Why Is This Man Smiling?

Probably because he was glad to have Phil's help in unloading 27 cartons of bamboo flooring from his truck, each weighing 63 pounds (28.5 kilograms), and appreciated Phil's foresight in placing scrap wood on the garage floor so the cartons would be raised off the ground!

This is the first step toward having bamboo flooring in our open plan living/dining room and in our bedroom, instead of 10-year-old builder's grade (inexpensive) carpeting. After a decade of hard wear by people and pets, that carpeting is worn out.

We chose bamboo because of its extreme durability, range of color choices, and because it's a renewable resource -- although looking at the cartons and seeing "Product of China" today means we've accrued a large carbon footprint!

Phil later carried 18 of the 27 cartons into our bedroom (moving a total of 1,130 pounds / 513 kg, fortunately over a very short distance) -- that's how much will be needed for the living/dining room. The wood needs about a week to acclimate to the house's temperature and humidity before being installed.

The professional installer comes next Tuesday to begin the process, which includes careful removal of the baseboard trim, which will re-installed once the new flooring is down; pulling up and removing the old carpet; and spreading a special compound to ensure that the underfloor will be level. I don't pretend to understand all this, but no doubt Phil will blip some of the more esoteric parts of the process!

In the next few days, we have to move all the furniture out of the living/dining room and into the garage. One of Phil's friends is coming over on Sunday to help him move the sofa, desk, bookcase, and other heavy items. I made a start tonight by moving a few books at a time, being careful of my back, from the living room bookcase to the larger one in our bedroom -- and finding myself distracted by several volumes, of course!