Pictures of our progress

Well, the work on the den has been put on hold until the crew finishes the shop.  Dennis doesn’t like to leave them unattended…it usually means redoing what they have done when he does so.  So here is what the den looks like right now:

 

 the inside,

 

   the outside (not through painting the trim).

Here is what the shop looks like:

 

We spent part of Thursday and all day Friday installing my new stove and refrigerator…thanks to a LOT of plumbing problems that arose in the process.  Dennis thought it would be easy to hook up the icemaker, since there was already a connection and pathway from before we moved into this house.  That connection turned out being completely filled with harden mineral deposits, so he had to hunt all over town to find the right pieces to hook up a new one.  Doing that dislodged some of the debris which ruined my kitchen faucet…so we had to replace that.  Then we discovered that some more got into the dishwasher and ruined it.  THAT will have to wait!  I’ve gone many a year doing dishes by hand, and it won’t hurt me to do it again for awhile!  Anyway, we finally got all of that done.  After transferring everything to my new frig, I cleaned up the old one real well and put it out in the den (for now).  I’ve been keeping tea and an ice chest with ice on the front porch for the construction crew.  Now I have it transferred to the old frig, so they can come into the cool and have good cold tea to drink.  When the shop is finished, we'll move it out there to use for aging deer and keeping drinks and snacks for Dennis when he's working.

I LOVE my new appliances!  My refrigerator is so big that I am able to keep everything in it with room to spare.  I used to have to keep some things in our “overflow” small refrigerator in the garage.  Plus I kept all of my frozen food in the big freezer.  Now I can keep all of my frozen veggies and leftovers in the freezer drawer of my frig, where they are handy.  My icemaker will make it much easier to keep the guys supplied with plenty of ice…and still have enough leftover for our needs.

I think I’m also going to really enjoy my new stove.  My first meal I cooked in it was homemade pizza, and it cooked the crust perfectly.  It has a “proofing” setting for bread (or pizza) dough, a dehydrating setting (for making jerky), a slow-cook setting, and also has a convection fan to help cook things more evenly…even when baking several things at a time.  It also has a 5^th burner that is long…for using a griddle or other long pan.  So far I’m very pleased with the results that I’ve gotten from it!  I feel very blessed to have such fine new tools in my kitchen!

Changes

Well, we haven't progressed like I had hoped since my last post.  We had rain predicted, so instead of finishing the wiring in the den and starting on the paneling, Dennis worked at getting the exterior painted to protect against the weather.  Saturday, we moved Sheila out of her house (and into a UHaul trailer), and then Tuesday, we moved her into her apartment.  That was a fun day (NOT)!  It was about 100 degrees outside, and the a/c in her apartment wasn't fully charged, so it was rough on everyone.  But she is settled into her own little space now (and the a/c is working properly).  I really like her apartment!  It is going to make her life SO much easier, now that she is only about 5 minutes from her job.  I am definitely going to miss her though!

Sheila got a new CASA case last week...one that is pretty rough.  The parents are getting weekly visits (at the CPS office) with the babies, which Sheila can't observe because of her job.  So I offered to co-CASA the case, so that I can help out.  I'll be observing the weekly visits and attending any daytime meetings.  That was what I did most of the day yesterday.  (So I get the fun part, and Sheila gets to do the work!)  The babies are absolutely adorable!  (I love this job!)

A couple of weeks ago, my oven started acting up on me.  I was cooking pizza for supper and my oven wouldn't ever get hot.  It had done this before, so we knew what the problem was.  A valve in the gas line won't open.  Dennis banged on the gas line until it opened up and I was able to salvage supper.  Since then, every time I use my oven, I have to remove the bottom drawer, lay down on the floor, and banged on the gas line.  Then when the oven cycles off and needs to come back on, I have to do the same thing.  SO, we have purchased a new stove for my (future) newly remodeled kitchen...a little early.  It matches the new refrigerator that we ordered last month...and which we are supposed to pick up TODAY!  The stove is supposed to be delivered and installed tomorrow.  I am really looking forward to trying out my new appliances!

The construction crew is making good progress on the shop.  They have the framework up and are now working on the joists for the rafters.  Although they aren't working in the den anymore, it is still being used to store some of their equipment and supplies.  But it is quieter in my living room now!  I'm hoping that this next week shows more progress on finishing out the den.  I'm really looking forward to getting some things moved around and cleaned up.  My house is a bit of a wreck these days!

On a more serious note, we have had several dear friends with serious health issues over the past couple of weeks.  The joyful birth of Mike and Denice's first grandbaby was tempered by his medical problems and admittance to Cook's NICU.  Thankfully he seems to be progressing well.  Hopefully, he and his parents will soon be able to go home and get on with life.  Bryan had his new, transplanted kidney removed last week and seems to be doing well and hopefully can finally go home in 2-3 weeks (after almost 4 months of hospitalization!).  Then there was the news on Jared's cancer.  My heart just breaks for him and his family.  Many prayers are being lifted up for all of these!  Please keep each of them and their families in your prayers also!

Construction Update

The construction crew is getting close to finishing up (their part of) the den and moving on to the shop.  Dennis has the den (mostly) wired and it has already passed inspection.  We should be able to start putting up paneling next week...and then doing the flooring.  I am ready to get that den fully functional!


north side of the den

south side of the den

I'm also looking forward to having the men away from my living room!

Sheila and Jessica close on their house Friday.  We are going to load all of Sheila's stuff into a U-Haul trailer and store it on our driveway until she can move into her apartment next Tuesday.  She'll be spending a few days on our couch.  Jessica can't move into her apartment until later in September, so she'll be staying with some work friends.  It will sure seem strange for them not to be living together anymore!

Well, I need to go do a visit.  Just wanted to get this construction update done before I left.  I really hope to have the finished project (the den, that is) to share in a couple of weeks!

Our Topsy-Turvy World

I was reading a little bit about Tennessee Ernie Ford on Wikipedia.  He hosted "Ford Theatre" in 1955-56.  One fact stood out to me:  "Ford's program was notable for the inclusion of a religious song at the end of every show; Ford insisted on this despite objections from network officials who feared it might provoke controversy. This became the most popular segment of his show."

This battle that the entertainment and news professions have had against anything relating to Christianity has been going on for DECADES!  Movies and TV shows have become increasingly vulgar and immoral (all in the name of freedom of speech/press).  Yet anyone standing up for Christian principals are mocked, castigated, or worse.  Right is wrong and wrong is right.  Reminds me of a few scriptures:

Psalms 31:17-19  Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!

Proverbs 17:15  He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.

Isaiah 5:20-24  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!  Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:  Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!  Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.