When you live in the country......

You usually get to adopt some new pets, even if you weren't searching for them, when you live in the country. This golden cat is a full fledged male, apparently a lover and a fighter. He mostly stays with us although I am fairly sure he belongs to a neighbor. He is the loudest cat I've ever been around. He is sweet. He is always hungry and he is always loud. He is very friendly and tame around us but I've heard him with other wild cats. A few times he has appeared at our house with major wounds. Once I thought his throat was opened up so much that he needed stitches but he just took things easy for a few days and healed right up. This week, he is missing at least one toe and has a huge chunk of his face ripped away-right by his right eye. Well, we will continue to feed him and love him when he is around. Mike has named him Alphonse. My cat, Anderson, seems to like him too.
Soon, I will tell you about the other neighbors little dog who sleeps in a chair on our front porch.

Tired muscles

An 10 foot ladder, a paint roller on an extension pole and a 20 foot ceiling equals? A long, hard day and sore muscles. This part was actually easier than what I did earlier in the day. I had to reach the top of the wall with a 16 foot extension pole while standing on the floor. My upper body is a lot stronger than I thought! The darker area is the last of the unpainted wall and I was just about to finish up when Mike took this picture.I don't like to be very high off the floor. As you can see, I am above the door frame and even above the air vents-which are at 9 feet. I am working on my bedroom today and I would say that we are about 65% done with our remodeling.

The sunroom: before and after

The piled up mess, the old sub-floor, patched sheet rock with old paint, no trim, dirt, dust. Of course the major mess is from pushing everything to the center of the room so I could paint.

New floor! New paint! New trim!, Stuff still piled up but much more manageable and I can walk through this room. Still some dirt and dust but we are getting there. Today, Mike will work on the trim in the hallway and I have taken up the old carpet in our bedroom. I am weeding out the unwanted books and boxing up my keepsakes. I might even paint the bedroom ceiling today.


Sherrie, I want to remodel our bathroom and you volunteered your services, right?

busy Springtime

I have been very busy lately. Mike and I are remodeling our home. For us, that means that Mike and I are doing the actual labor. After the house was releveled, Mike started patching the sheetrock and I followed with the paint. As of yesterday, we are about half finished. When we are done, the entire downstairs will have new paint, trim and floors. I am starting to redecorate as well...after all it is first-things-first. I found my little dog Amos making use of my new bird pillows. And, I believe he was wet from the grass. It is a good thing that I believe in a house that all can use and enjoy.

December was hot here in Texas. I mean shorts and T-shirts hot. Finally a cold front was in the forecast, on Christmas Eve. The day went by and we waited. I think we may have even had the air conditioner on. By evening, dark clouds developed along the Northern horizon. That was the "Norther" we had been waiting for. We knew the front was close so we sat on the deck and waited for it. 

 We got to be outside the moment it arrived. Here, my daughter looks toward the North as the clouds pick up speed. Suddenly, we hear the wind before we feel it.

Then, we see the leaves blowing wildly all around us and the full force of the wind hits us. Within 5 seconds or so, it is too cold to sit outside without a coat. It was magic to us. And just as quickly, Christmas Eve was here.