House pics

Greetings,


We have ventilation in our bathroom.

It was NEEDED!  Not sure what you are thinking, but the shower is a double headed open contraption thingy.... which produced a lot of moisture without ventilation.

So our hardware is rusting.

Just like Greece.

I cannot even keep a pair of tweezers or nail clippers in the bathroom without rust.

Just like Greece.

The electrical has been updates and moved.

We no longer need to stumble into a dark room trying to find the light switch.  Now the switches have been strategically placed near the door.

How clever.... I wonder why "the girls" never thought to move them?

And we have our bedroom / closet wall back.

Oh, it's exciting to see projects get checked off the To Do list.

Blessings,

Oh, Mary Poppins...

Greetings,


Please come take care of this...

mess!

And bring another bookcase.  I think I am going to need it.


Blessings,

Manic Monday

Greetings,


1.  My family has gone.

2.  Everyone has gone... and the blog is about 2 weeks behind.

3.  My family has gone and the house needs about 72 hours straight of cleaning.

4.   My family has gone... and it's kinda lonely here.

5.  My family has gone and we are gearing up for Harry to leave again.

6.  We wanted to do something special for our first July 4th back stateside... Florida, Atlanta, D.C....?

7.  We are very tired... I would venture to say extremely fatigued!

8.  In fact, too tired to give you 10 Manic Mondays...



Blessings,

Window art

Greetings,

Grammie bought Kadence (my 5 year-old niece) window drawing markers....

Everywhere you turn...

Kadence has left us a little note...

there are smiley-faced hearts staring at you...

It's oddly entertaining having a kid around!


Blessings,

Still too busy

Greetings,


I apologize for the previous posts rantings... I was / am tired!


Our days begin around 5:00 a.m. and end around 9 p.m.

We take a few breaks throughout the day, but only for meals.

My mom and I share the cooking responsibilities.

Fortunately, I have a functioning sink and faucet....

and an oven range ventilation hood....

and new lighting.....

still in need of a good sanding / restained kitchen floor...

It's the little things that make life easier!


Blessings,

Tides

Greetings,


Tonight the ship enjoyed a "fun" night out...

the local AA league baseball tea. The Norfolk Tides.

The weather was nice... not too hot, not too humid.

The food was great... Harry's favorite :  free.

We even met the Norfolk mascot...

the Rip Tide.

I thought he was just a blue version of Elmo?

Not sure how a rip tide should look?



Blessings,

Easier to start fresh

Greetings,


Is it easier to start anew....

or.... work with the existing?

sometimes, it's harder to find the right spot...

and it takes a lot of patching and repair work....

I love blank slates... when you can start new and not worry about the old.

The good thing about Navy life (and sometimes the worst thing about Navy life)... is you are always starting anew somewhere.

I am going to have a "new" / better outlook on Norfolk...

it's not Greece... oh, how I miss my neighbors there and the Chapel folks and the command and our great friends and the cheap fresh vegetables.

it's not Atlanta... oh, how I miss our friends and our church and shopping and shopping and almost everything about Atlanta.

But I am going to turn the other cheek so to speak about these crazy neighbors and their even crazier opinions.

I am going to smile and offer salutations.

I am going to comment nicely on there lawns.

I am going to smile at their kids.

I will pet their dogs ... even as the pooh on Harry's new grass (sprigs).

I will be nice...

it's the Southern thing to do!

And I will not call folks crazy 'ole bats.  That was really mean and I apologize... I was tired.


Blessings,

Mind your Bee's wax

Greetings,

You guessed it...  more noisy neighbors.

With all the construction work going on... this particular neighbor could not help herself.

I'll give you the highlights of the conversation:

"You need to be careful and respect an old house."

and

"If you were from the South.. you would know Southern porch etiquette."

and

"The girls (previous owners) did a lot of work to the house.  A lot of work."


and my favorite


"Your house used to be the best looking house on the block."




She of course told my mom all of this.... as soon as I saw her on the porch I ducked and ran in the opposite direction.  I have met her before.


1.  What does she know... she has never been inside my house.  How does she know what we are respecting or not?

2.  I AM from the South.  You cannot get more Southern than North Florida.  Seriously?

3.  The "girls"  had no clue what they were doing.  My dad spent most of his time repairing their messes.  He spent hours in the attic tracing "hot" wires that the "girls" forgot to cap or disconnect.  Not just crappy workmanship, but safety hazards!  Respecting an old house would be ensuring it does not burn to the GROUND!

4.  Used to be?  Get off my porch... how's that for Southern porch etiquette?


Is it hard for noisy neighbors to mind their own business?  Or simply be polite when talking about my business?  That's what a Southerner would do... say something somewhat mean, but politely and with a smile on your face!

Mind you own beeswax crazy neighbor! (not Chaplain wifelike verbage)


To call myself down from my rant.... I wanted to find the origin of beeswax.

Personal hygiene left much room for improvement in the 1700s. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, "mind your own bee's wax."

Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term, "crack a smile."

In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt...therefore, the expression "losing face."



So in the most polite Southern voice... I want to tell that old bat to stop staring at my face.

But that might cause me to lose face.

But it would cause me to crack a smile.



Blessings,

Grass update

Greetings,

A few little sprigs have sprung up...

According to Harry, his fastidious watering has caused a few small patches to appear...

All I see are a few sparse shriveled up green things being towered over by mushrooms.

His reply:

"It will take 4 - 6 weeks before we should see real improvement"!


So I am waiting 4 - 6 weeks to see if my front lawn is actually going to look like a golf course lawn.



Blessings,

Busy as Beavers

Greetings,


Hanging Sheetrock...

mudding Sheetrock...

Building walls....

And this picture...

just cracks me up.

And I need a good laugh because every muscle in my body aches!


Blessings,

This little light of mine...

Greetings,

I can see now!

In the dining room..

In the living room...

even in the kitchen!

Let it shine.

Let it shine...

Let it shine!


Blessings,

It begins....

Greeting,


Demolition time....

It looks a little like Dexter (HBO serial killer show...that is not a family show and I would not promote it as a Christian watch at all, but it is interesting and sadly we have watched every season) up in here!

Time to knock down a few walls.... and ceilings.


Blessings,

Manic Monday

Greetings,

My family has arrived...

let the games begin...

1.  Living room recessed lights.

2.  Sheetrock ceilings.

3.  Dining room recessed lights and chandelier.

4.  Dining room sheetrock ceilings.

5.  Kitchen sink!!!

6.  Kitchen recessed lights.

7.  Breakfast nook pendant light!

8.  Repair giant hole in wall!

9.  Build closet wall.

Then it's time to move on to the second story!


Good times!


Blessings,

Poor Harry

Greetings,

My family's on their way....

Harry has taken the week off work...

So we can put this house back together....

We should be very busy this week...

I am so excited!


Blessings,

Haborfest 2010

Greetings,

Harry and I ventured over to the harbor for a parade of sails....

Norfolk Harborfest began more than a quarter century ago when the Norwegian Tall Ship Christian Radich came to call on Norfolk, a waterfront community that had no city-owned property on which to dock a ship.

The ship was docked three blocks from Town Point at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and 13,000 people crossed her gangway in just one and a half days.

Thus creating the Harborfest

Today, tall ships from all over the world frequently call on the City of Norfolk and nearly half a million visitors gather on the downtown waterfront each year for this annual celebration of our region's rich nautical heritage.


Harry jumped aboard the Godspeed, 88'- 17TH CENTURY JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT REPLICA

The Godspeed is a re-creation of one of three ships that transported America's first permanent English colonists to Virginia in 1607.

Kalmar Nyckel, USA, 141' - Commissioned in 1998, Kalmar Nyckel is a replica of the Swedish-owned ship that brought the first permanent European settlers to the Delaware Valley in 1638.

Today, she serves as Delaware's sea-going Ambassador of Good Will. The largest and most ornate of the first nine vessels to bring settlers to the New World, Kalmar Nyckel was the last to be reconstructed.

An authentic re-creation, modified only to conform to current safety standards, her keel and ribs are made of Central American hardwood, including Delaware holly.

And then there were these...

tree or vine thingy's...?

And they just walked around slowly extending their limbs or vines...

Good time... although the Norfolk humidity finally sent us home early. 


Blessings,