Creating home...

It's been a long, exhausting week. My family moved my grandparents from Long Island to upstate NY this weekend. They arrived at their new home (my mother's) yesterday, and in an effort to make the move as easy and stress-free as possible we tried to recreate their home in a new environment. My mother and her husband generously gave them most of their downstairs and a small apartment at the back of house. The moving truck showed up on Friday and we had about 24 hours to get the house together before my mother arrived with my grandparents on Saturday.

All I can say is thank god that my brother and sister-in-law have the ability to stay up all night long because they kicked much ass in the way of getting things unpacked and put in their proper place. When I came back on Saturday morning they had accomplished so much, it was amazing!

The most important room to both of my grandparents is the studio. They used to have separate studios but now they will share one very large, bright room. It's a dream studio space with my grandmother's painting area in one corner (photo above) and my grandfather's drafting desk in another. The other side of the room has a sewing area and shelves for fabric and yarn.

I spent most of my time getting the living room area together. We laid out their furniture in almost the same way they had it in their house. Some of my grandmother's paintings hang above the couch (they look a little crooked, I see. I was tired, what can I say...).

My grandmother collects many things and I wasn't able to get them all unpacked and displayed before they got there. But some things were out, like their beautiful collection of African carvings. The nesting dolls and Pinocchios will have to wait their turn.

My grandfather collects the letter "A." I hung some of them by the chair he likes to sit in. I envision them going all the way up the wall. If anyone has an A they would like to contribute just let me know! :)

My favorite part of the room is the bookshelf that my step-father built in an unused doorway. He was still working on it just an hour before they arrived. I think it looks great (and now want to turn all my doorways into bookshelves - who needs doors anyway?)!

So that is that. My grandparents seemed quite happy with everything, though I am sure it will be a tough adjustment for them. Leaving the home you built together for 60 years or so is bound to be hard. I know it's been hard for me and I never even lived there. Thankfully their house is staying in the family and I know they take comfort in that. And now we can all work to make this new home, home.