This, my friends, is the result of what we’re calling “Electrify Monday.” That amazing day that, it turns out, bring more squeals of joy from yours truly than any Christmas morning yet on record. The photo above brings me to close tears with the knowledge of all the hard work and long hours it took to get us to this point. In the photo, you are witnessing the first dusk during which we were able to turn on a light in every room in the house with a switch on the wall (not by plugging in an extension cord to a clamp light or by wearing a headlamp around inside the house). It is truly a breath-taking and utterly satisfying moment. I hope you are enjoying it even a fraction as much as we are!

 

 

The weekend leading up to Electrify Monday was a whirlwind of sanding, mudding, priming, and painting. Several of you have offered to come and help paint—never fear!  We did not ignore your offers, I promise! There’s plenty more to do! We took a bit of a break from our rather mundane wall color (I love it, but let’s face it, it’s off-white) to have some fun creating a chalkboard wall.

 

 

Three days after you paint on the chalkboard (and we did a layer of magnetic primer beneath), you prep the surface by covering it in chalk, and the wiping it off. Think of your elementary school teacher’s worst nightmare—that’s what this process is.

 

 

And then we got to work.

 

That was fun! Now back to the important stuff…

 

And the really important stuff!

 

 

Ben spotted a mouse while we were hanging the laundry room ceiling (pre-finished beaded board). Here, he’s got his pellet gun at the ready for when the rodent shows its mousy face again. No such luck yet. Mouse: if you are reading this, you’ve been warned!

 

Finally, Monday morning, before 8am, these guys pulled into the driveway. And I wanted to cry tears of joy!

 

But I was still afraid that something would go wrong, we would get rescheduled, it wouldn’t happen, for whatever reason. But to my shear amazement, this started happening:

 

 

And my first-thing-in-the-morning-view went from this:

 

 

To this:

 

Thank you, Lord, for extension cords and all they have done to get us this far, but I am more than happy to roll them up and put them away! This morning I plugged my blender into a plug above the kitchen counter. And my electric kettle into a plug at the other end of the counter. My alarm clock upstairs did not go dark when when we had to plug in the vacuum cleaner downstairs (necessitating the unplugging of the giant green extension cord that was powering the entire second floor).

 

 

More on all the fabulous light fixtures (and they are SO fab) to come later. But for now, I’ll leave you with this barn-style pendant hanging in the kitchen, and these words of wisdom: The electrified life is a good, good life, dear readers! Go hug your favorite electrician. Or at least give your breaker box a high-five. They deserve it!