Hey Ya’ll!

I should be ashamed, and I am!  It has been way too long since I’ve posted.  I have missed interacting with all of you!  So a little catching up…

Christmas day will be our 10th anniversary in our homemade house.  So this year we’ve been sprucing up.  At this time, nine years ago, we were laboring heartily on our woodsy haven of oak and pine, trying to get the building, painting, and staining complete.

We had an unexpected opportunity to visit our first little house that we lived in more than 20 years ago.  When my oldest was a little fellow, I painted a Peanuts mural stretching from one side of the room to the other in his room.  To my surprise, it is still there!  Were we ever excited to get to see it again, and show it to my 16 year old, whom had only heard about it. 
 

I didn’t like the paneling in that room, so this was one way to distract attention from it.  I painted the whole gang, being that I am such a fan and all.  This collage is a snippet of the scene. I still wonder what made me brave such a task!  But I had fun doing it.  The paint has aged, but I was tickled that the owners left it there.  When we pulled up in the driveway to see the house, it was like stepping back in time.  Our neighbors on each side of us were outside – both families!  We had an awesome visit with both, reminiscing of days past.  Now I just have to believe the Good Lord had a hand in that evening!  Have you ever gotten to go visit a house you used to live in?  There is something so special about doing that!

We’ve been refinishing our floors and in the process, we learned a few things.  Lesson number one - an industrial buffer will sling a fellow around like a ragdoll.  Ladies, don’t try it!  Men folks, be prepared.  And make sure your health insurance is in good order!  And have a video camera rolling!  Lesson number two - I don’t like a glossy finish.  Now it may just be me, but it looked more like a gym floor than a home.  So more sanding…more work…more waiting 3 day before resuming traffic on the floor.  What an ordeal this has been.  And we still have more to go.  Although just a little.  But we haven’t figured out the logistics - since it is our stairway and hall to our bedrooms - we kinda need to have access to those floors…  This pic was with the gloss finish…

Well, me being so clever and all, I had a notion to paint the walls too, since most all of the downstairs furniture was out of the house.  It sounded reasonable in my head, but that was before we decided to change to semi-gloss.  In actuality, there wasn’t a single thing reasonable about my plan.  And in the midst of it all – (sorry instagram friends for the repetition), our hot water heater broke, and washing machine, and we flooded our laundry room.  This week, it was our dryers turn to break.

We have also done some traveling, which turned out to be more of a fiasco than fun, albeit memorable.  Here’s a snapshot of a moment while on our crazy trek.  What do you think – sunrise or sunset?

The hotel concierge of every single hotel that we stayed in will tell you that this, most assuredly, is NOT a sunrise.  Being that every day and every hotel with the exception of one, saw my husband dragging up to the front desk each morning, requesting an extra hour before we checked out.  This family of five adult sized peoples, squished in one room, sharing one facility when accustomed to four, all of which are morning showerers (is that even a word?), not to mention late risers, don’t make for great organization nor punctuality.  I kept thinking that my in-laws somehow knew of our lateness, even though they weren’t with us, and were shaking their heads with disapproval since they are usually on the road by 4:00 a.m. when they travel.  But shhhh….don’t tell them.

Well, we were glad to return home, and our menagerie was glad for us to return.  We had quite a greeting from all of them. 

       I think they missed their beds,

and our beds…

And I was glad to see my waking view that I love so in the fall.  

So that is a little peek into the window of our lives.  What have you been up to?