Friday, July 31, 2015

Feels Like Old Times



























The week sped by so fast! We tried to fit in as many memories we could, plus downtime for Katie to relax. We had a party with the family, a night at the cabin, and a day road trip to Duluth. Tristin was in paradise, being able to sleep with his momma again, and even Jessie came out of her funk and started acting more like herself by mooching for food.

I had all my babies together at the same time, and things felt so familiar and ... so good.

Funny how a time a way can make you think that things might have changed. But then you reconnect, and you realize that they really haven't.

Anyway, I'm already looking forward to the next time Katie comes home, only another six months or so to go ...

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Lots Happening

















The push is on to get the house all dolled up for when Katers comes home in less than a week!

Maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but we do want to get a few things out of the way so we can enjoy our time with her when she's here. Things have been working against us, though. Friday especially was rough. I came home from work to discover that our internet and home landline wasn't working. I called Century Link and they attempted to problem solve over the phone, but they discovered that it was something that a repair person would need to deal with. Okay, when?

Not for another week! I tried not to take my disappointment out on the person I was talking to on the phone, it wasn't her fault. But to wait a week for something as important as a phone and internet is almost unbelievable to me, and I'm sure I had some emotion in my voice. Thankfully our landline calls could be forwarded to my cell, but not having the internet is another issue. A neighbor offered that we could use their network if we needed to, but I don't want to take too much advantage of her generosity. I better hurry up on this blog post, come to think of it …

Anyway, we had just gone to sleep a bit after midnight when an emergency text came over my cell phone to report tornados in the area, and the need to get into the basement immediately. We grabbed the animals and ran to the basement for shelter. We watched the weather updates on the TV, and after an hour we felt we could go back to bed. And then we listened to the howling winds and wondered if that was such a good idea. The next morning, we saw that some large trees in the neighborhood had been uprooted, and heard about a another town not far from us where a tornado did hit the ground and flipped over cars and damaged some buildings. Thankfully, no one was hurt!

Bruce had been getting ready to paint the exterior of the house, and had covered all the windows and doors with plastic and tape, thinking that Saturday would be the day to get it done. It was a disappointment to discover that the strong winds from the storm had torn the plastic off and then he had to redo it all. When you are spraying a house, there's a lot of prep to be done first.

Sunday was the day for painting now. Bruce climbed the ladder to spray. I spotted the ladder, ran for things, and helped hold plants and bushes away from the house as he sprayed. He finished in about three hours, but now has all the trim to paint.

It does look good, though.

We picked up branches and leaves from the yard that the storm had left, and I did some weeding. It was a beautiful day to work in the yard, though, and I noticed that we had a lot of bumble bees enjoying our wispy, pink flowers out front!

Hurry home, Katers! The house is almost ready, and I don't know how much longer I can wait.  :-)


Sunday, July 12, 2015

New Home









The fish have a new home. The old aquarium set up was not giving us pleasure ... it was just too big to keep nice and it took up way too much room. So, we've decided to try and sell the old one on Craig's List and enjoy our fish in their new digs. It was a little tricky in concealing all the cords along the back, but I tried to do some creative thinking, and found that a pillow case taped to the glass covered them up and also added a little extra character.

Fish are calming to watch. I'm thinking this will work out well for us.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Sandwich Days






For some reason, sandwiches have been tasting good this summer. I'm not usually crazy about bread, but since finding a multigrain brand that I like (Aldis Fit and Active), I have felt especially creative in the making of sandwiches. Sandwiches are fast, and they don't heat up the kitchen in the process! Plus, tomatoes are wonderful at this time of year.

From top to bottom:  Bacon Lettuce Tomato Cheese and Fried Egg, Grilled Cheese and Tomato, Traditional Bacon Lettuce and Tomato, Egg Salad with Tomato.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Before and After, or Vice Versa




Goodness, how do things pile up, anyway? I've been trying to tackle one extra thing a day, not counting all my regular chores that are done on a daily basis, and this spot was driving me nuts. It's goes without saying that I'm feeling better now.  :)




I read somewhere that taking a before and after picture of your decluttering efforts just proves that you are being perfectionistic. I don't care. It feels good. And I purposely posted the after picture first, that felt good, too.

I think my next little accomplishment will be to glue on all the missing rhinestones to my KitKat Clock, and find a new home for it to hang. Pictures to follow ...