Thank You

Both of my grandfathers served in the military. Neither of them talked much about it - Poppop (Mom's Dad) was a little more open about it, and Grandad (Dad's Dad) only talked about it once - just before I was supposed to study in Europe for a semester. He told me the name of the street he was quartered on while he was stationed in Paris and that I needed to walk the Champs Elysees and see the Arc de Triomphe.

I cried when I stepped off the subway and realized that the street my hostel was on was on Rue de La Chapelle, the same street Grandad stayed on.

I was honored and humbled as I toured Normandy, thankful that both of my grandfathers were injured prior to D-Day because they both were to have been there. (the picture above is one I took at the cemetery at Normandy - France gifted the land to the USA to bury their soldiers and after almost 4 months in Europe, it was good to be "home" as I walked those grounds)

Thank you, Poppop, Grandad, and all who have and do work so hard to keep this country free.

A Wonderful LONG Weekend

Mike and I were busy organizing our new room. It's not done yet but it's getting there. I don't know where I got it in my head that because we'd have a nice "new" room to put things in, we could still fit the same amount of space but have it more organized. Not quite the case but it looks prettier! :-)

We also got flowers for the deck and I have 7 tomatoes on my plants! Yay!

Day 4 and Thankful Thursdays

They'll be done tomorrow! They have to spray the ceiling, put a second coat of stain on the trim, and put the baseboards down. Yahoo!

Today I'm thankful for:

• the surprise rain we got this afternoon
• the basement almost being done and getting to put my house back in order soon
• the three day weekend ahead
• the three tomatoes I have growing on one of my plants (this is a big accomplishment for me) :-)

Days 2 & 3 With the Contractors

I'm a little bummed - the contractors said it would take 3-5 days to finish the basement room and it's going to take the full 5 days. I'm ready to paint the room and more importantly, I'm about to go nuts because I'm so ready to have our house back in order. But, patience is a virtue so here's the room after day 2:

And after day 3:
And here's our house with all of our bushes in bloom. I don't know what the bushes by the door with the white flowers are but they smell heavenly.

On a completely unrelated note - I think this is such a fun idea (but don't think I'd be willing to shell out $100 for): http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/inspiration/custom-made-stamps-to-remember-the-first-days-117814

Day 1 With the Contractors

The contractors are done with day 1 - I'm amazed at how quickly they work!

There are a few places that the paint I just put down on the floor came up because of the wood they had in there - I didn't think the paint would come up that easily or I would have waited to paint. Oh well, I can touch up or just might leave it be for some character. We'll see.

Two more days until I can paint!

Day Something...

The contractors start on the basement room tomorrow. I'm so excited to have the room done and everything back in order that I can hardly stand it. In the mean time, our house is covered in plastic.
Now to enjoy the last of the weekend and watch the best of country celebrate one of the best - Brooks & Dunn.

Oh, and we're going to Europe this fall!

Thankful Thursdays

I'm thankful for:

• warranties
• a quiet weekend
• my family coming (hopefully) in a few weekends