Friday, October 30, 2009

We had a visitor today – his name is Rupert

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This is Rupert.

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Lilly meets Rupert. Lilly is not at all thrilled with Rupert.

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Lilly shows Rupert the way to leave.

The End.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

FINALLY – a real editor!

On the tip from another blogger, I learned about Windows Live Writer. If you have ever had troubles with blogger’s editor – this is for you. This is my first post using it, but I already like it much better than blogger.

You need to download the software and install it, then connect your blog to it. If you are interested and have questions, please leave a comment and I’ll let you know.

Here’s the link where I found it … which contains the link to the post (don’t want to leave anyone out :)

Friday, October 23, 2009

Soccer, stone, sheetrock and SO many colors!

In a word ... BUSY!

Soccer:
Soccer season is about to wind down for the year, but we have had a fun year. The rainy weather has made practicing and games challenging, but the kids have enjoyed this season.








Stone:
John's brother, Jeff, came down this week from PA to put stone on the concrete part of our basement walls. It looks great! He will come back in a couple of weeks to finish the one side and the back.


Here he is just starting.


One side almost complete. The part that is not covered (black color) will be covered with dirt soon.

Sheetrock:
Or drywall - I wanted to stick with the 'S' theme :) The drywall is hung and mudded. They will wait for it to dry and then sand next week. Whoo hoo!!! I can't believe the time to paint is nearly here!!!

SO many colors:
Picking paint colors is just a little bit overwhelming. Sherwin Williams offers over 900 colors to choose from! Sometimes, I just need a few less options. I have some general colors in my mind - at least for the main floor. Later today, we are going to run and get some paint chips to work with - to coordinate and make sure the colors go together nicely.

Well, that about sums it up. We are getting closer and closer ...

Monday, October 5, 2009

Oops!

I have been watching my prices pretty carefully at Wal*Mart since I have found a few things that ring up incorrectly at the register. I had planned on a post listing the items that I had found and the savings that I received ... and now, I just don't feel like that would be a good idea.

You see, for the last 3 weeks, I have been "correcting" the price on the milk that I buy. The shelf had $2.00 and it kept ringing up $2.88 - I told the attendant at the u-check line and they would correct it for me. Today, when I picked up my 2 gallons of milk, I had to lean way over to get the jugs from the back of the shelf. And, guess what I found? When I bent all the way over, I saw that the tag indeed said $2.88! OOPS! Since I am tall, from my angle, it seriously looked like $2.00.

After paying for my things, I went to the customer service desk to correct the problem and pay for my mistake. Funny thing, they don't really have anything in place to handle this situation, so they were very kind and thanked me for trying. Awww - grace. How sweet it is to receive. A good reminder to also give it.

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btw - my husband finds this very funny. He was wondering if I was telling "how I scammed Wal*Mart" :) I really didn't mean to - oh, I think I'm going to have to take my camera with me next time and show you. Hee!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Hospitality - Sourthern style

We have all heard of Southern hospitality - well, last weekend we got a good dose of it and then some. I have met very hospitable people in all parts of the country, but it does just seem that the south has an edge on the rest of us.

John had a speaking opportunity at a church nearby and we received such a warm welcome, it was tangible. The pastor is a cousin to the vp at We Care and he asked John to come and speak about We Care and our experience in Alabama. We had such of a fun time.

After the service, a couple of ladies came to talk with me. One of them owns a plant nursery that I will definitely be visiting next spring and the other told us to stop by her home after church - that she had something for us. Here is what she had for us ... it's called a Confederate Rose (no offense to the northerners reading). She also offered us a tour of their home which was a very quaint log cabin that they reconstructed on their land. I didn't have my camera along, so I can't share it with you.




Closeup of one of the blooms.

We went to lunch at the Metzler home, enjoyed a wonderful meal and the kids loved playing with their kids (even though their kids are older).

And if all that wasn't enough, they had taken a love offering for our family that was just an added bonus on top of everything else.

We certainly didn't (and don't) expect this kind of treatment, but it was sure sweet of the family of God to love on us like they did.

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In other news, can you handle more spiders? This one is a nice one on the outside of the house ...


They are plenty big, too, but are also fascinating to look at.

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House progress:

Insulation is roughed in.

Kitchen is ordered.

Drywall next week. And, then, I will have my hands full painting. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Tons of decisions right now - style of kitchen, which appliances, paint colors, flooring, trim, etc.

If anyone has advice on appliances, I would appreciate hearing it. The vast number of choices is simply overwhelming. I need to nail down the double oven and the microwave in order to get the dimensions to the cabinet guy asap.

Sorry I don't have pictures of the house - nothing excitingly picture worthy going on right now.

Hope all is well on your end!