DIY--Here We Go Again

Over the course of our married life, we have had more laughs than I really thought possible--and many of them have been at ourselves.

So it was today.

Saturday--the day when people with Monday through Friday jobs catch up on all things domestic. We've recently rejoined this group, most days I'm at Gracen's school doing assistant type things. I'm glad to be there, I enjoy being around the kids, and I'm thankful for the enormous amounts of grace being shown as I try to kick start my brain after 12 years out of the work force. Fortunately, it's a very relaxed atmosphere!

About a week or so ago, my sweet husband replaced the faucet in the kitchen. We discovered that it needed replacing by cleaning out the kitchen cabinets for a garage sale that the school is having in a few weeks. Jeff was cleaning out while I was making various types of bread dough to restock the freezer--and then those words, "Um, honey, hand me a towel--the cabinets are damp!"

So, the dampness lead to investigation which revealed a leaky faucet in need of replacement. Jeff goes (in the monsoon type rain, I might add) to get the faucet and proceeds to replace it. Several hours later, a very soaked husband emerged from the depths to announce that it was done.

When the leak was discovered, Jeff uttered the kiss of death, "This won't take long to replace." That lead to the words we say often around our home, "Famous last words..."

You see, God in His sovereignty lead us to a 40 year old house 7 years ago. We love our house and we love our neighborhood. But, a house of that age (like most 40+ humans I know) needs a little TLC from time to time.

And that's fine if the owners have unlimited monetary resources or grand fix-it abilities. Jeff and I have neither. (If we were of the name it and claim it religious persuasion, we'd be run out for lack of faith.)

Let me backtrack just a bit. During the monsoon type rain, during the marathon faucet replacement, I happened to notice that there was water dripping in the fireplace. Being the good wife that I am, I waited until my sweet husband emerged, drenched from the depths of the cabinet, to point to the dripping fireplace--I smiled as pointed, hoping for some sort of calming effect. He looked, said a word that I won't repeat here (as it is family friendly :) ), and went to the shower.

On this fine Saturday morning, he announced after breakfast that he was going to get on the roof and replace the chimney cap or flue or whatever. He had done enough research online to teach a small course on chimney repair. See, we aren't fixers--we're geeks!

He donned his stained, paint splattered work hat, his Marvin Martian T-shirt and set out to climb on the roof. He had one ladder with which to climb onto the roof and then a step stool type ladder with which to see the top of the chimney--and he was going to try to do all of this by himself.

I stayed inside, laughed at the thought of it all, and, in a practical moment, hoped the life insurance was paid up.

A few minutes later, Jeff came back in and reported that he felt it more prudent to let a professional handle this. I didn't ask what prompted the surge of common sense but was immensely thankful.

Now it is Saturday afternoon and we are doing what all good Southerners are doing on a Saturday in the fall. The football games are on and we are contemplating painting the hall.

Famous last words....

The Call of the Wild

Molly, Molly what are you looking at?

Proof positive that the mom in this house officially lost her mind!!

Shall I introduce you to the newest members of our family?


This is Pippen.
This is Merry. (Gracen has been watching Lord of the Rings.)

They are...hamsters...of the rodent family. The thing I said I would never have, well, along with snakes, frogs, and other reptilian creatures.

Yet, here they are--housed in a pink cage critter lodge.

How did we get here?

God blessed us with a child 10 years ago. From the very beginning she loved animals and not in the "oh they are so cute" kind of way. She was drawn to animals of almost any kind in a way that I had not seen before. Her dolls are all dolls that come with animals--and 9 times out of 10 she'll play with the animals and leave the dolls. Most of the books in our home have some kind of animal connection.

I truly believe that it is her God-given, God-designed bent. Her dream is to become a vet--it has been her dream since she was 2 and old enough to know about jobs. I don't know if that will indeed be her profession but I do know that animals in some form (and, probably, very numerous forms) will always be in her life.

Our struggle as parents has been to provide her with opportunities to learn about, enjoy, interact with animals without turning our entire home into a petting zoo--and thereby solely completely Gracen focused. In addition to learning about animals, she has to learn that a family is made up of members with different interests and hobbies.

The hamsters were a sort of consolation after it became apparent that the chick incubator wasn't going to be something we could do right now.

She and her Daddy spent much of the weekend learning about hamsters. She spent a portion of her saved money on all the "stuff"--the lodge, the food, the bedding--who knew a small hamster needed so much stuff?

And Molly, well, poor Molly has spent all of her time sitting in a chair in front of the lodge staring and whining.

I'm not sure if she wants to play with them or is hoping they will just disappear.

As a parent, I have eaten lots of words and done lots of things that I said I would not do. Here is yet another. However, there is one to which I will adamantly hold...

There. will. be. no. reptiles!

Carnival Time

Kellie is hosting a blog carnival today!

This provides an excellent opportunity to write something without actually having to come up with the subject!!

If You Came to My House Today...

You would hear the washer and dryer going. Friday is typically laundry day.

You would hear my girl coughing and sneezing...the cold has hit.

You would hear classical music from the radio.

You would hear discussion about which book to begin next. The choices? Calico Bush by Rachel Field or Lad: A Dog by Albert Payson Terhune. I'll be surprised if the dog doesn't win!

You would hear the scratch of crayons and markers on paper. Creativity seems to be bolstered by a cold.

At some point, you would hear the age old question: what's for dinner?

You would most definitely hear (probably several times a day) the click of the keyboard. The computer...our surrogate brain.

At day's end, you would hear "I love you" all around, covers pulled over a stuffy head, and the end of the week exhale.

How about you? What's going on in your neck of the woods?!

The Catch Up

This is my first post from my new computer!

After many frustrating months with a dinosaur PC, I made the leap to a Mac book. I only wish I had jumped sooner! I LOVE it!

Now, admittedly, anything probably would have been a vast improvement over what I was using but this little computer is just great. The thing that has surprised me most is truly how simple it has been to use. Jeff is probably very excited too because it means fewer calls to him for tech support!!

Another thing that has been keeping me away from the blog (in addition to lesson planning, teaching, and running the proverbial taxi service) has been preparing for something for which I feel totally inadequate. I have been asked to speak at a morning women's meeting at my parents' church (the church where I grew up).

The meeting is about 2 weeks away and the nerves are setting in and I'm beginning to wonder if I should have agreed to this! I know once everything gets going I'll really enjoy it; and at the end of it, I will be glad that I did it. In the meantime, prayers would be appreciated!!

It is FINALLY beginning to feel a little like fall around here. We had our first fall dinner on the patio tonight and are planning to do some school outside tomorrow!

Recent Pictures

I didn't intend to be away for a week. Being in the midst of homeschooling and having a leg made has made time a little tight around here!

The new leg is almost finished. There are a few more kinks to work out but it looks really cool and, most importantly, fits better. I thought that the goopy cast making process was my least favorite part of the whole process but I have been reminded of my real least favorite part. There is a period of about 4-6 weeks after first getting a new leg that it feels like just a new leg. It hasn't become part of me yet. That probably doesn't make a lot of sense but the leg does eventually become a comfortable part of me.

It hasn't happened yet but once the kinks are worked out and I can actually wear it every day it will!

I have snapped a few pictures and thought I would share them.

Biscuit and Gracen curled up together.
Gracen completed her study of the Oregon Trail and made this covered wagon to go along with it.

This brought back sweet memories for me. I remember having to have a literature project when I was in elementary school. My grandmother helped me make a covered wagon (I'm guessing we were using the Little House books as inspiration but I don't know for sure).

She had some old fabric that looked like the material of the covered wagon and we glued that to half of an oatmeal box. She even drew oxen to attach to the front. There was an old wooden spool from her sewing box for the water container on the side of the wagon. I think we glued toothpicks on for the spokes of the wheels.

This is my dishwasher after Gracen had loaded it and put in Dawn dish soap!! Bubbles came out everywhere. It was easily fixed and I was so appreciative of her willingness to help without being asked.
And this, well, this was yummy! I made 4 loaves and put them in the freezer.

The First

Our first yield from our little garden experiment. We were so excited that something actually grew!

As I looked at the garden this morning, I had the sneaking suspicion that I better start searching for zucchini recipes. There are 4 plants in the squash row; I thought 2 were yellow squash and 2 were zucchini--at least that was my assumption(though not verified in any way) when I thinned out the seedlings.

It appears as though we have three zucchini plants and one yellow squash. And I hear that zucchini can be quite prolific!! They do all have a lot of blooms on them.

It should be fun...

Around Town

Over the last few days, we have been taking in the sights around town.  Football fans will recognize the top picture!!

The President's Mansion on campus.
Denny Chimes.
Gracen has been trying her hand at tennis at one of the local courts.  She starts lessons this evening and is looking forward to it.

One of our favorite parks has an inlaid hopscotch board.
And swings that are just perfect for jumping out of!

The Fledglings

Since we have birds in the nest on our porch, Gracen has done a morning bird check to see what's new!  Yesterday morning, the nest was full of birds with eyes open and feathers.

This morning, 2 of the babies were on top of the nest flapping little wings.  We watched.
Soon they began to fly around the front porch--and Gracen.  



Needless to say, she was sad when they all flew into the yard to be with their mama, but she had a thrilling time while the 5 birds flitted around and on her!

A New Look

Many, many thanks to my sweet husband and daughter who spent most of their Saturday (while I was at a meeting) deconstructing my desk, rearranging, and running cables.

The desk I was using was certainly functional in that it held the computer.  But, as big as it was, there was no space to really work.  It functioned best as a catch-all--and because it was a corner desk, I faced the wall--not exactly a prime view!

Here's the before:

Jeff and Gracen unloaded bookcases and moved them to the corner which opened up another part of the room.  A neighbor gave us the table, which functions much better as a desk.  Now, I can see the room, see out the window and there was even room to put in a comfy reading chair.

We are still working on finding the best place for everything and the shelves still look more cluttered than I would like but all of it is stuff that we use weekly, if not daily, in school.

Thank you, again, Jeff and Gracen!!

Random Thoughts

Well, it is Friday!! The week has been fairly good. We are back in the swing of school. This semester is bringing more about the early years of the U.S., some science experiments using the new chemistry set, a study of the book of Daniel, more Latin and German, and, of course math and grammar.

Gracen is reading Swiss Family Robinson right now and loving it. I kind of had a suspicion that she would since there are many animals mentioned.

Jeff and I had a rare treat last night. We had a board meeting to attend (not the rare treat part) then went out to dinner. It was a rare treat because the place we went did not have a chicken nugget on the menu (!) and it was just the two of us. Many, many thanks to our great friends who let Gracen visit for a while.

My sister has entered the technological world! Her hubby gave her a laptop for Christmas. After much aggravation, she has internet connection (high speed is still a little hard to get where she lives) and she is loving being "connected". She now has email and a facebook page. I am so glad!

Sorry for the ordinary-ness of this post, but that (thankfully) is about all that is going on around here right now. Oh, and we are gearing up for someone's birthday--someone who will be 10 (surely that can't be right!) and wants her ears pierced for her birthday!

In Which She Hopes She Doesn't Jinx a Good Thing

It seems that every new year, we start off trying to re-evaluate what works in our home and what doesn't.

For some time, chore charts and lists have been the topic of much discussion. Gracen is very good to do responsibilities around the house--if she is reminded. There is a genetic curse that causes her (and someone else in our family--ahem) honestly not to see things that need to be done.

The other someone has learned to write things down and check off a list. Gracen is young enough to forget to check the list! I've tried many things in the past and, short of hanging the clipboard around her neck (which we didn't try), nothing seemed to work consistently.

So, since having to remind constantly about cleaning rooms, feeding dogs, etc. tends to make me feel like a nag, I decided to give a chart of some sort one last go round.

I made a small poster with 4 pockets--one each for morning, afternoon, and evening chores. There is another pocket for finished tasks. I decorated it with animals and made the pockets in her favorite color.

We are about a week into this and, so far, it has worked beautifully. Hopefully, it will last!

The Cold, Hard Facts

Update: In a final act of sheer desperation, I called the Lowe's here in town that we bought the frig from. I spoke with one of the managers (if not the store manager, I honestly can't remember). Anyway, he stopped me halfway through the story and told me to come down and pick out a new frig and they would have it delivered! He was most kind and, because they didn't have a comparable refrigerator of a different brand in stock, he upgraded (at no extra cost to us) to a different model Whirlpool. I so didn't want a Whirlpool, but didn't want to wait another week for a different brand and he said that Lowe's would stand behind it. So, we are going to give it another shot--hopefully with a much better outcome. Customer service at Lowe's gets a big thank you--I'm still not at all happy with Whirlpool's customer service. But, if everything goes smoothly, we will have a working frig in the house tomorrow!



In September, 2007, we bought a Whirlpool side by side refrigerator. Oh, how it sparkled and shined and how we loved having ice and water from the door!

Fast forward to Friday, January 18, 2008--the frig ceased working. We lost almost everything in both sides. We did what we were supposed to do--call the repair service listed in the owner's manual. They said they would come on Monday. I called Monday morning just to confirm that we were on the books. No, our request for service had been dropped (with no call to us) because they didn't service our area on Monday. Finally, on Tuesday, a repair came, spent about 10 minutes and said that the compressor was bad. He ordered another one to be shipped to our home on Friday.

Friday came and passed with no part on my doorstep. We did what we were supposed to do--called the repair service back. They didn't know where the part was. I did what I was supposed to do next--I called Whirlpool. After explaining the situation to them and being on the phone with various people over 2 hours, they agreed to next day ship a compressor to us, gave us the name of a local repair company (who has been great), issued us a $75 check to help defray some expenses and add 90 additional days to the warranty of the refrigerator.

The local repair man came and installed the compressor on Monday, January 29. Nearly 2 weeks had passed since this began. We had been living out of an ice chest (well, several). He spent nearly 3 hours installing, checking and rechecking everything. Everything was working fine.

We began to notice that the refrigerator had never made any ice and things weren't as cold. Sure enough on Friday, February 1 (4 days after compressor replacement), we lost what we had put in the freezer and refrigerator again.
We did what we were supposed to. We called Lowe's where we had purchased the frig and explained things to them. They gave us the toll free number for the Lowe's repair service. I called it and it was Whirlpool. So, I explained everything again. Also adding that since we had bought a new refrigerator, I wanted a new refrigerator--not one that was going to be completely rebuilt. We also called the local repair service again.

Now is where things began to really fall apart for me. Whirlpool won't replace the frig--even though it is obvious to anyone (even to someone as "un-mechanical as me) that the thing is defective. The warranty covers repairs. It won't be considered for replacement until 3 service calls have gone through with a fourth one pending. I can't tell you how long I have spent on the phone with Whirlpool trying to get someone to listen to reason!

So, the local guy comes again. The compressor is bad again but he doesn't think that we are dealing with a compressor issue. But, Whirlpool requires him to try everything and then call the Whirlpool tech support. His suggestion was to go ahead and put on another compressor and see if that may be the problem. He orders one and installs it on February 11 (for anyone keeping up, that's about 3 weeks after the original problem). It cooled while he was here, he tested for leaks and there were none. It stayed cool long enough for us to put drinks in. But, last night we noticed that it wasn't cool anymore.

I called Whirlpool this morning and practically begged to speak with someone who could help me, meaning someone who could make a decision. Well, I got to speak with Howard. Howard understood and was very sympathetic--so sympathetic that I had to tell him that I appreciated his sympathy but it didn't change the fact that I have a defective refrigerator in my house that Whirlpool won't stand behind.

In short, Howard told me that the local repair guy has to come to my house again, call tech support from here and go through the problem with them. Tech support will offer their advice and see if they can fix the problem. If they can't, then they will deem it unrepairable and we can then explore "replacement options". When asked what replacement options were, he told me that that would be finding a comparable model and beginning the red tape process, which from start to finish would take about 2 weeks at least. (That's going on 6 weeks without a working refrigerator in my home!)

So, the basic deal is this: we bought a new refrigerator but if tech support says it can be rebuilt and fixed, we have to accept a "rebuilt" refrigerator. Because, according to Howard, we bought a warranty--we didn't buy a refrigerator that was built to last more than six months obviously. If it is deemed unrepairable by tech support, then we (the ones who paid big bucks for a refrigerator) get to wait 2 more weeks at least while Whirlpool makes us jump through more hoops.
Oh, and as if that weren't enough...we had to buy a small frig to go in the garage to store things like milk and eggs ($135), ice to keep other things cool in the ice chest ($1.50 per bag--we're up past a dozen bags), numerous trips to the grocery store to buy "food for the day" because the little frig doesn't hold much (gas is $2.89/gallon here), plus the food that we lost (conservative guess $90). But, we got $75 from Whirlpool plus an extended warranty on a frig that doesn't work now, hasn't worked properly in a month, and may not ever work again.

After going through all this with Howard and having his full sympathy, I'm sure, I had to tell him that if I thought there was any way possible, I'd get my money back and buy a new refrigerator that wasn't a Whirlpool.

I'm truly not bitter--I'm tired. I've called everyone I can think of to call, done everything I was supposed to do and I'm still going to the garage to get milk!! I just want a refrigerator that works--and not a Whirlpool.

In Our Backyard

Saturday afternoon was a sort of lazy day around here after all the busyness of the week. Gracen was playing in the pool; Jeff and I were getting dinner ready to put on the grill. Jeff looked out the kitchen window and called my attention to something in our big oak tree.

This is what we saw:

Two of them, actually.
We were able to get Gracen's attention. She quickly (and surprisingly quietly) got out of the pool to look at our two little visitors. They appeared to be very young and alone. We watched them play in and around the tree for a while. After a bit, they finally came down and went to the flower bed next to our neighbor's house.

They sat in the flower bed and ate the dog food that Gracen threw to them. Soon, they climbed up the house and disappeared. By the time they left, Gracen had given them names, Burger and Chick (haven't got a single clue where those names came from) and was wanting to help them get back to the woods so they wouldn't be "squished" by a car.

Never a dull moment...

Piano Recital

Gracen had her piano recital on Sunday afternoon. This was her fifth recital and she was pretty nervous about this one. She had practiced, but I think she even knew that she hadn't really practiced enough. Both pieces had to be memorized and I am pretty sure that added to the nervousness she felt. She did well though, with only a bobble here and there.

Her pieces were Spring by Vivaldi and The Egyptian Ballet Dance by Saint-Saens.
She still says that she enjoys taking piano but making her practice is a struggle. She's taking the month of June off because she's got soccer camp one week and swim lessons for two weeks. I'm hoping that "absence will make the heart grow fonder" but would appreciate any ideas that you may have about practicing!

Prayers and Picky Eaters

Gracen has always been a picky eater. Peanut butter and jelly, mac and cheese, and chicken tenders top her list of mainstays. Throw in blueberry or raisin bran muffins in the morning and yogurt for desert and she's generally a happy camper.

We recently made the rule (again) that there would be no more separate meals, unless the meal is something very spicy (doesn't happen often). She would need to try one bite and would be allowed not to eat it if she absolutely didn't like it. Last night's meal was corn flake chicken (one of her favorites), mashed potatoes and steamed carrots. I put a piece of chicken, some potatoes, and one carrot on her plate.

The conversation was something like this:
G (coming into the kitchen and seeing her plate): "What's the white stuff?"
Dad: "Those would be mashed potatoes. The inside of a french fry."
G (with a doubtful look): "Oh"
Mom: "You have to try a bite."
Dad: "Gracen, say the blessing please."
G: Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this day.
Thank you for, um, this food. (I didn't look, but I'm pretty sure her nose was wrinkled up.)
Please let us have a good day tomorrow. (Real meaning, please let dinner be better.)
Amen.

With that, she took a minuscule bit of mashed potato on her fork, choked it down with Kool-Aid, and declared, "It's not bad." But not another bit went into her mouth. She did eat the carrot.

And, somewhere, in Arkansas my mother is laughing because I'm raising myself! (Yes, Mom, I ate the carrots.)

Flowers

We called these Black Eyed Susan's when I was a kid. I loved them. I always thought it looked like a big chocolate chip in the center. They grew in lots of places around my grandparents' house. I would pick handfuls of these along with any other pretty weed I could find and proudly take them in to Nanny. Nanny would smile and say thank you and would put them in a jar or a glass and put them in her window. I loved seeing those flowers displayed in her window!

Over the week, Gracen and I spent lots of time outside. One of our projects was planting--we potted several varieties of herbs. (I love the smell and have grand visions of actually using them in some gourmet dish; mostly we just smell them.) We also planted some seeds that came in the mail--free seeds that I had forgotten I sent off for. There were tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and lettuce. (I told Gracen if they grow she has to try them. I think this is the first time she's prayed for something not to grow.) We also got lots of flower seeds and among them was a packet of Black Eyed Susan's. Just seeing the picture on the front of the packet took me to my grandparents' house!

I really hope these grow.

Simple Pleasures

I think everyone has times when the days seem very monotonous. During those days, I really have to remind myself of unexpected and seemingly minor treasures. Last night, I was thinking of the simple pleasures I'd had just in the past few days.
---the really good green grapes found at the store
---reading outside
---learning to create something new (cards in this case)
---learning something, anything!
Under the learning something, anything category is playing around with my camera. I've had it for a while now and am just venturing into experimenting with adjusting lighting and shutter speed on my own. I've usually just used the preset mode. Yesterday was really pretty here so Gracen put on her Easter dress and we made pictures. The first picture was in her absolute favorite, wear it till it falls apart dress up dress.

Easter

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. Our Easter celebration began at the beginning of last week with the use of Resurrection Eggs. It's neat to see how much detail Gracen has picked up from year to year. We also attended the Maundy Thursday at church. I don't think I had ever heard of that when our church began doing it several years and now I can't imagine a year without it.

Gracen and I didn't get to go to church on Easter Sunday. She was sick (and still is) with bronchitis. She also missed the annual Easter egg hunt at church and was extremely disappointed about missing both.

We got a few Easter pictures before the illness set in though!
We dyed eggs one evening at home. Gracen really wanted to try the dye that had the glitter to put on the eggs. They were pretty for about 2 minutes before the glitter began falling off! She had fun making all sorts of eggs though.

The finished bunch!

Construction

One of the projects that has been started at our home is the construction of a metal storage building to house the lawn and tool gear. Jeff began early Saturday morning with help from Gracen. She was up at 7:00, had her teeth brushed and bed made and found her little purple tool box!

She was eager to learn to use the drill.
Our dueling drills picture.

Jeff's helper soon discovered the lizard and was gone! He'll be working on the building again this Saturday.

Bugs, Worms, Lizards and Frogs--Oh My!

We have spent a good deal of time outside in the past few weeks. Gracen has found some interesting things to watch! The weekend that Jeff mulched the front flower beds, she found a frog. She watched him jump and was fascinated by his eyes. (I didn't get close enough to know exactly what fascinated her.)

This weekend, she found a lizard and actually picked it up which was a first. This was apparently a really fun thing because she'd let him go and watch him a while and then pick him (I should say her--she named her Hazel) again!
She also found 2 caterpillars that went into her bug catcher along with some leaves. She was hoping they would build cocoons. One died; but the other appears to have already cocooned himself.

It's been a very educational week!