The Adventures of Geo Beane: Day 20 of Renovations
It was a very special day.
Humphrey put in some early morning hours at the new house, working on the floors, but also tidying up. He was getting the place readied for curious family to have a walk through later in the day with us. Or if not today, then tomorrow at lunch time during a break. In either case, he wanted to be sure the area was clear of loose nails, dust and debris... a double check, because as a fact Humphrey always took care to work neat and clean.
When he got back, he made two batches of brownies and set them to cool. One for the family birthday party in the evening, and the second, special no-chocolate blondies just for us (*cacao a no-no for dogs ;) and Humphrey knows treats are always bested when shared with a friend. And who better than me?!
Humphrey and I worked a bit on the house, pulling up more linoleum (in the full bath). He had discovered something earlier this morning and showed me in the room directly across with a grand reveal:
"Ta-dah! Look at this Geo Beane!" gesturing into the room with the sloped ceiling and golden wall sconce.
And below I see: Pine boards. Beautiful 6" planks of solid pine. That's what was hiding under the subfloor. Humphrey had gotten frustrated this morning with scraping the odd gunk that was in this little room on the East side of the house. The subfloor was so warped on the left that it would require either pulling up or precarious hammering down. If it would stay flat. He ventured to pull it up little bit to peak under... and then! Too good to be true? but no! indeed, true. A beautiful floor. So up went the particle board. The pine planks were painted somewhat arbitrarily, as if someone had painted around some large rectangular object almost dead center. A gray green stain that extends into the closet partially as well.
"We'll paint the floor green, Beanie. to even it out. Gawd, I love this room... it's my favorite in the whole house! ...I wish this were my office studio instead of the guest room..."
"Rrwaugh! Wyouf... Ggou..noa!?"
"You're right, Geo. Why not? why by Goodness not? the room at the top of the stairs is good enough as a spare bedroom, and why, why! should this one wait around only for guests...?" and then he was pleased to pieces. To put himself centered as such. I was so glad! For both of us. I could just picture myself sunning and dreaming in the light of the big window as he did his drawing, reading, and writing...
Humphrey was so thrilled that he ordered a housewarming present for me on his phone on the spot... to arrive in a few weeks. A black and yellow batman racecar bed. ...I think maybe he was living out a private dream, in this, but nevertheless, I can't wait to see it! It looked great on the screen.
His aunt and uncle telephoned and arrived shortly after, delighted with all the "quirky" architectural details; the attic; the swinging folding door in the master suite; the grand corridors; and finesse in the staircase... They were visiting from Chicago and had a 100+ year old house themselves, which they were painstakingly improving on over the years, so they offered Humphrey much helpful advice in and around the house. They even helped him identify some of the plants outside, like the Buckthorn, the Privet and the Catalpa.
Then, we all dusted off and went back to the cabins to celebrate Humphrey's, his uncle's and his cousin's birthdays all in one big family bash of smiles and photographs.