This is just a short post to say hello! Looks like the rain has finally quit, and the forecast looks great for Thursday and Friday! Can't wait! Of course, it was a busy weekend, and we started putting in the laminate hardwood flooring. It's looking pretty sweet! I can't post any pics of it, as Ryan wants me to wait until it's all done. Hope all is well with y'all.
P.S. Thanks for the early b-day present Ang!
P.S. Thanks for the early b-day present Ang!
The weather out here just doesn't quit! All we've seen this weekend was cold and rain. It's rather depressing, and I believe I heard on the radio this morning that there is a risk of frost tonight! Thankfully I haven't planted a garden that I have to worry about, but it would be nice to have some warm weather so that we could get outside. Our lawn is monstrous, and the dandelions are doubly monstrous right now! It's crazy! On the bright side, all this rain and cold just gives us a really good excuse to be getting things done inside the house without being distracted by good weather.
Every two months, Country Graphics prints a publication called Hearth & Home. This is a magazine distributed to Holdeman woman in the U.S. and Canada, and comes to us from the local "Church of God in Christ". Occasionally the articles in this publication are fairly disturbing, and sometimes they just make me laugh. I figure I will post them here each month so that you too can enjoy a glimpse into the life of a Holdeman woman. You will need Acrobat Reader to view the file. Enjoy!
• Hearth & Home
• Hearth & Home
Okay, OKAY already! So I've heard through the grapevine that the name of our blog has been getting some harsh judgement by those who come to view it. Alright, maybe it hasn't gotten harsh judgement, but apparently it has been mentioned in *shput. I don't take offence, I just have to stick up for myself. All I wanted to do was create the blog... I wasn't feeling particularly inspired or creative when I put in that title. So, if you feel that you are the Titan of Titles and the King of Kick-Ass Blogs, please, email me with your ideas for a bigger and better blog name for Ryan and I. Just click the "Email Me Here" link under "Links" with your thoughts. (Other emails are also always appreciated, and generally responded to.)
*There is rarely a good English word that can be used to accurately define a Low German one. Shput is somewhere in between blastphemy and teasing - but where the line is, no one can be sure, and how it's used often differs.
*There is rarely a good English word that can be used to accurately define a Low German one. Shput is somewhere in between blastphemy and teasing - but where the line is, no one can be sure, and how it's used often differs.
I am totally addicted to Pepsi Vanilla. I used to be a big Coke fan, and over the years I have collected a lot of interesting Coke items. However, when I started dating Ryan, he usually drank Pepsi, and after trying it again, I liked it better. I then tried Pepsi Vanilla, and now I'm hooked - I love it! To me, it tastes sort of like an ice cream float. Fantastic.
Well finally we are getting some true summer-like weather! The high for today is a fabulous +24 degrees! Can't wait to feel that on my skin! It sucks that I am still going to stuck inside at work, but at least I can imagine how wonderful it would be to be outside.
Yesterday we had our rug installed upstairs in the office and blue room - it looks great! We also had the linoleum installed on the stairs going into the basement. Today they will finish the linoleum in the porch, and the rug will be installed in the basement. I can't wait to see it! I think the basement will look almost complete after today. It's exciting to be this close to being finished in the house. After the long weekend (Ryan is going on the annual Plett fishing trip) he and his dad will begin the process of installing the laminate floors. I brought in a piece the other day, just to see what it will look like... WOW! It will be a huge change. Then I think we will have to have a huge open house to celebrate. You are all invited.
My favorite verse for today: "But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'"
II Samuel 16:7
Yesterday we had our rug installed upstairs in the office and blue room - it looks great! We also had the linoleum installed on the stairs going into the basement. Today they will finish the linoleum in the porch, and the rug will be installed in the basement. I can't wait to see it! I think the basement will look almost complete after today. It's exciting to be this close to being finished in the house. After the long weekend (Ryan is going on the annual Plett fishing trip) he and his dad will begin the process of installing the laminate floors. I brought in a piece the other day, just to see what it will look like... WOW! It will be a huge change. Then I think we will have to have a huge open house to celebrate. You are all invited.
My favorite verse for today: "But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'"
II Samuel 16:7
This weekend was probably the busiest one we've had yet. We had a major deadline for having numerous things accomplished before Monday morning, as the rug guys were to be there at 9:00 a.m. sharp to get started on the rugs and linoleum.
We had to paint the basement completely from start to finish in two days. We also had to remove rug from the blue room and the office, as well as clean out the rooms and the breezeway. The dining room is now full of all the stuff from upstairs, and once the floors are done up there, it will all get moved back up there. It is nice to see things coming together though. Thankfully the end of the tunnel is approaching! Just the laminate floors, a little more painting and all done... the INSIDE of the house.
Then, the battle of the weeds begins... (to be continued)
We had to paint the basement completely from start to finish in two days. We also had to remove rug from the blue room and the office, as well as clean out the rooms and the breezeway. The dining room is now full of all the stuff from upstairs, and once the floors are done up there, it will all get moved back up there. It is nice to see things coming together though. Thankfully the end of the tunnel is approaching! Just the laminate floors, a little more painting and all done... the INSIDE of the house.
Then, the battle of the weeds begins... (to be continued)
The weather has made a turn for the better today, I think we are probably sitting at a +7 right now. Still a big mess, but at least the snow is disappearing with bright, healthy green grass (and dandelions) poking through. The weekend forecast is for more warm weather, so hopefully by Monday it will look more like May again.
As always, the work continues at our house. The rug in the basement gets installed on Monday, so last night Ryan and I primed the walls to prepare for the weekend-long task of getting them painted. Today the ceiling panels are going up, with the help of my Uncle Menno. Hopefully by this evening they will have their first coat of paint as well. I can HARDLY wait to have this project done, but even more excited to have our friends over to spend time in the new space.
Tonight we are going out for supper to Red Lobster with Terrilee and Brent Friesen for Brent's birthday. (You have to visit the website just to hear the awful seagull sounds!) Terrilee is about 6-7 months pregnant right now, due at the end of July. We are really excited for them, and especially because she will be my first close friend to have a baby. Everything she goes through is so amazing, and as usual, it makes me long for the time that Ryan and I will be able to experience it. It will be nice to have a break from the house before the long haul of the weekend.
As always, the work continues at our house. The rug in the basement gets installed on Monday, so last night Ryan and I primed the walls to prepare for the weekend-long task of getting them painted. Today the ceiling panels are going up, with the help of my Uncle Menno. Hopefully by this evening they will have their first coat of paint as well. I can HARDLY wait to have this project done, but even more excited to have our friends over to spend time in the new space.
Tonight we are going out for supper to Red Lobster with Terrilee and Brent Friesen for Brent's birthday. (You have to visit the website just to hear the awful seagull sounds!) Terrilee is about 6-7 months pregnant right now, due at the end of July. We are really excited for them, and especially because she will be my first close friend to have a baby. Everything she goes through is so amazing, and as usual, it makes me long for the time that Ryan and I will be able to experience it. It will be nice to have a break from the house before the long haul of the weekend.
I've been asked to post a link to my email, and I'm not sure that I know how to do that, but here goes a try.
We much appreciated all the sympathetic phone calls we got last night! However, we don't want to hear anything more about the great B.C. weather. I'm just kidding, we are very glad that all of our B.C. friends do not have to deal with this type of weather. I walked to work today through slush and snow, the wind was howling, and it was raining. Ick. Just absolute ick. School is out (yay for the kids), and the rescue wagon has gone out a few times. On a bright note, our basement is seemingly dry.
Today my feelings go out to the birds. Last night they were all huddling for cover against our house, wet from the rain and snow, and shivering in the cold. Our bird feeder has seen a constant flow of traffic, and in some cases it seems to turn into a fight for survival. To make matters worse, our cat continues to stalk the poor birds from his cat door, and last night he was stock-piling them in front of our door. Yesterday he caught about seven, and this morning there were two or three more, plus one live one that I tried to save by placing it on top of the BBQ. The cat is just confused as to why he is being scolded for his fantastic hunting ability.
But on to something more interesting, and less depressing... Ryan took the rug out of our bedroom a couple days ago, and made an intriguing discovery underneath. Although it's not hardwood, it's almost as cool, and we debated whether or not to finish it and keep it. We decided it was too far-gone to refinish it, but we will enjoy it for another week or so until the new laminate gets installed.
Today my feelings go out to the birds. Last night they were all huddling for cover against our house, wet from the rain and snow, and shivering in the cold. Our bird feeder has seen a constant flow of traffic, and in some cases it seems to turn into a fight for survival. To make matters worse, our cat continues to stalk the poor birds from his cat door, and last night he was stock-piling them in front of our door. Yesterday he caught about seven, and this morning there were two or three more, plus one live one that I tried to save by placing it on top of the BBQ. The cat is just confused as to why he is being scolded for his fantastic hunting ability.
But on to something more interesting, and less depressing... Ryan took the rug out of our bedroom a couple days ago, and made an intriguing discovery underneath. Although it's not hardwood, it's almost as cool, and we debated whether or not to finish it and keep it. We decided it was too far-gone to refinish it, but we will enjoy it for another week or so until the new laminate gets installed.
Well, bad has turned to worse today. The roads are awful. Water, disguised as a thick layer of snow, is abundant everywhere. Tree branches are breaking under the weight of the heavy, wet snow. Cars are covered. Socks are soaked. Birds are bewildered. It's a freakin' mess out there. Buses are cancelled, but the kids are at school. Dentists are going home early (Robin just had them call and cancel her appointment). Not to mention that there has been lightning and thunder all afternoon, and the power went out in Morris. Life is certainly not boring, but that doesn't mean we'll like it.
To be honest, I really don't want to talk about it... but I will. I am only talking about it because I want to keep you all informed about what's going on in our lives, and this is what is going on today. I am not happy about it. Everyone at work today already knows that I am not talking about this, so if you can, please try and feel that you are in some way privileged.
The fact is, that when I woke up this morning, it was completely white outside.
The view out my window at work is depressing. Why in the WORLD do we live in this Province?! I am just not in the mood to deal with this today. For goodness sake, two days ago I was pulling weeds out from between my tulips and daffodils (thanks Ang)! Just yesterday I planted some seed for dill and other herbs. To sum it up in a word... crap.
The fact is, that when I woke up this morning, it was completely white outside.
The view out my window at work is depressing. Why in the WORLD do we live in this Province?! I am just not in the mood to deal with this today. For goodness sake, two days ago I was pulling weeds out from between my tulips and daffodils (thanks Ang)! Just yesterday I planted some seed for dill and other herbs. To sum it up in a word... crap.
I was a bit shocked, and disturbed by a commercial I saw on TV recently. I can't remember what we were watching, but just as I was leaving the room my eye caught a glimpse of the first scene of the commercial - two girls kissing passionately. Now I really don't want to preach, because it's not what I'm about, but I was appalled. I believe we had been watching an NHL playoff game, and my kids (technically I don't have any, but stay with me here) could have been watching. It was very over-the-top, and I questioned again what the line is for TV viewing? I wasn't the only one with questions about it apparently. I think the line that came up on the screen at the end really nailed down my feelings about it... "Less Limits is More Fun". Now there's some inspiration for what to teach your kids to live life by.
Well, unfortunately we had a bad turn of events in our home renovations project yesterday. As some of you may already know, we had a mysterious puddle of water form in the basement a few months back when the melting began. We had a professional come and repair what he figured could have been the culprit, and since then all has been dry... until yesterday. It rained a little yesterday, not hard, but apparently just enough, and in the right direction, to seep into the basement again. Its never a lot of water, just a tiny puddle, and nothing is wet around it. Ryan pulled the drywall off (again) and checked for moisture, but there is NOTHING. We are just clued out. His dad came over the in evening, and they ran a hose out to the front of the house and sprayed it down - no water. They even tried putting a big spotlight out there to see if they could see any light into the basement - not even a glimmer. If anyone at all knows where this mystery water is coming from, please let us know before we lose our minds! Maybe we have already... In any case, we've given up, and we're going to start the taping and mudding today anyway. We are now hoping and praying that we will fix it by doing some landscape repairs in the front. Ah, the joys of renovating. What a great way to spend our first year of marriage! Everything from here on in should be a breeze!
*Laughing out loud* I just had a memory from our trip flash through my mind, and thought I would share it with you. While in Summerland, we went out for lunch with Jer and Tannis and the girls. In the restaurant, Ivy was climbing about on a chair, when she got herself tangled up between the arm rest and the seat of the chair. She began to panic, and tried to squirm her way out, but she was stuck. Ryan, in his best attempt to help out calmly reassures her saying, "Don't worry, you're not stuck - you just haven't figured it out yet". Poor Ivy - still panic stricken didn't pay much attention at all, but rather looked to the aiding arms of her daddy as he pulled her out to safety. My poor children are going to be total wrecks!
Unfortunately, all the photos I took with the DVC turned out rather poorly, with exception to these two. Uncle Menno and Ryan worked on my new dining room and entrance this week, so I now have a door from the kitchen into the dining room, and a new wall and arch going into the entrance. Ryan spent all afternoon on Sunday power-sanding the ceiling so that we (actually Bernie Friesen) can mud and tape everything in the house this week. He and the house were a dusty white mess.
Jer sent some cool pics of Ryan and I with the girls today. Enjoy!
• Lounging on the lawn (man, I miss that weather)
• Ryan and Ella
• Ivy's picture
• Lounging on the lawn (man, I miss that weather)
• Ryan and Ella
• Ivy's picture
