I'll Be Back!

I am going to take a little break from the computer for a few days.  Enjoy these remaining summer days....see you soon!

Comments are off...just wanted to let you know I'll be away for a while.

xo Cheryl

A Recent Day Trip

The hubby and I took a little road trip to Sedalia, home of the Missouri State Fair on opening day, Aug. 13.  It was a bright, sunny, and HOT day.

We only go to the fair about every 5 years or so and most likely wouldn't have gone this year except I had read where there was going to be an interesting exhibit that I wanted to see. 

  
We also got to see several of the beautiful Clydesdales.  They had the cleanest stalls and each one had their own fan hanging above to keep them cool. 

There were decorated cakes galore in the 4-H building.

Beautiful quilts.  This one got the first place, best of show ribbon. 

 
A beautiful owl was part of the exhibit I wanted to see.  Did you know an owl can hear a snake slithering on the ground many feet away?  Or that they can hear their prey through a foot or more of snow?  

And here is what I walked miles (it seemed) in the heat and humidity to see...

Isn't she beautiful?

I love bald eagles and it's a thrill to know that we have a few nesting not far from us near a lake.  I was so glad to get this chance to see one up close.  This eagle is 26 years old and I learned that they can live to around 50 years of age in captivity.  Their wing span is about 8 feet from tip to tip.  And they can grip up to 2000 pounds!  I can see why their prey doesn't stand a chance when those talons dig in!  

It was a fun day trip in spite of the heat.  We, of course, had the wonderful fresh lemonade that is for sale everywhere you turn.  Food stands offer everything from cotton candy to corn dogs to homemade ice cream.  We had to partake of the latter and it was so good!  We found a shady spot to sit and enjoyed people-watching as we ate our ice cream.  A good day at the fair was had, but as we left for home, we were glad to be inside a car with nice, cool air!

Happy Monday to you!
xo Cheryl

*I corrected the date.  It should be Aug. 13, not Sept.b 13.  I was getting ahead of myself!  

A Before and After and Surprise!

Before I get to my news, I want to say that I think that this has been the fastest summer ever.  Do you agree?  Time gets away, days pass, and before I know it...a week is gone.  Soon it will be time to turn the calendar again.  School has started for many.  It has in my community.  Slow down time!  As much as I love fall, I'm just not ready to let summer go quite yet.  I have flowers to enjoy.  Maybe not quite as many as in the beginning of the season.  Some have given up fighting for their lives in the heat of summer.  I also have more patio sitting to do and stars to watch on a summer's night and I want to wear my sandals and capris a while longer.  

The days have passed by so fast that I really haven't noticed that we didn't get very far from home this summer.  We did take a day off last week and traveled not too far to see something very exciting.  To me, at least.  I'll share that story in another post.  


But now, for my big news....we finally have a bathroom that is mostly finished at The Project!  

Here is the Before and After....

                                    
Everything was taken out and a subfloor put down with new flooring on top.  The new stool, as you can see, was put in on the other side to make a wee bit more room as this is a very small bathroom.  A new tub and shower surround was put in, also a new vanity, and some of the walls were replaced with new drywall and the rest skim coated and sanded down prior to painting.  The window was replaced earlier.  All that remains to be done, besides decorating and hanging a shower curtain, etc, is a little trim work and caulking.  If we decide to put up some crown molding, that will be done later.

Through the window in the bathroom, you can see the door that goes into the spare room off the deck.  The deck should be finished this week, weather permitting.  It is raining as I write this.  

The new roof is finished over the deck and spare room.  A wall which was partially removed in the kitchen to get the tub into the bathroom has been replaced and is ready for painting.  

We have a lots of things yet to do.  Those little things that take time, but we are getting there!  The wiring that needs to be done will be the biggest challenge for BG.  He'll also redo the closet in the spare room now that the new roof is on and there should be no more leaks. 

The rest of the rooms need painting and the hardwood floors are going to get sanded and we'll then make a decision as to whether we need to put in some carpet.  

It's exciting to see some results of all that planning, work and time spent looking for things we bought for the house last year!  I think I spend 3/4 of my life looking for stuff.  Neither one of us can remember where we put things.  lol!  Does that happen to you?  

And just to make life even more interesting...guess what we found?  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  

In the end, I had to smile.  They are just so darn cute.

Yes, the neighborhood momma has done it again.  Brought us some kittens.  Eight kittens.  That's right.  Eight little cutie pies.  Two are calicos, two are diluted calicos, two are black with white paws and a little white on their noses.  The other two are a gray and a gray and white.  

Momma is really proud of herself.  She was caught and we rounded up all the kittens, which were hidden back in some vines.  We took them to The Project and put them in an empty bedroom with all the amenities a cat would need.  The kittens will be tamed and when they are old enough to be weaned, we will take momma kitty to get fixed.  No more surprises!  I just hope we can find homes for all the kittens.

I hope you are enjoying these last days of summer.  Many are taking blog breaks this month and I have certainly slowed down on blogging myself.  Hope to get back to visiting more regularly soon! 

Happy Tuesday to you!
xo Cheryl  

Catching Up

My life is so exciting...or not.  Ha!  Let's see.  Since I was here last, I've gotten two doctor's visits crossed off the list.  Another day was spent back to the Big Town to get primer for the painting we'll be starting on this afternoon.  The carpenter has finished the sheetrock and we'll paint before he installs the vanity, toilet and flooring.   

Both my appointments turned out well.  The appointment Monday was at the eye clinic.  They are keeping watch on a spot found at the back of my eye a few years ago.  They think I must have had an injury to that eye, but I haven't.  While I was happy there are no changes and my eyes were declared healthy, it was highly annoying to have to wait 3 hours to see the doctor.  If they hadn't already dilated my eyes in the beginning, I would have walked out.  

 

Since I spent so much time at the eye clinic Monday, not to mention not seeing the best with dilated eyes, I took my grumpy self straight home after the appointment was over.  That meant a return trip to the Big Town yesterday for the paint primer that I thought we had already bought.  Turns out that we had already used it for something else.  The somewhat cooler day and beautiful skies made the drive very enjoyable.  I had to pull over once for a quick shot.

I couldn't help but notice one of those clouds looked like a face, so I zoomed in for a closer look.  See the circle just to the left in the big cloud?  That's the eye.  The nose is to the left of the eye, there is a mouth and a sort of pointy chin, and I even see eyebrows.  Do you see it?  

Speaking of sky watching, I haven't ventured out to look yet, but my daughter saw some nice meteor showers last night.  Tonight is supposed to be the best night for the annual Perseids meter shower.  You can read more about the Perseids here.

Hope your week is going well and if you have a good tip to make painting go fast, let me know! 

Happy Wednesday to you!
xo Cheryl

Hard At Work On The Project

August looks to be a very busy month with lots going on at The Project and hopefully some things will get done here at this house, too.  I'm keeping busy watering flowers because it's been hotter than a firecracker lately and you know what that means in regards to potted flowers.  Lots of watering is needed to keep them going.  Most of the flowers look okay, but some are on their last legs.  I'm to the point of not caring because I'm so tired of the heat!  

I wasn't going to show any more photos of The Project until I had some before and after shots, but since this is what we are living, eating and breathing (it seems) lately how about some before and during shots?  And it's high time we were getting something done after too long a hiatus, so I'm not complaining.  Too much.  lol!  

This is a before shot of the back of the house.  The deck needed more work than we had originally thought.  We knew the steps and some of the support beams needed replacing.  

The lower door into the basement which you see is open will be replaced with a steel insulated door.  The door on the deck which goes into what I call spare room has already replaced.  

This is the partially finished deck which has had all the 4x4 beams replaced with 6x6 and an additional beam or two below as well.  The railing is yet to be done  and the stairs have been fixed. 

Work is also underway in the bathroom.  We decided to have the toilet moved to the other side and when the carpenter was drilling into the ceiling for the sewer pipe, he got into some electric wire.


So BG has been working on the wiring and you know how one problem often leads to another?  Well, the wiring in this house is a total mess.  He will be busy trying to track down all the wiring and redoing much of it.  Some needs to be done now, the rest will have to wait.  Do you know how hot an attic is when it's in the 90s outside?  He can't stay up there too long a time.

We worked on the wiring until 9 pm last night in the bathroom and it's now ready for the carpenter to finish the walls and install the toilet and vanity, etc.   Soon we'll be able to get the wall painted in there so then the flooring can be installed.

I say "we" but BG does the work, I'm just the cleaner/picker-upper, find the tool he needs, and general go-fer.  I've made numerous trips to the Big Town for supplies.  Just this week I had to get some drill bits he needed plus a few other things.  Our daughter helps when she can, but right now she's busy working on a grant for her school.

Once the deck and bathroom are finished, the carpenter will put a new roof on the part that goes over the deck and spare room.  Plus put in a new access to the attic in the hallway.  The one now is in a bedroom closet.  BG will redo the closet in the spare room once the roof is on and we know there will be no more water leaks.

Just think of all the fun we're having!  Aren't you just a wee bit envious?  lol!!  No, I know you're not, and I don't blame you!  I can't wait until all this is done and then maybe, just maybe, we'll get around to finishing a few things here at this house!  And then, we'll be able to relax for a while.

Now, I'm off to the Big Town to pick up daughter's payroll for her.  She is very busy today and I also have a few items I can get while I'm there.  BG will be home soon as he works the summer schedule.  I'm going to try to talk him into resting the remainder of the day.  He has been working much too hard lately.

Enjoy your Friday and weekend...I'll try to catch up on everyone soon! 

Happy Thursday to you!
xo Cheryl

So Long July, Hello August!

I've seen some very pretty flower beds this summer and some are at McDonald's, of all places, in the Big Town.  I quickly snapped these as I drove through to get a cold drink on one of those very hot days of July.  

Most of my flowers are still hanging in there in spite of the heat and humidity, but some are showing some signs of fatigue.  Much like a cranky, ole lady I know who is getting tired of a bum knee and a sore shoulder.  I wish I could leave them behind as I turn the calendar page.  I mention this because I'm hoping when I return to this post some day, I will be pain free and can say, "hey, I don't remember that!"

Did you get a chance to see the Blue Moon?  This is my shot of it along with the help of PicMonkey.  I couldn't resist. 

I snapped the moon coming up behind the tree in our yard and I didn't see a speck of blue.  

The above photo and the next three are snaps of pages from a book I found at the upscale resale shop last week.  The book title is At Home with Carolyne Roehm.  I thought it was a book on decorating, but it's actually all about entertaining with beautiful photos of table settings, menus and details about how to arrange the flowers for each season.  A sixty dollar book that I bought for only a couple bucks.   

 

While I don't entertain much anymore and especially on a lavish scale such as frequently seen in this book, there is a lot of inspiration and ideas to be found on the pages of this lovely book. 

My favorite table setting is probably the one above with the sunflowers.  Sunflowers and cobalt blue are one of my very favorite combinations.  

My TBR pile is steadily growing.  I just haven't taken time to start a book that I would more than likely stay up all night to finish.  The book I just mentioned is one that you can sit down and leaf through the pages and just enjoy the eye candy. 

Now that summer is winding down, we're pondering vacation plans.  September is a favorite month for us to travel.  It's cooler, kids are back in school and there is usually less traffic.  Part of me wants to go out west again.   Also the Smoky Mountains are on my bucket list to see some fall season.  Then, Branson is really calling to us.  We've not had much time this year, or taken time, for some mini-vacations like we normally take.  Staying in a condo at Branson for a week or so sounds really wonderful right now, too.  We'll see how the work on The Project comes along and when we'll be able to get away.  I already have a good idea which one we'll choose!

Hope you've had a nice July and that August will be even better!

Happy Saturday to you!
xo Cheryl