Plugging Away...

Well, the great news is that the ceilings upstairs are replaced.  Priming and painting will be done by Monday or Tuesday; I still have walls that look nasty which need to be sanded and painted, but haven't hired anyone for that yet.

The other great news is that we got our carpet samples in today.  Now, to dream of what we will use to recarpet the rooms which were water damaged....

They are all so pretty!  It's always fun to dream about the finished space, and what we want it to look like.

Happy Thorsday, everyone!

Happy Friday!

My dearly beloved's birthday was Wednesday, so, of course, we had a special birthday dinner: shrimp scampi.

I know it's traditionally served over pasta, but I chose white rice.  Ryan whined, while he gobbled up every bite.  A nice big salad rounded out this meal. 

Of course, even men who don't celebrate their birthdays, leading some of their children to call and wish them a happy income tax day or happy random Wednesday, need birthday cakes.  For my dearly beloved, of course it had to be Lemon Sponge Cake, which is his favorite cake.  (Plus, it's low calorie and lower in cholesterol, balancing out the high cholesterol shrimp.)

Ryan and Mark didn't even attack it the next morning, leaving it for their father to enjoy.  (And the pretty gold plate upon which it sits was a gift from my oldest son for Christmas; no time like a birthday for the first use of a fancy new cake plate.)

Happy Friday, everyone!

Garden Tuesday: Major Winter Storm?

So, when I was watching the 11PM news last night, the lead story told us about a major winter storm approaching, which would hit us this afternoon.

And then they told us that this major winter storm will give us at least an inch of snow, maybe 1-1/2 inches!

Oh, bother.  Our great good fortune in having a mild winter has caused the weather forecasters to lose their minds.

Here's the result of this major winter storm, right in my own back yard:

Yep, they nailed it when they said we would get an inch of snow.  But my roof is closed up tight, and so now I don't care.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Wednesday Miscellany

Real life conversation over dessert last night:

Hubby: "Cut my dinner in half from now on.  I'm too fat."
Me: "Dinner is not your problem."
He: "What, then?"
Me: "Your new junk food habit."
he: "Junk food?"
Me: "Pretzels, chips, pub mix, etc."
He: "That's not junk food.  The doctor told me to eat more salt."
Me: "He meant to salt your vegetables, not eat pretzels."
He: "Well,  pretzels have no calories."

Men have no idea how to diet.

The back of my attic is being closed in this week, and next week we should get ceilings in the last 2 bedrooms and bathroom.  Under the tarp is all that's left to complete outside!  Some day we will be ready for carpet! (Of course, the roof is just being shingled; the new slate will have to go on in the spring, since it takes 8 weeks to order and no one wants to work on a roof in snow.)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Merry Christmas, Part Deux

As promised, pictures from Christmas here in our little corner of the world.

 Tank got a fox for Christmas.  It had 9 squeakers; he'll have weeks of entertainment dismantling it.  But no stuffing, so that's one mess Jeff won't have!

 The girls deemed that I should continue with Christmas stockings, so Dan and Jeff hunted up a dozen.

 I made spritz cookies for Christmas.  Everyone loved them. (For once, the girls were not all here at a time when they could make cookies.)

 Adventure Beagle sported a spiffy sweater.  She also tried to take the fox, which Tank had carefully placed beside my chair for safekeeping.

 Christmas brunch included not only all of these baked goods, but Jeff scrambled up 3 dozen eggs.

 Tank knows the Great Red Protector is a sucker for feeding dogs.  And he wore his red tie for Christmas.  Many folks thought that was preferable to the jingle bells he had attached to his collar for the season.

 My son in law with his Christmas crown, which everyone got from their Christmas Crackers, but most folks didn't wear.

 Adventure Beagle just kept hopping into people's laps.

 See? Here she is helping out with a game of Boggle.

And, of course, the Christmas feast: standing rib roast (10 ribs), rice pilaf, steamed broccoli, corn.  2 kinds of cake for dessert.

Happy New Year, everyone!