Almost there.

Noe Valley is getting closer than ever! We move back home tomorrow. Home, Toto.

Guys at the house are furiously preparing for our arrival. The terrazzo steps are being cleaned for the first time since the house was built in 1952.

The stairs going down from the deck to our new Babe Cave are being tiled.

Light fixtures are being installed downstairs.

Big-time cleaning is going on upstairs.

Meanwhile, back at the apartment, packers are packing us up.

Outside, the beat goes on. And on and on and on and on and on and on and on . . .   

The pile drivers are frickin' relentless.

Inside, it is all systems go. And are we ever ready.

Heading into the home stretch. Get it? Home.

"Of all the hardships a person had to face, none was more punishing than the simple act of waiting."
      -- Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns

Next week! We move home next week! The wait is almost killing me, but I keep reminding myself we're in the 19th week of a 20-week job. Actually it's 20 weeks of being out of the house. Probably another month of smaller stuff needs to be done after we move back in.

And while Mr. Smarty Pants, quoted above, thinks waiting is so simple, it's anything but that for Rebecca and me. We are still running all over town, picking out knobs 'n grab bars 'n shit.

Admit it. You're transfixed.

We are making arrangements for a "reverse move." You remember we had movers come and move our stuff from all over the house into the living room and dining room? Now they have to come and move it back. 

They also have to move us out of the apartment, which we have to clean big time. I could go through the whole to-do list, but I imagine if you're still awake and reading this, you won't be for long if I go into more detail.

So let's talk about what's gotten done.  The upstairs bedrooms have been carpeted and painted. The carpet in both rooms is the same color, not that you'd know it from these pictures.

The upstairs bathroom vanity is installed, counter top and all.

The tiling in the downstairs bathroom is complete.

The stone on top of the shower seat has been installed. The boys left us a pink thing because we're girls. Just kidding, I hope.

California Closets installed a great big storage unit at one end of the room and Rebecca's work station at the other.

As you can see, the room got painted too. Here's what the whole thing looks like. The floor, remember, is cork, but it's covered now.

A fern garden will go (and hopefully grow) outside this window.

Here is the room with its happy primary occupant.

Lucy Silverstein Gebroe

She and I are quite pleased with how things are turning out. The only one we believe will be less than happy is Miss Lucy. 

We have committed the cardinal kitty crime of changing things. Worse, we have changed her things. Most notably, her door.