Glory Be! Halleluiah! Woot!

What a surprise that I did NOT take a "before" picture, nor do I have an "after" photo with this blog post.  It sort of takes the wind out of one's bag as far as comparisons go.  After successfully luring Sylvia to my house for dinner with the bait of having her rearrange my living room (no, I will not give you her phone number), she stood in the cluttered space and looked around.  I stood helplessly by and offered amazingly helpful comments like, "Oh, I don't know" and "I don't know, what do YOU think?"  I also offered her a  glass of wine, so I wasn't, like, totally, like, lame.

With tape measure in hand and a gleam in her eye, in less than 15 minutes she had completely transformed my living room space.  It really was amazing.  And, contrary to all my fears, only one slightly dessicated mouse was uncovered while moving furniture.  And a pen.  And a raccoon-sized fur ball.

There is still work to be done.  Artwork has to be hung.  A lamp must be purchased.  My crock collection must be artfully displayed.  The mantle needs to be de-cluttered.  Have I mentioned that I L.O.V.E. it?  I will have to see if I have prior pics to show the difference.  Basically, she pulled things out from the wall, which opened the room up tremendously.  I realized that I had everything clinging to the walls for dear life!  What am I afraid of???  Within all this opening-up, she also created a snug, cozy area in the living room, where - gasp - I can actually see movies played on the DVD!  I am embarrassed to say that, for four years, I have had my tiny TV screen about 40 feet from my chair.  And left it that way.  For four years.  Sigh.  I did a little more decorating this morning (along with putting up two more siding boards on the front of the run-in) and will hang a few things on the wall tonight.  I'll post pictures tomorrow so you can at least see the "after".

I also started on the dining area by moving my pie safe around the corner and into the kitchen.  I removed the wooden record album cabinet that I used as a wine cellar (how grand, non?).  The top of the pie safe is large enough that I was able to fit my Berkey water filter and a small wine rack on top.  I removed the chandelier from the ceiling in the dining room -- here's a question for you:  Why, pray tell, would they have hung the chandelier in a place that would force you to put your dining room table slam/bam against the sliding glass doors in order to have it hanging over your eating space?  Hmmm? -- Once I find a cap that fits, I will cover the old opening.  All that's left is to hang my lovely wrought-iron candelabra that was an early birthday present from a certain someone.  While I doubt very much that it will be as lovely as hers, it will be lovely enough in its humble surroundings.

p.s.  I just found out that Sylvia is doing an amazing giveaway on her blog!  Go!  Comment!  Everyone is a winner!