AN INTERESTING CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR!

We moved into our house on December 10th.  I had broken my little toe about ten days before our move and I came down with a horrible cough the day we moved—either from all the dust, the beginning of the dreaded cedar pollen, or a virus.  All of that slowed me down a bit.  Prior to our move I had done very little Christmas shopping and, thus, felt very overwhelmed.  Almost everyone in our neighborhood put up beautiful Christmas decorations, but I could not even find mine and really could not find time to worry about decorating our messy house filled with boxes.

I tackled boxes and our kids came to the rescue.  Son #4 and family came to help and got my washer and dryer installed. 

They also conspired with Son #3 for a huge surprise for us.  On the Monday before Christmas, Son #4 said he was going to get breakfast for us.  Meanwhile, Grandson #2 decided he could not wait for his dad to return so we were in the process of making scrambled eggs.

In walks Son #4 with Son #3—fresh from the airport and carrying a beautiful vase of roses for me.  I was so surprised I almost fell over and did get all misty-eyed.  Son #3 had arranged for a day off to come celebrate an early Christmas with us.  Below is Son #3 with Son #4’s daughter, Miss Ella Bella and wife.  Son #4 is the one holding my Christmas tree.

Son #3 saw that I was missing a Christmas tree and went out and bought a tiny one that we put on a chest in the living room.  We exchanged gifts, had dinner together and returned Son #3 to the airport.  Thanks, guys, for such a wonderful surprise!

We went to visit Son #4 and family for Christmas and had a wonderful time there.  We got some much needed sleep, some great food, and had some time away from all the boxes and disorganization at our house.

Son #4 came back with us after Christmas and did about a month’s worth of work in one day.  He organized my husband’s office, got our computers and cable television up and running and installed blinds in all the rooms upstairs.  My husband’s office is looking great!

But my art room is complete chaos—especially since the painters came yesterday and moved everything to paint the baseboards.

I’m not sure what I am going to do to get all that organized, but I need to start working on it—TODAY!

BOXES, BOXES!

We moved over the weekend.  We spent Friday night in our very empty house and ate breakfast on our lawn chairs and table.  Then the movers came with our furniture and mountains of boxes!  How did we ever accumulate so much stuff??

My sweet sister and lots of neighbors came to help!  Thanks so much to each one of you!

Sunday a.m. my sister, my husband and I had breakfast by the fireplace.  Nice!

The following picture’s caption is “Table?  What table?”  I finally uncovered it this evening so we could eat dinner—a casserole brought by a neighbor.  Delicious!

And my nephew’s little girl came by yesterday afternoon to explore the little kid’s room under our stairway.  She spent about half an hour there, so I guess the grandchildren will enjoy it.

This house is going to be so wonderful, but right now I am a bit overwhelmed by all the work that needs to be done in almost every room.  Thankfully my sister and a neighbor arranged and completely decorated the two guest rooms.  I am so grateful to them for that.  PLEASE come back SOON!!!

MOVING, MOVING!!

Last Thursday our builder told us we could move in on Friday, the 10th.  I am SO EXCITED!  Preliminary inspections begin tomorrow.  Please keep your fingers crossed for us!  Meanwhile great progress has been made and the movers will bring our things from storage on Saturday!  I plan to spend Friday night in my house!!

The kitchen has been repainted after the tile and sheet rock repair.  Our oven is in and working, and so is our cooktop.  And the refrigerator is due to be installed tomorrow.

The pond and waterfall are working, the gutters have been installed and the rain chain looks just great!

About 20 years ago I painted a lamp globe for my mother.  It hung over the small organ in her living room for years.  When she left Amarillo I claimed the globe and kept it in our garage for ten years.  When I showed it to our builder he told me he had the perfect place for it and had a new fixture installed to hold the globe.  It is the first thing people see when they walk towards our bedroom.  It is lovely—thank you, Doug!

Meanwhile, Dr. Dad has found a new friend.  We have had a feral cat wandering around in our back yard since Daisy (our fearless watchdog) died in July.  My husband decided to tame the cat and keep it around to take care of the rats and mice that Daisy used to catch for us.  I think he has succeeded!  I about passed out when I came by the house one day and found it IN his truck!  The cat is slightly cross-eyed and doesn’t look too bright, but it is bright enough to know it has found a friend.

I can hardly wait for moving day!  Stay tuned…