Month: July 2007

The surprise vow renewal for my aunt and uncle went really well- he had people help him plan it, and she was completely surprised. It was great! I am glad that Doug and I got to see them and their three kids again. I don’t know them as well as I would like, and I need to do better at changing that. We have invited them to stop at our house on their way back from Montana- I hope they come. Of all the family that we have invited to come up to visit, only my granny has come.

Doug and I saw parts of Santa Fe and I took him to Taos also. Looking through an adult’s eye makes a world of difference- the last time I saw any of this I was about 7 or 8 years old. The stories my dad told me about children my age in the pueblos a thousand years ago created an overlay of color and activity that was absent this time.

The desert is incredibly green this summer- I have never seen it so green. It even rained when we were in Taos. There were flowers everywhere- beautiful! Both of us enjoyed the drive down and back, and Doug read out loud HP7- I love being read aloud to. We both needed the break and spend time together, but it is good to be home again, especially for Doug who had been on a two week business trip immediately preceding the wedding. Ah, home…

There, at the other end of the straight away, is the yellow tape across the finish line. It has been a long race, and you have used your energy wisely, and now, just a bit more will get you down to that yellow ribbon, and then you can rest. So you dig deeper and run faster, no longer looking to see where the other runners are. Almost there… just a little bit more…

We got carpet the week after the 4th of July. We also had some laminate flooring installed in the study and the front door landing.

Doug has been on a two week business trip, and I have been working on some of the landscaping in the back yard including a bird feeder plant holder and an artistic bird bath. We bought trim- something that happens after carpet- and a miter saw to cut it with (also for future projects), and frames for some new pictures downstairs.

Oh yeah, and mix in a book that takes about ten hours to read.

We enjoyed having D&S up, as well as R&M, and seeing the 5th Potter movie, and we figured out what configuration we want to put in the master closet. Between bike rides, trips to the hardware store, seeing people that we haven’t seen in months, work, and working on the finishing touches, we have been busy. Very busy.

The end is in sight! We finished painting late last night, and all is well on its way to carpet install Thursday.

I thought I would post some visual updates, so here goes…

Sorry about the crappy phone video, but it gets the point across.

The video starts at the front door, moves down the stairs, and into the big living room (soon to be the beach bar area). Areas to note: anything that is white was dark brown crappy paneling; all of the doors are currently in the process of being replaced with the door at the end of the video, with satin nickel door handles; yes, that is a kiddie pool in the cats room (it keeps the ‘extra’ kitty litter under control); and again, sorry for the crappy phone video.

For more explanation of things, post your questions, and Christy and I will try and answer them in a timely manner.

Enjoy!

We ordered carpet over the weekend! Yeah! So now we have a deadline to get all the painting done. We had to move everything out of the main room for painting, and tape the stairs also. I am really looking forward to this part of this project being done. We want to take a break from dust and construction for a bit after we move downstairs.

My Granny Flo asked if she could come see us and our house for the 4th. I told her “Of course! All of our family and friends are welcome at our house!” So we are going to pick her up and bring her up, have dinner, and go see the fireworks, and take her home. It should be fun- I have never seen the fireworks there before, and it will be nice to have Granny over. I hope she makes a habit of it because I like it when people visit.

We heard recently that my sister got a new job teaching close to where she lives. I am glad for her- I know she likes teaching- and with it so close, her commute will be simple.

We attended a family wedding a few weeks ago. It was great to see people again that we rarely see. Doug’s Aunt came from back east and brought her little boy with her. He has grown so much since the last time we saw him.

I am looking forward to the wedding of a family friend this weekend. His parents have asked that I use their video camera to film it for relatives that won’t be at the wedding. I think it is so cool that he found someone he wants to be with for the rest of his life.