Happy 33rd Anniversary to US! 9-3

 

Thirty three years ago today I married my life's partner, we were just kids but knew what we wanted and the love and friendship that formed the foundation has supported a magnificent journey of lows and highs, with the highs always overshadowing the lows, which is how we choose it to be. Looking forward to the next decades of this stunning journey together! Larry I'll love you always.

I can't think of a title :) 9-2

Pooped again.  Enjoyed our toast and coffee on the deck this morning watching the little quail families travel through the yard.  It warmed up pretty quick. 

Worked on getting the last stuff out of the trailer and finding places to stuff it all here in the house. I washed all the bedding and remade the bed.  My plan is to cover the whole bed with one of those thin plastic drop clothes to keep it from getting dusty, I'm going to do the same with the recliners.  Then we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging pictures, quite a few blank walls still but will have to wait until after we get the curtains.  It feels like our home now with our things and pictures on the walls, so I tried the big garden tub....LOVED it...candles and the songs of crickets coming through the windows...very nice. 

Larry ended his day with mowing the hillsides...I thought he would be heading in for his shower, but NOOOO, he is out mowing until after dark...crazy man.  It does look hugely better and has needed to get done, but in the dark?!  He will be pshawing me when he reads this.

The sun slanting through the trees as it sets is stunning...I really love it here, there is constantly some beauty of nature to enjoy every day.

Happy Birthday 30th Birthday Andrea! 9-1

Me and Andrea on her 1st Birthday

 Thirty years ago today Andrea finally made her 9 lb. 4 oz. appearance more than a couple weeks late...woo hoo!!!!!  These pictures are on her first birthday.  Now she's a mama of two wonderful boys.....Happy Birthday!

Larry & Andrea on her 1st birthday

Andrea & Dusty, she only did this once, the cat would let her do anything

Larry perusing his handy work.

 Today Larry fired up his new cherry red lawn mower and took to the meadow, you couldn't walk through it and now it is very pastoral and such a peaceful spot under the oaks.

It was hot today and will be again tomorrow but then cooling back to where I like it.  I went into Auburn and got some leisurely shopping done without my chauffeur...this trip I learned that you have to get your groceries and other purchases anchored down because in Auburn the lights can change pretty quickly and there can be a ton of traffic which sometimes necessitates quick braking (I have to get back into city driving rhythm) and the curves on 49 can get things shifting around.

The back of the shed and piece of the house from the meadow

We are in! 8-31

It took all day, but we are moved into the house.  I feel a bit sad about the empty trailer after all this time.  We are just thankful we have had the time and the energy to get this done in such a short period of time.  I am tired and going to enjoy the bed in our spacious room.  Hopefully now Larry will be able to relax a bit...he has literally worked his ass off....skinnier than I've ever known him to be!

Hmmmmm 8-30

More of the same today, just taking care of a lot of little things.  Larry is working on getting power and lights in his shed and getting it organized still.  I did more weed eating....two batteries worth today and I did down the side of the road that goes through and to the two houses in the court below us.

Larry was on the phone with Direct TV for an hour....yet again he had to deal with ineptness.  Last week he called to set up having a new dish on the house and our service transferred...a service they claim to provide when moving.  Larry called about a new receiver today and in doing so discovered that the bozo he had talked to created a new account...which in turn created a gigantic mess in which Larry talked to many different people, going through the story and then dealing with the silly people trying to sell him more channels....I am really surprised we aren't going to Dish after all that...ha ha ha....frustration after frustration.  He said it was enough to ruin his day and I told him only if he let it.  It is what it is and solutions need to be found and then move on...grousing about how bad this or that is doesn't change it...just puts ya in a bad mood....so we moved on.

We went into town to shop around for a computer desk...no go.  We had lunch at the newly opened "Original Mel's Diner" which I enjoyed and then on to more shopping.  We scoped out the one furniture store in Auburn and didn't really find anything that struck us, went to Target and found a real inexpensive bookcase for extra storage that I needed in my art room and then it was back to H/D....I stayed in the truck this time...I didn't need anything.  Larry came out with a spiffy red sports car...a new gas push mower...we think we have too many slopes and hilly spots to make a riding lawnmower practical.

The rest of the afternoon and evening we just worked away at the little stuff that still needed doing.  Hanging the towel racks in the guest bathroom and Larry assembled the bookcase and the lawnmower and I unpacked, cleaned and put away my crackle glass collection...I also started getting some stuff on the new shelves in my play room.  I've got the pictures placed in the guest room, they just need to be hung.

Tomorrow we plan on emptying the trailer into the house and officially move in and sleep and eat in our beautiful new space!  Hopefully the cabinet people show up to fix the stripped out hinges on four of our new cabinet doors to Larry's satisfaction...annoying detail.

Cold and Rainy

Yesterday was 30 degrees cooler but it didn't help Larry's temper...our special order sink was not done correctly and what should have taken an hour took all day with a trip back to the store to exchange and find a faucet with enough reach into the sink.  The sink was set to far forward so Larry had to modify the cabinet so it would set in and then the faucet holes were back further than any we had any seen and the faucet we had come home with barely reached the bowl...so we went back and fortunately found a faucet with an inch and a quarter more reach and with many ins and outs of the counter/sink he had it installed, but then spent the rest of the afternoon dealing with plumbing that wouldn't seat properly and kept leaking....he was not impressed at all with any aspect of the sink....when he was done it looked great though.

I just worked on organizing and getting more stuff put away...for someone who had gotten rid of a LOT of stuff I still have a lot.  It is taking some time to get my books, yarn, art supplies and crackle glass collection sorted out and put away.  I put shelves in half of my art room closet...bruised the heck out of the palm of my hand using it for a hammer...won't do that again, but the plastic shelves assembled pretty easily and are going to be just the ticket.  We have also been working on getting our walk in closet organized...

Today it rained some more...actually enough to drip off of things.  Larry worked out in his shed getting it organized and wired most all day.  He didn't want to be tracking mud in and out of the house all day.  Plus the silicone adhesive he used on the sink yesterday still stunk to high heaven.  I was in and out a bit, got most of the pantry stuff put away, clothes in the closet out of storage bags and talked on the phone a few hours catching up with my girls and friend Mary.

We might go furniture shopping tomorrow...need to find a computer desk, and maybe another book case and storage unit of some kind.  I want to find a nice storage ottoman, an entry table (which Larry thinks is useless) and a chaise or cushy chair ottoman combo for reading and needlework.  Then one of these days I need to get some stuff on the walls but I want to wait until we get what other furniture pieces in so we don't have to move them and patch holes.

We have company coming on the weekend...we'll get to relax finally for a couple days and play, that will be nice.

The bright gold patch above the satellite dish is the weed area I bushwhacked the other day.

Played in the mud 8-27

I did one batteries worth of weed eating this morning....the area I was in was like the bush...the weeds were almost as tall as me...these batteries don't last very long...about as long as my arms though so works for me!  It is too dry to mow them...Larry is concerned about hitting a rock and starting a fire, which would be good on a small scale...just our weeds, but bad if it took off, so we'll have to wait and keep plugging away bit by bit with the weed eater.

The oleanders that were pruned yesterday

Larry had hauled all the oleander branches up to the burn pile this morning before I got up.  Then I decided to get the weeds off of the pile of topsoil that is in the way next to the driveway...previously left by the previous owners...we need to get it moved.  I used some of it in planting my Rosemary and Lavender plants along the end of the house next to the drive way.....it needed something bad and deer don't eat them and they won't get big and get in the way of painting next year and other maintenance.  We first had to scrape out the mound that was there along the length of the wall and then dig the holes...Larry helped or I would have spread the work out over a few mornings.  We planted 13 one gallon plants and then I stuck in 6 little dahlias for a spot of color and to see if the deer would sample them.

The deweeded mound of topsoil

That was about it for me for the day....I was cooked and pooped.  I took a few things into the house, unwrapped the rest of my pictures and later mopped and vacuumed...Larry going in and out all day, even though he wipes and stomps his feet stuff still gets tracked in...he worked on an air TV antenna, worked well until he mounted it to the house and then no go...so it will come back down.

There was supposed to be someone show up around 10 this morning to fix a hinge/cabinet issue, but he never showed up and around noon Larry called to find out what happened....they were concerned, and then called back that they couldn't find him...so I guess we'll find out what happened on Monday...which is when they rescheduled for. 

Before the plants

After the plants...next year when they fill in...lovely!

The guest bathroom's sink/counter combo thingy is in so we will go into town in the morning to pick it up and a few other things...I'm guessing that will be Larry's afternoon project, and that should be the last construction type thing to do.  Anything else is decorating or cosmetic or putting stuff away....whew....finally!

Mostly Done 8-26

Today was cooler...it was still warm all night though.  Larry finished building screens and now all the windows have new screens...what a difference.  We went to H/D AGAIN, bought a shelf unit for a closet and drawers for another and I bought plants to put along the foundation in front...rosemary and lavender.  I unwrapped all my pictures/artwork and now just have to figure out where I want it all.  I pruned back the oleanders along the driveway.  We are going to start emptying the trailer and plan on being totally in the house by the end of Sunday.

The cabinet I refinished in the laundry room

HOT! 8-25

It has been really hot here the last couple of days. The low this morning was 76...oddly enough that is the predicted high this Saturday. We have been in the 103-104 range....I've had to get up at 5 or 6 to actually get anything accomplished in the house. We have left it open to air out the carpet and other smells. We are soon to move in...about done with all the little details that needed finishing up. There is still lots more to do but we can do it as we find the time. I left the camera in the house and forgot to download it so maybe a picture or two tomorrow...

Weird Weather 8-24

So here I am at light:thirty getting ready to go in and paint two more doors. Have been up since dark:thirty, we are working to beat the heat today.

Two mornings ago it was 55 and today's low is 68. We are going to be in the 100's the next few days and then over the weekend plummet to 20 degrees below normal...somewhere in the low 70's...a weird weather year for sure. And NO major fires and August is almost gone...very very strange.

We are keeping the house open to bake the next few days so when it gets really hot I plan on kicking back here in the trailer with the air conditioner doing something recreational...read maybe or write....oh, I have to pick out 4 or 5 photos of our travels to enlarge and frame. Just before we moved I found 5 large frames with glass in a thrift store for 5 bucks each....gonna spray the frames and viola....I was going to say really cheap, but I think I may have to get the matte's cut special as the frames are odd sized....hmmm, I'll have to remember to measure.

Off I go....... Have a lovely day all!

One month today 8-23

One month today and we still aren't living in the house...but at least we have it looking and feeling like our home now.  We are just tired and sore...and tired of being tired and sore...we would like to just kick back a day or two but I am thinking that isn't going to happen any time soon.

Today Larry worked on the new doors for the pantry and the laundry room...he is frustrated trying to do what needs doing with the wrong or limited tools...he got rid of most of them when we hit the road ...all the electric ones, compressor etc., so he is going to have to start building up his collection again...but he did a fine job none the less.  I unpacked my books and did laundry...still have to take care of the regular things...the last few days we have been living on salad and taquitos...have to get to the store!

Larry returned the rental truck and we did some shopping...found some lampshades and I bought a few plants to help clear out the air in the house...  We had dinner/lunch at Chevy's...we don't ever go there.

This evening I chopped back an Oleander and raked up oak debris from our work yesterday and am going to bed early.  The next few days are going to be topping 100, so we want to get our work done early...we are keeping the windows in the house open and the fans going and we hope the heat will bake out that nasty new carpet smell/fumes thing that is going on in there.  We get a little punky working in there too long from all the chemicals in all the new stuff.  Driving down windy highway 49 while feeling out of your body isn't a good thing!  When it gets too hot I plan on hanging out in the trailer with the a/c on...well after the store I guess...dang it.

So I think I am rambling....didn't even take any pictures today...ta ta for now!

Oak cutting day 8-22

This morning felt like Fall was teasing us...it was 55 and for the first time in a month I had to close the windows...brrrr.

Larry was up early again and was touching up the paint in a few of the rooms.  I put the guest room together, tried ironing the curtains...which didn't seem to help much so I ran them through a wash and it helped more to get the packaging creases out.  We had a hunt for a bookcases shelf pegs...they hold the shelves up and the L bracket that Larry attaches to the top to secure the whole thing to the wall.  We couldn't remember where we put them and they weren't in the most obvious places and then Larry remembered his hardware box and sure enough there they were.

 Larry's Boss and friend Daryl showed up around eleven to cut some oak for us...he likes the firewood and we needed some low hangers taken out so we could move the trailer in behind the shed when we are ready to store it.  He is really good at it and it was fun to watch him manage those big branches.  The biggest, tallest one they tied to the truck for tension and kept it from falling on top of the shed...very slick.

Daryl bucking up the largest of the branches.

Here is before

Here is after...it made a big difference but most people won't be able to tell.

We hiked all the limbs up the hill to the best place for us to burn them this fall/winter when they allow burning.  It is a steep little hill and a pain hauling them all up there, but it is very open there and the remaining charred area won't be a problem.  We didn't really want a burn ring in the middle of our little meadow.  Daryl was worn out by the time he cut out all that was in our way...we had some branches along the road and our driveway that prevented parking so we took them out too.  After a little rest the oak was loaded into Daryl's trailer...that green oak is really heavy by the way and he headed home...it was around 4.

After some dinner and a little snooze we broke up boxes for garbage/recycle pickup tomorrow morning, tidied up some more and put a few more things away.  I got the bed made up in our bedroom and the last box sitting in the living room emptied.  There are just the boxes of books in the art room and one or two boxes of treasures...oh and my crackle glass to get unpacked...we want to redo the lighting in the cabinet...a good time to do it with it emptied of shelves and glass before we put it all away.  Another trip into town tomorrow to return the rental van and scout out the things on our list.  We always seem to have a list!

The guest room is ready for guests...have to hang the curtains and figure out what I want to hang on the walls.

The main bathroom isn't quite ready for guests...the sink/counter should arrive this week hopefully!

My Fiesta ware...all 20 colors (so far...I have three more to add)

The mugs are above the dishwasher!

Empty Rental Truck! 8-21

At about 2:00 p.m. this afternoon we closed the door on the back of the moving truck for the last time!  It is empty and swept out! 

I started my day with a bit of weed whacking and Larry was finishing up valances on the window blinds, then it was back to unloading and putting stuff away.  The stove and dishwasher arrived about 9.  After we moved in the beds Larry worked on getting the stove converted to propane and installed, I unpacked boxes and then we moved in the couch...awkward heavy thing.  By the time we got to the frig Larry was really sore and tired and as he moved towards the opening between the counters it was apparent that the handle/door would have to come off.  We had planned to switch which way the door opened anyhow...but Larry hadn't planned on doing it in the middle of getting it in place.  Then after getting the doors switched, which isn't really hard, just time consuming..he realized he left a bracket behind and then needed to remove the frig door again to get the bracket where it needed to be.  He had finished when I took this picture...he was resting...ha ha ha!  Aren't the floors lovely!!!!

So then somewhere in there we stopped to eat and then it was back to work...Larry got the dishwasher installed and hooked up, I figured out how to attach the table legs to our end tables and the coffee table and just tried to get things put away.  All the kitchen is put away, with lots of room to spare!  It took awhile to get everything unpacked because the people who packed all this stuff did a really good job....us!  Nothing broke or got dinged up except that one little plate so I guess we did pretty well, it was just tedious getting through the tape and unwrapping everything.  Plus we tried to save as much of the packing material as we could...for others or ourselves to reuse.

Before exiting the house for the evening I swept and mopped the floors, it was nice to see them clean.  It is also nice to see appliances in those blank holes in the kitchen finally...looking forward to actually getting to live there and use them all!

It was cooler today with a breeze and these lovely clouds passed through...first clouds we've seen here in a month.

8-21-31 - 3-10-63 Happy Birthday Dad!

 

Truck is halfway empty 8-20

Another day with a lot accomplished.  Upon the opening of the rental vans door it looked a bit tossed, but it was only the last bits that were loose, most everything else has been fine.  Larry's plan was to open the boxes as we unloaded them and put the stuff away.  It was a bit overwhelming at first because I have more cabinets than ever and didn't know yet where I wanted things, but it was soon figured out. 

This was the first time the Franciscan ware has been unpacked since we packed it in Chester, and there is plenty of room for it in the kitchen...it lived in the garage in Chester.  This is a 12 place setting of every plate and bowl ever made I think, plus serving bowls, platters and cups and saucers....it is neat to have a collectable that was made right in California.  One small plate was broke...first ever breakage in all our moves and oddly it was in the middle of a stack in the middle of the box.  This was my maternal grandmother's that was handed down to my Mom and then to me...it was used at quite a few Thanksgiving's over the years and is now within easy reach.

My bookcase had a broken bottom edge...it is just particle board and all the bouncing and vibrating caused it to crack up and fall apart...Larry performed surgery on it and it will be fine!  Oh, and the heat destroyed all of our lampshades...the glue softened and the material shrank back...they weren't expensive but I really liked them.  We have gotten half way through the truck, it was hot again today and when we ran out of energy we quit...about 6 p.m. early. 

So tomorrow the big things come in...the beds, couch, loveseat, Frig and more boxes.  We will probably get it all in the house tomorrow I'm thinking.  Also tomorrow our new gas range and dishwasher arrive and Larry will have to install them too. 

It is fun seeing all our hard work turn this dark, dirty place into a lovely warm cozy home...I am loving it!  Larry is thinking we won't move in for maybe another week or so because of all the carpet/vinyl smells and we still need to get some screens and some other stuff done...I want to get some large houseplants so they can start purifying the air...I had a couple of peace lilies in Fallon and they helped a lot.

Off to bed early again.  The days are getting shorter...the sun setting way before 8 p.m. now and the sun up after 6 a.m......we'll just be settling in and the leaves will start turning color!  I am looking forward to that...I love Fall!!!