Remodel

We started remodeling Katie's bedroom on New Year's Eve. Paul was giving her bamboo floors as part of her Christmas, but when we got started, the project grew.

She decided that she's rather have a wardrobe than the existing closet so Paul tore out the closet, which let us with a ceiling that needed patching. And a wall that had to be finished.

Here's the new wall with the primer coat.

Paul decided to add more receptacles while we had the room in complete disarray. Here's the base board with the holes cut for the receptacles.

And the baseboard painted charcoal gray.

The floor Katie chose is a light bamboo.

And here's the completed floor meeting the new painted wall.

Here's a shot of all the new colors: the existing log wall, the pale aqua wall, the charcoal gray trim and the Tiffany blue ceiling.

The log walls at the ceiling:

Paul is finishing up the new receptacle wiring here.

And now it's done. This is the existing dresser that Katie painted ivory with black drawers. The new pulls were found in Atlanta at Anthropologie.

I'll add more photos as the project goes on.....

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year y'all!

We started celebrating a little early this year. Katie went to a Christmas party at a classmate's on the 17th. We always thought that we lived out in the boonies since our drive is a half-mile of unpaved dirt road, but this classmate's house outdid us by a lot. It was a pretty place once you arrived, but the dirt road was narrow and a lot longer than ours.

While she was at the party, Paul and I went to the Peddler for supper. The best part though was getting to wait in the bar, enjoying a libation with my wonderful husband and having the time to talk with him and enjoy his company.

We went to Mom's on Christmas Eve. I missed having Judy with us this year, but she was celebrating in Hawaii. She called and it was good to hear from her. Katie got the Harry Potter book set in a trunk that has a Hogwarts label on it. And she got new Bose ear buds and a Friday Night Lights shirt and calendar. I got a beautiful hand-crocheted tree skirt from Judy and a Kindle from Mom.

Paul got a ladder from Mom. It was a really big Christmas this year.

Can you tell how much she really likes that calendar with Tim Riggins???

And we opened our gifts on Christmas morning. Paul and Katie liked their gifts and I loved mine. I think Katie is most excited that she is getting bamboo floors in her room.

Sam wanted a little of Katie's chew.

Now I'm looking forward to starting 2012. My resolutions - same as last year's - (1) live purposefully, (2) enjoy life by paying attention to all the moments and (3) eat healthier foods.

Happy New Year!

November / December 2011

The fall was really nice this year. The colors were not really bright but still pretty.

The late corn crop Paul planted was good.

We took a trip to Atlanta in early November. We stayed in the Embassy Suites in Buckhead and it was super nice. We shopped at Lenox Square and at the Mall of Georgia, then stopped at the Tanger Outlet on our way home.

We have the house decorated for Christmas. We got a beautiful tree from a local guy who runs a tree service. Katie fell in love with his neighbor's dog - a St. Bernard/Golden mix who came out and visited.

I even decorated the kitchen cabinets this year.

This is an ornament Katie made years ago. It started out as a soda can.

I really like the way Katie grouped these ornaments.

This is Katie's first gingerbread house and I think it's beautiful. We were asked to a gingerbread house decorating party. I would have never thought of such a thing, but it was really fun. The hostess had cooked all the gingerbread pieces and made the royal icing. Everyone just supplied the trim. And now it's on display next to my other silver tree.And this is our woodland angel. You can't see it well here, but her wings are made from greenery.

My nutcracker. I still have to pull out my DVD and watch Baryshnikov.

We don't have a mantle, so we have a wall of stockings just above the sofa.We rescued this antique aluminum tree from Mom's attic. Katie did a little taping and some hot glueing and it's nearly as good as it was in the 60's. Now all I need to find is a working color wheel. But for now it's decorated in Broome blue and gold. And our new wreath matches pretty well.

And all the decorating made Sam tired. :)

All Honors - All A's

Just a quick brag moment:

I'm so very proud of Katie and her achievements. She was a bit stressed about being in all Honors classes for the ninth grade. But she worked hard and took the initiative on her classes, homework and extra projects. The result:

All A's!!!!!!

Love you Katie!

Early Fall Beach Trip

Is there anything better than an early fall trip to Myrtle Beach? I had almost forgotten how awesome the weather is down there this time of year.

It was a little chilly in the morning, but Katie still wanted to test the water in the pool. It was warm enough for her.

The water in the lazy river was a little warmer. Paul and I actually floated around in here for a while.

The view from the pool deck was spectacular.I had to go put my toes in the sand, and briefly, in the water.

The beach really had a drop down to the water this year. And the shells were practically non-existent.And this is what Murrell's Inlet looked like - bikes everywhere! We ate down there both nights - once at Flo's Place and then at Nance's.

We didn't make it downtown to ride the Skywheel, but it looked good all lit up in Broome blue and gold!
We had such a good time we're planning to do this again next year!

Late Summer

School's back in session, the heat has finally broken and summer's almost officially over.

The heat was so oppressive this year. I finally understand the phrase 'oppressive heat' after this summer. You just could not enjoy being outside at all. The heat just weighted you down after just a short time. But it's gone now - it actually feels overly warm when it hits 80 degrees.

The heat took a toll on our cherry tree. All of the leaves are gone already.

One of our sugar maples is showing some of the bright orange color that I love.

Paul has replanted parts of the garden and he's harvesting squash now and the corn is tasseling.

Katie is loving high school. I think her classes are not so intimidating now that she's in them, doing the work. And she's doing really well with the work. I'm so proud of her. She's got a really strong work ethic where school is concerned.

I'm looking forward to fall's arrival. We'll be going to the beach, Atlanta, and possibly Gatlinburg and the state fair. And there's football!