We had quite an eventful weekend LAST weekend! It was yard cleanup day at the Glovers. Our friends Jennie, Chad and Charles all came with their heavy equipment, as well as their boots and gloves and their youth (thank goodness!) and we attacked the massive list of "to dos" with great vigor. IT was extremely HOT (for us, 90's) and when the brush fire got to where the flames were about 40 feet high, it was REALLY hot! The brush pile was left over from the genius tree trimmers when we first moved here (remember that??? yikes!!!) Well, in spite of dubious attention to detail, even the best laid plans have the ability to go awry, I have discovered. The next "guy" that throws a match on a brush pile in my yard that is not in a designated burning zone will be exterminated ... and that is a promise! Anyway, although there are several scorched trees and the brush pile is still burning very slowly 7 days later, we survived that stupidity and are moving on. (it was one of those, "hey y'all, watch this" moments,absolutely astounding!) But I will have to give credit where credit is due, and I thank God and all the angels that Paul has fire fighting training and was able to contain the flames. That was definitely divine intervention! :-) It also kept me from "the killer" instinct.
The behemoth mound of firewood that was in our side yard (to the left of the driveway) has been cut, chopped, split and stacked into 4 workable wood stacks which Paul figures to be about 2 cords of wood. A nice winter's supply, thank goodness! It is stacked so that I can reach it! You can actually stand at the top of the driveway and see all the way down to the garden. It is absolutely beautiful (especially since fertilizing and etc.) Chad was a weed eating machine ... and most of the wild briers and poison ivy and etc. has disappeared from the side where our neighbor's driveway is a bit overgrown. We seem to be on a "free the rhododendron and small tree" campaign. Still have a bit of weed eating and clearing out to do. But, it's so much more manageable. It is absolutely gorgeous. And it is so nice to have it all under control once again. Hopefully, it'll stay that way. We shall see. Jennie is a landscape design grad. and was very good at keeping us all focused and on task. We have big plans for making things pretty and manicured soon enough! You can actually stand at the top of our drive and see all the way to the bottom of our property for the first time ever! So lovely!
A HUGE thank you to our friends, who were nice enough to sacrifice their Saturday to help us get back to basics!!!! Charles even hauled off all of the trash! What a guy!!!! It was a LOT, and a big deal. Thanks, Charles. And a HUGE thank you to Jennie and Chad, who keep me sane most of the week without Paul around in the evenings, as well as help me with projects and tasks. So nice to have friends.
Paul and I spent Sunday finishing up the wood, planting flowers and herbs, mowing and watering ... and we were absolutely 2 tired old people Sunday night at 9pm. We pulled out our camp chairs and sat by the fire, had a shandy and enjoyed the stars popping out. Then, it was Monday and we'd had no rest. So this has been a long week of work and tomorrow will be a very welcomed rest day! I hope I can talk myself into resting. That's the hard part for me.
I am in the middle of wallpapering the bathroom. I like to think of it as "Victorianizing" it. It's looking so nice. It's amazing how things just transform. Anyway, the bathroom renovation is going to be a somewhat lengthy process with many phases to it, but at least we've begun, and that is, as they say, the first step! Captain obvious, here!
That is the update on the house, but there is so much more happening ...
* Dancer's Pointe is having their recital tomorrow. I'm so bummed that we can't be there. But we are absolutely sending the very best wishes for a PERFECT show!!! Good luck to EVERYONE!!
* Elise was given GREAT news on Monday. They found nothing to worry about in regards to the biopsy and she has been given a clean bill of health! Amen and hallelujah!
* My niece Erin flew in from Africa last night, and has a lifetime worth of memories and accomplishments with her now. Her stories of women with aids and children who've been orphaned and live in deplorable conditions are heart wrenching. I can't imagine having seen the things she actually lived through. Cool kid!
* My niece Hollie has been on t.v. in Nashville lately, and has been working with the Alan Jackson camp on videos pretty consistently. Should be a great help to her as she begins her career in modeling. So exciting to be beginning such an adventure! (I seem to have a heightened sense of the beginnings of young people's futures now that my stuff is nearing a halt!)
* My sister in law Debbie is making great progress with all the legal red tape she's had to go through, as well as with her personal healing in regards to the death of my brother. I am so proud of her and admire her so much for the way she has handled everything that has been thrown at her this year. Her father is healing very nicely from his by-pass surgery and has gone back to work; and her mom is healing currently from bladder surgery that she had to undergo last month. Debbie, you are amazing. We love you.
* Pennisu and her mom continue to bravely battle all the things they're given one at a time. It is not an easy pill to swallow for them, and we consistently keep them in our thoughts and prayers. Her mom is a warrior, and is very strong and determined. The apple did not fall far from that tree, Psu. You are loved. xoxo
* So You Think You Can Dance is in full swing and gives us dancing enthusiasts something to watch on t.v. Thank you Fox Network!
* Paul got another raise at work this week! We still don't know why, but ours is not to question! That makes his third raise since he started in February. YES! He's lovin' that part of the deal!
* Jennifer continues to heal from her appendectomy and we are discovering how closely related to the immune system that actually is. It possibly answers more things with her health than we dreamed possible! Another Amen and hallelujah. She is well enough to have had all 3 of the boys a couple of days last week! I know Christian was so EXCITED to have his cousins come over for a bit. Summers are always so fun for kids! I can't wait until it's our turn to have them!
* Jon and Melissa have set a date for their wedding for April 24th, 2009 at the Primrose Cottage in Roswell, GA. I LOVE WEDDINGS!!!! Can't wait!
* Paul's mum and dad seem to be holding their own, albeit with some kinks and such. They recently cruised with Chris and Rick, and their photos on the blog are amazing. check it out, http://chrisrick.blogspot.com/. Rick has done some very cool tricks with the blogger stuff - has photo slideshows and all sorts of things!
* Paul's niece Sarah is jumping her horse Badger and there is a great shot of her jumping 3'3". I am so very impressed! I'm not sure what the nephews (Nick and Hayden) are up to because they don't have personal blogs, but this is Sarah's and it's great to read! http://jandbstables.blogspot.com/. The boys are both athletes and I imagine they fish and etc. all the time. So much fun to be a kid! Congratulations, Sarah!! Their family blog is http://winchfamily-blog.blogspot.com/. As they live in Charleston, SC and have a wonderful home in a new subdivision where there is plenty of wildlife, it's always fun to see who caught what in the back yard!
* Our friend Beth, who lives here is now temporarily (we hope) residing in Massachusetts with her folks. Her mom was in need of some nursing care, and since that is what Beth does she is on the job. Although mom (Mary) is improving daily, it looks like Beth's detail is open ended, and I miss her bunches. We're still taking care of the bungalow for her and hoping for her sooner than later return!
Thanks to you all for being in our lives and making it worth living. We certainly do enjoy our time here on earth. Hope all of you can say the same thing!
Cheers and all for now,
Paul & Cheri
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