I am back in my house, and boy does it feel good. The floors are quite simply gorgeous. Den and I keep walking in the upstairs just to stand and look at them, marveling at how different the rooms look now. I really just love watching our home renovation projects get completed – bit by bit I love this house a little bit more. And that’s saying a lot, because when we got this house I really hated it. Immensely.

All in all I slept somewhere else for three days. I’d come home to grab some clothes, check my email, and then the smell of the poly would start making my eyes burn and give me a headache and I’d have to quickly get out. Though I must say, sleeping at my brother- and sister-in-law’s was very peaceful; last night was my first night back and I had cats crawling on my head and dogs hogging the blankets. Then with all the fur… (I can easily see why some people don’t have any pets in the house.)

The cost of the contractor was less than I budgeted for, though the amount of work it took Den to clear out the house was significant. We’re not going to be putting furniture back for at least another few days – we don’t want to take any chances on hurting the floor before it’s fully cured – so we’re stuck in the basement on a futon with all four animals, all of us piled on top of each other.

But it was all well worth it.

Before:

And after: