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We went skiing at Keystone last Saturday and then got to join my family and two close family friends for a special dinner. My cousin Rachyl was in town from the midwest so we got to see her, and she and Granny came up to our house yesterday for dinner. It is the first time she and Doug have met and we really enjoyed getting to see her when she was in town. I haven’t seen her in probably ten years, so it was good to catch up. I am really glad she got to see our house, and Granny got to see the progress since last July. Doug made Mahi with a pineapple salsa for dinner and we all talked for hours.

We have been working so hard on the house and the kitchen that it was nice to stand back and take a break last weekend and to clean all the dust off the surfaces and host company. It is rare when someone will drive the hour to visit us, so we make sure we reward anyone who does come visit with really good food. I know we had a good time, and I hope that Granny and Rachel did also.

We have been at the house for just over a year. Saint Patty’s Day marked the day when we moved from our apartment to the house. We had already started painting and working on it. So, in reality, the construction project that is on going, has been that way now for over a year. And the entire house looks so much better. I will have to get the before and after pictures up here somewhere for everyone to see.

We have learned soooo much about many different parts of remodeling a house from paint color matching to cabinet making. A bit more 150 sanding and then a fine sand will finish off the remaining bank of cabinets and then stain and poly! The first bank of cabinets looks great! I am so proud of Doug for making the new cabinet doors. And we picked great hardware to go with them too. Next- replace the counter top. Goodbye snot yellow counters and poo brown cabinets! The best part- we have repurposed the cabinets by keeping the boxes, sanding the old stain off, painting the interiors white and just putting new doors on. For those of you who have remodeled your kitchen, you know how much money that saved us, plus we did the work ourselves.

Hope everyone has a great spring!

So, we have had a bit of camera trouble this past year, meaning that most of our pictures that we have managed to take were unavailable. But, here is one I have rescued from the “stupid camera” category…

This is our Christmas picture from 2007.

This was from our honeymoon to Australia.

Now that I know how to post pictures…

… And after it came back from the shop, it looked like this:

After running the numbers on the new job here to start in a week, it was cheaper to buy a new car that was fuel efficient that it was to pay fuel in my old red beast.

So after much hemming and hawing, this is what we decided to go with.

The darkness enfolded both of us as we moved through the painfully cold predawn air, our path guided only by the difference between the snow and pavement. Our breaths stick with us, frosting our hats and eyebrows. The schedule change in December resulted in a treasured time first thing in the morning each day to be together and go outside and play. A startled red fox dashes away towards the creek under the crisp early morning stars. Tiny crystals sparkle on thousands of surfaces as we silently glide past, reflecting the countless starts above. It looks like it will be a wonderful day.

It is that time of year again- holiday cards. Might I ask a favor people? My name is Christy. Not Doug. Not Mrs. Doug. Christy. Ok? So please address envelopes, etc, as such.

Thanks.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The sound of the oven in the kitchen…

We have made blueberry muffins, and now the banana bread is in the oven… But it isn’t supposed to be done for another 20 minutes… What’s happening?

“-F3-” reads the display on the old oven/range.

An error code? On an oven?

Of course, what better day, the day when we are going to be using it… Thanksgiving.

Thanks be given that we found this, an error code about the oven’s temperature sensor circuit, out before noon, before we started cooking tonight’s dinner, our first we have hosted, in time enough to modify plans, but too late to purchase anything different. At least until tomorrow.

Ah, Mondays… what would the world be like without them? They are a buffer for Tuesday, protecting the day from being the harsh beginning of another week. Monday takes the heat, Monday gets the grumbling.

Except for this week’s Monday.

The sleepy being in the kitchen was making instant oatmeal and tea with honey. My arrival in the kitchen was greeted with a yawn. He was up earlier than usual, and to my surprise and delight, had made me breakfast while I was in the shower. What a sweetheart.

Later, as I was walking in Confluence Park, I saw several people carrying their cups of store-bought coffee or tea, and I thought, “My husband made mine for me!” It brightened my entire Monday. And the rest of the week as well, each day carrying my husband-made tea. It has made this week much better than other weeks, even though the commute has not changed, and the schedule is no less hectic.

I find myself searching for something I can do for him that he would like, simply because of this small but wonderful thing he has done for me.

“Lot 665, ladies and gentlemen: a papier-mache musical box, in the shape of a barrel-organ. Attached, the figure of a monkey in Persian robes playing the cymbals. This item, discovered in the vaults of the theatre, still in working order. Showing here.” -from “the Phantom of the Opera”.

A farmer’s auction is not at all like that. At least, not the one we were at over the weekend. One of Doug’s grandmothers sold her things that she could not take with her to her retirement community, and a full front yard and back yard of things were auctioned off by two country auctioneers. The excitement of finding something and staking a claim and waiting for the auctioneer to reach it and rattle off the bids was on most peoples faces. We brought home an heirloom antique train steamer trunk that now sits in the common room of the lower floor of our house with two old quilts.

We also spent time over the weekend figuring out how to set the table for Thanksgiving- we needed to make sure we had a full set of napkins and glasses, ect. Our favorite store helped us there- Bed, Bath & Beyond helped us figure out how to make it all look great. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving because it is going to look great, and Doug says he has some great recipes for food that goes beyond normal everyday meals. Ahhh. Apple Cider and cinnamon. That is what goes well with turkey.