The FLOOR Is (almost) DONE!!!! :-D

YAY!!!!
And what I mean is, my plan, my diagram is DONE, and all the wood we had is down.....but there are still two areas that need more wood.....

I was expecting this, just because I didn't try to get right to the other side of the room -- I wanted to do the main room, and then re-figure the last 4 feet or so, to make sure I could get the measurements right.  And then I didn't plan on doing the hallway until after, either, so that's the last area that needs flooring pieces. 
I spent last night measuring and figuring, and all we need is two more sheet of plywood - to cut, stain, sand, seal, sand, seal, and dry! LOL  Oh, it sounds worse than it is!!  One of those sheets I'll only need half of, and after doing SEVEN of them, it will be easy-peasy! :-D

Here's Brian cutting one of the boards yesterday.....

He looks SO attractive when he's working on my projects!!!!  Hahaha!
Here we are figuring out the layout.....

And here it's finished.....

BEAUTIFUL!!!  (the white streaks and spots in the bottom picture are from my camera -- I had to clean my lens, I guess!  And the flash always catches dust particles floating around! :-P  That's NOT GOOD in MY house!! LOL)

Obviously, I have alot of stuff to put away, and I'm going to have to wash my couch cover after this! Haha!!  But I'm going to wait until we get the rest of the floor DONE.  Then some of those things can get put away forever!!

*Sigh!!*  I am SO happy and content having this finally done! :-D

I spent the morning making a list of the other major projects for the house after the floor, and it's all bedrooms and bathrooms after this!!!  Painted floors and beadboard, wainscotting, and painted walls -- fun, fun, fun!  
Of course, I won't be pushing Brian hard for those things right away.  We still need to put trim in the kitchen, and then I have tons (and TONS) of painting to do.  And it's really time to focus on getting the garden going -- we've had such unseasonably cool temperatures alot of the nights (like last night even!), that I can't put my tomato seedlings in the ground yet!  And Brian hasn't been able to till the whole garden area because we've been working on the floor. 
So major house-projects will be taking a backseat for a little while -- at least the projects I need his help on!!!  I CAN do plenty of stuff myself! (hee hee hee!)  Maybe I can find something to use my precious new saw on.....?!!! :-D  (oops!....after painting, of course!)

Last week, while trying to entertain myself so I wouldn't keep thinking about my floor, I tried to do some things on that list I posted......I didn't really paint anything, but I DID make the wreath!!! :-D
I'm not that happy with it, it's a little skimpy, but nice for now. 
Here's what inspired me.....

Isn't it WONDERFUL?!?!!  I found it on Pinterest (where else?) and I pinned it, too! :-D  Oh, I just had to have one!!!
So I looked around for thin, long viney things to make into a wreath shape.....I actually have the perfect plant.....

An overgrown weigela bush!!! (there's actually two) -- DON'T EVEN get me started on what I think about the front of my house....!! :-P
Anyway -- I clipped some of the thinnest and longest branches(??), and picked off the flowers.....

Then I started shaping them into a good-sized circle.....

I used masking tape to hold it together for the first two vines, but I wouldn't use it again -- I didn't use anything with my second wreath and it was fine.
Then I just kept adding the branches.....

I twisted some around the circle so I had a good "holder" for the Sweet Annie.
I kept adding them around until the thickness looked right, then I clipped off anything that was sticking out too much, and voila!.....

The one I used is on the left, and I made another simpler one with what was left.....I have another wreath idea from Pinterest (where else?? Haha!) for that one, so I'm saving it!
I think they turned out pretty good!  Those weigela bushes have another purpose now!! :-D

So after this, I started putting my Sweet Annie stems randomly into the spaces.....

I tried using my glue gun for a few of the pieces, but it didn't work at all -- the stems were too thin, maybe -- so it was back to random stuffing!!  I just kept going around, adding and moving them to get the look I wanted.  I ran out before I felt like it was enough, so I did the best I could and then tied on the twine and hung it on the front door......

NOT BAD, right??  I guess I like it.....I like the simple, wildish look of it, but I think I need to get more Sweet Annie to add to it!

Which brings me to another "project" I thought I was doing -- remember how I planted the Sweet Annie SEEDS that I got on ebay???  Remember the picture I posted of them, how teensy-tiny they were??  Well, since then (and two subsequent planting attempts), I haven't been able to figure out WHY they won't sprout!  I was starting to think maybe I just got a bad batch of seeds (it happens), but then I stumbled upon THIS picture in an ebay listing for Sweet Annie seeds......

Now look at my picture of the seeds that I got.....

Can you see how THEY AREN'T THE SAME THING???? 
So I guess the mystery of why I don't have any little plants sprouting has been solved: I never got real seeds! :-P
It's discouraging, but not a total loss, because I think one of my sweet online friends is willing to send me one or two of her many re-sprouted plants, so I may yet get my own going this year!!  I'm not going to contact the seller or anything - I only paid $3 for the seeds and shipping, and I'm sure he made an honest mistake.  And I learned a really good lesson!
On the up side, my fennel plants sprouted perfectly, and need to be re-planted into bigger pots!  That's a project for later this week!! :-D

One last fun thing I did last week, while waiting for the floor (and not doing ANY painting that desperately needs to be done!), was to crochet a dishcloth!!!  I found the pattern on (wait for it.....) Pinterest.....

And I had the perfect dusty teal-blue yarn for it (cotton, of course).  I got it done in one night, and I love it!!  Now I just want to coffee or tea stain it, and it will be just right!  Of course, if I don't repaint the cabinets, it's kind of like putting lipstick on a pig, isn't it?? LOL  You might think "pig" is a little harsh, but if you could see the mess I'm looking at right now, you'd know I used the right word! 
Happily, I have control of the camera, so no one will EVER see this mess!!!  Phew! LOL

I need this sign!!!! :-D

So let's see how much painting I can get done this week.....that's my goal -- TO PAINT.  Not to look at other people's painted stuff on Pinterest, either!  To paint MY stuff!!

And I want to say thank you for all the comments I got about the floor (and all my posts!) -- I love reading them, and having special friends who admire and appreciate the same things that I do is such a joy for me!!  If I didn't have the internet and blogging, I would only have two friends and four sisters -- none of whom love any of the same things as me!!  So I get such happiness out of sharing with my online friends, knowing you all are with me when I find the right paint color, or find the best way to scrape paint off of perfectly good furniture to distress it, or why old grungy things are awesome, or why building a new cabinet crooked is the best thing.....I could go on and on!! LOL 
I think you guys are THE BEST!!! ^-^