Silver Linings

We all know there are always silver linings in the clouds. We also know they require some real search parties sometimes! Our week has been a mixed bag of blessings and heart break. But I'm concentrating on the blessings part right now, as it somehow eases the heart break a bit! My brother's service was the most beautiful memorial I've ever experienced. There were many people who felt moved to share very sweet things about Wayne. There were little surprises, like Wayne's music he recorded in his young 20's as a rock star ... and a slide show of various pictures that his wife Debbie put together, so perfectly expressing his life within the phases and eras, including his hair dos through the decades! There was a motorcade of motorcycles, 2 of which were actually his. His oldest friend in the world, Bob, rode Wayne's Harley and really did the honor justice. But the absolutely most wonderful thing we found at the service was Erin. Erin is Wayne's daughter who we've seen NONE of since she was an infant. Wayne and Debbie have seen her, of course. But as families often are now, Erin was raised in a different state (Tennessee) and it just wasn't an option for us to visit given whatever situation. SO, now we have uncovered such a beautiful treasure that we would have otherwise waited WHO KNOWS how much longer to find! So, meet Erin! She is a graduate of UTK (Univ. of TN at Knoxville) and is currently choosing her life's work ... and what direction she'd really like to pursue. Anyway, the concentration is animal science, one way or another! We are so excited to welcome Erin actively into our lives and look forward to catching up on a lot of past time. Pictured here are left to right: Erin Taylor - my brother's daughter; Jennifer - my daughter; and Derek Doker - my sister's son ... missing from this generation in the picture is Jon - my son; and Hollie - my sister's daughter.

There were many other silver slivers that came out of the past week. Paul & I had Jen, Vic and Christian at the house from Sunday before Christmas until Christmas day. It was such a treat to have the house filled with family, especially with a family member who is so determined about Santa Claus and enthusiatic about presents! Christian really kept the spirit of the season alive for us, and provided a huge diversion from the sadness. He is precious.

There have been so many sweet and wonderful messages from friends and family and I appreciate all of them. Thank you so much for your love and support!

Will update soon, as the two Adams boys will be arriving tomorrow for a visit!!!! Until next time, joy in your hearts and peace in your souls! (and Paul says, Chocolate in your bellies!) Paul & Cheri

Merry Christmas to All!

It is with the total spirit of Christmas that we wish for you all, our friends and family, a very Merry Christmas. We enjoy and appreciate each of you as you are all blessings to us, and we want to thank you for that!

And we are hoping that each of you have a wonderful New Year filled with prosperity, love, joy and good health. Peace to all!

Paul & Cheri

Correction!

The address to Lawrencville Presbyterian Church is 800 Lawrenceville Highway. (not 1800)
Call me if you need directions! OR there's always Mapquest! xoxo

Wayne

Service for Wayne Taylor:
Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church
1800 Lawrenceville Highway
Lawrenceville, GA 30045

December 22, 2007
Saturday Service 2 - 4 pm
Visitation at 1:30 pm

in lieu of flowers, donations to N.A.M.I. Gwinnett will be accepted at
P. O. Box 464053
Lawrenceville, GA 30042

Donald Wayne Taylor, my brother

July 1, 1947 - December 19, 2007

It is with a broken heart that I must write my brother died this morning. He just turned 60 years old in July and was living life to his its fullest, and thoroughly enjoying the ride! Wayne and I were devoted pen pals and e-mailed each other every other day or so. We shared the equivalent of a million novels with our ramblings! I will miss his sense of humor and the way he viewed life more than I could ever express. It is with a heavy heart that I ask you all to send my brother all the best wishes for a great journey. I will so GREATLY miss my big brother here on earth. I will include a picture of him with my next post along with service information when I find it out. He lived in Atlanta, and I'm sure will be honored by countless friends and family members. He has a wife, Debbie and a daughter Erin (who lives in TN with her mom). Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Thank you
Cheri

"Tis the Season!!

Seems as though this season above all others brings the best out in all of us. Thank goodness there is a season for that!!! There is more love, laughter and life in people during this time of the year. The stars are truly lined up that way, and have been since the beginning of time. Winter solstice is such a very special time of year so remember to watch the sky during this time, it's generally beautifully filled with stars galore. Makes EVERYTHING shiny and bright! Which is what we hope your holiday season is for each of you, whatever it is that you celebrate!

We're getting along with life, holiday preparation and everything else we can get in to! No rest around here! Paul has insulated the underbelly of our house! HOORAY!!! Today he is beginning with the installation of the wood stove in the kitchen! His sabbatical is truly working out WELL for us! (He might not agree~but I'm thrilled at all the "honey -do's that are getting done! The opportunities are endless!) :-)

Hope everyone is healthy and having fun and being safe with the holiday preparations and all that fills the air this time of year. We are looking forward to having the grandchildren up (oh, and their parents too!) over the week of Christmas. Hopefully the ice and snow we are supposed to get this weekend will melt quickly to allow travel for the zillions of folks who go over the river and through the woods this time of year. We're sending out good thoughts to all in hopes that this season is a joyful, peaceful time.

I continue to absolutely love my new job! I must be the luckiest woman in the world to be able to work in such a spectacular environment. The massive windows always have a view of Grandfather Mountain that is just magnificent. Now I know how Paul felt when he was out in the Christmas tree fields looking at all those spectacular views. It really is something you cannot put in to words! But it's glorious! In addition, I really enjoy the industry and what the job requires being done. I truly feel like I've hit the jack pot! So grateful!

As we are always reminded of how lucky we are, the woman who owns the studio where I teach has just been deemed homeless by a house fire that basically took all she and her fiancee had. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers (Stefanie and Jessie) as they rebuild their world. They have land under contract, and are in the process of buying a trailer to put on the land until they can get their house built. Although they are bouncing back quickly, there are many details yet to be settled. I know they would appreciate your support through any means at all!

It's birthday season, as we all know. Paul's grandmother has a birthday coming up on Saturday, the 15th. Forgive me for not knowing the exact number, but I believe it's in the 90s. Happy Birthday, Gran!!! And all you other Holiday babies!

Keeping it short ... much to do! Cheers to all! Paul & Cheri

Life is Good!

Look! We have heat! REAL heat ... the house is so nice and cozy ... thank goodness, as it's going into the teens (temperature wise) this week. We're expecting storms (snow and rain) so it's just in time! THANKS again to my siblings and their spouses :-). We're still waiting for Lowe's to get their gas logs in stock for the bedroom fireplace. And the wood stove is schedule to get installed this week ... life is good!

Here is our beautiful Christmas tree in its undecorated state. We had to leave it naked for a few days so the cats to get used to it and climb in it, etc without breaking everything. As we suspected, they're over it now, so Paul, Charles and I put the lights on it last night and I suppose Paul and I will get it decorated in the next few days. This picture of the farm house and tree farm is my attempt (while driving) to get a shot off so you can see what the trees look like when their in the dirt on their farms. It's really pretty incredible how massive these tree farms are. I'll try to get a better picture display this week. It's not that easy when you're supposed to be driving on these mountain roads!!!!

I think Paul's stint with the tree farm work has come to an end now. He's driving some of the Mexican men to the airport tomorrow so they can go back to Mexico for a few months. I guess they come back in March or April to begin shaping the trees and such after the freezes are over. Paul has made some interesting friends whilst working with the trees ... he says the guys are getting very excited about going home. There is one man who has a 2 month old child he's going to meet for the first time. Life is different for everyone of us, isn't it!?!

My new job is LOVELY. The folks I'm working with are wonderful people and the members at the club are all very nice folks. We only have about 24 full time resident members. But there are 446 members (and families) all together. Apparently the winter is calm and the summer is CRAZY! Just my style! It works out great for me, as dance is crazy in the winter and calm in the summer. I'm so fortunate to have been chosen for this job and I am definitely aware of it and saying grace every day!

We're going into Johnson City today to find some work clothes for me and to give Paul some Barnes and Noble time! Also, it seems to be December already, so I'm sure there will be some Christmas shopping to do ... can't believe it's already December!!!!!

Hope everyone is doing well and ready for the coming weeks of holiday mania! Cheers to all! Paul and Cheri

Catching up ...

Family, food & tractors, oh my! This has been a delightful Thanksgiving week for us here! Hopefully you can all say the same thing! These folks are my sister Cyndie; her husband Paul; and their grand-dog Braydon. Paul is an HVAC "guy" and in trade for Thanksgiving dinner, he ran all the copper wiring and heaters, etc into our house so we can now have propane heat! He also provided and installed heaters to go to the pipe, along with my Paul crawling under the house to help hook it all up, we have heaters now! THANK YOU, Paul, Paul G. & Cyndie!! All I had to do was cook ~ such a deal! :-) On the 29th the propane company is supposed to come and drop off a tank for us. We may actually get warm before the REALLY cold weather comes. My brother Wayne and his wife Debbie have very generously donated to our "wood stove installation" fund and that will be going in to the kitchen. We are trying (actually, I think it's my project as Paul doesn't really seem to be affected by the cold) to get heat sources that aren't interrupted when the electricity runs out ... if it's 10 degrees and the wind is blowing about 50 mph, we still need heat! Even if the electric company doesn't think so, I do! So, many thanks to my brothers and sisters for their very sweet and generous gifts to keep our teeth from chattering and our fingers and toes from being so numb! Even the cats with their fur coats are cold around here! The crawl up on the electric blankets with us at night!

I must say, it's very nice to have a sister to share the cooking and washing dishes with! I left home at 16 and Cyndie was only 8 or so ... this is my first time of having shared duties in the kitchen. It was GREAT! Thanks, Cyndie!! It was fun to have a sister here for a hundred other reasons. It's nice to just have GIRL time for a change! Our family is so small and scattered about, it is a special moment when we get to visit in person.

AND ... This is tractor Paul! Isn't he adorable?!?! He left yesterday morning to go and load Christmas trees on Buck Mountain in Tennessee. The temperature was some where between 10 and 20 degrees when he left. We never got much above 38 yesterday ~ but it was BEAUTIFUL outside ... blue skies, calm air. He is my hero! So if you have a live Christmas tree this year, I can tell you that it involved some true physical labor, some cold men, and a lot of dedication to working to get it to you. Paul's friend Charles, is driving one of the 18 wheelers that take the trees out and about to Lowes, Home Depot and etc. It takes a BUNCH of people to run the industry this time of year. Paul brought us a tree home yesterday ... so we'll be trying to get that up today after he gets home from work ... going to try to begin decorating the house today after my pot of coffee gets into my system and I get some "spunk" together!

On a TOTALLY different subject, I interviewed for a job last July at the Grandfather Golf and Country Club for which I didn't get. However, the real estate office that exclusively represents that club had a opening for an office manager/executive assistant. They invited me to interview for the job on Nov. 9th and offered me the job on Nov. 15th! I started work on the 19th. It's a wonderful job, with the hours being 8:30 to 4:30. I am still able to teach my dance classes on Monday and Tuesday. So my personal thanksgiving celebration has been quite huge for so many different reasons! I will still try to help my friend Terri with her website stuff at the other real estate office. But I no longer have to work 7 days a week, 3 or 4 different jobs. Thank goodness!!!!

Things around here are hopping, as always! It's time to change the clothes around from short sleeves to insulated; decorate for Christmas holidays; gather gifts for giving and supplies for making stuff ... busy, busy, busy. We wish you all safe travels, fun days and great health as we go full swing in to the holiday season! Cheers! Paul & Cheri

Happy Thanksgiving!

We just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all! We are counting our blessings and saying grace over so many things this year. Mum has been through her surgery as is recovering with great strides. Jennifer is still in remission. (that sentence still makes my eyes fill with tears and my heart scream with joy!) All of our children and grandchildren are leading happy, healthy and remarkable lives. Our families and friends seem to be doing the same with good health, good fortune and good lives. Paul and I have wonderful health (except his cold from being in the rain and snow with the trees this season!), we have incredible lives and we are the luckiest people in the world in our opinions! We hope for all of you the same amount of happiness and joy ~ or more! And we also hope you can enjoy your Thanksgiving day and celebrate it with loved ones at a table filled with a feast! Safe journey to you who are traveling. Thank you for being a part of our lives. Blessings to all! Paul & Cheri

Paul's Mum!

"B", as she is known as, is having some rather serious health issues. As she enters into the hospital on Monday morning for a surgical procedure, please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We wish for her to move through all this with a speedy and completely wonderful recovery so that she can get back to her normal life once again.

ALSO, her birthday is Tuesday, November 20th, the day following her surgery. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Mum. Hopefully your birthday wishes will be granted and your coming year will be free of any ill health, and filled with all good things instead!!!!

Much love to you, Mum. Take good care!

Paul & Cheri

Meet Bob & (Aunt) Jean Penny ...

This lady grew up in our house as the grand daughter of the man who actually built it, D.K.Jobe. She and her husband joined us for Sunday supper this week. It was absolutely delightful to hear the stories of her childhood and the recollection of where furniture pieces were placed, and what curtains were where. It was also great fun to get to know Bob & Jean. We certainly enjoyed the evening! And Jean kept closing her eyes to visualize things, it was quite precious. Paul and his treasure chest produced for her a perfume bottle he found in the "Indiana Jones Room" which she recognized as her grandmother's perfume bottle. So, now Jean has a little memento that she never dreamed of, I'm sure. Jean carved her name into our garage wall as a teenager, so she's forever a part of the house.

This is what tractor driver Paul looks like after a day in the Christmas tree fields. He's beat, wind burned, and spent. But he still tells me about the beautiful vistas and views and the camaraderie between all "the guys" out there. What a sweet spirit this man is, not to mention a good sport! It was truly freezing today ... as you can see by the pile of clothing he has to take off (yes, that is an insulated aviator suit, an insulated CARHART coat, and thermal shirts) and further testimony by the numbers on the thermometer on our back porch!! It is now cold. They started "blowing snow" today at the Sugar Mountain Ski Resort. 'Tis the season" ... This carrot and beat were picked out of the garden (because of the freeze and threat of snow) ... can't be a tractor driver without being a gardener as well, don't you know!?! Paul pulled dozens of carrots and cleaned and bagged them all. I'm so proud of him!

I had recorded a birthday date wrong, and would like to apologize to my dear friend Pennisu for missing it! Pennisu, I so hope you had a wonderful birthday and that your upcoming year of wishes and dreams all come true. I know you are ready to make it a banner year, so onward ho! Happy, happy brithday wishes!

Paul's mum is having some health "stuff" ... so please keep good thoughts for her as she tries to get some answers to the issues. We all certainly know how frustrating it is to just get through the process of finding a doctor, never mind finding out the what, where, why, etc. Best wishes to you, B.

Many many thanks to my brother (Wayne) for sending us another propane heater. I assure you it will be coveted!! I am so very grateful for your (and Debbie's) generosity. My sister and her husband (Cyndie and Paul) are coming up for Thanksgiving and to see what can be done to further improve our heating potential. Paul is in the HVAC biz ... thank goodness! We are very blessed to have such great gobs of help. Thanks to you all!

My son has been promoted to the General Manager of Ted's Montana Grill at Cumberland Mall. He sounds great ... up to the task. We wish him such great success and I'm such a proud mom! I'm waiting for pics of the boys in their halloween costumes for sharing ... will keep you posted on that! Jennifer is still doing great. We don't ever forget to say grace for her healthy self! And I'm waiting for pics of Christian too ... by the way .... Thanks to all of you who ask about the kids. It makes me feel good to be able to report back with such good news!

I start at the wreath nursery tomorrow, so must go to bed. Not only will it be an early beginning, it will be a freezing one. Must be rested so I can brave those "elements" all rolled in to one! As you can see, Paul is already resting!! :-)

Blessings to all ... Paul & Cheri

An Adventure Like no Other!

Here's ref Paul!! Isn't he cute! And the concentration on his face just makes me giggle! HE's a hero up here in the soccer industry. The kids love him and the coaches all seem to respect him since he's got the "English thing" going on. We should all have such success with our accents! :-) And thanks to Janet (Paul's sister) for the official uniforms!

Paul began driving his tractor for the Christmas tree industry on Tuesday!!! He's having a wonderful time!! I never thought of him as a tractor driver, but he's certainly proving he is. He's working for Jack Weissman, who is the largest tree supplier around. He's responsible for about 3 million trees/year. They've already cut, bailed and hauled the entire Crossnore area so he's moved over to a mountain right off of the main highway about 5 miles from our house. Currently he's on Buck Mountain ... in Tennessee .... I'm sure enjoying the GORGEOUS panoramic views. I hope it stays as beautiful weather wise as it has been. I'm sure he's freezing in the morning before the temps get above 30 ... but by noon it's usually 55 or 60 and he's peeling off layers of flannel! He looks more and more like a local every day!!! His eyes are so blue it's amazing. They look like they're reflecting the Carolina blue sky. He's just shining! But his body is sore at the end of his day and he's ready for a siesta! Probably the influence of all the Latinos he works with now! HAHA! He's learning about siestats, and I'm sure they're going to be drinking hot tea by season's end!

I begin working in the wreath business next Wed. when I officially begin 7 days/week. I'm working for Sugar Mountain Nurseries, who also has a wreath wholesale, retail and mail order business. I hear we ship out gobs and gobs of wreaths all over the world. Should be interesting! Paul & I will both be working 7 days/week for about the next 3 weeks. This brings me to say, we won't really be having any leisure e-mail time, so please be conservative with what you're sending to us right now! And kindly understand that you won't get prompt replies! Also our home internet service has been down all week so I'm having to use the real estate office's internet! Hopefully we'll have ours back tomorrow afternoon ... we'll see!!!!

Hope all of you out there had a wonderful Halloween and are now getting prepared for Thanksgiving. I can just hardly believe it's holiday time again already! I remember my mom saying how fast time was flying ... I didn't understand it then, but it's oh, so REAL now!!! I finally get it, mom!

There are copious amounts of birthday celebrations coming up. One is my my very good friend, Valerie Marozzi. So Val, happy birthday, honey. I hope all of the candles on your cake represent a wish that will come true for you this year and that you are blessed with good health, gobs of love and great happiness!!! I miss you greatly!

Happy November to all! Paul & Cheri

New phone numbers!

We've chosen to become locals at long last, and will now have a local phone number for each of our cell phones. This change will take place Friday, Oct. 26th .... so make a note of it! There will be NO referral number given when you dial the old numbers (sorry for that, no option apparently). We no longer have a home phone, so the cell numbers are it! Working on simplicity here!
Paul is 828-260-7949 and Cheri is 828-260-7948. Feel free to call any time!!!
Meanwhile, happy trails! Paul & Cheri

The Woolly Worm Festival ~~~

Well, we made it through it ... and it was great fun and a wonderful experience. I'm sure there will be things we do differently next time, as there always are things to change! Paul was a BIG SELLER with his metal suns and kokepellis, Shannon had lots of sales with her polymer clay jewelery - candy corn earrings and Christmas ornaments; and I even sold a mosaic! But the BIGGEST SELLER of all were the polymer clay and pipe cleaner woolly worm pins we made at the last minute!!! Isn't that always the way! Paul had great fun selling those up and down the street ... such a panhandler!!! So ... we're on to bigger and better things ~ which we will gladly announce when we figure them out! HA!

The work scene is a little scattered right now for us all. As the metal shop as fizzled out for the season, Paul secured a job today driving a tractor on a Christmas tree farm starting next Tuesday or Wed. It's 7 days a week, probably 12 hours a day for about 3 or 4 weeks. We're hoping he'll make money that we need to survive the winter (oil for heat, wood for heat, gas for heat!). When we got home from the festival we found a baby wood stove that the "wood stove fairy" left on our side porch! We LOVE those kind of gifts! And we'll accept them with plenty of gratitude. Now getting it installed outta be interesting! Hmmmmmmmmm ..... I'm still teaching dance (thank goodness!!!!) and working minimal hours at Lowes (they cut hours for the winter) ... and a friend of mine is going to take me up to one of the local florists shops to see if they need help with wreaths for the season, as well. Maybe there will be plenty of work in the next 3 or 4 weeks to get us by! We're keeping our fingers crossed ... and would REALLY appreciate it if you'd all kick in good thoughts for us!

My friend Cynthia Williams in the Tarpon Springs area is celebrating her birthday today! Happy birthday wishes, Cynthia! And my sister, Cyndie, is celebrating her birthday next Monday, the 29th. I want to make sure I include HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes to her here and now so I won't accidentally miss it ... hope all your birthday wishes come true ... both of you!!!!

Shannon and I are on a roll trying to develop a business (perhaps a gallery to go with it ... and art classes and such) for the spring. So, will keep you up to date on that as things unveil to us! My grandsons are excitedly preparing for Halloween. Austin will be a Ninja, Cade will be the black Spiderman, and Christian is a Power Ranger. Sounds perfectly normal to me! I sure miss the little guys and may have to make arrangements to see them VERY soon!!!! (hint, hint to the parents!)

Happy Trails to all. Paul & Cheri

Mountain Mosaics and More

The beautiful fall colors have certainly inspired our creative juices! My drive across the mountain to work is absolute euphoria. It is so hard to concentrate on the drive because the scenery is amazing! Paul expresses the same views! We are so lucky to see this every day! The yellows are SO vivid and the crimsons are even more scrumptious. The orange hues seem to be vibrating! It is no wonder this place is notorious for "the turning of the leaves". However, the seasonal residents will all be heading back to their homes (mostly in Florida) after this weekend and the festival that marks the end of the autumn and the beginning of winter here, which is the Wooly Worm Festival. This festival is what we have prepared our work for and we will hopefully be able to make a good impression upon the participants. Perhaps we'll even make some money! :-)

So, here are some of the things we will be selling. There are not all in their finished form, and this is not the complete inventory, but it will give you an idea of what we've been doing and why I haven't been very communicative lately! Not shown (unfortunately) is work by my friend Shannon Fannon, who is a FABULOUS polymer clay artist. She makes all kinds of jewelry and sculpted face pieces. She will be joining our little band of artists, as will Charles, and perhaps Andy the blacksmith. So exciting!

Paul hasn't been very busy at work, so he's had more time than usual to prepare stuff for the show. We're hoping work picks up a bit, but I think Paul is considering working Christmas trees for a few weeks if it doesn't. It's hard work, and I truly hope something else comes up! Lowes has cut my hours down significantly because there is no business here to speak of in the winter, so it gives me more opportunity to work in art ~ not to mention prepare dance classes and perhaps fit some real estate work in here and there! We are looking forward to this adventure as well! It's both exciting and anxiety producing!

There have been numerous birthdays this month, including most everyone I know! There sure are a lot of Libras out there! Happy Birthday to ALL ya'll!!! Also Paul & I celebrated our wedding anniversary this week, and my daughter and her husband celebrated theirs! Busy time from now through the end of the year with all the celebrations! I LOVE this time of year.

Please keep Chrissie Grace (my mentor and friend) and her family in your prayers as they mourn the loss of Chrissie's dad, Bob Mervine. As any "daddy's little girl" can imagine, her heart is surely broken and she sure could use good thoughts.

Must go get the last piece grouted and get all the little loose ends (unfinished projects, that is) tied up. Do hope everyone is warm and well! Take good care! Happy Trails, Paul & Cheri

Frost on the Pumpkins!!!

Pierre Pumpkin was all alone in the house until the thermometer hit below 40 this morning. Now Paul & I will have to go and raid the pumpkin patch so they won't freeze and they can join Pierre inside as Halloween decorations, not to mention being turned into copious amounts of pumpkin soup and pumpkin bread, etc. etc. It's been much fun cooking, baking and creating right out of our very own garden! I'm sad to say however, the pickles (cucumbers for those of you who know how pickles are made) just didn't make this year, so we'll have to try again next summer - a little earlier in the year!

We are in the midst of making our inventory for the fall festival next weekend. We will post some of that tomorrow so you can see why the blog isn't getting much updating at present. I have 3 days off to work, so that's what I'm doing! Stay tuned! For now, I'm going to huddle back beside a space heater and warm up! (It's only 50 now and the wind is howling ... about 60 degrees in the house!) Cheers!!!

Paul & Cheri (Mountain Mosaics and More!)

Happy Birthday Paul!

Happy 46th Birthday to my sweet husband! We will celebrate this evening with trifle for dessert with a few of our new friends. Paul finally got his heart's desire ... an old station wagon. He's a very happy camper! A 1987 model with only 60,000 miles spent from an elderly couple who bought it new! A gem for Paul!

Tomorrow will be one year for Paul's arrival here in the mountains ... time really does fly!

Have a wonderful day Paul! Hope all of your birthday wishes do come true!!!! xoxo

Happy week to all!!

Indiana Jones Room clean at long last!!!!!

Last Sunday didn't turn out to be the clean up of the Indiana Jones Room. Instead we spent the day at the local hospital with Paul's leg ... some sort of bacterial infection that got in there and gave him quite a fit! But he's back to normal and yesterday was the day for the under belly of this house to get a "tidy up", as he calls it. There were all kinds of things under there ... a toilet and water heater from the 1950s. Along with piles of old scrap wood and even half of a ping pong table ... too bad we couldn't find the other half!!! :-) So now, we can put insulation under our floors and get some heat to stay in the house (we hope!). Paul burned stuff ALL DAY yesterday, and we still have plenty to burn. But the wind is up today, and the temperature is down (about 58 right now), so we won't be burning today. The last picture is the signature of the original owner and builder of this house. It is D.K. Jones ... and legend has it that he is the spirit that visits our house (the one I've always called Earl). He must be content with what we've done as we haven't seen/heard him lately. We've plenty of work left to do in this house and even more in the downstairs ... but it's interesting to accomplish things and the process of deciding what to do and when to do it is quite the adventure. Paul seemed to really enjoy being in amongst it all yesterday and the day was GORGEOUS. I'd go outside to "check on him" and take his tea ... and I'd find him on the roof fixing gutters or in the garden turning soil or under the house finding buried treasure (a half pint milk bottle from the 50's and a beautiful cut class perfume bottle from 40's I think). I had to work yesterday evening and when I got home he had finally come inside and was happily eating dinner when I arrived. So nice to have a happy man around (and gratefully, a healed leg)! So, that's our Indiana quest ... cheers to all! Paul & Cheri

This week's project: Plumbing!

Oh my, what a week! We've tried to ignore the fact that the bathroom needed to be "redone", but the bathroom had other plans for us this week! As I turned off the cold water in our little 3x3 cubicle shower on Thursday, I heard a pop ... then water was just surging with a mind all of its own out of the hole that used to be the faucet! SO ... off goes the water to the house on Thursday. We went about our work day, then on to Paul's soccer game. Then, arriving home after dark Paul found the energy to figure out how to cap off the shower (after tearing down a wall and various other contortions) so we could have water to the house. So, we had resigned to showering in the guest bathroom (no big deal - same 3x3 cubicle!) and we just figured it was time to leisurely fix the downstairs bathroom. The plan just didn't come together however, as the guest bathroom shower began to leak into the hallway downstairs. SO ... plan B4 ... fix the downstairs situation. (We'll have to approach the upstairs leak later, when our skills improve! Or when we can afford to hire Shane, the real plumber and bee keeper!) With our best plumbing skills in hand (all 2 of the things we know about plumbing: righty tighty, lefty loosey) we set off yesterday to the plumbing shack and got what we deemed necessary. Demolition began and the wall between the shower and the rest of the bathroom came down (exposing 50 of so years worth of wallpapering and etc.). Then the cubicle came out (unfortunately, had to be disassembled and taken out in a collapsed state as it would not fit through the door) ... then the plumbing project began! OH MY! So ... after contemplating and making "the best way to do this" type decisions, we took off and added to, capped off and prayed ... and managed to get the water to go to the claw foot tub in the right places and not to spurt out of the no longer needed parts of the water source ... and it was also no longer pouring into the basement! So by 8:30, Paul was taking his first bath in our claw foot tub and enjoying the luxury of a bath, as we've only been able to stand up and shower since we moved in last October!!! Now, we have a heck of a menagery to work around ... wallpaper from the 50's for sure (with ships on it) ... and wallpaper from the 70's with stripes. Partial paneling, exposed subflooring, rotten subflooring and all sorts of things! It might be make shift for now, but we have a terrific tub and shower now! We've hung a lovely black plastic shower ring above the tub for a shower curtain, and have all the luxury of being able to move in the shower instead of trying to figure out how to raise our arms above our heads in that little cubicle. It's a great day in the neighborhood!! And now, the clean up begins. Please keep good thoughts of us as we really need some moral support about now! But I'm so very happy to report that in spite of the "funky" decor in there, we are very lucky to have worked it out! The vision here is: the part of the wall behind the tub that is jutting out is another chimney. It begins in the basement and goes straight up through both bathrooms and stops in the attic. It doesn't seem to have a mission, it just is there! So, we will expose the chimney and have the brick showing as opposed to the lovely wall paper and paneling that you see here now. The tub will be on a platform and will be on a diagonal. The flooring will all be replaced after the construction (or before if I can't stand it for that long!) We will put vanity or antique dressers in the part opposite the tub (which is now filled with dressers and chests) and we have yet to decide what we'll do with the walls. Under the paneling and wall paper they are lathe and plaster. We'll think on that for a while! Plenty of time to decide, as we really need to get the floors finished before we launch into all the "redo" on the bathroom(s)!!!!

Stay tuned for the next and continuing adventures ... one of which should happen whilst Paul is in the "Indiana Jones" room this afternoon! I, unfortunately, will be at Lowes ... no doubt helping people who are doing things like I'd love to do! Happy Sunday to all! And more importantly, happy Autumnal Equinox, as today marks the official beginning of autumn. May all of your fall wishes come true! Paul & Cheri