random this and that ~ w/photos!

NEWSFLASH:  We have BLUE skies today!  :-)  I'm no longer looking at the forecast ~ I'm not in charge of the hay crop anyway.  I heard them talking on the farm show today (radio) about 1983 when we had lots of rain early, then a drought in July-August ~ not a pretty thing to compare with 2010.  So I will be doubly thankful if God proves that comparison wrong!

Here's what arrived at the house Monday morning... (woot, woot!)

The electrician also arrived, so Tim will start hanging wall cabinets after he finishes the kitchen outlets...

But here's one of our beautiful new doors that Tim stained last week...

And the master bath with grout, toilet, and vanity ready to install...

Round Two on tiling bath #2... they stuck this time!

(sorry about the cardboard ~ I didn't want to disturb anything)

And, speaking of bathrooms, here's the basement bath with it's PINK wall  :-)  Yes, this would be the girl's domain... It's a two-room bath ~ pocket doors coming someday.  I guess you'd call the first room a powder room with countertop/vanities on both sides and one sink.  The second room is a 'full' bath in itself.  Total:  two sinks, three counters, three mirrors, four girls  :-)  Should work.

Boys with power tool = willing workers in their room...

We've been working hard on the basement floor... chipping drywall mud, sweeping, sweeping, and now washing, scrubbing, washing...

First wash is usually a matter of pushing the dirty water around...

I bought a string mop today, so hopefully tomorrow's labor will more efficient.  :-) 

I mentioned my Danskos ~ here they are...

Lovely, yes?  You see, Jodi, I was NOT going to paint.  And I don't wear other shoes without good reason.  So I went to the house to check on everybody, deliver kids, whatever, and the next thing I know I have paint on me... later I'm running the sprayer ~ which actually leaves such a light layer of paint on shoes that it's easily washed sort-of-clean.  But when I started rolling and brushing and dripping paint on them...  But let me add that they have been well-worn for a long time now ~ the right one is even cracked through the sole ~ Contrary to my salesman's opinion, they DO wear out!  But now I will have a work pair and a good pair  :-)  What can be wrong with that?  The new ones should look the same ~ almost  ;-)

I told you my four oldest kiddos had a date at HuHot last Saturday.  Well, they loved it!  And Miss Artist brought home several pairs of chopsticks... So Monday night she got them out to use with our pepper steak...

The rest of us were happy to use a fork  :-)

FINALLY, in the theme of ruthless purging of s.t.u.f.f.  (Thank you, Julie @ Herding Grasshoppers!)
Here's one treasure that is now free to leave our home...  (the fingerpainting, not the girl!)

There is and will be more.  I won't post pictures of all of them, but this one turned out especially cute ~ in my biased opinion (and she doesn't mind me posting her picture on my blog)  :-)

But Miss Artist won't mind if I show you this...

She took an old frame she didn't like, recovered it with scrapbook paper, and added the embellishments... and an old photo of the Cattleman  :-)  Very fun.  (Now go finish putting your laundry away!)

daybook 16

FOR TODAY

Monday, June 14, 2010

O come, let us sing unto the LORD: 

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Psalm 95:1

Outside my window... the sun found a break in the clouds this afternoon.  Everything is green after rain every day since Wednesday (and more in the forecast...)

I am thinking... cleaning up drywall mud and dust is a pain in the neck... and back...  I did decide that the sound of scraping cement has a remarkable likeness to the hog barn at the Iowa State Fair.  :o  Or maybe the paint fumes are just too much for me?

I am thankful for... the safe and timely arrival of our cabinets ~ today!

 O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.
 Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.
 Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.
 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. 

Psalm 96:1-5

From the learning rooms... I actually worked with the Cattleman this morning on his math  :-)  ...finding the GCF and LCM for fractions.

From the kitchen... pepper steak has been cooking all day ~ I came home so I could get the rice cooked and supper on the table for my hard-working family.

I am creating... ummm, I suppose a clean basement floor (with the kids' help!), so Tim can lay more tile

I am going... to order the rest of our A Beka Book order at a motel meeting on Wednesday, which means I might buy groceries the same trip ~ and pick up my new Danskos!  (Painting was a little hard on my old pair.)  Saturday we have a family wedding to attend ~ a few hours away, so that will be a late night driving home again.  Not going to a fun baby shower, buying club delivery, or the NICHE homeschool conference.  Thinking I have a few other projects to attend to?

I am reading... mostly the Psalms and Proverbs.  Oh, and Jodi, I read Chapter 3 of Dancing with My Father yesterday!  :-)  I might even remember some of what I read.

Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; 

and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

Psalm 97:12

I am hoping... to someday have time to deal with this house again ~ so much for the planned purge 'n' pack.  Maybe next week?

I am hearing... the Steve Deace program on WHO Radio~ He's interviewing a Libertarian candidate for Iowa Governor ~ At first I was excited to listen, but Gag!  I do appreciate the small government aspect, but this particular guy is absolutely Godless in his worldview.  :-(  He bases everything on "personal happiness."  So sad; so lost.

The LORD hath made known his salvation: 

his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. 

Psalm 98:2

Around the house... Oh, please!  I did laundry; I'm cooking supper, am I not?  Reality is that I can claim two houses in very messy conditions.  Do you think this verse would be an exaggeration?

Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.

Psalm 102:2

One of my favorite things... blogging.  Surprised??

A few plans for the rest of the week:  kind of covered this with the "going" busyness, yes?

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

♥ Happy birthday, Cowgirl!  ♥

If you look really close, you can see a "12" on the barn.  The girl was so tired after staying up until 1am to decorate her cake (and goof off with her sisters according to the rest of the photos they took... ahem) ~ I took five pictures of her trying to blow out her candles!  Laughing at herself didn't help  :-)

Link up and read more daybooks at Peggy's blog.

stomp rockets

The kids ARE enjoying a little summer along with working  ;-)

It didn't deter the kids, but there was a storm in the making that day as well...

Not sure this photo means much to anyone but us since it's still looking like a mess, but Tim & the Cattleman took out the old loading chute, and Tim cut off most of the huge mulberry tree on Memorial Day weekend...  Just need friend Jeff to come pull out the trunk/stump and push the dirt around to develop our front yard a bit more...

We'd all like to rest and relax as much as Smokey...

See the likeness?

gallons and gallons of paint, among other things

Oh dear, here we go again... I haven't posted a real house update since May 25   :o  And thankfully that means I have a LOT to show you!
 
Bonus?  I just realized how OLD this photo is -- no drywall!  Lots of clean-up still going on though...

Here are four of my able-bodied helpers unloading fencing on Friday 6/4 ~ the fifth was the photographer.  And the sixth was already helping his dad with painting.

And here are a couple of beauties modeling the lastest fashion in head-coverings (from a scrap box)  ;-)  ... ready to join the paint crew!

Tim putting on primer with sprayer and following with the roller...

Everyone helped!

On Saturday 6/5 we started with the real paint.  The boys decided on green for their room...

The main color is a tannish stuff called Travertine Trail, like that means anything...

And yes, that's the woman who said she was not going to do any painting... ahem.

Here's our dear Kayleb preparing to lay tile in the master bath (Fri 6/4).  He came back Thursday night (6/3) and was able to stay until mid-Monday...

My girls think this tool would be great for stirring up a BIG batch of pancake batter  :-)

Beautiful?!  Yes!

And the second bath...

 Bead board plywood for the ceiling of the front stoop...

 which Miss Artist primed on Friday, June 4th  ...and learned how difficult oil-based paint is to remove.

Tim installed the real front door Sunday night on our way home from church  :-)

Monday he put in the boys' bedroom door and stained it...

When the boys weren't helping inside, they were often out hunting thistles... the Cattleman wanted to show us this tall one he found.

On Tuesday he dug a hole for the mailbox post...

On Monday, the older girls and I went shopping (again) and chose more paint colors.  The Cowgirl and the Popper long ago chose this bright blue for their room.  They also want a green floor and a painted mural near the window of Jersey cow grazing  =)

 Lowe's or Diamond Vogel... pick one ~ it's been my home away from home for the past week.

This is what happens when I check the computer and forget I'm supposed to be baking bread (ie, today)...

 But it actually turned out wonderfully... maybe I should do that more often?

daybook 16

The Simple Woman's Daybook will be posted each Tuesday by Peggy.

FOR TODAY

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Outside my window... the rain has stopped for now, but it's still cloudy.  Perfect for my kids to sleep late this morning ~ they are just finished with breakfast. 

I am thinking... I should go vote in the primary before I get a fresh coat of paint on my hands  ;-)

I am thankful for... a full night's sleep and 15 minutes of T-Tapp this morning

From the learning rooms... we are learning a LOT about painting


From the kitchen... good question.  My menu plan has already fallen apart for the week, and it's only Tuesday.


I am creating... "mouse elbow"  I need to stay away from the computer!

I am going... to vote on our way to the house to FINISH painting

I am reading... the Psalms.  God is faithful to Israel.  He is also faithful to me.  What a blessing!

Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.  My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 

Psalm 89:33-34

I am hoping... to see Bob Vander Plaats become Iowa's next governor!

I am hearing... the washer in its final spin cycle, Aaaachoo! from the Computer Geek next to me, Miss Artist finishing her breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen, birds singing outside

Around the house... a couple boxes from my last efforts at the purge/pack, Klutz Cat's Cradle book and string (favorite occupation for several kids lately  =)), the Cowgirl is busy drawing, most of the girls are in their painting clothes ready to go

One of my favorite things... hearing a cardinal sing.  I really hope we will have some cardinals at the new house.

A few plans for the rest of the week:  finish painting, make another trip to Lowe's, prayer service tomorrow night, birthday party for a friend Friday night (requires a little shopping), and the four oldest kiddos are going to HuHot for the youth group's Senior Send-Off meal Saturday night.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Not how my husband would have loaded these fence panels, but we got the job done!  Last Monday we (five kids and I) pulled out the fencing, and on Friday we hauled it all away  =)

Link up and read more Daybooks at Peggy's blog
The Simple Woman's Daybook.

daybook 15

The Simple Woman's Daybook will be posted each Tuesday ~ here.

~*~*~*~*~

FOR TODAY ~ Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Outside my window...
it's warm, cloudy and windy with thunderstorms possible later (?)

I am thinking...
I need a nap (I think that quite often it seems...)

I am thankful for...
time spent with my parents yesterday for lunch, then lots of outdoor work accomplished in the afternoon

From the learning rooms...

computer programming with Python (guess who!), teens should be reading missionary biographies for youth group requirement, the Popper should be drilling multiplication facts.  We need to wrap up this year's history (attempted to watch Gettysburg last night, but the player didn't want to play... so the kids played tag outside... Providential?)  The last movie we watched was The Bridge on the River Kwai -- not recommended.  :-(
I am also occasionally thinking on next year's plans...  ;-)  but mostly we are trying to eliminate the excess s.t.u.f.f. currently contained in this house.  (!)

From the kitchen...
I think we have leftovers from Sunday in the fridge to eat tonight  =)  ...taco rice casserole...  Yum.  I love salsa.  ♥  and leftovers.

I am creating...
a plan for locating a cold frame at the new house after reading this (and related posts) at Gina's blog.

I am going...
nowhere else today ~ We've already been to the orthodontist, JoAnn Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, and Wal-mart today ~ thus, my desire for a nap

I am reading...
still in the Psalms AND I read another chapter from Dancing with My Father last night (!)

I am hoping...
hoping, hoping, hoping! 
that we will be IN before June 30

I am hearing...
the air conditioner and fan

Around the house...
the Cowgirl is reading nearby and Miss Artist is napping on the couch...
I heard the washer or dryer end a while ago -- need to go switch the laundry and possibly attempt something more in the way of decluttering today

One of my favorite things...

I thought this was a phlox, but "Dame's Rocket" (Hesperis matronalis)  is the name listed here.  I think it's what we have blooming here... and I like it a lot!  :-)  The photo above is from the website; our flowers are pictured below.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
declutter, pack, declutter, clean, declutter, pick up primer, cheer Tim on as he runs the paint sprayer, declutter, choose flooring? and declutter, pack, clean, and declutter some more...

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

First crop of hay is baled... Now we need rain, please!

Click to read more daybooks at Peggy's blog -
The Simple Woman's Daybook.