General Update

First I want to share that we ended up donating over $1000 to the effort to find a cure for MS. There was enough stuff leftover from the April 19 garage sale that my daughter set up, again, last Saturday. The turn out wasn't nearly as good, but she did make a few sales. She then took several items to a local resale shop and walked out with $65!

The $1000+ donation was a record for us and I can't imagine hitting that number, again, next year. This year we donated three truck-loads of stuff, so we're pretty cleaned out. And we're typically one of the biggest donators.

For all my effort, I'm now enjoying roomier and much more organized drawers and closets. I'm still frustrated with my hobby room, but, for now, that seems like a good summer project when I'm not watching the grandsons every day.

In the meantime, I'm using limited free time to continue working out more. I'm at the gym 1.5 hours every Monday and Friday. And, on most non-gym days, I walk the school track or hike a county park. Since I no longer weigh myself, I don't know if I've lost weight, but I definitely feel stronger, which was my main goal.

We're now preparing for a busy weekend. My son, who lives in Long Island, will be visiting. And my oldest grandson is making his First Communion.

Flowers and trees are blooming; the grass is bright green. It's a beautiful time of year for outdoor activities and celebrations!

News to Share

This June my daughter and son-in-law will break ground on a new home. It's a large house with over 4000 square feet of living space that includes four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a three-car garage. There should be plenty of room for everyone. But, best of all, grandma's house is just a five-minute walk away!

Hubby and I never built a house, so this experience is new to all of us. The number of decisions that have to be made almost daily is mind-boggling. And every detail has to be decided before the builder breaks ground. I've been invited to several planning meetings and asked my opinion on everything. I'm so glad I recently designed a kitchen because what I learned in the process has been extremely helpful.

The new house won't be finished before the 2014-15 school year begins, but will insure Elliott gets back in his current grade school. Every year, my daughter has had to request Elliott be allowed to attend the school near us because I watch him before and after school. Now she no longer has to worry about Elliott getting in and, in a couple of years, Jonah also being accepted.

I'm happy for Mike and Emily and proud of what they've accomplished. They've given this purchase a lot of thought, and have been extremely disciplined in saving toward this goal. It's going to be an exciting summer as we all watch their dream home become a reality!

It's a Beautiful Day!

Our MS Fundraiser Garage Sale contributed $829 to the cause. Here's hoping a cure is found in the near future.

Happy Easter!

Success!

Dressed for spring.

I'm always anxious when I decide to bring a new piece into our home. Until it's actually in place, there's no way to know for sure if it was a good decision. The latest acquisition is a display case for the small area just outside our kitchen. And I'm happy to report it's a success!

Replacing the long oak bookcase with a black piece helps tie in the living space with the new kitchen. For now, I've anchored it with our two dining room chairs that have arms. But I'm on the hunt for darker chairs with some upholstery. Something less early American and more French. I'm hoping I'll know it when I see it.

Notice the oak stair rail on the left, which
is our next project. The oak railing will
be replaced with black iron and, in the
process, brought up to code. Currently
the spindles are too far apart.

We've lived in this house for nearly 30 years and the space just outside the kitchen has always been a challenge. Our family room is split by an open stairwell to the basement. The bigger of the two areas contains the fireplace, television, and main seating area. The smaller area was meant for a game table, but that makes no sense in this day and age.

So I've decided to treat the space as a large hall or small sitting nook. Either way, I'm happy with the new display case that will be fun to redress each season.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I'd been purging and building piles all over the house for nearly two months. Finally, over last weekend, we started hauling everything to my daughter's house in preparation for Saturday's MS fundraiser garage sale. Hubby has a full-size truck and we filled it twice. One more load and we'll be done. The house is feeling much lighter and so am I!

Unfortunately, however, all that purging took a lot of time and I haven't done any "spring cleaning." Now it'll have to wait until after Easter.

We're hosting Easter brunch for my dad and daughter's family, so I need to do regular cleaning, shop for groceries, and cook. But before all that I need to do a lot of baking for the bake sale Elliott manages during the garage sale. And the boys and I will be decorating eggs this Thursday. This year I want to try a shaved-crayon technique.

Yep, it's a busy time, but all good. And I'm giddy looking forward to a summer without a major home renovation!

I'm Free!

I took the plunge this morning and had my hair cut super short. To hell with the droopy jaws and saggy neckline. I'm letting it all hangout in exchange for more time and easier hair maintenance.

Last Wednesday, my son-in-law's 66-year-old stepmom dropped dead of a heart attack. There was no warning and no history of heart disease. Life is simply too short to fuss with hair.

I'm feeling such a sense of freedom. I think I'll take my new do on a long hike this afternoon. Hello, sunshine!

2014 Read Right Run Marathon

Elliott completed the 2014 Read Right Run Marathon today. He's been a participant for three years now. The qualifying events begin shortly after the first of the year and include running Wednesday mornings before class; reading a set number of books; and doing "right" by being kind and helping others.

I'm proud of the discipline Elliott's displayed every year in completing this event. Congratulations, Elliott!

Get ready, get set, GO!

And another medal to hang on the wall!

The Massive Purge Continues

Last weekend we purchased a display cabinet for the little area just outside our kitchen. Here's a picture although ours is black not gray.

The new hutch, which we pick up Saturday, will replace three attached bookcases. That means I'm in the process of relocating items and, at long last, cleaning out the home office. 

This is one purge I put off for years because I knew it would be a big job. I'm now in day four and, so far, have four large kitchen trash bags for recycling, and a large box for shredding. 

In all honesty, it's the shredding that's caused me to procrastinate for so long. I miss the days when we could simple throw away old receipts, itemized statements, and tax documents. Now I have to shred all those pieces, which takes time, and will not be surprised if I kill another shredder in the process.

Of course there are several cons of such a big undertaking. I now have a larger pile for the April 19 MS garage sale, and the home office is much more organized. Plus I shouldn't have to do this job, again, any time soon. And, when I do, there will be much less stuff to sift through in our now mostly paperless world.

But best of all is the great feeling of relief to have rid our home of more useless stuff. For me, that's the biggest payoff of all.