Home Improvements

The house has been a work in progress for so long that I don't realize how much it's changed. We now have hardwood floors in the bedroom, living/dining room, kitchen and hall. Only the two other bedrooms have carpet. We've also painted the living room and hall walls. Most are a muted green but one wall is a golden yellow which helps brighten everything up. Larry has fixed a gap in our kitchen cabinets plus built a new section of base cabinets (drawers to come later) and we have countertops ready to install and then a new tile backsplash to put up.

But... first, while the weather is still nice, Larry has been covering the house with vinyl siding. We bought the vinyl in early Spring (or was it last Winter?) and it's been waiting in the garage for nice weather. While I wanted a sage green or a mocha color we ended up with this beige because we had an opportunity to buy at a really super price. We took what we could get and it's turning out okay.

Larry has made much progress in the last few

weeks; about 99% single-handedly. He has painted the soffitts white because we'll have

white trim when it's all done.

Silly me - I only took photos of this one wall - probably because I was nervous about him being so high up on these ladders that I worked outside and stayed within shouting distance in case he needed me.

We have new burgandy shutters, which are also made of vinyl, and have painted our front door to match. One of these days I'll photograph that too. He has three sides now covered and is working on the back where the deck is. That takes a bit more prep. I'm proud of his for all his hard work. He has saved us a bunch of money and has done a great job (as usual). What you can't really tell from these photos is, this part of the house is over the garage so he's about 25' up on that ladder. I still don't know how he managed to reach the peak (I didn't look for that part).

And, just so you know... I haven't been totally lazy. I continue to work on the yard.

Last May, it was looking fairly tidy. After avoiding the heat of summer for several months, I'm now back in the yard trying to tame it again.

Bermuda grass has taken over a few spots and weeds are rampant. But, things did grow up some while I looked the other way.

Oh! The raspberries have been wonderful. I sure didn't expect to get raspberries this year when I planted them in spring but they've been steadily producing for months now. The blackberries, on the other hand, are making long runners but will wait until next year to make fruit. If you click on the Oct photo and look behind the cottage you'll see the blackberry vines.

I just harvested the Sweet Potatoes that took over the garden this summer. They made a wheel barrow full! Now, each day I'm cooking them so they can be made into Sweet Potato casserole and a dozen other things. I'm even thinking about trying my hand at canning.

The other thing I'm doing is transforming the grassy area North of the cottage (AKA rental) into a woodland. I killed the grass in Spring and covered the area with leaves from last fall and compost. Then, the huge rains we had in September washed everything away leaving me with raw dirt. I was fortunate to be the recipient of wood chips from a tree service. They dropped off 2 dump truck loads full. It's not the best stuff because it's fresh (as opposed to aged) but it does cover the dirt and that's great.

Dad has news

As you know, Dad has been here since July 31st. The transition from the time Mom passed away until he got here was so intense that when he finally got here he settled in and took it easy, doing all the things he loves - mostly reading and spending time on the computer. He has been mowing my lawns regularly which frees me up to do other things in the yard. I'm sure the neighbors appreciate his efforts as well since the lawns looks manicured rather than wild. :-) Doesn't he look happy?

Well... he didn't look this happy a month or so ago. He was lonely. I was feeling badly that I only spent time with him a couple times a week. I'd make time to visit with him one evening during the work week and then we'd all (him, Larry, me, Ben, Laura, and Abi) often get together on Sunday afternoon. But, he wasn't enough. There were just too many hours in the day by himself.

So, being the computer geek that he is, he went to eHarmony and completed a profile only to be told there were "No Matches" for him. Imagine that! That led him to a christian matchmaking website that he joined for free for two weeks. He completed his profile and waited.

He waited only 3 days and was contacted by a lady in Pennsylvania. They emailed back and forth and found they had a lot in common - most of all their strong faith in and commitment to God. Emails progressed to phone calls, and let me tell you, these two were like teen-agers, talking late into the night as they got to know each other. I enjoyed teasing him. I threatened to bang on his door and yell, "Turn off the lights and go to sleep!". I didn't, of course, but thought about it. :-)

I don't remember now the date this all began but I can tell you that they have spent more time talking in this short time than most couples talk in a year! I have even had the pleasure of emailing a little bit and even spoke on the phone with her. They are both convinced they're a match made in heaven. Get this... her name is Millie!

Last week Dad took a trip to Pennsylvania to meet his new Millie. He had a wonderful time and got to meet Millie's family and friends. They also visited some sites in the area like covered bridges. Pennsylvania is a beautiful state and he got to see it dressed in Autumn colors.

Next month, Millie is coming to Chattanooga for a visit. She'll be here for about two weeks surrounding Thanksgiving! We're looking forward to meeting her and Dad's looking forward to doing the tourist thing in Chattanooga with her. (The Aquariums, Rock City, Ruby Falls, The Incline on Lookout Mtn, and more.)

Before I finish this story, let me say that I am thrilled for both of them. They seem well suited for each other and as Dad says, "It's a God thing".

Stay tuned for more updates!

Abi update

It's been way too long since I've shared Abi with ya'll. She's getting to be such a big girl. She understands a lot and has a few words in her vocabulary that we can understand. She has a lot more words and even sentences that we don't understand at all but love to hear her said it anyway. She is 16, going on 17 months old now. Her hair is starting to grow in back and on top but it's blond (like her Mama) so it's hard to see.

She is such a delight. Here's a video of her on the little rocking horse. Enjoy!