has flown by. I helped a friend set up for and man a yard sale on Friday night and waaaaaay too early on Saturday morning. I came home tired, sunburned and promising to donate all of my stuff to charity in lieu of any future yard sale. Cynical and I ran a few errands and headed home where I collapsed and attempted to knit.

This morning we awoke bright and early. I had to start cleaning in preparation for Cynical's family (and because our house is a wreck.) Cynical treated me to his famous pancakes. (By famous I mean that one out of one human Chez Ragged resident deems them #1 in the midwest.) We trudged through our chores and stopped to visit with the family.

We were also able to squeeze in one of my favorite tasks: cooking together. I love it when we work together to make an evening meal, passing each other by the sink, chit-chatting about fresh vegetables and commenting on the breeze blowing through our window. It's heaven to me: us working on something in tandem.

We bid farewell to our weekend with ice cream and then commenced with emptying our living room. Our cats live for routine and hence are a bit dazed and confused by the rearrangement of all our stuff.

The cats will reside in the basement this week while the guys are shining my new floor. I have a lot of anxiety about them being in the dungeon and I am hopeful that as a result of their incarceration, they don't break through the barrier between them and the pretty new floor. Keep your fingers crossed.