Goodbye Carpet

   We are finally getting rid of the carpet. This was something that we had talked about for a long time. I don't like carpet. I never have. The house I was raised in had wood floors through the entire house.
  I had long ago decided that I wanted wood floors in my house. I kne that eventually the carpet will wear out and then we could put a new floor in. Scamp speeded the process along by having a few "accidents". It was only a matter of time.
  About a year ago C and I started pricing flooring materials and assembling a budget. That's as far as we got. Over the winter and into the spring we could still smell the carpet. We knew that Scamp was behaving himself (most likely) but the smell was still there.
  Finally C could not stand it anymore. He found someone that would install the floor. He and the installer went and ordered the materials. They arrived last weekend.
  Yesterday morning, Tonio, the installer arrived bright and early to begin work. I listened with satisfaction as he ripped the carpet and the padding off of the floor. When he was done I checked out the flooring underneath. It was good and solid and did not smell of cat pee. It didn't look like there would be any trouble putting the floor in. I finished getting ready for work and left.
  When I came back in the afternoon, half of the dining room was done. It looked lovely. The dark wood contrasted well with the yellow paint on the walls. I think it would look really nice to have a large area rug under the table. Our dining room furniture, the china hutch and the table where I store my stemmed glasses will look very nice.
  One thing that surprised me was the sound. If you say something in the dining room it sounds louder. There's no furniture or carpet to muffle the sound. I wonder how the harp and dulcimer will sound if I practice in the living room once it is finished. I bet it will sound really good. I have dreams of inviting people over for dinner and then C and I could entertain our guests with some after dinner music.
  The bad part is that we had to move out the china hutch and the stemware table. That meant that all the teacups, teapots and glasses had to be removed and then packed. It wasn't as bad as I thought. It was nice to look at all the cups. They will need washing before they are put back in the cabinet. The stemware will also need washing. I forgot that I had two decorated glasses that someone gave me as present. They are really pretty and obviously made by a skilled glassworker.
  The cats are tolerating it as best they can. I made a couple of comfortable spots downstairs for them and we moved their water fountains so they can drink in peace. They are not real happy about the noise or the strange people coming into the house. They'll survive.
  We will too. The house is a mess right now. Once the floor is in we will do a massive cleaning with a little reorganizing.  It will be a even nicer place to come home to.