Projects

Have you ever noticed that when you start doing projects around your house, you get addicted to them for a while. That is how it seems to work for us. We start doing projects and then we want to do more projects because we really like how things are turning out. Then after a few, we need a break and do not do anything for months.

Well, we are in one of those times when projects are productive and fun. Kris has been working on a basement bathroom for a little while but had recently made great progress. It looks really great. He stripped the room down to the studs and and built it back. And he has done great work especially taking into account that he has not done many of these things before.

We are not quite done with it yet. But I am really excited about how it is turning out. For a basement bath, it looks really great.

When this is done, we plan on doing at least one more project right away and then maybe taking a small break. But I thought that I would post some pictures.



Happy Projects!!!

When the kids are away . . .

It has been a while since I have posted because our kids have been away. My parents took the girls (and my sisters boys) for a week. It was really nice to have them gone but it was great to have them come home. They left Monday morning and they came home Friday afternoon.

It was a nice vacation all around. Kris and I really enjoyed each other's company alone again. It was nice. We had long meals were we could have a singular conversation instead of interrupted ones. We even went to a couple of movies.

We even did a few projects around the house. I repainted the dining room. And Kris was prepping the basement bathroom for a tiled shower and all new fixtures. Even that was fun.




Here are a couple of before and after pictures of the dining room. I am really excited about how it turned out. We even decided on a new light fixture to make the room more complete.

The girls had a great time too. They LOVED their "kids vacation." They were never homesick. They talked about us some but it was never too sad. And the rest of the time they had a blast.

Thanks Moe-Moe and Papa for giving them such great memories. And Thanks Mom and Dad for giving us time together again. We all really appreciate and enjoyed it.

What a Picture!!!

Sometimes you get a picture that you know that you are going to love for the rest of your life. And last weekend, while visiting up North, I got one of those.


This is Grace with my Grandmother (her Great-Grandmother) Mathilda. And I am really not quite sure how it all worked out. I was trying to get a picture and Grace was not really into it as she was eating a mini-donut. But right as I clicked the shutter she turned and gave me this great smile.

I am going to love this picture because my Grandmother is so great. She is 94 years old, is sharp as a tack, has a social calendar like no one else I know but would do anything to spend time with her family. She has always shown me a lot of love and generosity. And she shows the same to my kids. I love that they get to spend time together. And I love that they are getting to an age where they will always remember her.

Imagination Peaks Out

The girls have really started to use their imaginations lately. It is fun to see what they come up with.



This is a picture Caroline drew on her easel. It is a picture of Mommy, Caroline, Grace and the cats. I love the legs and how we have no bodies. I love the ears on the cats. She will not draw often (she thinks she does not know how) but when she does draw a picture it is so cute.



This picture is of the girls riding their "horse." They find a necklace for reins and ride all over. Sometimes they share and sometimes they race. The only issue is that sometimes they fight over the beads that get used and which horse they each get to use. The couch arm is the favorite.


PS - I finished Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich this weekend. If you like the Stephanie Plum books this is a good one. I laughed a lot and enjoyed the story. No blown up cars and she did not need to be saved this time. A departure from previous books but still good.

Pride & Prejudice Sequel

I just finished Darcy and Elizabeth:Nights and Days at Pemberley. It is a second installment to Linda Berdoll's series of Pride and Prejudice sequels.

The first book (Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife) is really good. This book is good. But you have to get through a lot of junk to find the good story. It is over 400 pages long and it took at least 200 pages to be good.

In the end the story was good. Her biggest problem is over explaining things and bringing in too many new characters. I do a pretty good job keeping up with things but was left wondering a few times who people were.

I would only recommend this book if you have read the last one, really liked it, and wanted to know where she was taking it next. And you have to be willing to work through the garbage. Because the last 200 pages are well written, full of action and worth the read.


PS - For you Janet Evanovich fans. I am currently reading Fearless Fourteen. I will let you know but so far so good.