Floor Redo Day #3

Photo 68 - November 30

It's done! And they even finished a day ahead of schedule. I haven't been able to check it out yet, though, because the note I found waiting for me asked me to stay off of it until tomorrow. Here are the problems I found - a big sliver taken out of one of the floorboards in James' room (it's actually about 3 inches long and about 1/4 inch wide) and some funny speckling around the heat duct in our room. I was told these problems would be taken care of today, so tomorrow I hope to do my walk through and find everything just as it should be. What I could see when I got home was absolutely beautiful!

Floor Redo Day #2

Photo 67 - November 29

Today I was greeted by Ryan the floor guy and cans of stain...wasn't really ready for him to just pour it on the floor, rub it in and say, "so what do you think?" Yeah - I got nothing. I decided on Golden Oak, which is a little lighter than the stain I used on the windows and other woodwork in the house I've refinished, and which really seemed to bring out the grain of the floor.

I was pretty impressed with how they sealed off the closets, and I'm also including a picture of our bedroom floor. And then the hallway - stained and ready to go. There are a couple issues I need to discuss with Ryan in the morning, but overall, I think everything is going pretty well!








And this is what happens when you bounce the stuff you're moving off your legs as you go downstairs...the bruises are really much prettier than the picture shows, but it gives the general idea. I must be bruising easier in my older years.

Floor Redo Day #1

Photo 66 - November 28

Day #1 and the floors have had their first sanding. Unfortunately it was already dark when I got home, and with limited lighting it was a little hard to get pictures. What I did shoot was the hallway, James' room and the living room. It does look like Trinka got to meet Ryan, my floor guy. He had asked me about getting to the fuse box in case he blew something, and the baby gates were moved along with the stuff stacked in front of the closets where the fuse box is. Sorry, Ryan - I warned you that they were hard to get at!

Happy Birthday, Steve & Rebecca!

Photo 65 - November 27

Kristin is always so good about having family get togethers to celebrate family birthdays. Steve's birthday was the beginning of November, and Rebecca's was yesterday and we got together today to celebrate. Happy Birthday wishes to both of them! It was an afternoon of good food and good company.

Ready? I hope so...

Photo 64 - November 26

It seems like I've been working forever to get ready for Monday! The wood floors have all been uncovered, the remaining baseboards have been removed, and everything is vacuumed and ready for floor refinishing. I wasn't sure how the floors would photograph, but you can get the general idea of how worn out they are.

Our Room




Kayla's Room




Laura's Room




James' Room




Hallway




Living Room





And my poor kitchen in overload...

Almost Ready

Photo 63 - November 25

Well I'm feeling much better. It's Friday, the floor refinishers are coming on Monday, and the house is mostly empty. Jeff and Kyle came over this afternoon and graciously moved the big stuff out into the garage and the piano and living room TV into the kitchen. After we got everything out to the garage, Jeff told me he was worried that it wasn't going to fit. Me, I had no doubt, and there's still plenty of room left. There are a couple loose ends to move out of the bedrooms yet, and the front coat closet needs to be emptied, and then it's time for spiffy new floors! And I think tonight I might even be able to sit down and relax...first time in a long time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Photo 62 - November 24

The day started out at Mom's with her and I getting the turkey stuffed and in the oven. It was a big bird - 19 lbs. Lots of turkey for 6 people - but she said turkey is Fred's favorite and he wanted lots of leftovers.



And this is the Thanksgiving aftermath. Maybe a little too much turkey for Andy and Laura.



But they brought a wonderful dessert - caramel apple pie. The crust was so hard you could hardly cut it, but the taste was wonderful. I had absolutely no problem eating the apples and then picking up the crust and eating it last. Absolutely awesome!

Who has more?

Photo 61 - November 23

I've already said that Dale has spent many years referring to me as "Imelda," referring to the fact that he thinks I have way too many shoes. Well I think I have found someone who likes shoes even more than I do.

I have to have all of the closet floors cleaned off for the floor refinishers on Monday, so for the past couple of weeks I have been bagging and boxing and moving everything downstairs. In cleaning James' closet, I was amazed at the amount of shoes that came out of there. I texted him that he had a lot of nice shoes in his closet and he texted me back that yes, he knew that. And this isn't even all of them - there are probably 4 or 5 pair of soccer shoes that were put into one of his soccer bags or put on his shelf.

So Dale - I think you can start calling James Imelda from now on.

Rushing??

Photo 60 - November 22

Don't get me wrong - I love Christmas, and I love Christmas lights and decorations. But already? I mean, it's not even Thanksgiving yet, and Christmas lights are everywhere. I appreciate that this is Wisconsin, and you get things put up and hung up when the weather allows. That is perfectly fine in my book - I think it was almost spring before I got my lights down after the last Christmas season. But do you have to light them up now? Somehow I think that Thanksgiving is getting lost in the shuffle.

So Fall Already!

Photo 59 - November 21

Apparently my apple tree has not figured out that it has no leaves, and it seems bound and determined to hold on to its apples. It is very colorful, but after hanging out on the tree for the winter, they get kind of mushy. Either that or they fall during the winter, get buried in the snow, and are very mushy. I need some more deer hunters to come by and collect the rest of the stragglers.

Enough TV

Photo 58 - November 20

Trinka has always shown a huge interest in the television. She watches it, very intently, waiting for something that catches her eye. Since Dale has been gone, she has been particularly annoying about it, barking and crying whenever certain animals appear on the screen. Her favorites (or non-favorites, whichever the case may be) are dogs (or anything dog related), cows and horses. She either takes up her post on her bed, where she is here, or right in front of the television set. Her ball is most often found in her mouth while she's doing it. You would think that would stifle the barking, which it pretty much does, but she just finds some other whiny noise to replace it.

Welcome Home!

Photo 57 - November 19

Today the deployed members from the 2-135 from West Bend returned home from their one year deployment in Iraq. Even though we still have a long time to go until Dale and I are back together on a permanent basis, it was an awesome experience to be a part of their homecoming. The looks on the faces of the children as they welcomed their parents back home spoke more than any words could ever say. Their coming home puts us that much closer to the day when we get to celebrate the same thing. Welcome home!

Crystal Ball, Anyone?

Photo 56 - November 18

I'm sure we've all thought it at one time or another - how much simpler life would be if we had a crystal ball to tell us what to expect. James always used to tell me he had one in his closet, and I told him that it was pretty poor that he wasn't bringing it out and sharing it with me. But in my clean up, I found it. Not sure it is the one James told me about, but it was included with one of the bags of clothes that came from the kids. Problem is, it did not come with operating instructions. Just my luck. I will have to hit James up and see what he did with those.

Following the path

Photo 55 - November 17

I see this picture every day, as I drive up Cindy's driveway on my way to work. It's the neighbor's empty lot. All they have on it right now is the picnic table. I really like the tire tracks and how they lead up to the table. I've never really seen the people next door on their lot, but when I see the tire tracks, I can picture them driving up and sitting on the bench and taking in the view that they will eventually have when their house is built.

Take a Walk?

Photo 54 - November 16

I like to walk, and I try to get out and do it every day. I need it, and Trinka needs it, since she spends an awful lot of time waiting for me to come back from wherever I am, be it work, or church, or volleyball, or wherever. Dale likes to tease me and call me "Imelda" because he thinks I have way too many shoes, but sometimes, you just need them. I'm kind of excited about my new walking shoes. I'm still loving my last pair of Reebok SimplyTone. I've just started wearing through the bottoms of them. So yes, Dale - I did need a new pair. Wish you were here to go walking with us!

Rays of Sunshine

Photo 53 - November 15

If you weren't told what this photo was, I'm not sure it would be glaringly obvious. I love how the sun rays look shining through the clouds, and thought I'd try to see if I could capture them. It was still a little overcast, but you can definitely see them shining through. Hopefully I will have another opportunity at a shot like this in the future. This isn't bad, but I think there is room for improvement.