You know you have a good friend when she calls you up and asks if she can help you clean up for your party.  I have such a friend in Kathy Plahmer.  I was feeling overwhelmed by all I had yet to do and she calmly put things in order for me.  Bless you, my dear!

The first thing Mark and I did today was put the first coat of paint in the bedroom.  Then I stained the moulding we got to put up near the ceiling.

First coat of paint on the walls and first stroke of stain on the moulding.

Kathy came over as I was finishing up the staining, and she set her first task as “staging” my sewing room.

She threw a bunch of stuff in the closet to make it look this nice!

When I finished the staining, she helped me clear off my desk and the dining room table.  Then she walked around our property and found some pretty flowers for a bouquet.

She found crab apple blossoms, lily of the valley, and a yellow flower she couldn’t identify.

Then she left and gave me some instructions on some other things I could do to prepare.  Mark and I had lunch and then put the second coat of paint on.  I followed up with varnishing the moulding.

I went to the store and got food for the party while Mark tried to set up the back deck for BBQ-ing tomorrow.  A lightning storm and deluge caught us both while we were outside.

After dinner, Mark began putting the baseboards and trim back up in the bedroom.  The moulding is still too tacky to put up yet.

Before…

…and after. At this point, Mark had the trim around the window and was working on the baseboards. He also had the plate covers back on.

There is still much to do in the morning.  What am I saying?  It is morning!