rolling right along!

I'm happy to say that things are rolling right along in Bradford county! lots of things to report since i last posted. Dave's job transfer went through, and as of last Saturday, he is the newest employee at the Lowe's in Sayre. now he will be up in monroeton 5 days, and home for 2- just the opposite of what we've been doing all winter.

we have spent 6-7 days working on the house this month, and i feel that we are really making alot of progress. i was able to go up 3 days, and got alot accomplished. one of my first projects was to clean upstairs. the boys and A helped with that. we washed down all the walls, as well as mopped all the floors. that really made a big difference! we are under no illusion that it will be the last time to clean- not even before we move in- but it felt good to get it done. now it smells really nice, and we know that all the dirt is ours, and not left over from some previous person! (btw, it should smell very nice- we used 3 40 oz. bottles of mr. clean!)

another special thing about that day was that for the first time, A came along with us. she had her cozy coupe car upstairs with us while we worked (plenty of room for that!) and between car rides she grabbed a rag and helped scrub the walls and floor. she also spent time down at the creek with dave throwing rocks. they had a great time doing that, and she still talks about it- "creek. Dada. stone. splash!" A loves to be outside, and she has also discovered worms. she has a little red enamel pot, and along with a spoon that she found, she goes around trying to convince different brothers to find worms for her. last week we weren't even there for 5 minutes, and G, D and i were turning over rocks for her to see if we could find some worms! after having A there with us for several days, and working around in the house on different projects, i have a pretty clear vision of what my life will be like once we move. i will spend half my time trying to keep the house (particularly the floors) clean, another half looking for whatever it is i need to use (since my family doesn't apparently believe in putting things away), and the other half looking for A. she seems to have a knack for disappearing. we put bells on her shoes, and that seems to be helping a little bit!

there is a big difference in the house now, even from just a few weeks ago. we have some more drywall hung in the living rooms. i would like to have all that hung before we move in, and i think that it will get done. it will be nice to have the main living area somewhat presentable when we move in. always good for the morale! there are also lights in most of the rooms, too- and not of the flood light variety, either- a real, honest-to-goodness light that you can turn on with a switch upon entering the room. never underestimate that luxury! and even better, they are really nice lights from Lowe's- not just bare bulbs hanging. we bought lights that will match- for the living rooms, kitchen, hallway and landing. they have a nice leaf scroll work on them. the front living room and our room will have fans, though. also purchased from Lowe's (need you ask?) the bathroom is moving forward again, with some of the bead board installed, and the sink is up and running. the toilet will be next, sometime next week. we will be getting a new septic tank early next week, to replace the one that rotted out and collapsed. my kitchen is functional= i have a sink, stove, dishwasher, and counters and shelves. we'll limp along like that until the fall, when the sill is fixed. the best part of the kitchen, in my opinion, is the floor. D ripped up all the old floor, and underneath is wide pine planks. i love old wood floors, and we spent considerable time and watter scrubbing the floor to clean and bleach it. it has really made a difference, and i love it! when the kitchen is done, we'll sand and finish the floors. it's very old and farmhousy looking. another step forward has been the laundry room- one of the last things we needed to do before moving in. dave has installed the light, and has the plumbing pretty well along in there.

we've even found time to begin on things outside. dave started tilling up his garden- over 100' long! it will be several years in the making,a s the soil is not too good, and filled with rocks, but he's looking forward to having another large garden. today when he went back, he took along bud, our red bone coonhound. bud weathered the ride well, and seems to be happy and settling in his new home. and on Tuesday, i went to pick up our chickens at the feed store. we have 36 peeps in our basement- destined for our freezer! A of course loves them, and wants to go down to see them often. she's going to be her dada's farmer girl!

life just continues to gallop along, and everyone is doing well, and fairly busy. we're coming down to the wire of when we will actually move, and i'm realizing that we'll need to start putting things in boxes again! we have a nice collection of them in the garage, just waiting for all our stuff...

consider yourself warned!

yesterday was a milestone in our family- both D and N are licenced to drive! here is a picture of them after their proud moment. they both did really well, and passed on the first try, despite being very nervous. D got his licence, and N got his permit. this was the day that the nurses warned us about the day that we took them home from the hospital- "two boys; just wait until they're 16 and they both are learning to drive!" i seem to remember them also alluding to insurance rates going through the roof!

now that D has his licence, he of course thinks that he should be allowed to drive everywhere, (i think he would drive to the bathroom if it was possible!) despite the fact that he doesn't have a car. i see a few battles coming on that front before too long!

Dave now has one more teenager to teach how to drive- and this is another reason that I'm really thankful for him- i don't think that I'd be able to do that chore without major ulcers or hair pulling on my part. I've also heard the kids mutter that they'd rather Dave teach them, as he's much more patient, as well as calm, cool and collected. they've done some pretty hilarious "skits" imitating me in the passenger seat while they are driving. and since i have more grey hairs than I'd like to admit, I'll gladly leave that task to him!

please hold...we'll be with you shortly

there is not much new news to report on the house, but i thought that I'd just jot a few things down, in case anyone is wondering what happened!

Dave has not been up for several weeks, since he and M just got back from a week long mission trip to Haiti. that went very well, and made a significant impact on them both. you'll be hearing more about that in a future blog. the "crew" will be up at the house next week.

right now the big hold up is waiting for Dave's job transfer, which we have not heard anything about. ideally, we'd like him to transfer several weeks (but no more than a month) before the family plans on moving. that way, he can get more stuff done, and have more time to do it. hopefully we'll hear something about his transfer soon!

the last time Dave and N were up there was a bit of a set back. someone (who shall graciously be allowed to remain nameless) put a hole in the roof. after some locally heavy rain, several pieces of drywall in the bathroom needed to be replaced, as well as in both hallways. quite discouraging, as the bathroom had the first coat of mud, too! Dave and N spent time ripping that out, and getting it ready to be re-hung. the roof, while disconcerting, is not that big of a deal. we planned on replacing it, but maybe not this soon. for now it is patched, and not leaking, so there is no urgent rush. we'll just put that project on the short list for this summer. Dave also worked in the kitchen, while N continued digging the ditch for the piping for the wood heater. i have not been up in a while, but I'm told that my kitchen is semi-functional ( in the most optimistic sense of the word!) there is a stove, dishwasher and sink. so with a few well placed tables for counters, and shelves for cupboards, I'll be set to go. of course this will all be temporary, until the foundational issues can be resolved.

I'm looking forward to the next time we can all go up to work on the house. we need to get back into the groove, and be encouraged with more progress. so until then...

how old are you? a quick on-line quiz

if you've been wondering if you qualify as "old", you can take this short quiz and alleviate any lingering doubts.

#1- do you find yourself ripping up small cardboard cartons (i.e. mountain dew cases) into smaller bits so they don't fill the garbage can as quickly?
#2- are the only rides that you still enjoy at Knoebel's the Grand Carousel and Antique Cars?
#3- does practicing parallel parking with your son give you a stomachache?
#4- does the loud, repetitive music from aforementioned son give you a headache?
#5- does watching your teenage sons dancing the YMCA make you feel old?

if you answered yes to more then 2 of those questions, I'm afraid that i have bad news for you. you are either already old, or gaining on it quickly! I'm appalled to admit that I've experienced all of these warning signs- most within the last week! however, of some small comfort to me, my husband received in the mail (just the day before yesterday) a membership application the the AARP! ha- there is justice in the world!