Favorite Most Beautiful First Born ...

Today our "Boochie Dootz" is one year older ... if I state how old I will have to acknowledge my own age, since I have said I am "39" for many, many years. (Yes, I'm following in my mother's footsteps!)

She's such a beautiful, strong, self-assured and smart young "woman". I love her more today than yesterday.

Happy Birthday, Michelle ...

Nebraska ...

I'm always in awe ... so why would I even consider leaving Nebraska?

Happy Birthday Larry!

65 years ...

(my best friend)

S-l-o-w-l-y getting back to "normal"

Funny, when you hit the "60's" you also realize the good old days also included agile bodies! We have most certainly slowed down. What would have taken us a couple of nights to wrap up ~ takes a tad longer. It also would have included preparing meals and having three rambunctious girls assisting! Today it's two 64 year-olds creating a list of what needs to be done and in what order! A little perspiration, paint splattering, some cursing when stain won't come from under fingernails, "aha" moments when shelf pegs are offset giving shelving a comical appearance and deciding that the paint color chosen DOES work for space. Slowly but surely everything is coming together ... and patience is a virtue!

My vehicle is back in the garage. The door has been leveled and opener is operational. Still storing the front deck on Larry's side ... but that is slowly being remedied ...

... looks like an easy 'sit-down' job!

The "Dan-Mitch Walkway" has been replaced ... I guess it is just a plain old sidewalk now.

Much of the time has been spent in the "quilt/cutting" room downstairs. With multiple holes for the post-piers and alot of dirt on floor it took awhile to clean up before painting could begin. A good old wire brush on concrete brick walls then concrete paint to seal before the finish coat took a week-end. Wall color is "Oklahoma Wheat", kind of a creamy yellow ... makes the room bright and inviting. Re-staining window trim, touching up shelving and door trim took a couple more days ... I'm like my dad that way ... perfectionist (a good and bad trait). I found that my steam-vac worked wonders on the concrete floor. Was able to "extract" as much dirt residue as possible before re-installing carpet tiles.

One task I do not particularly enjoy this time of year is closing off the screened porch. We wrap it in plastic to keep the enclosure free of snow, which is a good thing ... no scooping! On sunny cold days the inside temps can be well above freezing too. What I don't like is the struggle of hanging the plastic and the inability to see out.

On the bright side our little Mum is still there. She will soon retire for the colder winter months, returning next spring to coax us on.