Toadfrogs and Elephants

I was determined to finish things today. I put the last coat of paint on the door frame, put up the last polished hinge on the front door, moved my monitor/tv to the kitchen, got the last of the tax documents together, took two trash bags of packing peanuts to be recycled, sent emails out about a home for Jack, and then I took something off Wade’s list. Last year my mom came to visit and we mulched all the beds around the house – 13 cubic yards of mulch. At the time, we noticed that the paving stones in the side yard were pretty much buried. It became Wade’s job to dig them out, but it never got done. I decided that surely I could do it with a shovel. I had trouble with a few – they were much bigger than I thought. I couldn’t dead lift any of them, but I did get all fifteen of them dug out. Now they need a little bit of mulch around them to flatten them out. The funny thing is that no one ever sees the side yard. It is a small space between our house and our neighbor’s. I can see the bushes out our windows, but not the stepping stones. At least now I will have a path when I go to fill the hummingbird feeder.

This project wasn’t really mine, but I helped with the painting and it turned out great. Here are the before and after pictures of Michelle’s guest room.

Wade’s Aunt and Uncle came for lunch today. They brought pictures of the new puppies they are getting – a German short-haired pointer and a springer spaniel (not the one pictured to the right). I think the plan is to use the German short-haired pointer as a hunting dog for Uncle John and the springer spaniel as a companion for Aunt Louise. We even played a game of bowling on the Nintendo Wii.

Wade spent the rest of the day working on his shop. He now has a router table and a dust collection system. Maybe he will get started on some of my big projects now – like a coffee table, desk, and a dining room table! Wade and I did drive by a house we like. We aren’t really house hunting, but who can pass up an awesome house. Maybe we’ll go see the inside this week. I spent most of the day laying on the couch with a splitting migraine headache – darn head! I was even in bed for good by 7 pm.

My sister and her husband were supposed to come for a visit this weekend, but Melissa wasn’t feeling well. Instead of visiting all weekend we got projects done. We polished a few remaining pieces of hardware, sanded the back door frame, replaced some shoe molding, patched a whole in the hallway, etc. Michelle and Nate came over for dinner and a game of cards. I think that was one of the longest games of Spades I have ever played. We eventually decided to take an ice cream break in the middle and made a quick run to Diary Queen. We still had a good time and the girls triumphed over the boys. Jack spent half of the night chewing up things – such as Wade’s new Ipod remote – and the other half in Michelle’s lap.

I think I mentioned that Wade and I found the original screen door for the back door to our house. We removed the screen and refinished the wood. Wade bought glass and is setting the glass in the frame. The other night we removed the metal screen door and it’s door frame. We were worried about the condition of the original wood frame under the metal one. The wood was all there, but it was in pretty bad shape. I spent today removing all of the cracked and peeling paint. Tomorrow I’ll start putting on a few new coats of paint.

I have taken a nice long break from painting so I decided it was time to start another project. Michelle had mentioned painting her guest room and I offered my services. I got to her house around 9:30 am. We went to Lowe’s, picked the paint, ran a few errands, and spent the afternoon painting. We didn’t quite finish, but we got two coats on the top and one on the bottom. I don’t have a picture of the finished product but here is a before picture – the top is lavender and the bottom is mint green. The new colors are a cream on top (named Brandied Pears) and a brown on the bottom (named Pony Tail).

Happy Birthday Edie!

I was home for half of the day so I kept the dogs inside. Jack is full of curiosity and hasn’t learned the difference between dog toys and human stuff so I have to keep a close eye on him. He hasn’t had any more accidents. He has learned “sit” but won’t eat food out of human hands, which makes training him quite a bit more difficult.

Jack is definitely a lap dog. He is a nut and won’t leave you alone till you let him lay on you. Then he is calm and gentle and asleep in a few minutes. What a sweetie.

I had both dogs inside with me today and Jack just looks adorable. Anybody want to adopt a puppy? Preferably someone close by so I can visit.

Happy Birthday Maffuw!