Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Carpeting, Outside and In


The weekend's wind and rain ripped many of the red leaves off our Japanese maple and scattered them at its feet. We haven't had long to appreciate that bright color.

It's probably cliché to evoke Robert Frost at this time of year, but here goes:

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.


And while red leaves are carpeting our lawn, indoors we've started our Great Carpet Odyssey. Last night Dave and I cleared all the furniture out of the dining room, cramming it mostly into the front foyer and our bedroom. Books are lining the walls of the hallway. Everything is stacked everywhere. As I told Dave, it's like those scenes in "Dr. Zhivago" when Tonya and her family have been forced into just a few rooms of their mansion because the Bolsheviks have taken over the rest of the house.

This is in preparation for the handyman to come this morning and rip out the old dining room carpet and carry it away. Then, tomorrow, the new carpet gets installed -- insha'allah, as they say in the Muslim world. (It literally means "God willing," but in this case, it really means "assuming the carpet gets delivered and the workmen show up.")

14 comments:

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Will the old carpet be removed? Will the new carpet be fitted? Tune in next month to watch the next exciting episode of "The Carpetbaggers" starring Olga Reed as The Squirrel Hunter, Steve Reed as Donald J.Trump and Dave as Jared Kushner.

jenny_o said...

That is one of my mother's very favourite poems! (She is a retired English teacher.)

Japanese maple leaves are so delicate and beautiful. They do make a lovely carpet. Good luck with the OTHER carpet!

Jennifer said...

Those leaves are gorgeous, and I love that poem.

Good luck with the carpet installation!

The Bug said...

Love those red leaves! Hopefully the carpet installation goes as planned. Also, YP has put an image in my head that I DID NOT NEED!!!

Ms. Moon said...

So. Did you and Dave get to express your opinion on what the new carpet should look like?
Just wondering.
I would love a carpet the color of those leaves.

ellen abbott said...

I'm not a fan of carpeting unless it's a gorgeous oriental rug. first thing I did after taking down all the heavy drapes was to take up all the carpeting and have the wood floors underneath refinished. I much prefer spring to fall. spring flowers last much longer than fall color.

Sharon said...

That carpet of red leaves is very pleasing to the eye and the poem is perfect to go with the photos.
I made a little silent groan when I read about moving all that furniture. I'm going to have to do the same thing sometime soon. I need to have the carpet stretched where I'm living. It has ripples in it. Something to look forward to or dread as the case may be.

Red said...

Nice comparison in this post. Good luck on the carpet.

Catalyst said...

Maple leaves are the loveliest but looks like a lot of raking for you. Good luck with your indoor carpeting.

crafty cat corner said...

Mmmmm, I can smell it now, I love new carpet.
the leaves are just so beautiful, I bet the tree was awsome.
Briony
x

e said...

I hate carpet and don't understand why someone would carpet a dining room in which food can be spilled and lead to stains but the landlord must be cheap.

Anonymous said...

Lovely images of fall there. Hope all goes well with the new carpet.

Tara said...

"it's like those scenes in "Dr. Zhivago" when Tonya and her family have been forced into just a few rooms of their mansion because the Bolsheviks have taken over the rest of the house." It's a rare bird who can come up with such a literary reference at such a time!

Beautiful photos, wistfully sad poem.

Autumn usually brings some melancholy but it's a kind of quiet contemplative time which is the positive side of that.

Good luck with getting the new carpet in!

37paddington said...

Lovely bench photo.