Progress

So much has been accomplished this weekend ... the house is absolutely unrecognizable in its improvement. On Saturday I finished knocking down the last ceiling (in the smallest bedroom). Just to show you how much of a novice I am ... I worked steadily for over an hour (and feeling fairly proud of my ability since I was working all by myself) and was down to the last strip of ceiling (about 2 ft x 10 ft). Ed came in to check on my progress and told me I was doing good and said "here, let me help you for a minute" He then took down the entire strip in about three passes ... hmmmmm. The misisonaries came over to see what they could do and Ed put one of them to work sanding back bedrooms and the other headed up into the rafters to knock down that pesky ceiling box. I am rather glad that I didn't try to do it since I would still be up there. That silly thing was all but welded to a specially built box in the attic! Brute strength prevailed, however, and the box was finally beaten into submission (or at least out of the ceiling). Under Lynn & Ed's direction, I taped, sanded, patched, and in general made a nuisance of myself. By Saturday evening, however, the back two bedrooms had new ceilings and wall. The difference is amazing! While all this was going on, Dad was measuring and placing speaker wires and boxes for cables and television connections. Lynn (to the rescue once again) climed up and belly-crawled through the two feet of insulation in the attic to help thread the speakers in the corners. Dad might have gotten a chance to finish, but I didn't have a long enough S-video cord to string from the computer (which will be next to the fireplace) to the TV (on the opposite wall). Still the wires look beautiful and I am thrilled to have them not stapled along the ceiling as they are in the old house. Thanks Dad!

After a lovely dinner brought in by another wonderful sister (I need Carol's meatloaf recipe - seriously!), we packed up and headed home where I bathed the kids, put them to bed, did the dishes, and headed back up to the new house. Jenny joined me and we wiped down what had already been done and vacuumed ... just putting things in order generally for Monday. Harley appeared at the front window - startling a good decade out of me in the process - and complemented our progress. He took violent exception to the spindles however, with the result that they are now in many pieces in the back yard (hurray!). I didn't really think that it would make that much of a difference since they were so skinny, but having them gone really opens up the room! He also insisted that we paint the beadboard there white (I got the impression that if we didn't agree we might come into the room in the near future to find the words PAINT ME WHITE sprawled across the board rather like a dusty car that has had a similar message traced into a dusty window) fortunately, Byron and I agree and white they shall become. Sunday we rested ... and I mean that literally since I actually took a three-hour nap with my children. This morning, I got up bright and early and cleaned this house (which was looking really bad), did the laundry, and made it up to the new house by 9am. I put the kids out back with the little DVD player and a box of toys. They did incredibly well! Ben and Ginny really more or less kept to the porch and Joshua wandered around in the yard pushing a truck. Robert found a climbing tree that enabled him to see everything that was happening and he just hung out there. Over the course of the day, the living and dining rooms now have new ceilings and walls. It looks amazing and I am even more amazed at Lynn and Ed ... I don't normally mess with power tools. Believe it or not, they intimidate me, so other than the odd job with Byron's little cordless drill, I don't have much experience. Ed threw me the texture gun and said "point there." That was my entire training. Still, I got the hang of it, but my arms and neck were killing me in no time at all. Ed sprayed the actual pattern over the entire ceiling and walls all by himself ... go Ed! Tomorrow, we paint! On a side note, Harley pulled the cooler apart and found that the pads had petrified. Once those were replaced, the cooler worked great. Thanks mate! Of course, all could not be sunshine and roses, I finally found a bit of a thorn today. My telephone was supposed to be transferred up to the new house today (remember I was going to move in over the weekend, ha ha). Tim came up and looked at it and low-and-behold there is no physical line for my information to be tranferred to! Plus, as soon as the information left the old house, that line was given to someone else!!! So what now? I have computer access until it doesn't work anymore (which could be at any moment) and no phone until one comes availble - basically until someone else cancels their service. How fun is that? You would think that here in California (the land of red tape and permit-happy bureaucrats) when a new house is built the phone company would make sure that there is a physical line available to the property (don't we have to do that with the other utilities already?) before the house is finished. But no, they don't and so there is a shortage here. Joy. At the moment, the only way to contact me is via e-mail or by cell phone ...

The BEST Anniversary ... so far

Today Byron and I have been married for 5 years. We've had the ups and downs that naturally come from living in close proximity, yet I feel more blessed to have him at my side than I did 5 years ago. We are completely opposite in most ways - have next to nothing in common in the way of hobbies or interest - and yet we complement each other. Byron brings out the best in me. He supports me (even when he would rather I didn't want to do something ... like scrape popcorn off my ceilings in a last minute change of plan). More than that, he really loves me. When things get difficult for him (we call that "growing pains"), he really tries. He does his best to uphold his priesthood and be a loving husband and father, even when he has had a long day. At his absolute crankiest, he is still the gentlest man I have ever known. Byron, I love you forever ... okay no more mushy stuff, on to the day!

This has been the best anniversary I have ever celebrated - even if I didn't even get to see my husband all that much. ;-) Byron gave me the best present in the world: a dozen roses and a completely kid-free day, and I mean the entire day ... I seriously have not changed a single diaper today. Then, as if that were not filling my little cup of joy, my friends and neighbors got together and made my little cup of joy overflow. As mentioned in my last post, I planned to do my best to get the extra wood-burning stove out and clean carpets ... possibly even get the kitchen done. Well, my friend Jenny (who is recovering from a ridiculously severe sinus infection) decided to come help ... and we were joined (thanks to Jenny's incredible coordination skills) by other wonderful friends (also known as Marcie and Leslie). If that weren't incredible enough, she coordinated for sisters to bring our family dinner for the next couple of days so that I didn't have to stop what I was working on to feed the family. Jenny, thank you so much for thinking of me! Jenny, Marcie, and Leslie came and just flew around! We got the kitchen completely cleaned - cupboards lined (at least until I ran out of liner, but that doesn't really count). We even found the keys to the back door which has not been opened in 2 years because no one could find any keys. I don't think I will be able to thank Leslie enough for tackling that door ... creepy! And Jenny!!!!! Jenny (who you must remember is under the weather, to put it mildly) brought a sqeedgy (I know I did spell that right, but you know what I mean) and got on ladders and washed all of the windows (inside and out) and then brushed the ceilings (we'll get to those presently), washed walls, and vacuumed ... she is absolutely amazing!!!! Here are a few highs (and lows) for the day:

The Stove - Hurray, the wood-burning stove is no more! I got most of it disconnected this morning before Byron made it up to join me this morning (he had to go to the "office" for a bit). Then, with the help of Harley and Steve, Byron got the stove itself moved out to the garage. The backing board (can we say cheesy?) was bolted into the cupboards, but not even finger tight so I managed to get it all done with two screwdrivers and a crescent wrench - of course I owe it all to those many hitherto deemed wasted hours watching McGuyver ... more than just a pretty face apparently. ;-) All that is left is the square box right at the ceiling which is apparently riveted from above ... that is on my tomorrow list along with patching the hole. Also, under the temporary hearth stones (just pavers in a frame) I found perfectly intact, if rather flat, carpet. This was good news!

The Cooler - we tried the cooler, but it didn't seem to work very well. First we found that the cover was still on it (thanks Harley for fixing that). Then we couldn't find the water line (Jenny found it ... in a closet I had just spent several minutes looking through). Then we found that the cooler had no pump. Harley continued his "walk about" (you have to say that with an Australian accent ... or at least try) down to the hardware store where he found that there was one left in stock. At that point Byron drove up and we sent him down to procure it. Once installed, we could hear the air, but we really didn't feel anything. We found that two of the vents were plugged, but the rest is a mystery. By the late afternoon, there was a nice breeze blowing and once combined with sweat even caused a little bit of cooling sensation. Better luck tomorrow!

The Ceiling - Okay, before I do this, I have to shout out a huge apology to Jenny who, as I mentioned before, worked very hard on the ceiling, walls, and floor. I really had no plans to knock down the popcorn today ... honestly! I figured I could live with it for a year or two. Then I walked across the street to Lynn's house for a completely unrelated reason and she (with lots of help from Ed) was talking about how much easier it would be to just knock it down before I put any furniture in the house. While I have acknowledged that point before, there is the fact that I would like to have a finished ceiling of some sort and I didn't think I was ready to put the new ceiling up yet ... I have received lots of instruction, but I have never actually done it myself. So what changed my mind? Lynn picking me up in her truck with all of her tools to take it down with me ... along with the offer to help me put the new ceiling up. It was a blast - I had more popcorn in my hair than was actually on the ceiling I think. Still after just a couple of hours all but one room is popcorn-free and I completely re-cleaned the front of the house (I was actually hoping to get it done before Jenny could see because I didn't want her to feel like her work had been wasted, but my husband ratted me out (to be fair he had no orders to the contrary). Still, I have to say Jenny, that it was not wasted. Thanks to the extra vacuuming, most of the furniture and even the hearth marks are practically gone! And Yes! we have no more popcorn ... we have no more popcorn today!!! (are you humming along?) Can you tell I don't like accoustic ceilings?

Misc Nuggets - Marcie found an entire box of green tile (to match the kitchen countertops) in one cupboard. What a relief - now I could completely resurface the fireplace to match the kitchen (kidding!!!!). The washer and dryer left behind are complete pieces of junk (no surprise) and the dryer needs to run on propane. Mine, of course, is electric. Anyone want to trade? (not kidding) Also, everyone was in agreement that the light fixture in the dining room needs to be replaced almost immediately due to its extreme ugliness (I am understating this).

To make a very long story just a little bit longer, this day has been awesome for me. I got to really focus and had wonderful gifts of service and love and friendship. Who could ask for more? I know I couldn't.

A Very Exciting Day

It is now official ... Byron and I are in debt 'till we die. In other words, we got our house!!! After my last rather premature post, I wasn't going to say anything until I actually got the keys (and made sure they actually went to the right house - thanks Papa). I received the keys at 10 am this morning - and then proceeded to call all of the utilities. We will have electricity and water tomorrow, there is already propane in the tank but they will fill it next week, the phone will move on Monday, the computer connection on Tuesday, and we will officially begin to receive mail there also on Monday. Whew! Now I am just gnashing my teeth because I want to get everything done NOW!!! First thing to be done - remove the extraneous wood-burning stove (hoping against hope that there is still carpet under the temporary hearth they laid down) and patch the ceiling where the pipe comes through. Byron and I are going to attempt that bright and early tomorrow morning - so that he can have the measurements he needs to get the patch materials I will need to finish the job (yes, I can patch the ceiling, thank you sooooo much for the vote of confidence). On the plus side, he is taking ALL of the kids with him so I should be able to get the kitchen done and (if the water/electricity is turned on soon enough) possibly get the bedroom carpets done too. That is the goal. On Saturday, my wonderful father-in-law is going to come and help Byron put the wires for the surround sound, TV, and TV-Computer into the walls so that it looks nice and neat ... won't that be wonderful??? I also (drying time permitting) intend to move up the bedroom furniture. Soooo, if all of my goals are met, we should be sleeping and eating (and watching movies) up in the new house by Sunday!

I also have to mention my failed tree experiment. About three years ago a lovely lady in our ward offered me a few tree saplings if I wanted to plant some trees. My land lady was a bit nervous, but just asked me to keep them far enough away from the house that when they were fully mature there would be no damage to the house. I beat my usual planting average by having one (out of three) actually survive ... flourish even (although there has been a debate for a while as to whether it was a tree or a bush by those of my neighbors who don't think I prune often enough). Just this year, it started looking like a tree and (quel horreur) we find that it is a "fruit-bearing" mulberry. What that means is that it makes a huge mess - and you can't even make a pie or anything. So I decided to pass along the tree to a friend who live on 2+ acres and is looking for trees in general and was not put off by the "mess factor." She and her kids came bright and early this morning and we dug it up. Now wouldn't you know that I would manage to plant that tree right over the ONLY pipe in the front yard???? As we were digging it up we found those roots lovingly wrapped clear around that silly pipe - I am so grateful that we dug it up this year! Even though we are moving, I would have felt horrible when that pipe got busted in half (easily within the next couple of years). Such is my luck - I am just glad that someone up There is looking out for me. :-)