~~ They're leaving the nest, sew it's time for a trip - or two - or three...~~ D~'s bag ~9/22 ~~

[justgrace]

Happy birthday, V! Her new travel set is beautiful!

The waitress sprayed the whipped cream in her face? That ain't right! I would have been upset too.

So glad that your dad is doing better!

 

[jkfandel]

WOW you have had a CRAZY week.
1) Glad that your dad is doing better - scary
2) Happy Mothers day and Happy Birthday V
3) That counter is going to look amazing
4) The new appliances are a hard hit to the savings but will be so worth it. I upgraded to the over the range micro when my countertop died. Best decision - If only it could be a toaster oven too then I could loose one more space hog.
What a lot of work - you are moving fast in the kitchen. You can do it!
Hope you have a productive week.
Jane

 

[disny_luvr]

I'm so happy your dad is home and doing better!

Happy Birthday to V and Happy Mother's Day to you! It sounds like you both had a great day.

 

[DMGeurts]

A belated Happy Birthday to V. and a late Happy Mother's day to you. V.'s backpack and duffle bag a really nice. I think my daughter has a bag in the pattern. We have so much Vera that I can't remember.
I'm got your dad is doing better and is out of the hospital.
Josh is so talented. the counter tops look really good. I did my kitchen cabinets last year. It was a lot of work but worth it in the end.
My daughter and her husband got home early Sunday. The silly kids drove straight through. They stopped for a nap in Ripley West Virginia. They had a great time at Disney. It was hot and rainy and then cold and rainy. They got me a Mickey and Minnie garden statue for Mother's day. The best part is I have my car back. The jeep is a nice car but it's not my car.
I have to finish getting ready for work now.
Have a great day.
Liz

Thank you! I passed along all of your birthday wishes last night.

She is very happy with them... I told her that she couldn't use the backpack for school, because I knew it would get wrecked... but she begged and promised not to set it on the floor all day... LOL I bet that made her day interesting? LOL

Me too - he is doing really well!

I am super excited about them! I hope to test out my stains today to see which ones I want to use - I purchased a few of them with the intention of mixing and layering... as a first timer - I am a little nervous about this, Josh may have to do most of it?

It sounds like they had a great trip! And congrats on getting your car back - I know I felt the same way last year, when I drove Josh's dad's car for a good portion of the summer... Believe it or not - as much as I enjoyed driving the Lexus, I was so happy to have my Ford back. So - I totally understand.

I am glad you had a wonderful Mother's Day... I hope you had a great day at work yesterday.

That is very convenient to have the nursing home connected to his apartment. I hope he is feeling better soon.

That will be really nice to have that counter space open again. A former owner of our house removed the doors of the cabinet above the oven and slipped the microwave in there.

Happy belated Birthday, Victoria. I love the Vera Bradley bags. The Mickey is well hidden. I didn't notice it the first time I looked at it.

The counter top looks really good. Your kitchen will look great when it is done.

That was very rude of the waitress to do that. I would have been upset about it, too.

Yes - that is one of the reasons we chose this place, we had this sort of situation in mind. However - most assisted living apartments in this area are built this way. It does work out nicely - but there's always the issue of if there's an available bed too. Thankfully, there was.

I cannot wait!!! I am very excited to have that extra 4 feet of counter space... Right now, it's almost useless, because the microwave is there, and there's not much room on the available side to be good working space. Once the new microwave it in, it will be 4 uninterrupted feet of working space... It will be so nice! On top of that - the coffee pot is moving over to the little coffee nook - so the only things left on my counters will be the toaster & the knife block - I am hoping to get a smaller toaster (eventually) and find space for that in one of my cupboards. I remember, when Josh and I were first married - I always had the cleanest counters... I have a dream that I will be able to obtain that again.

Thank you - it's a fun pattern, and she really likes it a lot. She had friends at school yesterday who did a double take, because they didn't notice the Mickey head at first.

Thanks - I am very excited to see it finished!

Yes - the more I think about it - the more annoyed I get... It totally took us off guard. She had filled the lid of a drink cup with whipped cream, and came out of nowhere to smash it on V's face... It wasn't nice at all. I don't know if they routinely do that at this place? We've never been there for a birthday - and I doubt we will go back.

Happy birthday to V! It sounds like you both had a great day -- although it's too bad that the waitress got V with the whipped cream. Not nice! The kitchen countertop is going to be gorgeous! You have a very talented husband.

So glad your Dad is doing better -- continued prayers for him!

Thanks! I passed along all of your birthday wishes last night.

I am very excited about it! I cannot wait to see it done and installed. I am hoping to find a good deal on new hardware too - everyone says, if you want an inexpensive way to update your kitchen, just get new hardware... Ummm... Inexpensive is not the word I'd use to describe hardware. LOL I need 36 hinges.. At $3-$4 each... We are talking $100 just for hinges. To me, that's kind of expensive... That doesn't include any handles or drawer pulls.

Thank you - I did call to get an update yesterday that he is doing well. I am going to try to call him today, since I wasn't able to talk to him yesterday.

Great news about your Dad, I am very happy to hear that!

It's good you and were able to get some work done in the kitchen during your already busy weekend!

I am so glad V had a good birthday, I love her new Mickey VB items!
Also, I'm glad that you had a good Mother's Day - it was a beautiful weather day!

Good to have you back as well! We all missed you!

I agree - I am very happy to hear that he is healing too... I am hoping he will be back home by Friday.

Yes - I really hope we are able to get it done in time... I am soooo nervous about that!

I know - they are so cute! I am so happy I was able to find them for her. I think, the only items she doesn't have out of that set are the cosmetic and the mini-hipster... So she is set to travel in style.

Thank you - I missed you all, and it was just impossible to keep up everywhere.

Happy Birthday to V and Happy Mother's Day to you. I'm so glad your dad is doing better and hope you get a great update today. Good luck getting everything done in time.

Thanks! I passed along all of your birthday wishes to V last night.

I did get a really good update... I am hoping for another one today.

Hahaha... Thanks - I am working hard at it!

I am so happy your Dad is on the road to recovery!

I am loving the kitchen counter tops! How awesome that Josh is so talented Stripping the cabinets is such a huge job, good luck with it, you can do it

Happy Birthday to the beautiful & talented Victoria. Glad you guys had a great shared day!

Monica

Thanks Monica - me too... I hate it when he scares me like that.

Thanks! I love that he is so talented - I admit that I probably take advantage of that more than I should... But sometimes it's so difficult for me to articulate what I want, because he already has his own ideas in his head - which is frustrating to me sometimes. Like this counter top - I want it to be rustic, used, old and very "plank" looking... And he sanded the thing clean and smooth... Sigh... Frustrating. I love it, don't get me wrong... but it's not rustic at all. There is a lot of compromise when we are doing projects, where if we were paying someone to do it - there wouldn't have to be any compromise. But I do love it - and as long as it ends up the color that I want it to be, that is the most important part.

Thanks!!! I passed along everyone's birthday wishes to her last night.

Thanks for stopping in Monica - I hope you and your family are doing well.

You were so productive right from the get-go! I would have probably sat on the couch and watched a Bridezillas marathon, or something equally mindless Good for you!!! I love how cute your kitchen is!!! You have SO many more cabinets than I do--I am a little more jealous that anyone should be about cabinets

Glad to hear your Dad is doing better and hopefully things will run smoothly so he can get back to his home.

Happy Mother's Day to you and a whip-cream-less Happy Birthday wish to V, too!

Hahaha! Well - I would love to be sitting on the couch right now, enjoying my new living room... That will have to wait until later... We have to get this done fast. LOL I am just praying we get done on time.

You know - all of these years, I've really hated my cabinets... But once I realized that they were custom made for this house, authentic vintage - and there is NO way I'd be able to get this quality in a modern day cabinet at almost any price point... Well, I made the decision to love what I have and the house I am in. It only took me 10 years. LOL So, I am working with what I have, and trying to make it look as good as I can. I do have a lot of cupboards, but sadly - I feel like they are all stuffed to the gills - I could use a few more. As it is, I think I am going to take some of the stuff out of one of the cabinets and move it down to the pantry shelves in the basement, as it's stuff I only use once per year, and I could definitely use that space for something that we use more often. Hopefully I can get everything a little better organized and user friendly - I think that's half my problem.

Yes - I hope so too... I hope he is back home by Friday - I know he is hoping for the same thing.

Thank you - I passed along all of your birthday wishes to her last night.

So, the good news is....I am all caught up. The bands news is.....it took my whole 2.5 hrs of free time, so no time for quoting and replying
I love all the trip updates....I've seen all the house stuff on FB, but haven't heard much about the trip. I can't believe how fast it is all coming....Allison's graduating and Europe, your trip with V.....
Your house is coming together nicely. I am having a hard time picturing where you will put the coffee station...I love the idea and even have a couple of those Pinterest pins on my boards We just have no area to do that. Where are you putting it?
I absolutely can't wait to see your kitchen put together. Those counter tops and sink are going to look amazing together!
K. Gotta get dinner ready. Love you! Miss you!

Swooooozie!!!!! Hello there!!! Thanks for taking the time to catch up - I know it's difficult and so time consuming.

Thanks - I am so glad the trip is coming together... There is so much to do there - financially. I know - this entire year is a total whirlwind for me... I know, once it's over - there will be a time of immense sadness for me - I am just trying to power through it and not think about it.

Thanks! I am so excited about it - I've never liked my house at all - so to be liking it is something definitely new for me.

The coffee station... Well, it's hard to describe - I'd take a picture, but then I would have to show you all the disaster zone... So, if you want a picture you'll have to wait until it's done.. LOL... but when you walk in the front door, the living room is to the right... Then there is a small wall... then the stairs to go upstairs.... It will be on the small wall between the two areas. I have 33" of available space there, and I will be putting a cabinet there that's 30", so it fits perfectly. I just need to figure out how I am going to display all of my mugs. Shelves? Hooks? Both?

Thanks for stopping by - love you and miss you too!!!

Happy birthday, V! Her new travel set is beautiful!

The waitress sprayed the whipped cream in her face? That ain't right! I would have been upset too.

So glad that your dad is doing better!

Thanks - I passed along all of the birthday wishes last night.

Yes - it was kind of rude, and not very nice. I didn't know they did that there, or we wouldn't have gone - or at least not told them it was her birthday.

Thanks - he is doing better, and improving - which is good. We are hoping he will be back home by Friday.

WOW you have had a CRAZY week.
1) Glad that your dad is doing better - scary
2) Happy Mothers day and Happy Birthday V
3) That counter is going to look amazing
4) The new appliances are a hard hit to the savings but will be so worth it. I upgraded to the over the range micro when my countertop died. Best decision - If only it could be a toaster oven too then I could loose one more space hog.
What a lot of work - you are moving fast in the kitchen. You can do it!
Hope you have a productive week.
Jane

Hahaha... Yes, most of my weeks have been crazy lately - I don't see that changing until the end of July. LOL

Thank you - he is doing much better. Still recuperating, but headed in the right direction.

Thanks!!! I passed along birthday wishes to V last night.

I am so excited about it - it's not exactly what I wanted, but I think it will look very nice... See my reply to Monica above.

Yes - yes they are... But I've honestly been putting off the new dishwasher since 2008... It was time, I've limped the current one along for long enough. LOL Hahaha... I cannot wait to get the new microwave installed... I'll just be happy if it gets here - LOL As it's looking now, it probably won't get installed until the end of July, but at least we will have it.

Thanks!!! I hope so!

I hope you are doing well Jane - thanks for stopping by!

I'm so happy your dad is home and doing better!

Happy Birthday to V and Happy Mother's Day to you! It sounds like you both had a great day.

Thanks - he is doing much better! Improving day by day - I am hoping he is home fully by Friday, we will see.

Thank you - I passed along everyone's birthday wishes to V last night.

*************************************************************************************************

First of all - thank you all for the birthday wishes for V yesterday... I passed them along to her last night and she told me to tell you all "thank you".

Secondly... I called the nursing home yesterday to get an update on Dad, he is doing well and making progress. I am still hoping for a Friday release for him. I am planning to call and talk to him today - I didn't get a chance to yesterday, as I was playing phone tag with his Dr. and the medical supply place for Dad's oxygen set up. Thank you all for your continued prayers for him.

Soooo... Yesterday was back to normal for me - and it felt good.

I decided, since it was a beautiful morning - I would go for a walk... Boy were my muscles sore - I could tell that I had a week of inactivity. With in an hour of me getting home, it started to rain and it rained all day - so I am glad I chose to go for a walk.

I came home and decided to organize my cupboards a little bit. Since we are getting the over the stove microwave, I am losing most of my spice cabinet - so I am trying to find alternate space for those... I think I've figured it out. I hope. I also took this time to clean out my fridge... A task that I detest - but I hiked up my big girl panties and got it done.

I was able to get upstairs to work early, and I was able to get a lot done up there yesterday.

After I was done with work - I planned dinner and started prep for that, considering that last night's dinner would be one of the last I make before we rip the kitchen apart totally - I tried to make it a good one... And both girls were home too - so that was nice.

I also painted the last coat of paint on to the coffee nook cabinet... I'll try to get a picture of that for you all for tomorrow. It looks pretty decent - considering I am not the best painter in the world and I've never painted a piece of furniture in my life. LOL I am sure there is major room for improvement in this area. LOL But I am happy to have that done. I will try to get the clear coat on it yet this week. I've been using it on my front porch as a display piece while it's been drying... So if I ever find a better cupboard to use for the coffee nook - I"ll probably use this one on the front porch, because I do like it there.

And that's all - we were both lazy last night, I was in bed early and I don't remember Josh coming up to bed at all - so I slept good, which is nice.

Today - I am back to my heavy lifting - it's been 3 weeks since I've lifted... Between having my office out of commission for 2 weeks while our living room was in here, and being gone last week for Dad... I need to get back to it asap. I am very nervous - because I know I will be in pain for the next 2 days, after taking off that long. Sigh. But I need to do it.

I will also be working upstairs all day - trying to get as much done as I can.

My dishwasher will be delivered today - I am super excited about this! It won't be installed until - at the earliest - this weekend, but I am thinking next weekend is more probable. Until then - it will reside where the coffee nook is slated to go.

I made a list of things we need to get done, and I've been crossing off the list as I go - it's still a million miles long, but I seem to do better if I have it listed out - rather than everything just bumping around in my head and me getting all anxious because there is "so much to do yet"... So now there is a list - and I can see it on paper. This is a good thing. On this list is...

1) D~ FInish stripping cabinets (including drawers and the cabinets on the wall)
2) D~ Clean fridge - DONE
3) D~ Clean and organize cabinets - working on this
4) D~ 2nd coat of paint on the coffee stand - DONE
5) D~ Clear coat on coffee stand
6) D~ Paint front door
7) J~ Repair floor
8) J~ Build counter tops
9) D~ & J~ Stain counter tops
10) J~ Prime Kitchen and diniing area walls
11) J~ Paint Kitchen and dining area walls
12) D~ & J~ Prime/paint wanscoting and install
13) D~ & J~ Paint cabinets and doors
14) J~ Install new dishwasher
15) J~ Build 3 new cabinet doors
16) J~ Baseboard trim

And 2 bonus items...

17) J~ Retile bathroom
18) D~ & J~ Strip carpet off of stairs and refinish

See... We have a LOT to accomplish in just 3 weekends... I dunno how we are going to get it all done. This doesn't even include regular "spring cleaning" stuff that still needs to be tackled... Cleaning windows... Cleaning up the yard - that sort of thing. No time to waste - that's for sure! But sometimes I feel like we do better under pressure. LOL

There are obvious items on the above list that are Josh's and others that I am able to do - so I am trying my best to get my items done, so that I am able to help Josh on the weekends.

Anyways - I hope you all have a magnificent day!!! Prayers and Pixie Dust to all!

D~

 

[solana131]

I can totally picture the coffee station....except....isn't your living room on the left??? But yes, I remember your kitchen and livingroom, deck out back and upstairs

So glad your Dad is doing well!

Yikes that is quite a list! Wish we could help. Bill loves doing home improvement. Bahahaha.....no really, he would help though.

Have a great day!

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

I'm glad your Dad continues to do well. That's wonderful!

I do better with written out lists, too. It feels so good to cross things off the list!!! You've gotten so much done so far -- it's going to be great!

 

[Sweetly]

Happy Belated Birthday to V!!! So glad to hear that your dad is doing better.

That is a long list, but I know you will get it done. It's amazing what you can get done when you have a deadline to make. The counter tops are looking beautiful. Josh is one talented guy.

Today my daughter takes her last final and her third year of college is officially done!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

 

[missjackiemcg]

You're exhausting me just from reading your list of TO-DOs but it seems like you get a lot of bang for your buck on weekend time!! I have lots of faith in you getting everything done in time! I'm really excited to see how it all comes together

 

[Terkina]

Happy belated Birthday Victoria.

Then we went out for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant... None of us were really in the mood for anything special - and that was easy. At the end - they brought V a birthday dessert... And our waitress got her in the face with whipped cream. It was funny at first - but once I realized what she did, it was kind of rude... V was not happy about it at all - and it kind of wrecked her mood for the rest of the night.

It was not nice of the waitress to get V in her face with whipped cream.

I'm glad to hear your dad is doing better. Crossing my fingers he is back home in his apartment soon.

How exciting that you have started fixing the kitchen. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Looks like you have a lot on your to do list left to be done.


I'm back from Helsinki, Finnland now. I had a great time even if it was tiring. We arrived to Helsinki on Wednesday evening. We found a few geocaching with a friend and went to Hard Rock Cafe to have something to eat.
On Thursday our Finish friends that arranged this whole weekend came to our hotell in their private car to take the 11 people that had arrived to Helsinki already for some geocaching around Helsinki. We had a lot of fun finding geocaches and being together.

On Friday 17 of us took the ferry to Tallinn. It was a 2 hour boat ride. We arrived in Tallinn at 12.30pm. In Tallinn we walked around in the old town finding geocaches. We had lunch and walked some more before we headed back to the ferry. We arrived back in Helsinki at 09.30PM.

On Saturday we had a meeting and then we had dinner in the evening. On Sunday everyone left Helsinki to go back home except 2 Germans and Ulf and I. So on Sunday the 4 of us walked around in Helsinki finding some geocaches.

On Monday after breakfast we said goodbye to the Germans and checked out of the hotel. We spent a few hours in Helsinki geocaching before we took the train back to the airport to take the plane back home. We arrived home around 10.45PM.

Today I had to go to the store to get food. After shopping I went to my grandmother to bring my cat Esmeralda back home. She has had happy days at my grandmother getting fish to eat almost every day. She doesn't get fish to eat that often at home, so I think she liked being at my grandmother's house.

 

[Pluto0809]

All Caught up! I'm not even going to try to comment because I was almost 20 pages behind! But I really did enjoy reading about all of your renovations. I have so much I want to do with our house but neither Jim or I have any skills to do it ourselves. As a matter of fact, Jim is so bad that I won't allow him to touch anything because he almost always makes it worse!

All of your ADRs sound yummy. Especially Garden Grill, love that one!

 

[FantasiaMagic]

I can't wait to see the finished coffee station!

Wow, that is a big list of things you want to get done, I bet you'll be fine though!

Have a wonderful day!

 

[gopherdame]

That is a big list but I think it's manageable, especially if you can get some of the smaller painting jobs done during the week. It will be nice to love your house finally. I don't think I could have gone so long without finishing the trim. That would have bugged me. But it's looking great and I can't wait to see the kitchen. We need to do some painting this summer too. I also have a list of home improvements we're working on. We finally got an estimate on a new garage apron, as ours is cracked and sinking. We toyed with the idea of a new concrete driveway, but the apron and new sidewalk was $2600 so we're just doing that for now. Our driveway is asphalt and not in too bad a shape, but we thought all concrete would look nice. Our next thing is a new front door and I just want to paint the back one. I think next year we are looking at new windows. I don't even want to think about that cost, but we're saving and doing things as we can afford them.

My dad is doing pretty well, and he says he's making sure he takes his pills this time. I think he had a tendency to skip them some days. He told the doctor he can't go anywhere if he has to go to the bathroom so much. The doctor told him if he had somewhere to go he could take them later. I think that has helped and before he just skipped them if he couldn't take them in the morning. It really affected more than just his legs though and I don't think he realized that.

I hope to get some yard work done today if it doesn't rain. I bought some annuals and I can't wait to get them in and finish my garden.

 

[DMGeurts]

I can totally picture the coffee station....except....isn't your living room on the left??? But yes, I remember your kitchen and livingroom, deck out back and upstairs

So glad your Dad is doing well!

Yikes that is quite a list! Wish we could help. Bill loves doing home improvement. Bahahaha.....no really, he would help though.

Have a great day!

Hahahaha... Yes - it's on the left. Just checking your memory.

Yes - he is doing quite well, it's not looking like a Friday release - maybe Monday or Tuesday?

Yes - please come and help. We could use it! And I'd love to have you here!

Thanks - you too - miss you all incredibly!!!!

I'm glad your Dad continues to do well. That's wonderful!

I do better with written out lists, too. It feels so good to cross things off the list!!! You've gotten so much done so far -- it's going to be great!

Yes - it's looking like he will be staying in the nursing home through the weekend - but hopefully early next week he can go home.

Totally agree - I am still nervous that we won't get it all done.

Happy Belated Birthday to V!!! So glad to hear that your dad is doing better.

That is a long list, but I know you will get it done. It's amazing what you can get done when you have a deadline to make. The counter tops are looking beautiful. Josh is one talented guy.

Today my daughter takes her last final and her third year of college is officially done!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Thanks - I will pass it along.

I sure hope so! Yes - that's so true... I am hopeful that we can accomplish what we need to.

Eeeep!!! Best of luck to her! It will be a relief, I am sure, to have that out of the way.

Thanks - same to you!

You're exhausting me just from reading your list of TO-DOs but it seems like you get a lot of bang for your buck on weekend time!! I have lots of faith in you getting everything done in time! I'm really excited to see how it all comes together

Hahahaha... Me too - LOL. We do try to work hard on the weekends - but it gets difficult when we have to run to the home improvement store - that seems to take a lot of time out of our work days. I've been trying to do some of that during the week - but I can't always.

I hope so - thank you!

Happy belated Birthday Victoria.

It was not nice of the waitress to get V in her face with whipped cream.

I'm glad to hear your dad is doing better. Crossing my fingers he is back home in his apartment soon.

How exciting that you have started fixing the kitchen. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Looks like you have a lot on your to do list left to be done.


I'm back from Helsinki, Finnland now. I had a great time even if it was tiring. We arrived to Helsinki on Wednesday evening. We found a few geocaching with a friend and went to Hard Rock Cafe to have something to eat.
On Thursday our Finish friends that arranged this whole weekend came to our hotell in their private car to take the 11 people that had arrived to Helsinki already for some geocaching around Helsinki. We had a lot of fun finding geocaches and being together.

On Friday 17 of us took the ferry to Tallinn. It was a 2 hour boat ride. We arrived in Tallinn at 12.30pm. In Tallinn we walked around in the old town finding geocaches. We had lunch and walked some more before we headed back to the ferry. We arrived back in Helsinki at 09.30PM.

On Saturday we had a meeting and then we had dinner in the evening. On Sunday everyone left Helsinki to go back home except 2 Germans and Ulf and I. So on Sunday the 4 of us walked around in Helsinki finding some geocaches.

On Monday after breakfast we said goodbye to the Germans and checked out of the hotel. We spent a few hours in Helsinki geocaching before we took the train back to the airport to take the plane back home. We arrived home around 10.45PM.

Today I had to go to the store to get food. After shopping I went to my grandmother to bring my cat Esmeralda back home. She has had happy days at my grandmother getting fish to eat almost every day. She doesn't get fish to eat that often at home, so I think she liked being at my grandmother's house.

Thank you Lillian!

It sounds like you had a wonderful trip! Did you have any issues with the airlines when you got there?

I am glad that your cat had a good time at your Grandmother's house too - that's always a relief!

Welcome back! I missed you!!

All Caught up! I'm not even going to try to comment because I was almost 20 pages behind! But I really did enjoy reading about all of your renovations. I have so much I want to do with our house but neither Jim or I have any skills to do it ourselves. As a matter of fact, Jim is so bad that I won't allow him to touch anything because he almost always makes it worse!

All of your ADRs sound yummy. Especially Garden Grill, love that one!

Phew!!! Welcome back Ariana! Hehehe - I totally understand - thanks for taking the time to read though.

Eeeek - I don't know what I'd do if Josh didn't know how to do some of the stuff he can... We'd be in pretty tough shape for sure.

I am pretty excited about that one - not sure it's staying though - we'll have to see how the budget goes.

I can't wait to see the finished coffee station!

Wow, that is a big list of things you want to get done, I bet you'll be fine though!

Have a wonderful day!

Thanks - me too! I have it all finished - clear coat and all. I still have to find knobs for it though. And it won't get moved into the house until the counter tops are in and the dishwasher is installed- since the new dishwasher is currently residing where the coffee nook is going.

Thanks - same to you!

That is a big list but I think it's manageable, especially if you can get some of the smaller painting jobs done during the week. It will be nice to love your house finally. I don't think I could have gone so long without finishing the trim. That would have bugged me. But it's looking great and I can't wait to see the kitchen. We need to do some painting this summer too. I also have a list of home improvements we're working on. We finally got an estimate on a new garage apron, as ours is cracked and sinking. We toyed with the idea of a new concrete driveway, but the apron and new sidewalk was $2600 so we're just doing that for now. Our driveway is asphalt and not in too bad a shape, but we thought all concrete would look nice. Our next thing is a new front door and I just want to paint the back one. I think next year we are looking at new windows. I don't even want to think about that cost, but we're saving and doing things as we can afford them.

My dad is doing pretty well, and he says he's making sure he takes his pills this time. I think he had a tendency to skip them some days. He told the doctor he can't go anywhere if he has to go to the bathroom so much. The doctor told him if he had somewhere to go he could take them later. I think that has helped and before he just skipped them if he couldn't take them in the morning. It really affected more than just his legs though and I don't think he realized that.

I hope to get some yard work done today if it doesn't rain. I bought some annuals and I can't wait to get them in and finish my garden.

Hahaha - trust me - I was NOT in the least bit enthused about not having trim. But there is only so much a person can do when their DH isn't in the mood to do it - and I don't have the talent or knowledge to do it myself. So, I dealt with it... but I had no idea it would take 8 years, initially... I am just glad to have it done. We've had trim in most of the house - but not in the living room... He has been working on other windows over the years - here n' there... but not there. LOL I am just super happy to have it done!

Yay for doing a lot of the work yourselves. We replaced all of our windows and new siding in 2008 - which took us 2 years, doing it on weekends and vacations. And once that was done - we were just so darn tired of working on the house - I think that's why it took us so long to put the trim up.

Our next project - hopefully yet this year is a new garage - I am nervous to see what the cost of the foundation will be - that will be the worst of it, I am sure.

Glad to hear your dad is adjusting.

I hope you were able to get everything done that you needed to.

*****************************************************************************************

Super duper beyond quick check in today....

Appliances were delivered yesterday - including my backordered microwave! I was soooo excited!!!!

Sadly - when Josh took it out of the box last night - it was dented all over... So, back it goes and the new one is on order again. Sigh. Upon further inspection though - we discovered it was shipped to someone else already and returned to the store - so my guess is that they resold a damaged item. I have no idea how it even made it to me - seeing as it still had the original shipping label on it and it wasn't blacked out.

Otherwise - I had a great sewing room day, it was very productive and I was able to get a lot accomplished.

I will be packing up the kitchen tonight - Josh brought home a ton of boxes from work last night... and he wants to start ripping out the counter tops tomorrow night.

I hope you all have a great day!!!

D~

 

[Terkina]

I'm so sorry to hear you got an damaged microwave. Crossing my fingers you will get a new one soon. Good luck with packing the kitchen away and ripping out the counter tops.

Thank you Lillian!

It sounds like you had a wonderful trip! Did you have any issues with the airlines when you got there?

I am glad that your cat had a good time at your Grandmother's house too - that's always a relief!

Ulf decided that we wouldn't take the electrical wheel with us to Helsinki since we didn't know how to get that and our suitcase and wheelchair into a taxi when we got to Helsinki to get to our hotel. We really need to learn how to get a bigger taxi so we can get all our stuff with us. So we didn't have any issues with the wheelchair on our way to Helsinki. But on our way back home I was NOT happy.

The night before our flights we were supposed to be able to check in and choose our seats for our flights back home. The seats from Helsinki to Oslo was ok. We got on row 7 which means I don't have to walk that fare inside the plane to get to my seat. But the flight from Oslo to Tromsø had us on row 30 . That was way to far back in the plane for me to walk comfortably to my seat. I can walk but not for a long distance. So I tried to change our seats on the computer. At first it didn't work. It was more than 22 hours until our flight to Tromsø. But I didn't remember that at first since Finnish time is one hour ahead of Norway. Finally I got our seats changed from row 30 to row 6. So I was happy. The next day we got to the airport and check in all the way to Tromsø. On our boarding cards it said we had row 7 on the first flight and row 6 on our flight to Tromsø. So I was happy. Then when we came to Oslo we had to collect our luggage and go threw customs and then check in our luggage again. Since both our luggage and wheelchair had their tags on all ready Ulf just went to baggage drop to get our luggage on the plane. So we didn't talk to anyone during check in. We got to the gate 10 minutes before boarding started. We were told that we would board first as usual. But when they scanned our boarding card to get us on the plane the system said our seats had changed to row 30 We were told that the plane was full but they would try to get our seats changed to a row in the font of the plane. So we had to be boarded last. I was not happy. When everyone else was on the plane they told us that this is not supposed to happen and that wheelchair users always is seated in the font of the plane. But on this flight the plane was operated by another company because SAS had some problems and that company doesn't bother to see if there are wheelchair users on board that need a seat in the front. Since the plane was full they couldn't find a seat in the front of the plane. I was told to take my time and don't bother to hurry to my seat. The plane would leave when I got to my seat. So I got to my seat and the plane could leave for Tromsø. The plane was going to continue to Alta (a city further north in Norway) after getting people off in Tromsø. Once again I waited to almost everyone that was going off the plane in Tromsø has gone out of the plane before I started to make my way out of the plane. The flight attendant told me to take my time and don't rush. They would wait with boarding until I got off. Since I was one of the last passengers to leave the plane my wheelchair was already outside the plane waiting for me. Usually I have to wait for my wheelchair because usually I'm one of the first passengers to leave the plane.

Welcome back! I missed you!!

Thank you so much

The garage that is customizing my car was supposed to start on my car on Monday. So I called them today and asked if they had started as planned. To my disappointment they're delayed. And they couldn't tell me how delayed they are and when they will start on my car

 

[missjackiemcg]

Yay for backorders shipping faster!! BOO for dented/resold items. But maybe this means your new one will actually arrive earlier than anticipated (and hopefully in better condition!)

And ripping out the counters already!? See? That TO DO list is coming right along

 

[Wood Nymph]

We have a Bosch dishwasher. It is supposed to be a top brand.

That's too bad about your damaged microwave. It would have been nice if you could have installed it this weekend.

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

They never should have sent you that damaged microwave. Bad on them!

Continued prayers for your Dad! Sounds like you're going to be very busy -- I'm excited to see how your kitchen turns out!

 

[dalmatian7]

I have a bosch dishwasher. It is great and soooo quiet. We have had ours for 5 years now.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Yay for the dishwasher coming! But oh no, that's too bad about the microwave being damaged. I hope your new one comes soon! Also I hope the packing went ok and didn't take too long.

 

[DMGeurts]

I'm so sorry to hear you got an damaged microwave. Crossing my fingers you will get a new one soon. Good luck with packing the kitchen away and ripping out the counter tops.

Ulf decided that we wouldn't take the electrical wheel with us to Helsinki since we didn't know how to get that and our suitcase and wheelchair into a taxi when we got to Helsinki to get to our hotel. We really need to learn how to get a bigger taxi so we can get all our stuff with us. So we didn't have any issues with the wheelchair on our way to Helsinki. But on our way back home I was NOT happy.

The night before our flights we were supposed to be able to check in and choose our seats for our flights back home. The seats from Helsinki to Oslo was ok. We got on row 7 which means I don't have to walk that fare inside the plane to get to my seat. But the flight from Oslo to Tromsø had us on row 30 . That was way to far back in the plane for me to walk comfortably to my seat. I can walk but not for a long distance. So I tried to change our seats on the computer. At first it didn't work. It was more than 22 hours until our flight to Tromsø. But I didn't remember that at first since Finnish time is one hour ahead of Norway. Finally I got our seats changed from row 30 to row 6. So I was happy. The next day we got to the airport and check in all the way to Tromsø. On our boarding cards it said we had row 7 on the first flight and row 6 on our flight to Tromsø. So I was happy. Then when we came to Oslo we had to collect our luggage and go threw customs and then check in our luggage again. Since both our luggage and wheelchair had their tags on all ready Ulf just went to baggage drop to get our luggage on the plane. So we didn't talk to anyone during check in. We got to the gate 10 minutes before boarding started. We were told that we would board first as usual. But when they scanned our boarding card to get us on the plane the system said our seats had changed to row 30 We were told that the plane was full but they would try to get our seats changed to a row in the font of the plane. So we had to be boarded last. I was not happy. When everyone else was on the plane they told us that this is not supposed to happen and that wheelchair users always is seated in the font of the plane. But on this flight the plane was operated by another company because SAS had some problems and that company doesn't bother to see if there are wheelchair users on board that need a seat in the front. Since the plane was full they couldn't find a seat in the front of the plane. I was told to take my time and don't bother to hurry to my seat. The plane would leave when I got to my seat. So I got to my seat and the plane could leave for Tromsø. The plane was going to continue to Alta (a city further north in Norway) after getting people off in Tromsø. Once again I waited to almost everyone that was going off the plane in Tromsø has gone out of the plane before I started to make my way out of the plane. The flight attendant told me to take my time and don't rush. They would wait with boarding until I got off. Since I was one of the last passengers to leave the plane my wheelchair was already outside the plane waiting for me. Usually I have to wait for my wheelchair because usually I'm one of the first passengers to leave the plane.



Thank you so much

The garage that is customizing my car was supposed to start on my car on Monday. So I called them today and asked if they had started as planned. To my disappointment they're delayed. And they couldn't tell me how delayed they are and when they will start on my car

That is such a bummer that you had so many problems on your flight home. That had to be hard to get to the back of the plane - and not to mention with a full flight... It's difficult to get back there with carry on luggage as it is, I cannot imagine how hard that must have been with it being difficult for you to walk. I would have been so upset.

I am glad you had a great trip though and it sounds like you were able to meet up with many friends - so that's always fun!

Grrr on your car too - I know how much you are looking forward to it... Hopefully it won't take as long as they anticipate.

Again - welcome home!

Yay for backorders shipping faster!! BOO for dented/resold items. But maybe this means your new one will actually arrive earlier than anticipated (and hopefully in better condition!)

And ripping out the counters already!? See? That TO DO list is coming right along

I know - I was so bummed... I agree - hopefully the new one will come sooner, that would be nice... but it also means one more thing added to our list before Allison's party - as I am sure that Josh will be too anxious to wait to install it.

I know... It's crazy! I am very excited to get it all done... I just feel like there is so much more that should be done before we take the counters out. I kind of feel like we are getting ahead of ourselves, and I am trying to reign us in...

We have a Bosch dishwasher. It is supposed to be a top brand.

That's too bad about your damaged microwave. It would have been nice if you could have installed it this weekend.

I agree! It's what we have at the lake house and I love it - however, that one doesn't get used as often as this one will - so hopefully it stands up to the test of time. The good thing is, in a few years, it will just be Josh and I - so the times it will get run will probably be a little less than now?

Yes - it would have been nice... but I sort of feel like we are getting ahead of ourselves... Too many irons in the fire - so to speak. I feel like we need to slow down and finish what we've started before we tackle more. As this always seems to be the reason we can't finish projects... We get too far ahead of ourselves, and then we get tired of the constant work and the constant mess. Maybe this time will be different because we have a legitimate deadline with so many people coming? I hope so anyways.

They never should have sent you that damaged microwave. Bad on them!

Continued prayers for your Dad! Sounds like you're going to be very busy -- I'm excited to see how your kitchen turns out!

I totally agree! I was so upset... I would have been a lot more upset though if I wouldn't have been able to get another one. So, as of now, the new one is still on it's way.

Thanks - he is doing well, although - he has gained 13.5 lbs of fluid since Friday... So, this makes me nervous - that is a lot of fluid to gain back since leaving the hospital. His Dr. at the hospital wanted to keep it under 3 lbs. The nursing home is monitoring this very closely and his Dr has increased his water pills. Hopefully this helps, otherwise - we may be right back where we started sooner rather than later.

I have a bosch dishwasher. It is great and soooo quiet. We have had ours for 5 years now.

This is good to hear! I tried very hard to read as many reviews as possible and to get the quietest dishwasher we could afford. We have a Bosch dishwasher at the lake house - and I love it... So, I am hoping this one is just as good, and just as quiet. I cannot imagine not hearing my dishwasher at home. LOL

Yay for the dishwasher coming! But oh no, that's too bad about the microwave being damaged. I hope your new one comes soon! Also I hope the packing went ok and didn't take too long.

Yes that was a bummer about the microwave, but at least I have some hope that it may not be as backordered as they projected.

Hahaha... Well, let's just say that I need a LOT more boxes than I thought. LOL I was able to get a lot packed - but I still have a lot more to go. It's kind of annoying, and a slight pain.

****************************************************************************************

Well, I had a good and busy day yesterday...

It was a Target day - so I spent most of my day there.

When I was done - I ran the microwave back to the store to return it. This was very easy and took much less time than I thought it would. I am very relieved that I didn't have any issues.

After, I picked up the girls and we ran a few errands before going home.

When I got home, I immediately started packing up the cupboards...

WOW!!!! I have 3 full sets of dinnerware - not including my Grandmother's China! I really need to decide if it's worth the cupboard space to have that many up there... I can honestly say that I've never once used the one set - and it's been up there for, at least, 5 years. The other set used to be our "good" set for holidays - but I have not used it in, for sure, 3 years - seeing as I used Josh's Step-Mother's Mother's China set (did you get that? LOL) before I used my Grandmother's. I am not sure I am ready to get rid of those other sets of dishes yet (maybe pass them on to the girls?) - but I am almost certain that they won't get unpacked.

Then all of my champagne flutes and wine glasses... I used to drink wine occasionally... but I honestly have not had any in several years. Hmmm... Maybe I should change that? LOL But seriously - I am not sure if I will unpack these either?

All of the coffee mugs will get put into the coffee nook - so that alleviates that space.

And then all of the travel mugs and water bottles... Well - I am trying to come up with a solution for those too... I am thinking maybe I will put them in a bin of some sort - and put them in my cupboard where I store my crock pot & such? How do all of you store yours?

Anyways - my goal is to NOT put the cupboard doors back on to the 2 main plate/glass cupboards... I want to paint the interior sides/back/shelves the same color as the cabinets... Then I want to wrap fabric around foam board, cut to size, and put it up on the back interior of the cabinet... This way, it's semi-interchangeable, and easy for me to switch out at a later time, if I don't like it. Josh is concerned that our dishes will stick to the painted cabinets in the high humidity of the summer - so I will likely have to put place mats or something under those?

So, here is what I have to work with... This is going to be a project in itself.

I managed to get almost everything packed up... I still have the junk drawer... Please tell me I am not the only person with one of these? LOL

Josh also has a "hardware" drawer... where we keep things like batteries, lightbulbs - things like that.

I have the cabinet under the sink.

And the Tupperware cabinet.

So, still a lot to pack up... The dishes took me much longer than I'd anticipated. I am hoping to have the rest done tonight.

Today...

I will be heavy lifting this morning...

Then I will be working upstairs.

I am hoping to run to the home improvement store at some point today - I still have the last of the paint to buy... Paint for the kitchen walls, paint for the wainscotting, possibly one more color of stain for the kitchen counter tops, possibly a different color of paint for my accent wall in the kitchen... and hopefully drawer pulls for my coffee nook cupboard...

Tonight - I hope to finish packing the kitchen.

So, I have another busy day ahead of me.

I hope you all have a wonderful day - Pixie Dust to all!

D~