March 9, 2016 · 5:15 pm

Anxious Much?

I was raised by a bitical woman (bitter + critical = bitical).  That explains where I learned to fail so well but it does not explain why, equipped with this knowledge, I can’t seem to shake it off.  I ended the relationships that were so toxic and damaging to me completely when my beloved died and they (plural) saw it as an opportunity to attack me personally when I was at my lowest.  I had all but ended relationships with them before but, without my beloved protector and personal encourager, it was no longer possible to have contact with them.  That is their problem, my problem remains but is different.

I set wonderful goals with appropriate steps to complete them; good time frames and even plan outside influences to create my success.  I have great technical plans and then I fail to follow through until completion.  My big girl pants just don’t seem to stay on as long as I need them to.  I shoot myself in the foot on a regular basis and when I get close to the goal line, I fail to finish.  I have volumes of stories that have never seen the light of day. This blog is the first time I have freely let my words leave without rushing to pull them back and protect them from harm.  It is a learning experience for me and, perhaps because I have so few followers, I’ve been able to let it go and be myself.

NaNoWriMo has been a great experience for me to “turn off my inner editor” which is really a technical writer and the child of bitterness.  Coaching others to complete the 50,000 word count has helped me grow and throw out my inner bitical critic. Seven years as a staff volunteer for the San Francisco Writers Conference has provided me with healing encouragement and hundreds of success stories and relationships with people who are happy to see me when I walk into the room.

To stretch those new confidence muscles even more, I have started my own critique group and am going to submit two short stories for publication in an anthology.  It is not so important that I get accepted for publication as it is I actually submit it.  I sent one of the stories to a beta reader.  Not just any beta reader but, one I consider to be a true American hero.  He served as an Army Ranger and later as an undercover police officer.  He gave much for his country, including the life of his mother when his cover was blown.  He is quiet, humble and extremely smart.  The story deals with PTSD, a subject he is an expert on.  I highly value his opinion.

I sent the story to my friend yesterday at 5:00 p.m. and was awake most of the night.  My anxiety level was sky high.  I expected one of two things; he would read it and politely say little or nothing or attack it with a full offensive.  Neither happened.  The time stamp was 10:27 p.m. the same day and he liked it!  His wife liked it! He gave me 12 suggestions (some I should have caught if I wasn’t so anxious).

It is time for me to succeed!  I have awesome friends and an awesome God!  Now Tessa, let it go and get it done.

Worry for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

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March 7, 2016 · 11:23 pm

Rain in California = Indoor Projects

Textured wall sm

Post Writers Conference To-Do List, Homeowners To-Do List, Work To-Do List, and then there is the offspring Mom “can you” To-Do List.  I need to retire to get some work done!

My Homeowners To-Do List is the one that weighs on me the most.  It is in my face and doesn’t go away unless I’m sleeping.  It is still there in the morning when I wake up.  We purchased the home in 2008 and a series of events quickly overtook us.  My beloved was able to complete 25 of the 100 projects on our punch list.  He tackled the biggest and most expensive ones first before he was pulled away by 60 hour work weeks and his eventual death by job in 2013.  The official cause was pneumonia; only because Americans don’t have the term the Japanese use, Karoshi (death by job). He worked himself to death and I’m trying my best to find balance in my life and not follow his example.

I’m grateful for the 25 items he did get done and the 40 that I have completed in the last four years.  Projects including removing hazardous trees, painting, trim work and laying a 1,100 sq. ft. hardwood floor.  That leaves me 35 to tackle.  I am frustrated with my inability to get things done quickly. I would really like to take a shower in the master bathroom but that project does not rise to the top of the priority level.

With a heavy heart, I must add several projects to the list.  The last heavy rain shook me out of my denial and I must replace another window.  I have a heavy heart because I do not possess the ability to replace a window and will need to pay someone to do it. The leaking has been going on for so long behind the paint the sill is a void in the corner. When wiping up the water my finger went through the paint.  I have also decided to add a false wall to hide a butler’s pantry in the great room.  I can do the wall myself if my handyman places the floor plates for me.  I’ve decided this is the best way to stage everything for my kitchen replacement that way most of the mess will be hidden  The cabinets are either water damaged or were chewed on by the previous owner’s dogs.  I still have not replaced the ugly kitchen floor.  I really wanted to run the bamboo flooring into the kitchen but the grandchildren have made me rethink.  My 11 year old grandson has dropped a regular hammer and a small sledgehammer on the new hardwood in the den and left dents, major bummer.  I am having problems with him in understanding that grandpa’s tools are not his just because grandpa won’t be using them anymore.

This week, I need to finish several things so I can get outside when the rain stops!  The trim is now nailed up on the water damaged wall in the den after six trips to unhelpful big box hardware stores to find the right piece!  I’ve already painted the repaired area (photo shows texturing only).  So close, and then this item comes off the list!  I will also complete one more transition in the hallway floor and a second clear coat for the garage threshold. Three items this week, I think that will be enough.

When I’m not pretending to be Mrs. Winchester, I also have two literary deadlines before March 15 and an unlimited supply of overtime that I resist almost daily, almost.  The frustration level is very high this week and I have to constantly remind myself to trust God will bring me through it all.

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February 5, 2016 · 8:04 pm

Spring – Are You There?

I’ve always believed in goals but now that I am a fine and fancy widow, goals have become a critical part of my mental and emotional health.  I no longer am delighted with the love and approval reflected in my beloved’s eyes so I need to measure my own success.  This was a skill that I did not develop until I was 40.  I was not raised to believe in myself and my own success.  I was raised to always put myself last and to endure whatever was thrown at me, including fists.  Having someone believe in you can change your entire outlook on life.  I know it did for me.

I’m suffering from the early stages of spring fever.  My project list is down from 100 to 36 and I am itching to finish something.  The project list doesn’t include the new planter boxes I want or any gardening tasks! I don’t have the baseboard molding 100% done, I need a threshold and door sweep weather stripping installed and there is a 2′ x 3′ section of flooring still left to complete.  The problem is I need the big saw to complete these tasks.  It’s put up for the winter.  During the summer when the rains have passed, I leave the saw out under the awning and put it away for family get togethers.  I was going to drag it out for a few hours on Saturday but there was a light drizzle during the daylight that turned in to a rain at night.

We need the rain desperately!  One of the main NorCal water reservoirs is the Folsom Lake.  The marina has floating boat slip/docks.  They have been laying on dirt for over a year now.  We are far from being out of the water crisis but, I was so happy to see the live camera shot of floating docks!  Folsom Lake Marina Live Cam  Boats are permitted for launch starting this Saturday. Please pray for more snow in the Sierras.

FL Marina on dirt FL Marina Cam 2-5-16

Folsom Lake at capacity would mean plenty of water for the American River and all the towns between Sacramento to San Francisco.  It would mean no restricted watering.  One of the projects on the “list” is to change 1,800 sq. ft. of grass service into stamped concrete.  I removed another 400 sq. ft. from the front yard but never finished the project.  That will require some dirt excavation, a tree removal (it’s touching the roof), a walkway removal and another concrete pour.  Oh, and I’m not supposed to lift over 40 lbs. while doing it!

But the “list” is not getting any shorter, I need to accomplish something!  Arrrrgh!  My doctor said I was supposed to be kind and gentle with myself and stop beating myself up so much, to take it easy.  Raised in a performance for love environment, this is extremely hard for me even today.

I could work overtime tomorrow but I don’t think that is going to happen.  Too much goes to taxes and then there is the “list”.  The sun is supposed to shine from 6 a.m. to noon and then cloudy for the rest of the day.  President’s weekend is booked solid for the SAN FRANCISCO WRITER’S CONFERENCE (woot!) so I won’t be working on my projects then.  What’s that old saying, make hay while the sun shines or, in my case, finish something!  I can at least say my writing goals are fairly up to date.  I’ve started a local writing critique group and surrounded myself with author support. How are you sticking to your goals?

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December 10, 2015 · 8:38 pm

NaNo Recovery

 

Last night I met up with a teacher friend who was writing a final for her high school students at Denney’s, a local diner.  This was my first public writing effort since November 30th.  I love the National Novel Writing Month each November.  I’m a technical writer and edit as I write. This is great for work but bogs down the novel writing efforts to a crawl.  NaNo has really helped me to “turn off my inner editor” and make real headway on my projects.

The Christmas season is upon us with a whirl of regulatory deadlines, school events and parties.  Last night may be my only effort squeezed into December as the overtime ramps up.  January will be here soon enough and my fellow NaNo’s (or WriMo’s) want to get together for a regular, more casual, event.

Today, I am adding new external links on my employer’s safety website and came across this from the America’s PreparAthon website.  (FEMA) It is my response to the statement I often get from people I fail to understand, “Why would you want to get involved?”

The answer:  https://youtu.be/qBrMU0sLoHQ

http://community.fema.gov/

Keep America strong!

Love those around you and Stay Safe out there!

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November 20, 2015 · 11:44 pm

Be Thankful – Be Positive

The National Novel Writing Month, affectionately called NaNoWriMo, is in full swing.  Do you NaNo?  I am honored to be the Liaison for my Region.  I take care of small details and set up events for my Region.  We meet together, for those interested, every week.  I’m a sometime coach and general encourager.

This year we have more under 18 writers than last year.  I’ve been surprised at how a small encouraging word makes a big impact.  One author was ready to quit and is now strongly powering on to the finish.  One young adult, barely over 18, made a comment to me in an email.

“I’m behind just a little in my word count but I really want to catch up, this is my last chance to be an author.”

Did you just hear the brakes of my virtual car slam on?  I could swear they did and a 20 car pileup ensued.  I wanted to ask, who has been filling your mind with rubbish but refrained.  My job is to encourage not to solve the issue of world peace or even home peace.

I hope I managed to convince this precious writer that it is not the last chance.  They are writing between 250-500 words in each 10 minute virtual word sprint.  I have reasoned with the writer that if you can write that many words in 10 minutes, why can’t you find a 15 minute chunk of time to write every day.  Hide in the bathroom; write in bed after lights go out.  Write over lunch (I do!).  It’s o.k. to write in public just as it is o.k. to hide your writing in secret.  It is not o.k. to quit on yourself.  Don’t give up your dreams no matter who tells you are not ______ enough.

Jesus only gave us two rules to live by:  Love God, Love Others.  During this Thanksgiving season, do your own personal reality checkup.  Ask yourself:

  1. Do I express my thanks and appreciation to God and others?
  2. Am I kind to myself?
  3. Am I kind to others?
  4. Am I paying too much attention to what others say?
  5. Am I paying attention to my goals and dreams?
  6. Am I thankful?

It is a rare honor to be able to convince someone to believe in themselves and to reach for their personal dreams.  Be so thankful and kind this Thanksgiving that someone will be encouraged because you are alive!  Go change someone’s world for the better; it might be your own.

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November 18, 2015 · 1:16 am

Write On!

I made it through the difficult days, from my birthday until my wedding anniversary.  Days in which my beloved is missed dearly. Time to let the grief drift into the background and get back on track and in focus.

I seem to be doing better, at least if word count is an indicator.  October was a haze.  I can’t really say what I was busy with.  My calendar shows some activity but not the hectic pace I felt.  It must have been “the list” accomplishments.  The rest of the defunct patio covering was demolished, winter 2015 yard cleanup, shower caulking (for tile install), stucco repaired and finishing off a 4 month project to install 1,100 sq. ft. of bamboo flooring.  Rub knees, take a deep breath!

Last night, I had a few friends in and we laughed our socks off at Pitch Perfect 2!  Good friends, good food, roaring fire in the fireplace and something to laugh at.  I recommend it highly to improve your sleep patterns.

November is NO-vember.  No to any new projects, requests or pleading.  I have two birthday parties to host for grandchildren (14 and 9).  I am the Municipal Liaison for NaNoWriMo for the county I live in.  I will celebrate Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving visitors.  Last, but not least, is a commitment to myself to write 50,000 words in the month of December for the National Novel Writing Month.  National Novel Writing Month

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2015 N of WD speaker Marissa Meyer

To keep up with the commitment, I must write 1,667 words per day.  I’m a little behind but I’ll catch up.  I missed a few consecutive days but am committing to write every day regardless of how many yeowls the cat makes and squawks the chickens produce.

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September 30, 2015 · 6:18 pm

Bitter Fruit – Introducing – the Limequat

Limequats

Limequats

The Limequat tree is a cross between a Lime and a Kumquat or so I have been told. Why? The fruit is so bitter that it will numb your mouth, your tongue or any other mucus membrane it touches on its way down to your stomach. If you don’t throw up first. Just nasty. I have found no known use for this prolific fruit.

Contrast that with the very sweet fruit I tasted on my trip to Italy. I was very impressed with the community in Sant’ Orsola, when I visited with family a few years ago. It was my only trip, so far, and I loved it! I was loved and accepted unconditionally and it was a bit overwhelming at first. It was a happy discovery! My cousin, Paolina, and I walked through the town and up the hill on the paved road. She speaks no English and I speak very bad German and even worse Italian. She speaks Italian, Mochini and some German. It was fun to communicate with each other as she pointed out different things and gave me the Italian or Mochini words.

What was the most surprising is how the community reinvented itself to revive the economy. They have a thriving tourist economy, host sports events, and grow fruit, one among the many different types is Lemons. Yes, Lemons in the Alps. I was there during the summer but I could see the structure around the trees ready for the sheeting that would turn that section of the valley into an enormous greenhouse. Not sure how they handled the snow?

My California yard should be able to grow just about anything. I have a pretty little tree that produces fruit like crazy. The only problem is I have not been able to find a single use for the fruit.   A co-worker didn’t believe me so I brought some in. He tried it, only to spit it quickly into the trash and say; that’s just nasty! I told him it was.

So the nasty tree is at the bottom of my epic to do list. The list was at 75 items at the time of my beloved’s death and I have managed to whack it down to 34. The easy stuff is done, can I call the list nasty? It is certainly bitter that my beloved is not here to partner with me in finishing the list but, I am vigilant not to become bitter. I keep telling myself that I can’t retire until the list is completed It’s the journey not the destination, right! At this pace I will be 75 when that happens as I keep adding to it almost as fast as I complete items. Sigh! When is my next vacation day?

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September 14, 2015 · 7:05 pm

Quality of Life vs. Regulations?

Benjamin Franklin  Benjamin Franklin

“Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

I have a large carbon footprint.  The kids are all “cooked” and done, I am a widow and live alone in a rambling house on a large lot.  Despite all this, my carbon footprint is lower than what you would expect.  I compost my green waste, my recycle bin is always full and I often fill my neighbors bins (I don’t understand that one.) My bees produce sweet organic honey, my chickens keep the bees healthy by eating all the bugs that might invade the hives.  I eat the eggs they produce and feed the chickens all my kitchen scraps from the organic veggies/fruits I raise or purchase.  I recycle greywater and sustain my fruit trees in drought and give away much of my bounty to family, friends and the local soup kitchen.  I chose not to buy a hybrid vehicle because of the disposal of the batteries and the distance the vehicle components travel prior to assembly.  I owned my last vehicle until it died and the repair was more than the value of the vehicle.  I have a truck parked on the side lot that is over 10 years old.  It is more sustainable than a U-Haul rental and the kids are in the rental stage of their life so they will move a lot until they settle.  I still have a mountain of “stuff” of my own and from my beloved’s robotics shop that I am downsizing.  I get along with most everyone and don’t expect anyone to rescue me in a natural disaster or if I loose my job.

Do you ever wonder if a Christian woman in the Sudan thinks quality of life is about “stuff” like American men and women do, she probably doesn’t. Are there some common threads to the two extremes? What quality of life is all about? Definitely something I feel worth my time to ponder. More personal changes will be forthcoming as I continue to downsize my possessions so they do not control my time.

Perhaps my ideal quality of life is to live life at my own choosing without being molested by individuals, groups or the government.  I work in a department that deals with environmental regulations.  I constantly sort through the miasma of verbiage that has to be so precise.  One comma out of place can change the meaning and regulators often do not care if you left out a comma or placed it incorrectly.  You get the fine!

I fear the direction my country is taking.  People are blinded by their passion or a charismatic speaker.  The scientific method is an unknown to most people. People often don’t understand that many governmental agencies do not, in practice, have any real oversight.  On paper there might be a “dotted line” relationship to oversight.  Take the California Air Resources board; they manufacture nothing so promotions are based on number of people they supervise.  Do you see the inherent problem there!  The agency continues to bloat every year, getting bigger and bigger.  No problem, at the end of the year they just take the cost of operation and divide it up to the major players and send them a bill.  No product or even reduction in pollution is achieved as a result of this bloating.  It looks like a tax, feels like a tax but is called a fee, it stinks like a tax that IS passed on to the consumers.

One of my co-workers sent a document with thousands of data points in it to the Board.  They communicated back that a fine would be forthcoming because they could not open the file.  My company IT Department examined the file, the email etc.  There was nothing wrong with the file other than the size, it was just over a megabyte.  The IT guy volunteered to make the 2 hour (one way) drive to SFO to find out what happened.  Sure it burned up more fuel, spewed more greenhouse gasses, but the fine would be big and next month, more of the same.

He was escorted through cubicle-ville and glanced at the screens as he passed by at mid-morning.  Desk after desk in the large room went by and he saw over 50% of the workers were watching YouTube or a video which consumes bandwith.  Emails over a megabyte can’t get through because there is no bandwidth.

He worked with the Board and explained that they needed more bandwidth or less YouTube.

We paid for the IT person’s time, the fuel and vehicle to send him to SFO, his meals and the legal fees to contest the fine.  Don’t worry about it, it was billed out as cost of goods sold and you paid for it!

What sounds good during an election cycle is not always good.  Buyer beware!  I don’t believe we need more regulations, rules or a bigger government.  We have some good ones on the books but they are not enforced.  I prefer to vote with my dollars.  Perhaps I’m being a bit naïve but, I still wish to live my life at my own choosing without being molested by individuals, groups or the government.

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August 24, 2015 · 6:34 pm

Modern Day Shunning

We seem to be fascinated with the Amish in today’s society.  Breaking Amish is a popular reality TV show.  Why are we so curious about a people that not only dislike but generally refuse to be interviewed or photographed?  Is it just the unknown that attracts us?  The individuals I spoke to all commented on the ridged, inflexibility of the lives of the Amish and their harsh penalties.  My in-laws came from Amish and Mennonite stock so I have a slightly different take on those harsh penalties.  I am by no means an expert but will try my best to draw a parallel that is flawed and incomplete.

What others consider harsh is, in part, just life.  You are never far from a natural disaster when you live extremely close to nature.  Drought, fire, flood, pests (you get the idea) can descend on your home, crops and way of life rendering you helpless.  The time to prepare is before the natural event.  You prepare for the off-seasons when you can’t grow your food by setting aside for it.  This is a way of life for the Amish; they set aside for the winters, for a slow or no growing season.  They set aside to provide for themselves as well as for their children, livestock and even a little bit more for their neighbors.  They are extremely hard working people and like any group of people there will be an extremist. The strict attention to providing for themselves without outside aid is often misinterpreted as harsh.  It is not harsh but a chosen way of life, each child is given plenty of time to consider and make that choice before joining the church.  The television “stars” that have joined the church and are now “breaking free”, are pursuing something similar to a divorce.  The commitment was made and then broken.   My in-laws chose to leave the community when their approved time to choose arrived.  They were not shunned but the chosen way of life set them apart from the friends they grew up with.  All Amish are given the choice.  Not all outside the Amish community are given choices.

Then there is the shunning, what’s that all about?  The shunning is to protect their way of life.  If you join the church and then break with it, you are usually shunned because you have broken one of their most sacred commitments.  It is a matter of trust.  If you don’t join the church, the shunning doesn’t always happen.  You are not included in many of the “church” activities but the harsher shunning is not automatic.  Social opportunities are limited because they usually occur within the church but the level of shunning is up to the local leaders.

Contrast this with the modern high-tech world.  You wouldn’t think our society practices shunning, right?  Well, we do, and we do it big!  Social media is the preferred method of communication for many young people and the young at heart.  I even have four social media accounts.  Almost everyone has a smart cell phone these days.  How do you communicate?  Do you sit down and linger over a cup of coffee, spend the evening at a friend’s house for dinner, dessert and a few hours of conversation?  Plan a shopping trip for the new season of fashion?  Probably not?

We are fast paced, hurry, leave a message, post a status so you don’t have to tell everyone individually and generally rush through life.  How quick are people to defriend, block and remove from social media people they would never openly tell them they are doing it?  This is modern day shunning.

Vaugebooking is the disturbing passive aggressive practice of withholding information in an extremely immature way in order to elicit attention and sympathy.

From the internet:

“Today has gotten the best of me. I’m just not feeling it. Some people just don’t understand how their actions affect others. Signing off now.” What do you think, hide them from your newsfeed or full out shun them?  Do they need help or are you enabling sick behavior?  Is it your job to see to their mental health?  Are you your brother’s keeper?  Is this a friend in a face to face relationship? Perhaps it would be best to not feed the bear and ignore vaguebooking by refusing to ask the questions the author is trolling for.  If it is a friend, then you have a phone number to use.

I assert that lasting relationships are intentional and love is not a just a noun but a verb.  My best friend has already retired, yet she is intentional in keeping our friendship alive.  Today, we have a lunch planned.  She will pick me up in front of my office building and whisk me away for a few minutes of catch up, food and laughter.  When my beloved died, she paid a bridge toll and drove the 30 minutes to my house every day for a month.  We send emails; have regular phone calls and the occasional outing or lunch.  It is intentional and Facebook is not where our friendship is maintained.

Social Media is a euphemism for a relationship.  It looks and feels like shunning from real relationships because it is popular but, as time progress and you find yourself needing a friend with skin on, will your thousands of “friends” be there?  When you call for help because you have fallen in life, who will come?  Who have you invested in?

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August 20, 2015 · 6:29 pm

Seeing the Finish Line – Flooring Continues and Preteen Lawmower Repairs

Orange Molding, Sage Green Wall

Orange Molding, Sage Green Wall

Most of my 1,300 sq. ft. of flooring is down!  I have a 3 foot hallway still left to go after I remove the carpet in that location.  I’m sad to report that I will have to pull up a few feet of flooring around the bottom of the stairs.  I’m guessing one of my many “grandchildren” dropped something extremely heavy on it and left a nice divot.  I’m pretty sure which one it was since I can’t quite get him to grasp that an 11 year old should know better than to traipse through the house with tools waiving through the air.  It’s hard for him to understand in his excitement to tell me something about his lawnmower repair efforts.  After all, who else would let him tinker with their lawnmower.  The trip to the parts house to purchase a new spark plug was the highlight of his morning.  I let him be the customer and request the part from the friendly parts employee.  I thought he would supernova he was glowing so brightly. Even if he trashed the old lawnmower, it will have been worth it!  I’m happy to say it is running!  The choke cable, not so much, but it works!  I can’t get too mad about the floor since I have extra boards and haven’t finished off the kitchen yet so it is possible to pull it up and replace it without too much fuss.

The bigger problem is finding a stain to match the flooring for the baseboards.  I have tried five different types so far and they all are fails.  The paint expert at my ACE Hardware store is going to tackle custom matching the stain to the board I left for him.  All the other stains have gone very orange on the wood molding.  I even tried to add a dark blue to the stain to mute the orange.

Sigh, I don’t like going to hardware stores at all.  Most of the time it is a traumatic experience for me and I get treated like I’m stupid when I ask a question.  Home Depot is sure to piss me off a good 50% of the time while Lowe’s is better at about 30%.  The last time I was in Lowe’s, I wanted to scream at the checkout person that if she asked me the same question again without listening to my answer I would smack her.  It would not have been received well and I would have been taken off to jail.  Sigh!  ACE is more of a mom and pop store and they seem to think my questions are perfectly reasonable.  After all, I was raised by an ironworker who saw the value in educating his daughters in basic tool usage and auto survival mechanics.  My mother was a farm girl who didn’t know that you weren’t supposed to just get out there and get it done, somehow.  My beloved was a genius engineer who could design, fix (or break) anything.  Can’t do is just not in my vocab!  Being a widow is not a handicap or a limitation.  It just means it will take me longer and I will have to plan around getting an education on the best way to do something.  I miss my beloved and get angry from time to time because he did not take care of his health.  Then I think about how blessed I have been to have been married to him for 17 years and how much he thought about my future.  I would not take back one day but would have liked to say goodbye.

My list of repairs to our “new” house goes on and on.  I need to finish flooring this month.  The patio demobilization project is a must before the rains come.  It was improperly constructed and is forcing water intrusion into my west wall.  I’ve lost the alarm system, phone and one outlet on that wall that will need repairs.  Besides, I have reached my tolerance limit for clutter and want things put back where they look decent again!!!

Trees have been trimmed back, branches are already cut up, and the new 4″ underground drain is installed to stop the backyard flooding. Still left to do this summer season is the patio overhead tear down, gutter clean-out, front yard elevation lowered and rear yard elevation raised. The window replacement projects on the second floor for this year are almost complete: the garage loft window install and the trim for the bedroom window almost complete. I will get it done and be ready to bring on the RAIN!

{I have captive “grandchildren” this weekend, the parental units are spending time alone with each other.  The kids would work for free but I like to be fair and pay them for their work and it is so much fun to see their smiles and get lots of hugs!  Maybe a trip to the ice cream store is also in order 🙂 }

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