Party Pictures

Cutie Girl turned five recently.  Her birthday party was delayed a bit due to uncooperative weather.  But yesterday was  lovely and everything went well.  Jacquie and Chris did a great job!  Jacquie had arranged for a traveling petting zoo to be the main event.  The kids loved it and the animals were wonderful.  The couple that has the zoo will frequently take in unwanted animals or abused ones.  Some they keep and others they find homes for.

Here are some pictures!

Cutie Girl feeding the llama.  The llama was rescued when discovered with untreated injuries and neglect.  She is healing and had finally been able to have a haircut.  This was her first time out.  She was a little nervous but did very well and everyone was careful around her.

With the fuzzy bunnies

Baby goats.  They were so much fun to watch!

Little Miss E was especially fond of the little pig.  She also really wanted to pull up that tether and let her loose!

Little Miss E and PaPa "going for a ride"

There was also a very talkative sheep and a lovely small pony in attendance. 

It was a good day all around!  Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Hey!

It's a little cooler today but still sunny and nice out.  No windows open today though.

Les did get a couple good pictures at the Tattoo, so I thought I'd share.

The Highland dancers

Korean performers

More Korean performers

Massed bands at the finale.  Awesome!

Stay safe and God Bless America!  Life is good!

Virginia International Tattoo

Les and I had a wonderful time last evening attending a marvelous show.  We have always wanted to go to this, but just never got around to it.  Now that we have, we want to go again!

The only not great part of the evening was trying to get there.  What should have taken about forty  minutes took roughly an  hour and a half in creeping traffic.  Once we got to the other side of the HRBT it got a bit better and moved along.  But holy crap!!! the traffic was annoying and stressful.  The traffic in that area is never great, but last evening was a combination of normal events, it was Friday evening, it's beach weekend for college "kids" in Virginia Beach, and then some road work.  We got to Scope just as they were announcing it was ten minutes to show start and take your seats.  So.... we have already discussed that if we get to go again, we can go mid-afternoon, hang out at the nearby mall and food court, and then just walk over when it's time.  We did not see any of the pre-show events. 

Once the show started we could get lost in the music and talent.  I have always like a good marching band.  Les, too; he played trombone in our high school band.  😊  Several military bands were represented from the United States although we were a little disappointed that the USAF band was not there.  The Air Force was represented though in the finale.  

The bands from other countries were all great and so interesting.  The official Air Force band of Belgium came in playing "Thriller" with the director doing the moonwalk and wearing a sequined glove!  When Korea's band and performers came out there was so much going on we didn't know where to look! Fantastic drummers, dancers, acrobats, and beautiful voices singing!

It's hard to pick a favorite, but if I really had to I would pick the Pipes and Drums of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada and The Highland Dance Company of New Zealand.  I have always thought it would be fun to play bagpipes!  The furry kids probably wouldn't like it though.  I did not try to take pictures because doing so would make me miss the show.  Les took a couple but we haven't looked at them yet.  

This picture is of one of the drill teams.  (photo came from an ad)

Today is lovely.  Temp is heading to 80's and right now I have the windows open.  The pollen is much less now, so it's safe to do that!  

Les is playing golf.  I've been working upstairs finishing the Spring cleaning.  When the dryer is done, I'll head back up and put the covers back on the bed.  Then I just need to vacuum and clean the steps.

Life is good, stay safe and God Bless America!

Green! and Wet!

I hope everyone is well and happy!

We're good here.  It rained all day yesterday, stopped last night and was pretty foggy this morning.

Les and the guys are playing golf.  Got to get practice in before their annual golf trip!

Nothing major going on with me.  I'm keeping up with all the usual stuff and taking care of things.  All is under control right now.  😊

Our A/C check-up was this morning and all is well there.  Cleaned up the floor a little when he was done.  He was careful, but like I said, it is very wet outside and he couldn't help but track in a little.

Everything is green and growing.  Azaleas are starting to bloom. Buds on other things.  I took these pictures this morning from the back door. 

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Happy Earth Day!

Let's all try to take better care of our home planet!

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless our Earth!

Weekend Update

I hope everyone is well and happy!  Things are good here.  Our weather is a little cooler but the sun is out nice and bright.  Les is playing golf.  I just finished putting things away after a Commissary trip.

Our A/C check was rescheduled to this coming week.  Seems like the standard reason for changes now is "someone is sick and we're short-staffed".  That's happened twice recently, different companies.  But honestly, if someone is really sick, I'd rather they didn't bring the germs into our home anyway. 

I've been plugging away at the Spring cleaning.  I think I'm done except for the room upstairs.  I always save that one for last.  A lot of the things that I've been working on are things most people won't notice, but it gives me a sense of satisfaction to know that I have done them.  And even more satisfaction to know that I still can!

I remember as a child helping Mom and Grama with the Spring cleaning.  Way back then 😊 they would drag out rugs and carpets and hang on the outdoor clothesline and I got to help beat them to knock the dust and dirt out.  Curtains would be taken down, washed and starched and re-hung.  And  there was the wallpaper cleaning with the big cans of  "dough" that was like Play-Doh, but always green.  We'd take a big wad of it and work it until it was soft and then rub it all over the wallpaper to clean it.  They would also scrub the floors on their hands and knees and then use a paste wax on the linoleum.  When they were finished the floors were shiny and so slick you could take your shoes off and slide all the way across on your socks!

But, as we all are aware, I am no longer that young, none of us are.  I use mops and vacuums.  Actually, I used three different vacuums to clean the non-washable window treatments, and clean baseboards, corners,  nooks, and crannies.  Also vacuumed the lampshades and furniture.  The windows just got washed on the inside because we will be having the house power-washed soon and that always messes up the windows.  Did not see any sense in doing the outside of the windows at this time. 

While I was busy cleaning, the furry boys tried to stay out of my way.  They are not fond of the vacuums.  Angus did spend some time in the kitchen.  He had just discovered the new Culligan faucet and was figuring out how to turn it on.  He learned how to move the faucet  - unfortunately over the counter, and was working on turning the water on when I discovered what he was doing.  He's such a sweetie!  Don't worry, they have fresh water available at all times in a couple places.  It wasn't like he was feeling parched.


And speaking of sweeties...... I would really like to have Little Miss E's hair!  It is gorgeous!  Any scientists out there working on reverse heredity? 

All in all, life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Happy Birthday, Cutie Girl!

We love you!  xo

Brrrr!

After some lovely nice, warm, and sunny days we had some rain, wind, and it cooled off.  30's this morning and it did not get above low 50's the rest of the day.  It is supposed to be warmer tomorrow and less wind.  Good news is that all the wind and rain washed a lot of pollen out of the air and off of things.

I measured and pinned the window treatments yesterday and got them hemmed this morning.  I am content now, they are much better.  😊

Not much accomplished on the Spring cleaning today.  All the usual things got done though.  Les and I went to a movie this afternoon.  We saw "Pacific Rim Uprising" starring John Boyega and Scott Eastwood (Clint's son).  He really looks like his dad!  Those eyes!!  The movie was fun.  We have enjoyed the original so we were hopeful.  It isn't a deep dramatic movie, but there is lots of action, monsters from another dimension, science fiction.  Our kind of show  😊

And speaking of shows.... We've been watching a new one on the National Geographic Channel - This Strange Rock with Will Smith as the narrator.  The photography is amazing and the information is wonderful.  If you can get it, give it a try.  Parts of the show are from the perspective of astronauts.

Tomorrow morning is the annual Spring check of the A/C system.  Our usual guy is supposed to come.

Our friends, T & E, are preparing for a trip to Hawaii.  They were stationed there for a few years and we went to visit them there.  E likes to have plans and just found out that she had one activity that must be crossed off.  The Crouching Lion restaurant has been closed!!!  When we visited they took us there and we had the absolute best banana cream pie!  And other wonderful things, too.  Sad; it was such a pretty place.  So pretty, in fact, that I bought a painting of the place.

I apologize for the light spot from the camera flash.  I tried it without a flash and it was too dark.

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Another Item Off the List!

Les and I just finished hanging up the new kitchen window treatments.  The last thing to get done in the kitchen project is the delivery of the new table and chairs.  They are still being made and we have about another month to wait for those.

I like the new window treatments.  I have some issues with someone's measuring though.  (not mine)  I measured the old panels at 84".  They were a perfect length.  The new ones say 84", but they are at least 1 1/2" to 2" longer and are touching the floor.  I have decided that if I can't stand it, I'll just set up a chair right there and hem while they are hanging!

They make me remember Cinder.  She loved to "hide" behind the curtains.  She thought she was completely hidden.  We still miss the sweet little girl.

In other news, I found a new Lions Club broom while Jacquie, Jordan, and I were checking out the community yard sales yesterday.  There weren't as many people having sales this time.  We think because it was delayed a week because of the bad weather last weekend and people had other plans this weekend.  But who knows?  Perhaps others are learning what we've learned.... yard sales are a huge amount of work!

Spring cleaning will continue this week and progress is being made!  Also the yard chores are being kept up to date.  The azaleas are starting to bloom.  This is a year of very heavy pollen and it is still everywhere, so no open windows right now.

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Happy Anniversary, Jacquie and Chris!

Love you! 

Sweet Smells of Spring

Outside....... freshly mowed grass, blooming flowers, trees, and shrubs.

Inside........the fresh smells of floor cleaner, Windex, Pinesol, Scrubbing Bubbles, Tile-X, and furniture polish.

It's 81 and sunny here today.  Absolutely beautiful and the windows would be open if it wasn't for the pollen being so heavy.  While I was out doing errands, I ran Kirk through the car wash.  He was covered in yellow dust and one side of him looked like bird target practice happened.  By the time I finished errands and was back home and he was in the garage, he has some yellow dust on him again!  It is that time of year.

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Spring!

Finally it is starting to feel like Spring here.  We can't really count those warm "wear shorts to play golf" days that were in February.  It has snowed a couple times since those! Today is bright and sunny and 71.  Supposed to get to 80 for the weekend.

We've been busy here.  Les has been to the "Y" and is now outside doing yard work.

The spackle and paint project in the kitchen took a little longer than I expected, but it is all finished and looks good.  The Spring cleaning is progressing.  Today the focus was on the bathrooms.  Scrubbed everything and washed baseboards, wiped walls, etc.  I bought a new shower curtain for the second bath and I got it pressed and hung up.  Looks nice!

After that I mopped all the tile floor and vacuumed the carpeted areas.  I think I am about done for today.  I will go out and use the blower to clean off the front when Les is done mowing there, but then I am taking a shower and sitting down to read.  I will start the laundry though; have already sorted and have it ready to start when we change.

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Watching the Spackle Dry

I thought I'd say "HI!" while I'm waiting for the pink spackle to turn white and tell me it's ready to be sanded.  Then I will apply the second coat and wait, and sand.  Then paint.  And then clean up the mess.  That is today's project.

Yesterday's project was finally getting to the Commissary and catching up on a few errands and getting to the "Y".  😊

It's in the mid 50's today and going to get progressively warmer and supposed to be 80 by the weekend.  Everyone is looking forward to that!

I got outside the other day and did a little clean-up in the yard.  The recent winds we had brought down more "stuff"; pulled a few weeds, and just generally tidied up.  Les is going to have to mow again soon.  Our grass is growing well!

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.........(that's a sigh of relief)

Busy day here!  I was up and functioning early with all the usual morning stuff and getting things ready.  The backsplash guy came about 8:00.  He was the younger guy with a good personality and he worked quickly and neatly.  And cleaned up when he was done.  So, yay!  That finishes up the main work on the kitchen!

I will be doing a little spackling and touch-up painting in a couple spots.  My touch-up bucket is all ready and full of what I need.  There's probably another month to wait for our new table and chairs since they are being built in Ohio by an Amish furniture maker.  And I need to get the new window treatments.  And of course, the floor and windows will get a good scrub.

Later this morning the sprinkler guys came and turned on our system.  They tested it and worked on several sprinkler heads.  Told me it's all ready to go but they turned it off since we're supposed to  have heavy rain and wind tomorrow and won't need it now.

After I finished cleaning things up and putting things back in place in the kitchen I headed out to do a couple errands and try the "Y".  Got to do all the machines I do, but passed on the pool since it was full of splashing, hollering, rowdy children on Spring break. 

Here are a few additional pictures of our "new" kitchen.  😊

The backsplash on the right of the picture by the doorway is what they had to finish today.

new under-cabinet lights

new Culligan faucet

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Just In Case You Need a Smile

Little Miss E ready to go cruising

Sigh

Today has turned out to be rather "sluggish".  It started out fine.  Les' golf group has switched to their "Summer" tee times so we were up earlier than we have been.  I stopped at Kroger and got bananas on the way to Starbucks.  Had my breakfast, read the paper, etc.  Got the usual morning things done and made sure everything was cleaned up and the space under the sink was cleared out.  The Culligan man was expected between 11:00 and 2:00.

A little after 10:00 I got a call saying someone was sick, they were short staffed and no one could come today.  They are trying for tomorrow.  What could I say except "okay"?  By then I was already into doing some other small odds and ends around here.

The sprinkler system people called and said they will be a little later than expected on Friday.  So, another "okay".

I talked with the lady at the backsplash company.  We had a nice, calm, rational chat.  There was an initial attempt to tell me that running out of tile and not finishing the job happens and I reminded her that I had specifically asked her if she was ordering enough so they wouldn't run out.  Remember, they never came to do an exact measurement, just relied on the originally rough numbers.  Also reminded her that no one had come.  She totally acknowledged all that and said she should be calling us tomorrow to let us know when someone will be coming to finish the job either Friday or Monday.  Again, "okay".

But, you know, I have just about had enough for a while of adjusting schedules and making sure one of us is here all the time.  Sometimes, when an errand or something needs to be done, I like to just go and do it.  And I'm almost out of White-Out for the calendar!

I briefly thought about going to the "Y" and decided not to.  It's Spring break time here and the "Y" is full of loud children.  I honestly was not in the mood.  Instead I scrubbed some more thinset and grout off places in the kitchen where it was not supposed to be.  And then I just sat down with the book I'm reading.

Outside it was getting windy and raining off and on.  Les got home and said golf was good.  They didn't get rained on before they finished.

I went out between showers and took a picture of our new tree in the back yard;  the one that was planted last Fall with just one dry leaf on it.  We have had no idea what it is supposed to look like and I have no idea what kind it is. We just trusted the arborist.  😊  But it is pretty and starting to bloom.

I hope everyone is well and happy.  Stay safe and God Bless America!  Life is good!  (even when you are annoyed with people)

Beautiful, But Disappointed That It Is Not Finished

The workers left about 2:30.  As with all of the work on this kitchen project, they "cleaned up" but there was more to do after they left.  I just finished scraping thinset and grout spots off the tile floor and the new granite.  We are very happy with how it looks, but they didn't finish.  They ran out of the tile.  And there lies the disappointment.  It will be next week before they get more and can come.  I will be calling Melissa the shop coordinator tomorrow.  I felt it best to not call today.

She had originally told us someone would be out to do an exact measurement.  Then we were told no one was available to come and they would just use the measurements from Vann, at Colonial Kitchens.  We said "okay", but I specifically asked her if enough extra would be ordered to make sure there was enough to finish the work.  She said definitely there would be and she was wrong. 

So, while I love the kitchen, I am not especially happy at the moment.  That will pass.

I am done cleaning for the day.  There is no sense in doing more when the Culligan man comes tomorrow and then the backsplash people again next week.  And then the Spring cleaning will begin and everything will get a good scrub.

I have the dishwasher running and there's a load of clothes to go into the dryer.  Les has gone to Panera to get us some soup for supper.  And that's about it for the day.

But here are some pictures!

If you look closely, you will see that there are some small spots here and there for us (me) to spackle and touch-up paint.  I have everything I need and will be working on that soon.

Life is good, stay safe, and God Bless America!

Hey! Good Thing I Set the Alarm!

I had my alarm set for 6:00 this morning.  The workers were scheduled for 8:00 and I wanted time for us to have breakfast and get the kitchen cleaned up and things moved off the counters before the guys got here to install the backsplash.  They arrived by 7:30 just after I finished the dishes!  So, the work continues.

I had a "slow" day yesterday and did not tackle any big chores or projects.  Took care of lots of smaller things that I just hadn't gotten to yet.  Gathered up the empty, flattened boxes and took to the recycle drop-off place at the fire station.  (our dumpster is full)  Then I took another bag to DAV for drop-off.  Put away the Easter decorations.  Swapped out my Vera purses.  😊 I like to rotate those.  Put away our Winter coats and my turtle necks and long-sleeve tees.  You know, just little jobs that got put off.  And for a while I just sat and read.

Les had a good golf round.  The weather was very nice yesterday.  Today is cooler and very cloudy.

Our generator came on a couple times; first was about 10:30 last night.  Then we heard it again about 4:30 a.m.  Don't know what's been going on, but I saw some other comments on the neighborhood website, so at least we know it isn't just us and something we have to have fixed.

One thing I didn't mention for yesterday was a browse through Lowes.  With our old cabinets, we had a peg/hook on the end of one to hold a hand towel.  Les and I agree that we are not drilling holes into the new cabinets or the wall.  And I do not want a wet towel hanging off the drawer handle and be against the doors.  So, what to do?  I looked for possible options at Lowes.  I found a sort of curled hook hanger that I think might work.  It's the same color as the door and drawer handles. We are not having holes in the underside of the granite either, so I bought a bottle of "Gorilla Glue" that says it will hold anything.  We will see.  Right now it is glued and held in place with strapping tape on the underside of the countertop.  Said to clamp it or place something heavy on it; neither were options.  The tape can be removed this afternoon.  I'll keep you posted.  I figure the worst that can happen is it will fall off.  😊

So life is good.  Stay safe and God Bless America!

p.s.  here's a picture of the current work in progress

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone is having a blessed and happy Easter.  Please remember that it is not all about the bunny.

I have been very busy the last couple days and would like to let you all know that ALL the boxes have been emptied and everything moved from the dining room table.  Of course, some of my planning changed and where I thought I would be putting some things they did not fit right.  But all is put away with room to spare.  I just have to open a couple cabinets and drawers to find what I'm looking for sometimes.  😊

There is still cleaning that needs to be done - think "Spring Cleaning".  But that is not even being thought about until after the backsplash installation and the Culligan service call.

Jacquie, Chris and the girls came over for Easter lunch.  Jacquie did a great job.  She made potato salad, got a small deli tray with meats and cheeses, and brought a carrot cake.  Yesterday Jordan came over and hid eggs for the little ones.  The hunt was a grand flurry of activity!  Cutie Girl was focused on getting the eggs and was great at spotting them.   Little Miss E was more interested in running and running, and picking up river rocks from the landscaping than looking for eggs.  She actually ran right over a couple!

It was wonderful to spend time with them all and we appreciate Jacquie doing our lunch.

Les and I have no big plans for the rest of the day.  We'll have some supper, get our showers and relax.  I will try to stay awake to watch a little TV.  We're having another busy week with hopefully the finishing work on the kitchen.

Stay safe and God Bless America!