May we all remember the real reason for Easter.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Today's progress. . .
Fridays are the big day around here for getting a lot done on this addition. Our good friend and neighbor, D, is a building inspector for Provo, but he used to own his own business and that man loves to work with his hands and build things. So, since he doesn't work for the city on Fridays he comes to work here instead. He is the one who helped us with our design and the technical schtuff when we planned this addition. He has been a great mentor for C, teaching him much about framing, plumbing and anything else C asks about.
Today they removed the old back door that separated the new part of the house from the old. This is a precursor to finally getting to remove the wall that separates the kitchen from the new dining area. D spent the afternoon working on a new step for the area where the door jamb used to be. That door was one step down from the kitchen floor, with a landing at the top of the stairs that go down. So he had to build the new floor out into the area where the jamb used to be to meet that landing properly. I keep looking over there and thinking that I need to go shut the door. It will take some getting used to.
We also got all the plumbing in place to move the washer and dryer to their new location. C still needs to pour a little concrete around the new drain and put up some drywall behind where they will be, but they will be in their new home by tomorrow and I can finally be through with my laundry dungeon. Seriously, for the last 11 years my laundry area has been a tiny, windowless corner that I had to squeeze past the water softener to get to(a tight squeeze when I was pregnant!). I'll post a picture of the before and after tomorrow.
On my end of things, I finally got the three costumes made for the Shakespeare play. I needed a few more volunteer hours so I offered to sew costumes. I will take them to the school on Monday and record my hours. I sewed a vest for last year's play and it was a bugger. The material was so thick and hard to work with. This year's pattern was much simpler and the fabric much easier to work with. Hallelujah! I guess I ought to be thankful that my mom was a Home Ec. teacher and taught me to sew. I don't do it very often, but it's a handy skill to have when it's needed.
Today they removed the old back door that separated the new part of the house from the old. This is a precursor to finally getting to remove the wall that separates the kitchen from the new dining area. D spent the afternoon working on a new step for the area where the door jamb used to be. That door was one step down from the kitchen floor, with a landing at the top of the stairs that go down. So he had to build the new floor out into the area where the jamb used to be to meet that landing properly. I keep looking over there and thinking that I need to go shut the door. It will take some getting used to.
We also got all the plumbing in place to move the washer and dryer to their new location. C still needs to pour a little concrete around the new drain and put up some drywall behind where they will be, but they will be in their new home by tomorrow and I can finally be through with my laundry dungeon. Seriously, for the last 11 years my laundry area has been a tiny, windowless corner that I had to squeeze past the water softener to get to(a tight squeeze when I was pregnant!). I'll post a picture of the before and after tomorrow.
On my end of things, I finally got the three costumes made for the Shakespeare play. I needed a few more volunteer hours so I offered to sew costumes. I will take them to the school on Monday and record my hours. I sewed a vest for last year's play and it was a bugger. The material was so thick and hard to work with. This year's pattern was much simpler and the fabric much easier to work with. Hallelujah! I guess I ought to be thankful that my mom was a Home Ec. teacher and taught me to sew. I don't do it very often, but it's a handy skill to have when it's needed.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
YUM!!
Baked Potato Soup
4 baking potatoes
2/3 C all purpose flour
6 C 2% milk
1 C cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 c sour cream
3/4 C chopped green onions, divided
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled.
Bake potatoes, in oven or micro, til tender. Cool, peel and coarsely mash. Discard skins.Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, level off. Place in a large pan, gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over med heat til thick and bubbly (about 8 min)Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 C cheese, salt and pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.Stir in sour cream and 1/2 C onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or til thoroughly heated(do not boil). Ladle about 1 1/2 C soup onto each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 tsp cheese, 1 1/2 tsp onions and about 1 Tbsp bacon.
Yield: 8 servings
Made this for dinner tonight and it's so yummy. I thought you might like to try it. It's way easy. You can make it more diet friendly but using low fat or no fat cheese and sour cream.
4 baking potatoes
2/3 C all purpose flour
6 C 2% milk
1 C cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 c sour cream
3/4 C chopped green onions, divided
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled.
Bake potatoes, in oven or micro, til tender. Cool, peel and coarsely mash. Discard skins.Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, level off. Place in a large pan, gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over med heat til thick and bubbly (about 8 min)Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 C cheese, salt and pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.Stir in sour cream and 1/2 C onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or til thoroughly heated(do not boil). Ladle about 1 1/2 C soup onto each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 tsp cheese, 1 1/2 tsp onions and about 1 Tbsp bacon.
Yield: 8 servings
Made this for dinner tonight and it's so yummy. I thought you might like to try it. It's way easy. You can make it more diet friendly but using low fat or no fat cheese and sour cream.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Moving Along
Well, as the deadline to finish our addition draws closer, its easier to see progress. Today we had the sheetrock hanging/texturing guy over to give us a bid and the electrician was here working all day. He will be back to finish up tomorrow. As soon as he finishes and we get our framing inspection we can put up the insulation and we'll be ready when the "Muddy Boys" show up to sheetrock next Monday.
Can I just tell you how exciting this is to me? The end of this overly long, four year project is almost in sight. This has been a good experience for us even though it's been a pain more often than not. I do not believe we will ever put ourselves through the headache of building anything again.
Certainly not a whole house.
I think we'll just keep looking til we find one that is already built that meets our needs/wants.
Or, we'll simply stay put!
p.s. I'll post a picture after the sheetrock is done!
Can I just tell you how exciting this is to me? The end of this overly long, four year project is almost in sight. This has been a good experience for us even though it's been a pain more often than not. I do not believe we will ever put ourselves through the headache of building anything again.
Certainly not a whole house.
I think we'll just keep looking til we find one that is already built that meets our needs/wants.
Or, we'll simply stay put!
p.s. I'll post a picture after the sheetrock is done!
Monday, March 03, 2008
Here We Go Again. . . .
We received news yesterday morning that my DH's grandfather had passed away. He was 98.
So we will be attending yet another funeral this week. Thankfully, his passing was quick and relatively painless. It would seem he had a massive stroke as he was getting ready to have a bath, and he never regained conciousness. We are so happy for him to be free of the infirmities of a body that has been around for nearly a century, but sorrowful for Grandma who will now be alone. She's also 98. The burden of caring for and checking on her daily will hopefully be shared now by her children and grandchildren who live near her. She's in good health, but I wonder if she will stay around now that her main reason for getting up each day is no longer here.
I don't think I've ever contemplated death as much as I have in the last five weeks. Since President Hinckley passed away and then my grandpa and now DH's grandpa. I ponder on why I feel the need to cry for them, when in each case it has been such a blessing. Guess I've always been a blubberer. Sometimes I'm afraid of death, the process is such an unknown thing and I don't like not knowing how to do things that I have to do. Mostly I'm afraid I won't have done all that I should have or could have or needed to before that day will come. That's the scariest part to me. So I'm really trying harder each day to live better, to love more and to serve more. I am really trying to find out what Heavenly Father expects of me and needs me to do each day and giving my will to him. He's made a much better person out of me than I was doing. Hopefully I still have many years here to prove myself worthy.
I first met DH's grandparents when we were dating and we lived near them when we were first married. Then we moved away and I thought we would likely never really see them again before they would be gone. But after nearly 8 years we moved back to Ut Valley and they were still here. So we decided that we would go to their home once a month for Family Home Evening to give our children the opportunity to get to know them and learn from them. After all, they couldn't be here much longer, they were old. Now it's been nearly 11 years since we moved back and that's a lot of FHE's. I'm so thankful that we have had so many years to share time with them. It has blessed our family and I know they have appreciated the consistent visits.
Grandpa, we'll miss you and your growling at the kids, trying to poke/hook them with your cane, a rousing rendition of I Had a Mule Named Willie, "Where's my left ear?", "Ohh, I can't follow your conversation, so I'll just be quiet."
We LOVE you!
So we will be attending yet another funeral this week. Thankfully, his passing was quick and relatively painless. It would seem he had a massive stroke as he was getting ready to have a bath, and he never regained conciousness. We are so happy for him to be free of the infirmities of a body that has been around for nearly a century, but sorrowful for Grandma who will now be alone. She's also 98. The burden of caring for and checking on her daily will hopefully be shared now by her children and grandchildren who live near her. She's in good health, but I wonder if she will stay around now that her main reason for getting up each day is no longer here.
I don't think I've ever contemplated death as much as I have in the last five weeks. Since President Hinckley passed away and then my grandpa and now DH's grandpa. I ponder on why I feel the need to cry for them, when in each case it has been such a blessing. Guess I've always been a blubberer. Sometimes I'm afraid of death, the process is such an unknown thing and I don't like not knowing how to do things that I have to do. Mostly I'm afraid I won't have done all that I should have or could have or needed to before that day will come. That's the scariest part to me. So I'm really trying harder each day to live better, to love more and to serve more. I am really trying to find out what Heavenly Father expects of me and needs me to do each day and giving my will to him. He's made a much better person out of me than I was doing. Hopefully I still have many years here to prove myself worthy.
I first met DH's grandparents when we were dating and we lived near them when we were first married. Then we moved away and I thought we would likely never really see them again before they would be gone. But after nearly 8 years we moved back to Ut Valley and they were still here. So we decided that we would go to their home once a month for Family Home Evening to give our children the opportunity to get to know them and learn from them. After all, they couldn't be here much longer, they were old. Now it's been nearly 11 years since we moved back and that's a lot of FHE's. I'm so thankful that we have had so many years to share time with them. It has blessed our family and I know they have appreciated the consistent visits.
Grandpa, we'll miss you and your growling at the kids, trying to poke/hook them with your cane, a rousing rendition of I Had a Mule Named Willie, "Where's my left ear?", "Ohh, I can't follow your conversation, so I'll just be quiet."
We LOVE you!
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