well, here I am, having a wonderful day!

Long before HGTV, back when we had three channels of television, on Saturday mornings, there was a show called, I believe, "This Old House". I've heard jokes about it being This Damned Old House, and worse.  They would renovate, and find a problem, and another problem, it was a slow moving show, not like the flashy home improvement shows now.  

Anyway.  Last evening, we drove to the small city to visit Lowe's, which is always fun with Miss Char and Miss Cam.  They really like home improvement stuff.  We went down the lighting aisle, and perused the faucets, and hoped the ones coming in the mail from Walmart are actually nice.  We looked at some flooring, then ventured back to get our p.v.c. bead board.  Welp.  Online, it said there were 15 in stock.  No, there were NONE in stock.  They had the packages of small ones, but none of the eight footers.  

Home, late dinner, still a nice evening.  

This fine morning, the girls went off to work, and I went to a different Lowes by myself.  First, Target, and a stop in Starbucks for a free birthday drink.  The sweet girl who works there accidentally put sweet cream instead of regular cream, so she gave me that one too, which I brought to Kathryn.  Anyway, I wandered around and got some blonde roast iced coffees, confectioner's sugar, butter, sour cream, and a bag of frozen meatballs.  Nothing exciting.  Then to Lowe's for my pickup, this time I made sure they had them by ordering and paying ahead, and going when we got the notification they were ready.  

Then, since I had no eye-rolling teenagers with me, I ventured into Hobby Lobby.  I was looking for some baby shower things for the cake.  That store is too much fun.  I looked at the mirrors, would love new ones for the bathroom, but even with 50% off, ouch!  It was fun to look, but I was mindful of my owie knee, which was killing by the time I got out if there.  I have to be careful, it's SO hard to drive when it's like that.  

But, one more stop, at a local dairy store for two half gallons of ice cream, because hey, it's my birthday.  I know I have hot fudge here at home, and sprinkles, so we may as well have sundaes tonight!

Then, instead of going home, I went to visit Kathryn and went for a swim.

Now...some people are coming over, and Paul is working on the bathroom.  The new faucets came in the mail, and I am pretty pleased.  They are really nice faucets, and sell for more than double, even triple what I paid for them.  So I was actually surprised when the shipped and arrived on time!  

Ah well.  I need to move it move it, the house needs some cleaning up, and here I sit.  Paul picked blackcaps, I'm thinking of making a cobbler...you all have a really nice day!

perhaps, maybe?

 A call from the Orthopedic office yesterday: they're resubmitting my request at the end of the month, so a possible August surgery!  I don't want an August surgery, because we have TWO camping trips planned, (we got such a good site for each, both beach sites, especially the Labor Day weekend site!). Plus, Sonja K. is having a baby around then!

But.  Sometimes you can plan and prefer, but then just have to accept that you aren't the boss of the whole wide world.  :)

Bathroom demo woes....oh, the sad sad saga of DIY-ing.  It's so satisfying when it's finished, but in the middle, not so much.  The door is reinstalled after having it set in the dining area on two stools for a few days, getting coats of trim enamel.  (It will have to come back off when we try to fit that vanity through the doorway to install it.). The pipes, oh dear...the way the drain pipe lines up with the middle drawer of the new vanity:  we will have to remove the drawer and attach the drawer front, so it won't really open.  We can't figure out any other way, other than move pipes around, and heck, our old vanity had three drawers too...the middle drawer lost it's bottom YEARS ago, so we only had two, and look at us, all alive and well!

I try to be so nice and kind to Paul about these things, trying to smooth over the fact that ha, he thought our bathroom was fine before.  He does it all for me, so I work on not being TOO demanding.  The other thing we figured out:  the vanity top is actually a half inch too wide for the space.  This means we make a groove in the wall and fit it in, and cover that with bead board.  Somehow.  

The girls have it all painted, so when they get home from work we are going to Lowe's to buy more bead board.  It's the waterproof vinyl stuff, safe for bathrooms.  We will need trim too, so it gets pricey, but at least our labor is free, right?  Here's how much it's cost so far:

One white one piece vanity top with sinks:  $100 on Marketplace.  This is where the whole can of worms was opened, the cookie we gave the mouse, the beginning of the cascade...because you can't put a new vanity top on an old vanity!

One white 60 inch vanity, from the Amazon return/overstock store:  $400 with tax (you can't put a new vanity in a bathroom without a fresh coat of paint!)

One quart of Sherwin Williams Symmetry paint in matte finish:  $35

One package new mini rollers:  $4

New paint brush:  $9

Shower curtain from Target:  $20. (You NEED a new shower curtain!)

Two boxes of luxury vinyl planking waterproof flooring:  $140. Why replace the vanity and the top with that old tile still in there?  Makes no sense.

Two Delta faucets:  $120. New faucets, of course!  One didn't work for a few years now, so we needed new ones at some point anyway!

Still to be purchased:  bead board, trim...and who knows?  

This whole ordeal makes one thing clear:  we should NOT start in on the kitchen countertops any time soon, as we want butcher block...and who knows what else?!

This fine morning, after the pool, I went to Costco with Kathryn and her small children.  There was a playhouse there all set up, Achilles went in and was delighted.  Miss Rhys and little Jamison were in the front of Kathryn's cart clamoring to go in that play house, so we helped get them out to go in and try out the playhouse.  I asked them if they would get back in nicely, afterwards, and of course they said they would.  When we let them play for a few minutes, I asked them if they wanted to get in my cart or their mama's, and they said, "Mama's!", so in they went, no problem.  :).   

I got croissants and a birthday gift for Sam, and a bag of Hershey's chocolate nuggets, and some Celsius, which the girls like to take to work.  I don't drink energy drinks, coffee is fine with me.  I also got a bag of Unreal coconut bars, they're like Mounds with less sugar.  They are SO good, pricey, but I try to hide them ha.  

So now I'm home, everything is put away, the kitchen is tidied up, and I'm relaxing, getting energized for my trip to Lowe's when the girls get home from work.  My afternoon coffee is almost gone, and it's nice and comfortable in here with the new AC unit humming away.  We had the windows open for most of the day, as I prefer fresh air and hearing the birds stinging, to the hum of this thing, but then it got really warm in here.

Sonja's baby shower is this coming Sunday, so exciting!   Never a dull moment...oh, and this is my very last day of being 59, I'm enjoying the heck right out of it!  Have a good afternoon!

moving right along!

 

A picture from the wedding, Margaret, Kathryn, Charlotte Claire, Camille...

This is what reno projects look like at my house.  Fancy-like, using a paper plate for the roller paint.

Ms. Fix-it Camille removed the door handle for me.  

The color they chose:  

Symmetry, by Sherwin Williams...

NO SAD BEIGE, I said.  They assure me this isn't sad.  There are pink undertones, it will look cottage-y with the beadboard.  We'll see.  They did one coat of paint, and painted the ceiling, and are at work today, so slowly she goes.  

I need to get moving, I'm going to Target with Kathryn, to pick up that shower curtain.  I put a coat of enamel trim paint on that bathroom door that's propped up on stools in the kitchen, I gave the other side of it two coats yesterday.  One more coat later when I get home, and we can put it back on, or just wait until the flooring is in and the vanity installed.  Thankfully we have two other bathrooms.  

Ah well.  This is shaping up to be a really good week.  Tomorrow my friend Annetta is going to hang out here while her car is repaired in the garage down the road.  Kathryn and I might fit in a trip to Costco, then Thursday I turn the big 60, which I refuse to believe.  There is no way I am that old.  My mother used to say that she would look in the mirror and wonder why that old lady was looking back at her.  She was 60 when she started her nine year stint of kidney dialysis, three times a week for the rest of her life, as she passed at 69.  

We can complain about being old, but if you're reading this, you are alive, and where there is life there is hope, and...as my mother used to say, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life", so be thankful and find joy in your day, ask God what He would like for you to do.  Then listen, and be obedient!  

just the cupcakes...

This pic is from strykingphotography, as we waited for the bride to walk down the aisle...that's me in the curly ponytail, 4th row from the back.

Darius and Kathryn, Jon and Rosi, me, my brother Bob and his wife Mary...lovely pic, I was eating some mashies.  

Camille, Amanda, and Miss Charlotte Claire helping with the ice cream

The cake, four layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and flowers on it..

 I don't have good pictures of the bride and groom yet, as they asked the photography be their own, which is a good idea.  But, I wanted to show you the baked goods we worked so hard on...

I just got back from the pool, slipped out of my Birkenstocks, and moseyed around the yard in bare feet.  I checked on my flowers, watered them, gave the garden a big drink.  Camille and I staked up the tomato plants the other night, they are thriving and I hope we get the tomatoes before the bugs do.  I hung out some laundry, rather draped it on the deck...it's so warm and breezy, almost 90, why turn on the dryer? 

 Now we're leaving to go pick out paint for the bathroom.  I'm letting the girls decide.  They're so happy to help, why not let them choose?   So you all have a good day, and don't melt!

things I like and things I love...

 I like projects.  I like to plan them, and I like other people to help me actually do them.  No sooner did we get the guest room finished and then started the bathroom project.  Paul started to rip up the tile and decided not to.  We are just going to put the flooring on top of it.  He removed the old vanity, and cut the back piece to fit in to the floor where the tile ended, because the new flooring will cover the whole floor (the tile was installed after we had been here a while, and the vanity wasn't moved, so the tile just went up to the vanity and not underneath it)

It's always awful in the middle of a project.  Once he gets the new flooring in, the new vanity can go in, but the new faucets don't arrive until Thursday.  I am keeping the mirrors until I find something I love, so maybe forever, ha.  Same with the light fixture.  I have a new one that I bought months ago, but don't really like it.  We're hoping to put a beadboard backsplash, and beadboard on the other walls just halfway up.  Paul is like...um, do we have to?  um.  yes.  :). Go big or go home, right?  We probably won't be redoing this bathroom again, in our lifetimes?  So we may as well make it lovely.  "We" as in "he".  

So I had a color in mind for this bathroom: 

Just that color, so lovely!  The girls are vetoing.  They say no more blue.  To be fair, look back at what color the bathroom is now, ha.  

This is the shower curtain I bought...it has subtle beige and white stripes behind the floral...

So the paint will probably be a neutral.  Light tan, creamy white.  I'll just go to the paint store and peruse the samples.  

Anyway.  I like updating things.  We're thinking some wood shelves behind the toilet, just to warm up the vibe...we'll see.  

We're watching Newton here for a bit.  

He's so cute.  Sunny lights up when he comes over.

This fine day Grace is getting married.  If you've read here for any length of time, you know who Grace is.  I was there for her birth, her mama is my niece Katie.  She grew up with Sonja.  Mariel and I offered to make the cake and cupcakes for the wedding, and we did.  It's always a stress fest, when the baking is for something so important, but so far so good.  Mariel made four carrot cakes, I made the cream cheese frosting and stacked them up...a wee bit crooked, but shh, will anyone notice?   Cam will help me decorate with fresh flowers today before we put it out.  The cupcakes:  they came out so beautifully.  Mare baked the lemon and the gluten free vanilla, I made the regular vanilla, and the lemon and regular buttercream frostings.  We got together yesterday and got them all frosted, and phew.  It's done.  

In the walk in fridge at church...all the containers of cupcakes and the cake, and the flowers for it.

We're leaving here in a few minutes for the wedding.  Paul is working in the kitchen to help with the food, helping Emily, as well as Evelyn and Nate.  I'll be checking up on them to see how it's going.  Darius and Nate smoked the beef brisket already.  Today the kitchen crew will be adding mashed potatoes, and gravy, roasted asparagus, caesar salad and Italian bread with parmeasan-herb crusted chicken.  Dessert will include a variety of ice creams with those cupcakes, then later in the evening there will be s'mores and popsicles.  :).  (for 165 people). 

 The kitchen is always a fun place to be, Emily at the helm makes it so good, she doesn't freak out, calm-cool-collected no matter what mishaps may occur.  She can think on her feet and she cooks with her heart, recipes are just suggestions to her.  So I will be visiting them in there ha.

Tomorrow, we'll be going to get paint after I go to the pool, then get the bathroom painted.  

Projects are never without trials.  Yesterday after cupcake/cake frosting, I walked in the door right after Paul had accidentally broken a pipe.  Never a dull moment.  He's been to the hardware store so many times, the car will just go there when you get in.  He bought a part for the plumbing, it was the wrong part, back he went.  Thankfully it's five miles down the road, no one should live further than that from the hardware store.  

The flooding in Texas has been heartbreaking.  All those little girls, oh dear Lord, I cannot imagine, their poor families.  The only consolation is that they went straight into the arms of Jesus.  

I won't comment on the Big Beautiful Bill because I haven't researched it much.  One part is that any able bodied adult will who can work will have to work 80 hours a month to qualify for Medicaid.  This might be a good thing.  The way things are now: if you get benefits, and you work, and earn income, it can make it so you don't qualify for benefits anymore, and possibly deter some from wanting to work.  So this new plan may make it so they WANT to work, in order to get those things.  

Other politics:  I did like President T. dancing with his wife.  I do not agree with rooting out immigrants who have made this country their home, and sending them back.  If they are criminals, fine.  But if they've been here a while, have families, and have been working, then WHY?  It's heartless.  The past president opened the border wide, practically invited them, it's cruel to send them back.  Just give them citizenship, have them pay taxes, and close the border to all future immigrants unless they go through the proper channels.  The time and money spent on finding people and deporting them is so wasteful.  

God made all the people on the earth.  No one is better than anyone else.  Yes, there are some who have turned to darkness and have no respect for life, and all sorts of people who have given themselves over to evil tendencies.  That is for sure.  But..."there but for the grace of God go I"...as my mother used to say.  We have so much to be thankful for in these last days, these days of grace.

You all have a good afternoon!  Don't melt!  (it's SO hot and humid here in New York!!!)

God bless America!!!

 

This is what I refer to as a No Pressure cake.  It's just for fun, no one's wedding dreams are depending on it.  :). I made it yesterday after baking cupcakes, then frosted it this morning for our family fourth of July celebration.

Every year we go to watch the symphony, and they honor the branches of the military...when the Army song comes on, the vets and active service members stand up, and yes, I am proud of my boys.  That's my granddaughter Elise so excited there in the lavender (her dad is Benjamin) (and there is Sam holding his little Maeve).

The symphony is wonderful, then there are fireworks too!

Emily helping with baby Ellis...

Jonathan Robert with Orange Guy and Kettler, aka Old Kitty.  

These two kind sons of mine arrived early this morning to bless us.  Ben and Jon both work in HVAC, so they kindly installed a mini-split AC/Heat unit in our living room.  It should heat and cool the upstairs!  We fancy!  :)

We had a fantastic day of swimming and sunshine and fun with grandkids.  The new wall unit is all installed, and I won't say it looks fantastic on the living room wall, but hey, it's cool in here, and will be warmer in the wintertime!  I am so very thankful that the boys did this for us.  

Tomorrow is frosting making, and cake and cupcake frosting.   It's always nerve-wracking, but when you get it done, oh it's sweet.  

Anyway.  I think I'll go clean out the camper a bit.  Have a really nice weekend!  

it's actually kind of sad...

 Miss Camille says I make everything sad.  Do I?  Well.  harrumph.  This is my sad story today...

Charlotte Claire got her driver's license.  This fine day, I could sense she was up to something with Cam, they were plotting.  So off they went to pick up their friend and go to the diner and the thrift store.  Am I butt- hurt?  no, of course not.  But.  They don't need me to bring them places all of the sudden!  The final two children.  

Then this picture came up in my feed, on this very day eleven years ago...the same thrift store they're going to.  Time just speeds up and it seems like this was last week.  

But all is not sad.  I made the wedding cupcakes this morning.  It was hanging over my head, I wanted to do it yesterday but didn't get to it.  So eight dozen big vanilla cupcakes, and 3 1/2 dz. small ones, plus a cake for tomorrow's 4th of July celebration.  The wedding is on Sunday, so Saturday is Frost-The-Cake (which Mariel made), Frost-the-Cupcakes (mine plus the 5 dz. lemon cupcakes Mariel made) Day.  So I'm not out of the water yet, but as Char said this morning,  I "hit it out of the park" with the cupcakes.  They seemed to come out really well.

I started out in a mess though.  I needed to triple the recipe, but decided it wouldn't fit into my stainless steel bowl, so I made one batch at a time...but ooops, I realized I tripled the salt!  I was not going to throw it away and start again, so I just took a chance and tripled it.  It BARELY fit in the bowl, but it did!  

Anyway.  I'm going to Home Depot with Paul when he gets home from the gym, to get flooring for the main bathroom.  I think I'll just get the same as is in the rest of the house, instead of something that looks like tile.  With a white vanity with a white top, we don't need anymore white, the wood will warm it up in there.  Someone suggested to paint the mirror frames...

Sneek peek of the new vanity, all put together in Paul's office.  

The tile flooring...Paul likes it and doesn't really want to replace it.  I do not like it very much, I think if we're redoing the bathroom, we should just take it up and put something warmer in there.  

Remember when I painted the top and put shiny epoxy on it, and changed out the faucets?  I do try, ha.  I painted the bottom part a few times too, and spray painted the handles and put them back on.  

The mirrors...not sure if I can paint them...they might look fine with the new stuff, not sure.  

Anyway.  I need to move it move it, so I'm not still sitting here in this comfy chair when Paul comes home!  I have to get dressed and brush my tangly hair!  Have a good day!

oh my goody-good-goodness, did I panic!

 So without boring you with the details, but prefacing this with all's well that ends well, and we're fine:

I was driving down the road last evening, minding my own business, with Kathryn and baby E. in the car.  We had gone to the grocery store, and were heading toward her house on a back road.  Suddenly, I noticed a fireball in the sky.  I kid you not.  Right up on the electrical pole, a fireball like a foot wide, with sparks.  Kathryn thought she saw a branch fall on the wire, I just saw this electrifying orange ball with sparks, coming towards me, as I drove.  I did what I do best, yes, I panicked.  Full on terror, screamed, it was coming toward me, and then the electrical wire fell SMACK across my car, as I continued to drive, screaming my head off.  I do not know why I was so hysterical, it was just so out of the blue!

Yes, we called 911, and yes, we were all right.  I wasn't sure if I had been shocked, as that adrenaline rush made me shaky and feeling sick.  I never even checked out the car until today, and there are scratches all over it!  I will have to contact the insurance company...I should have stuck around and talked to the police, we basically just reported the down wire.  (We were rather on the down side of a hill, so we didn't stay there...hindsight says we should have)

Of course I had to go pee wicked badly.  I drank iced water then an iced coffee as we drove, and didn't use the bathroom in the store...lesson learned, don't wait so long, you never know when you're going to be scared silly!  

Anyway.  Lightening out of a clear blue sky.  It was sunny and warm and boom. 

This fine day, I went to the pool, then to bring one teenaged girl to her driver's test.  Miss Cam and I sat and waited, couldn't even look as Char pulled out with the instructor.  When she came back around, we didn't turn around as she parallel parked behind the instructor's car.  We weren't to find out if she passed until 6 p.m., so we went to one of the Finger Lakes and sat in the sun.  We waded into the water, but it was a bit murky, and decided to just be hot.  We left, got iced Americanos, then went to Aldi.  Sonja and Oscar were coming over for dinner, so we hurried home to make it.

I cut up chicken breast and marinated it in vinegar and seasonings, then stir fried it all in the wok in olive oil and sesame oil.  Cam stir fried broccoli, red peppers, ect., in the other frying pan, and made jasmine rice.  We had just finished up when Char checked online, and YAY, she passed!  Oh, the times I've gone through the stress and waiting!  Today, we took it in Seneca Falls NY, and there's a little set of bleachers to sit in!  And, it was a lovely day!)

We're home from our conference and staying in the camper, have most things put away and washed.  Paul is moving into the next project, the main bathroom.  The new vanity is put together in his office.  I'm being a brat and insisting on removing the tile that's in there on the floor.  It just looks blah.  It is not under the old vanity either, I would really like new flooring that goes under the new vanity, if that makes sense...I want it up off the floor too, so maybe it won't get as damp under there.  Granted we used that bathroom SO much through the years with all the kids, but the bottom of the present vanity:  rotting out.  

So.  I'm trying to choose new faucets that won't break the bank.  I like champagne bronze, but oh no, way too pricey.  The gold ones are too fancy and loud, the silver/chrome look dated, and the black matte are going out of style, plus the black tends to flake off, especially with hard water.  So I have tentatively chosen brushed nickel.  

I'm thinking for the flooring:  maybe same as out here?  It's waterproof.  Or I could get some that looks like tile.  I don't know, we only will need one or two boxes, so even if it's expensive stuff, it won't be too much.  The girls want to paint the walls white, of course, everything has to be white these days.  In my book, it looks like an apartment when it's all white.  I don't have a vision for it yet.  I'm thinking if we still use the mirrors we have, which I scored at Wegmans, a grocery store, like 15 - 20 years ago for $6 each, and have gold-ish frames, then the nickel faucets, and I can't remember the light fixture I got for a bargain...will it all clash?  Do I care?  

Ah well.  I'm excited to have the bathroom get done though.  And:  we're getting a.c. installed soon...wow, right?  

The swimming pool though, not sure...

Tomorrow night is the symphony and fireworks at one of the Finger Lakes, then Friday we're having a picnic.  Tomorrow during the day I'm baking eight dozen cupcakes for Grace's wedding.

There never is a dull moment, is there?  I will say this, I'm thankful.  :).  I am never bored.  

room reno almost done: pictures!

 

This isn't even a total "before" pic, as the new window is installed here, just not the trim yet.  When Jonathan was in residence, one wall had a built in pull up thing, and a boxing heavy bag. He had a loft bed, and posters all the teenage boy room stuff...hunting gear and and and.  

The beginnings...new ceiling paint, one coat on the walls...that's the trundle from the day bed covered in an old sheet.

And:  after!  The Pottery Barn day bed with trundle:  the best Marketplace find EVER for one hundred dollars, so nice and clean and new and sturdy!  The yellow chair we've had forever, the little wicker table is outdoor furniture from Target, 70% off, same with the rug.  There isn't trim on the window yet, we are still deciding to change to white, along baseboards too, or leave it wood.  

It's so nice to have a clean new room!  

This fine morning, after the pool, Kathryn and I went to a few stores with just baby Ellis and two year old Jamie.  Char and Cam stayed here with Achilles and Rhys.  We got some seltzers and croissants and burger and buns, and some good snacks for our get away.  

I can barely make it through two stores, but I do like to get my steps in.  Yesterday it was almost 6,000, but oh dear did I have a rough night, aching.  Today I was especially sore, but jeepers, how are you supposed to do things?  

Ah well.  I have to go finish packing.  I lazed out and put the chicken in the oven instead of grilling it...we're packing it up for tomorrow's dinner, with fajita fixings...mmmm.  You all have a really nice weekend!

sounds promising...

 A second conversation with the United Healthcare rep leads me to believe the surgery will be approved sooner or later.  She talked to the insurance handler/surgery scheduler at the Ortho office, and here's her conclusion of why my surgery might have been denied:  The surgeon read the x-rays and determined that I have bone on bone end stage osteoarthritis.  The surgeon.  Oh heavens, it has to be read by a radiologist, according to the insurance lady!  Heaven help us if an orthopedic surgeon can't decipher an x-ray, but what do I know?  

The interesting thing is they have kind of ruined my summer, although not really because I'm enjoying the heck out of it, but you know what I mean.  Plans all askew, camping reservations for three long weekend trips, thought I'd be healed enough to go...now, not sure.  So.  I may request a September surgery.  Get all my summer swimming and summer fun in...except that's when Sonja and Oscar's baby girl is due.  There will never be a good time to say, sure, give me a bionic knee.  

Happenings:  yesterday, I went out and about all by myself.  I got seltzer and iced tea and a watermelon, to combat the heatwave we're having.  This fine morning, after water aerobics, Char and Cam accompanied me to greet Elise when she got off the bus, as Anya had an appointment.  We stayed around for a while and went in their new pool, ahhh so nice!  

Then, to Target for a few snacks for next week, a package of half price steak which I cooked in the air fryer, and not too shabby!  We're working frantically on the guest room (I say as I sit here with my feet up and listen to my girls play Taylor Swift as they paint the room ha).  We're having guests this very weekend, so now we're in a hurry.  

The new window is in, the entry door needs one more coat on the back, the closet door one more coat too. The door handle was spray painted, the heat registers spray painted.  The trim won't be done, we're doing new trim around the window, and have to paint the baseboards and closet trim.  We have to assemble the bed, put up some blinds, hang some sheers.  Today at Target, we found a lovely rug for 70% off.  It's labeled as an outdoor rug, but nonsense, it's lovely.  We also found a little outdoor table for $25, which was regular $85, it will look fine in there.  And a $3 lamp, and two throw pillows.  

I have three sets of sheets in the wash, and will wash a few comforters, and hopefully it'll all come together by Friday night. 

Since I never published this yesterday, I may as well add more ramblings.  This fine morning, I put another coat of enamel trim paint on the bedroom door which is in the kitchen resting on two stools. Orange Guy was mewing to come in, so I stopped painting and let him in. I dried him with a towel, but he wanted more kitty chow, so he stood on his hind legs and put his paw up on the door I was painting, then walked away, leaving a trail of white paint paw prints, which were cute, but I had to wipe up.  I did get the message, so I fed him.  Well, he didn't eat the food, followed me back in the kitchen, then promptly barfed in Camille's Croc shoe.  I will spare you the details, but that nice orange kitty is a dangerous bunny hunter.  For goodness' sake, can't I just paint this door?  I didn't even have coffee yet. (Yes, I cleaned and washed her shoe).

 I fetched the comforter that was drying on the deck railings in the pouring rain, and put it in the dryer, oh the irony.  The sheets were dry, it was time for coffee...and here I sit.  It's dark and rainy and the aroma of the summer day wafting through the window, oh heavenly.  

The girls are on track to paint the second coat this morning, and we'll leave the trim painting for another day.  We will work on getting the bed together, and the room all nice and pretty, the fun part.  

Our church Family week starts Friday/Saturday, so we will be staying in our camper there.  I have to pack for that, too.  Then next weekend my sister's granddaughter, Grace, is getting married.  Mariel and I are making the cake and cupcakes, for 165 people.  She has started on her portion, and is freezing as she goes along, I have my plans written out.  

So I have plenty to keep me busy.  You all have a nice day.  

mosty toasty...

Lake Ontario...it was very calm, just a slight breeze.  The water was cool and refreshing though.

From the other day, I was holding Ellis and reading to Ruth and Rhys...

A bit hot when we got into the car...

This was our living room when we got home from the beach.  32.22c.  That's with the whole-house fan going, and a fan in the window.  

This fine morning, it's hot already.  Those cricket things that make the high pitched noise when it's hot out are already at it.  My deck flowers were wilting, I gave them such a drink last evening, and more this morning.  

When we got home from the beach, I got the guest room door out and put it up on two stools in the dining room area, and gave the other side of it a nice coating of primer.  Then I spray painted the two heat registers, and the door knob, outside on the deck (in a cardboard box).  Then I vacuumed up the kitchen, living room, hallway, because:  sand.  We don't even have little kids anymore, but we brought in sand.  I do not like it underfoot.  I don't even like it at the beach, ha.  Except for the pile I make to put my fee up when I'm in my comfy beach chair...

Paul made dinner for us, bacon and eggs.  I made some Ezekial toast, mmm.  After dinner, Paul was playing guitar with Camille, I was finishing an Anita Shreve book (The Stars Are Fire), and Nate and Evelyn stopped in.  She was bringing me some paint I had left there, so I can ouch up the new daybed and paint the doors.  I gave them a popsicle (I'm not getting a penny to say that the Outshine no sugar added fruit popsicles are SO good!)

The girls are at work, Paul is working from home, I am going to give the closet door and entry door for guest room a coat of paint before it gets too wicked hot in here.  Then I'm going to the small city to pick up some freshly roasted coffee.  I've been making cold brew and using it all up!  Ben and Ashley got me a little cold brew maker for Mother's Day, it's called The Dorothy.  It's basically a fancy French Press, but it makes such good coffee.  (The water spins around like a tornado, add the coffee and it tornadoes for like half hour, then you press/plunge it.)

Ah well.  It's summertime, and I love love love it.  I'll love it even more when we get our pool liner installed...wish it was simple, but we'll have to drain the pool, remove the old liner, and put the new one in.  Paul will also be reinforcing the rusty spot on the pool side.  

I always thought when the kids grew up and moved out, life would be slower and more relaxing, and it is in some ways, but oh dear we are still busy.   Anyway, you all have a very good day.  
 

the monday morning sizzle!

 Well,  97F (36.11c), sunny and very humid today...hot enough?  Hot as Hades?  We say over and over, It's not the heat, it's the humidity...It's oppressive.  I wait all year for heat and bare feet, but when it gets REALLY hot and humid, I just melt into a big sweaty puddle.  

But I cannot complain.  We put a window unit in our bedroom yesterday, we being Paul.  The rest of the house is in the high eighties right now, cool in the morning, ha.  I puttered around this morning, watering all the flowers, made a new batch of cold brew coffee, and I started to melt a little.

But, I cannot complain.  I am going to the pool in a bit for water aerobics, then:  we're going to the beach.  I am uncertain if that will be refreshing or just way too hot.  The walk from the car across the sand to the water, well, I won't think about that.  (oh, how pessimistic I can be, is it because I'm getting old?  I mean, hey, a beach day!  Why even think of the negatives?)

So we have been working on Jonny's old room, which we will call The New Guest Room.  

Camille...

Char...they sanded the walls then gave the ceiling the first coat while I painted the inside of the closet.  The window was pretty bad.  We installed wood Anderson windows when we built the house.  They were recalled years ago for rotting out, but could we find our paperwork?  ha.  So Paul replaced the window...they are so expensive, we have to do them a few at a time.

The walls aren't painted yet, and we will put up new trim.  All the wood trim in the room will be painted with white enamel, I like the wood but it's not in the best shape.  The chair you see is holding up the closet door, which got two coats of primer.  The bedroom door itself got a coat too, out in the kitchen propped on stools.  They will be white enamel too, from wood.  The walls will be a softer, warmer white, a yellowish beige-y white.  

Yesterday morning, I dragged Paul...no, he went graciously...an hour and six minutes each way to pick up a daybed from Marketplace.  A Pottery Barn daybed with a trundle, for one hundred dollars.  Of course I looked them up new, and just the trundle is $599.  The bed itself is over a thousand.  It didn't come with mattresses which is just as well, because we have a few, and yuck, right?  Anyway, it was listed with the description:  has some marks on it.    My expectations weren't too high, but I thought at least it would be nice and sturdy, versus buying a brand new cheap one for a few hundred bucks...well, the marks aren't anything!  Just a little scraping.  It looks really really nice, isn't put together yet, but I'm excited about it, it's just what I imagined for that room.

Now I'll try to find a rug, and will put some white sheers, and new mini blinds, and try to leave it relatively empty.  Maybe a side table, a dresser sometime...

Anyway.  It's always fun doing a reno project.  After giving the doors their coats of primer, I went out to swim with Kathryn and Darius.  The water is so refreshing, the air so hot, it was hard to get out.  We decided to order pizza and come here, then we went for ice cream.  

The first part of the weekend was great too, on Friday Paul and I went to our friends' place for a cookout with several couples that we've known for years and years.  It was warm and good and fun...then home, Suzanne and her Lab Winnie were spending the night!  (her husband was going on an Adirondack hike with his brothers).  Home, I made popcorn and we caught up.  

Saturday, Grace came over with her three kids, Kathryn with hers, it was warm out so we filled the little pools and hung out in the front yard. 

My feet on the cooler, I'm classy like that.  Suze in the little pool, she might kill me for posting it, but it shows what a sweet girl she is.  She's always had such a heart for the kids.  

Popsicles!  

Ah well, time to get out the door...hope you all are enjoying the warm weather...(and yes, I am purposefully avoiding mentioning world events...my head is not in the sand, but I am not going to get all worried either...things will happen whether I condone them or rebuke them, I can pray and I can be faithful in what I understand, it's written that when these things start happening to look up, so that's what I am doing...)

two posts in one day!

I cannot say that my computer had a glitch, more like I had a glitch.  In any case, today was wonderful.   In the pool, two of the ladies were talking going to a Mennonite greenhouse because all the plants and flowers are on sale.  They invited me to go along.  Why not?  

A stop after that to the Dollar General for a bag of ice, and four flower pots, they were buy one get one free.  Home:  an iced coffee, and repotting some flowers.  Paul had the day off of work, and was working hard on clearing out Jonathan's room.  Jon had installed some workout equipment right into the wall, for pull ups, ect.  Paul took it all down, disassembled his loft bunk, and got rid of the dresser.  It was old, and not the kind of old that makes you want to refinish and preserve it:).   The room is now empty, and shh, it's sad.  Jonny grew up and got married and moved out, all in the blink of an eye!   (Don't worry, we didn't get rid of his personal stuff, it's in our storage room).

We are going to spackle, sand, paint, paint the ceiling, clean the trim, paint the closet door...Paul bought a new window, he will install that.  Then I'll be looking for a daybed with a trundle to put in there, I'm thinking it will take up less room yet accommodate guests better.  My hope is to have a nice clean empty room, yet also a place for the grandkids to be able to play in bad weather.  

The projects, right?  

We have the bathroom to renovate soon.  We have the vanity and sink top, and new light fixture.  We need new faucets and flooring.  Paul thinks the tile in there is fine, I do not, so I win:). 

Another project on the back burner, simmering away in my brain, is renovating a big room downstairs.  We have three bedrooms upstairs:  our room, Paul's office, and Jon's empty room.  Downstairs Char and Cam each have their own huge room.  There is a guest room, and two bedrooms that are now used for storage (and the utility/furnace room with the hot water heater and Paul's fishing stuff). The one big storage room has potential.  I think we should just clear out all the stuff, get nice flooring, put a fireplace in at the end, and have a big gathering room.  We could have Thanksgiving here, Christmas here, the kids could play down there...it's a big project, but I would LOVE to do it.  

It was hot out today, 85 and humid, sticky.  Our pool project is on the list too, Paul is going to try to patch her up.   

I was heading out to water the garden today, but glanced at the pool, and it was raining out.  :)

Yesterday, I went to Target with Kathryn and her four small children.  I get in her car, and two year old Jamie starts saying "Grandma!  Grandma!"  It's adorable.  I didn't need much, but got a package of chicken breast that was marked down (their chicken is so well trimmed, and very reasonably priced, on par with Aldi prices).  I got a few things for Evelyn, as we are going to her new place for dinner tomorrow night.  

Home...ahh, home...but right back out the door with Miss Char and Miss Cam, to pick up their friends Amanda and Linnea, and go shopping.  Then through the Wendy's drive through, then home...ahh.  But, not for long, we had to go out to prepare for our summer conference...the girls helped put together furniture for new cabins being built, and I went to the little kids' t-shirt decorating, for the summer conference parade.  There was pizza for everyone first, so that was nice.  

Then...home.  Seriously, ahhh.  

Tomorrow I'm going with Sonja to get a really nice baby swing from Marketplace, then I'll probably work on Jon's room with Paul.  

My days are filled with fun and excitement, ha, but I do keep busy.  I have to rest frequently, put my feet up and give my poor knees a break.  If I don't listen, the consequences are worse, the longer I walk and stand, the harder and more painful to bend that right knee.  I'm learning.  

Ah well.  I hope you all are enjoying the warmer weather, wherever you are.  Have a nice night.  :)

some really good pictures!!!

 These were taken by my niece Susan of strykingphotography, she is so good.  

Twelve of the kids made it to Abigail and Derek's wedding.  Charlotte Claire, Sonja, Camille, Evelyn, Jonathan behind Ev, Paul, me, Benjamin behind Abigail-the-bride, Derek, Sam behind Emily, Margaret, Molly Rose behind Mariel.  (Joseph, Aaron, Kathryn, and Suzanne weren't there)

This is my new favorite picture:), after the wedding...

Paul is getting good at this!

Emily and Abigail, the two oldest of the family...

She is just lovely...and so happy.  

a good, kind father...

 The Father's Day post might be a day late, but oh my goodness what a good daddy Paul has been...at Sonja and Oscar's wedding...

The dance with Miss Suzanne at her wedding...

He's a pretty good grandpa, too...with Ellis

Evelyn's wedding....(I don't have the official pics from Abigail's wedding yet!)

With Sonja...

With baby Blythe

Bugs Bunny cartoons with Tennyson, Achilles, and Wulf

When we had only four kids at home and I thought that wasn't enough!  Now Sonja and Jonathan are both married....just Miss Cam and Miss Char now...

Story time with Ruth and Rhys

A hug for little Ophelia

This picture, oh dear!  Twins?  Grant in those overalls, SO cute!

Achilles...

With Cam, Abigail, Char, Sonja, Evelyn...

Paul and our oldest son, Benjamin...

An old family picture...

The day we rented a boat on Cayuga Lake, Paul with Emily

This:  one night the girls were talking about Pepperidge Farms cake, which we call Heater Cake.  I don't know why, or who started it, but it's the ultimate.  Next thing we knew, he was coming back from the store!  (This was a few summers ago...Suri was still with us.)

With Kathryn right when she moved back from Oregon, with baby Rhys

With Elise when she was small

When five kids went to Disney with us...Suzanne, Jonathan, Sonja, and the little girls.

This fine day, I called my ortho office and left a message, did not get a call back.  Paul has been in contact with the advocate for our healthcare through his work.  Other than that, no news.  I hobble around and enjoy the heck out of life.   Char and Cam didn't work today, and we were deciding what to do.  I really wanted to stay home and get things done.  When you're a little on the lazy side, when you get these urges, you need to run with them.  

The hall closets got the business today.  The first one, the linen closet....I took every single thing out of it, donated a ton of stuff, washed a two loads of things, then cleaned the inside of the closet.  The other closet has been the game closet.  I so wish I had taken before and afters!  We are donating a whole pile of games, and I threw away so much random stuff.  I took the shelves out of there, and painted the inside of the closet, after wiping it down.  Then we switched closets, won't bore you with the details, but everything is neat and tidy and organized.  

I had to tell myself:  we do not NEED all these extra sheet sets!  I have my sheets, I tend to wash them and put them right back on, but have an extra set.  The girls have their own extra sets, and that's the lot of us.  I have some for the guest room, and some random ones if anyone sleeps on the couch or anything.  I already have my favorite camping sheets in the camper.  I decided to rough it and not wash them between last camping trip and next one, just leave them in there...

So a big pile of old towels and sheets went into the utility room for painting jobs, ect.  

I need to pare down the extra blankets again, too.  We used to need so many, seriously, especially when we had a washing machine that took all the live-long day to do a load, and the kids would blow through clean bedding like mad, especially when there was a bed-wetter, or we had the throw up bug.  Oh, fun times...fun years.  Fun DECADES, ha.

I feel like I've come out on the other side, and am taking that huge breath, still.  I lived to tell about it.   I did learn a thing or two along the way, namely:  I don't know anything.  Children are very unique, and as soon as you figure one out, the next one comes along and is totally different.  There are some basic ingredients to grow good children though:

1.  Patience.

2.  Goodness.

3.  Prayer.  Pray for patience and goodness, and for mercy.  I used to hold my hands straight up towards heaven, and ask God to bless them, that I would be only good with them.  

4. Firmness, kids need boundaries, and they need to be respectful.  (respect your children, and they might possibly respect you!  Treat them well!) (never forget they came straight from heaven!)

But yeah, they do need to learn that no means no.  :)

Anyway.  Life goes by so quickly, and each day is a gift.  Enjoy your evening...:)