Catching Up

Ok. So blogging doesn’t seem to be my thing. At least not at this time. I can envision one day using this blog to keep distant family members and friends apprised of the exciting developments of my children because they all grow up so quickly. I thought I’d use this to keep folks updated about the progress of my home renovation, but I’ve been so busy renovating that I haven’t had time to manage the blog. So here’s a quick recap of what I’ve been up to since my last post in June.

House Stuff

• - Bill and I removed the delapidated back porch. Once we removed the porch, we had to repair the stucco around the roof line and add a gutter and downspout to the kitchen roof.
• - Then Bill built steps to access back door.
• - Patched, primed and painted the back of the house. For this, Bill patched some of the soffits two stories off the ground. You should have seen us trying to paint the areas adjacent to the kitchen peak and high above where the back porch used to be. If we’d really thought the project through, we would have patched the soffits and painted above the back porch before we tore it down because it left us with no place to put the ladder. To the right of the peak, we placed a step ladder on the flat roof and then placed a long 2x10 from one of the steps to the peak. I then shimmied across the plank to paint whatever I could reach.
• - Repaired the flat roof above the rear steps a couple times. We still have some work to do.
• - Once the rear of the house was finished, planted some hostas and bushes.
• - Procured a local company to custom mill replacement wood siding for the front of the house. Many of the clapboards were damaged by water and the removal of the old porch.
• - Primed hundreds of lineal feet of new wood siding on all sides.
• - Primed the front of the house
• - Replaced a window ledge, completed major repairs on another
• - Painted the front of the house
• - Refinished the hardwood floors in the office/guest bedroom. Boy do they look nice! Over the winter, we’ll patch & paint the walls and trim and have one room that is completely finished. Then just 6 & a foyer to go!
• - We also worked on Bill’s house, replacing and painting trim around the entire house and painting the patio room.
  

Fun Stuff
As you can see, we’ve been very busy working on my house & of course my folks’ house as well as part of our work weekend agreement. But we also managed to squeeze in some nice trips.

• - In May we stayed in a cabin in West Virginia, hiking around a bit and also visiting Falling Water across the state line in Pennsylvania. I’ve wanted to see that for years and was not disappointed.
• - In July I attended a family reunion in Southeastern Ohio I planned. It was very nice to see so many family members. Grandma stayed with me for a few days before the reunion. It was a pleasure to host her as well.
• - In July, Bill did the annual GoodGuys car show and Osh Kosh with friends.
• - In August, we drove out to Wyoming to visit Bill’s aunt and uncle who have a 250-acre ranch and several horses there. We spent 55 hours in the car and still love one another! We had a fabulous time relaxing on the ranch and visiting nearby forts and sights. I especially liked seeing the ruts of the wagons heading West in the late 1800s. Very very cool. We also dropped into Colorado to check out his uncle’s plane that Bill’s going to restore. I don’t feel nearly so bad about all the work my house needs seeing this plane. It’ll be a beauty when it’s done, but looks pretty scary now. And I promised I’d fly in it. Even asked if we could install a baby seat.
• - In October, we went to Lynchburg, VA to visit some of Bill’s friends and hike the mountains. It is absolutely gorgeous there and it’s at the top of our list if we ever decide to move out of Ohio. And I must say the dogs handled themselves very well climbing Sharp Top mountain. I’m quite proud of their stamina and obedience. And they were good to have around when we camped on the Appalachian Trail as well. Our shelter mate advised us of rodent visitors that wouldn’t come near with the dogs around. And they helped keep us warm.
• - Also in October I had to go to Chicago for work, so Bill drove up and we spent the weekend there. Visited a couple cool Blues clubs. Walked around the city. Got lost in the rain. It was a hoot.
• - We also won best couple costume at a Halloween party. We went as '60s era pilot and stewardess. Complete with small bags of peanuts!