Dazed days and grey skies

Long-range weather predictors had forecast a warmer, drier fall for the Pacific Northwest.  I was sure hoping for that Indian summer, but alas we're just plain wet.  *sigh*  Our weather is warm, wet and windy.  And because of several wildfires in our mountainous areas last summer...landslides are an issue.  Not where we live, we're in the valley, the lowlands; but some of the areas that are common thoroughfares could get dicey if the rains continue.  

Overall, we had a hot, long and very dry summer.  A couple of weeks ago everything in our area was brown, no grass and just dead weeds.  However today, our grass has grown to 8ish inches tall, it's thick and lush.  In our yard that is.  Not so much in the pastures, but the green blanket effect is there, the horses just keep it nipped short.  Amazing how quickly our grasses rebound with just a little bit of moisture.  The rains we're expected to get today and in the coming week is more than a little bit though...1-2" today and tomorrow alone, with plenty of wind.  Our weathermen are super excited.  They actually have something to report.  

We kept the horses inside today.  Just doesn't make any sense to have them outside getting soaked and trying to crowd together inside the shelters.  That's when difugalties take place.  Harley will get new wounds and Kadie and Shad will get pushed outside.  They could go to the other shelter, but they always want to be together.  So...our evening will be spent doing double-duty in the stalls.  Most of the time I don't mind it, but I haven't been sleeping very well, and I'm tired.  Just plain tired and a bit cranky today.  Business at the clinic remains slow and that doesn't help.  Having nothing substantial to do all day does nothing for my energy levels after I get home.  

MH and Justin did get the pellet stove installed last weekend.  For a while there, it was touch and go.  The auger that feeds the pellets was totally frozen, and they'd almost given up hope of getting it freed up when it broke loose.  They did a thorough cleaning and re-painted the top and front areas of the stove.  It looks beautiful and is working wonderfully now.  I'm so glad because replacing it right now would have been out of the question.  It's the little things that make me happy!  Warmth is one of those things.  :)

This week we're picking up our winters' supply of bedding and then loading up the truck with junk that we need to haul to the dump soon.  And aside from cleaning out my garden boxes, hopefully that will be the end of outside "getting prepared for winter" projects.  The season has come for inside jobs, and heaven knows there are plenty of those too.  That's a good thing I suppose, because as I've mentioned before, being idle makes me crazy!  Before you know it, the holidays will be upon us.  Just where has this year gone to!?  I know, I'm like a broken record on that subject!!  

Well, that's it for now.  Tonight the little blue sleeping pill will be my friend, and hopefully I'll get a good nights' rest and as my momma always used to say..."Tomorrow is a brand new day!".  

Blessings, Lorie

One never knows what's lurking beneath the surface...

I'm starting out with a few random photos that have absolutely nothing to do with today's post. 

 Just because I want to!

My precious daddy with Molly as a pup, and our dear dog, Susie.  All gone, but never to be forgotten.

My beautiful Annie

Love o' my life - Ladde

Patch - our "puss among the posies".

Well, my hard working hubby has finished the painting project in the living room.  It looks awesome!!!  :)  Color me a happy, happy gal.  And once again, I'm pondering the same question - why did we wait so long to re-paint???  Seems to always be at the forefront of my thoughts after I see how big of a difference a coat of new paint offers.  Quite the conundrum.

The walls look rich.  There is simply no comparison.  Perfect color choice.  My arm hurts a little from patting myself on the back.  *sigh*  :)

We still have to buy, paint and install the trim boards, but we'll do that after the new flooring is in.  We're going to go pick up the flooring this weekend.  I can't wait!!

Which is all leading to the carpet.  The old, nasty, dirty carpet.  Hubby has got about half of the old stuff ripped out...and Lord in heaven! - What a disaster!!  I had no idea what was lurking beneath our carpet all this time.  Oh my!!  It is shocking!  It is nasty!!  I don't know if I will ever have carpet again!!  Seriously.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There was so much powdery dirt under there.  I vacuum.  I swear, I do!  And after raising several puppies over the past 19 years in our home, dirt wasn't the only remaining culprit.  Oh dear.  Yes, there are some piddle stains on the floor below, and the smell.  How do I describe a cross between old, stale, dog urine mixed in with a sour, mildewy scent?  I think you get the picture.  How in the world could we not smell that in our house?  Somebody tell me that, because as far as I knew, our home did not smell.  Please....tell me it didn't smell like that!  Now, I cannot wait to get the rest of that out of my house!  I mean pronto!!!

And before we begin laying the new flooring, we are painting the entire floor surface to seal it.  It just seems like a good idea.  *sigh*

But, I degress.  The project is coming along nicely.  I cannot wait to unroll the new area rugs and see what they're really going to look like.  I'll post pics soon.  Then I can start shopping for bamboo blinds for the windows, new curtains and some new chairs, possibly even a small table.  No wonder these projects always end up costing way more than what I budget for.  Sheesh!

I think I had a nightmare about a giant germ that used to live beneath our carpet last night...he was very upset, and he was chasing me...

*gulp*

The goin's on these days...

Here we are at Friday afternoon again...thank heavens!  It's been a pretty good week overall, but I've had a few trials thrown my way, and I haven't been sleeping very well - so I'm looking forward to a little home time.

My car is giving me fits...we thought it was needing a new battery, but I'm not so sure about that now.  The battery guy put his charger on it and the car wouldn't turn over at all.  Presently, I'm stuck at the clinic until my hubby rescues me later.  I still have 2 hours before closing time, so I'm not really stranded at all.  And I guess I'm thankful that it happened here where I have heat, lights, a computer and my dogs.  Right?

Anyway, we have the weekend to try and get the old gal back on the road, and in the meantime I'll be driving the truck.  It'll be good to get Big Grey back on the road and blow a little carbon out of the engine - that's what my dad always said.  :)

Last Tuesday was my birthday.  Yep, I'm officially 54 years old now...and I'm perfectly content with my age. I had to go into DMV and get my license renewal; new picture and all.  Have you noticed how much bigger the picture is now?  It's huge by comparison!  It's just this big, old face and not much else now...oh goody.  But surprisingly, there's not much change in the last 8 years, or at least you can't really tell by the picture.  :)  Cuz, let me tell you this - there have been lots of changes in the past 8 years!

My dear hubby took me out for dinner - my choice.  I picked the local Pub.  We had cheeseburgers and nachos.  Perfect!  My dear friend Claudia sent me a beautiful bouquet of tulips...so pretty!  The orange ones actually smell like oranges.  Isn't that something?  Another dear friend took me out to lunch - we had Mexican and a wonderful visit.  And, I received lots of birthday wishes from friends and family.  A lovely birthday!  I didn't even have cake, aren't you proud of me?  I've been saving that for this weekend!  My hubby and I are going out for a seafood dinner with my sis and bro in law and this restaurant has wonderful deserts...I'm going to splurge just a wee bit.

As far as our living room makeover goes, dear hubby is making good progress.  Ceiling is finished and looks great!  All trim and curtain hardware has been removed, and putty repairs have been made.  We have one wall finished and I'm absolutely loving the new color!!  It looks so rich compared to the stark white.  I was a bit concerned that it might be a little dark for the room, but it is just perfect.  And...I've double-checked on the laminate flooring and it's still readily available.  We're going with the same flooring we chose for the kitchen.  It's fairly dark and has a rustic, farmhouse appearance.  I love it.  Highland Hickory.  We're going to replace all the trim boards with more period correct type trim, and that will be painted a warm off-white.  I'm thinking it will contrast nicely with the gorgeous, rich wall coloring and the dark wood floors.  Then - I'm going to put a large area rug down in the main seating area near the pellet stove and the entertainment area.  I've found the rug I want at Costco...just might go and buy it this weekend, or at least check them out more closely and then buy it online.  I discovered yesterday that the online price is $40 less than in-store.  Can't beat that, and shipping is included.  I'm so excited!!

And then...comes the bedroom re-do.  Ssshhh!!  Don't tell my hubby, he just might string me up!!  :)

As a thank-you to him for doing all this work, I'm planning on surprising him with a new tv.  I'm thinking one of those large - 72" or so, flat panel tv's that make everything look so much more colorful and realistic.  Hopefully we can mount it up on the wall and save even more space by not having the big entertainment center in this half of the room.  Then we can add another chair or two, creating a nice conversation area which will accommodate a few more people comfortably.   Did I mention that I'm excited!?

In other news, our weather has been just outstanding.  Really.  It's been dry and sunshiney for the most part, and grey and fogged in some of the time.  But the temps are brisk, but not freezing.  We're in a very unusually dry weather pattern, and since there's nothing we can do about the weather, might as well enjoy it.

The horses are all doing very well.  They're fat, hairy and pretty much sassy frasses.  Ladde has been doing his utmost best at creating his specialized look of being chocolate-dipped.  *sigh*  Do you realize just how long, and how much effort it takes to scrape thick, dried-on, grass-encrusted mud off of a 17 hand white horse????  Ha! - White - I'm using that term lightly here.  Oh well, whatcha gonna do?

And my old, precious girl, Kadie.  She will be 30 years old this coming May, and she's doing great!  She's holding her weight well, eats all her senior feed and vitamins, all of her alfalfa but the sticky parts, and eats some of her grass hay.  She eats the grass hay much better when it's served up outside for breakfast, as that's all she gets.  :)  The point is, her teeth are fine, and she can still eat forage.  She's even been laying down more, which is a good sign that her hocks aren't as stiff or painful as they once were.  The joints are probably fully fused now, and when she lopes (which isn't often), she has this short-strided little bunny-hop lope that's just too cute.  She's too cute!  She's as fuzzy as a bear, still has a twinkle in her eye, and is quite opinionated about most things.  She's just simply an angel, with a little attitude!  Love her so much...

In fact, all the horses are doing just great.  Harley hasn't had any injuries lately, and that's always a reason to be thankful.  My neighbor did tell me that just yesterday, he ran into the perimeter fence when all the horses, (including him) were running around and playing.  She checked him out, and determined that no harm had been done.  *sheesh*  All I can say is that, I am so very, very thankful that I do not know what transpires out in that pasture when we're not around.  I would be a nervous wreck!!  Further proof that my morning ritual of sending up prayers for their protection every single day - is working.  Uh-huh.  I know that.

Weather is supposed to be spectacular this weekend.  We're working on the painting, going out for dinner and maybe making a trip to Costco...other than that, who cares?  We're free birds and have no real agenda!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!!!

Lorie @ Cingspots

Hazy days of fall

Harley (enemy of toes)

It's been one of those days that started out good, but has quickly led to discouragement for me.  One of my family members was stupid enough to breed her mutt dog and produce 9 puppies of which she has advertised on Facebook for $450 each.  Yeah right!  What some people will justify for purely selfish reasons like financial gain.  I could never be so irresponsible as to purposely produce so many little lives when there are so very many puppies everywhere in need of loving homes.  Just chaps my hide to no end!!!  Grrrrr!!!

Onward and upward.  Our weather lately has been more dry than wet, which is good.  The trees have mostly shed their leaves and are taking on the stark appearance of winter.  The skies are mostly grey, fog is plentiful and the temperatures are on the coolish side.  Not cold, but cool enough that a fire in the hearth feels really good.  It's a little surprising really, that we're in mid-November and we're still sleeping with a bedroom window open all night.  Nice!  And Thanksgiving is just around the corner...how the time does fly!

Kadie 29-1/2 years old...with a belly.  :)

We're back to ordering fresh fruit and veggies from Bountiful Baskets every other week.  Last week was our first one since last spring, and it didn't disappoint.  We got a head of cabbage, apples, tangerines, spinach, mushrooms, a coconut, bananas, lettuce, tomatoes and some asparagus.  I might be forgetting something, but I think that was just about everything.  And so far, everything has been delicious!

I had leftover beef broth heavy with onions from a pot roast that we had last week.  So, I sauteed the mushrooms with a little garlic in some butter and added a can of mushroom soup to the beef broth; added a little thickener and had a nice sauce that I served over egg noodles.  Yum!  As a side, I steam/fried the cabbage in a fry pan with an inch or so of water and a smidge of bacon grease and seasoned it with salt and pepper.  So good!  That was our dinner last night, and we'll be enjoying leftovers tonight.   I love leftovers!

I'm recovering from a squished pinky-toe on Monday morning.  Today I actually wore real shoes, but after a couple of hours was thankful that I'd brought my soft slippers to change into.  Maybe tomorrow...anyway, I was preparing to lead Harley out of his stall for breakfast.  I threw a lead around his neck and wasn't quite prepared when he immediately moved forward.  Note to self:  be mindful of where your toes are when dealing with a blind horse.  Live and learn.  The real bummer is that I got new winter boots that look all warm and cozy, and I haven't even been able to try them out yet.  New boots and I can't wear them - now that's a drag!  :)

It's supposed to be all stormy this coming weekend.  Winter storm warning and all that...nowadays it's always a storm blowing in when we're expected to get wind and rain.  That's pretty normal for fall in the Willamette Valley, I think.  We have no plans, except maybe unload some more firewood from the trailer into our wood shed and Friday after work I'm picking up my paint order for our living room project.  Before we get to the actual painting, I need to box up everything, including everything from the walls and prepare for a room in chaos again.  I'm seeing a trip to Goodwill in my future.  I'm really looking forward to the renovation because I think it will look beautiful (hopefully!), definitely an improvement; but if I'm honest, I am not anxious to do the work, or have our living room in disarray.  *sigh*  What I'd really like to do, is call up a professional and just have the work done.  But, that's definitely not in the budget.  Oh well, we'll just make the best of it and try to think of this as another one of life's learning curves/adventures.  Yep, that's what I'm telling myself...over and over and over.  :)

We have no plans for Thanksgiving yet, so maybe it will just be the two of us at home.  I will always cook a turkey over the long Thanksgiving weekend because it's so nice having all those wonderful leftovers, but I'm not going to invite guests over this year.  We hosted the family gathering last year, and I'm not anxious about doing all the cooking and cleaning this year.  Uh-huh.  No way.  I envision something much more casual and relaxed this year.  A real holiday.

So, overall we're preparing to settle in and get some work done, beautify where we can, take naps when all else fails and keep on, keeping on.  And as always, we are thankful for so many blessings in our lives.  A warm cozy home, more than we need of everything that we need, healthy and happy horses, dogs, cats and llama.  Can't forget Merlin!  :)  Hopefully you are all feeling the love and blessings that we are, during this time of year when we pause to reflect on all the wonderful things in our lives that we should be grateful for.

Until next time,
Lorie and the gang at Cingspots

Whistling while we work

I've got several ideas and plans rattling around in my head these days...I usually do, I think.  Anyway, with our weather taking a rather dramatic turn for the more typical fall weather in the Pacific NW, we're preparing to focus our attentions on the inside, rather than being outside as much.  Just for the record, our weather during the entire month of October was fabulous!!  We were so blessed to have spent some time at the beach and got to enjoy the last of our spectacular, warm, sunny and dry fall.  I've always said that come November, all bets are off weather-wise!  The first several days in November were greyer, and we even experienced a little precipitation, but nothing exciting.  Now that we're over a week into the month, things are normalizing. These days we're frequently experiencing fog, grey skies, rain, wind and mud.  We've also had several days with a few breaks of blue skies, fluffier clouds and a little sunshine; but nothing like glorious October.  But, I'm thankful.  In fact, the skies have been dramatic and anything but ordinary, so we take the blessings anywhere we can.  And it's been warm.  We're still sleeping with our bedroom window open to let in the cool, night-time breeze.  It feels wonderful to snuggle inside the covers while feeling the cooling and refreshing breeze on my face as I sleep.  I love it!

So, as I was saying about having ideas ratting around in my noggin...  I do.  I've got plans for renovating our living room in the works.  I am so excited!  We're going to remove all traces of the cheap, nasty-looking fake oak trim everywhere and replace it with the more appropriate for our house's style with 3/4 x 4" flat trim boards.  I've decided on Sherwin-Williams Dover White 6385.  It's considered a warm white, and we've also used that same trim color in our kitchen, entry way and laundry room.  For the walls, I've got a few selections to consider, but they're all in the warm neutrals family of beige and we're choosing a couple of shades darker for the ceiling color...probably SW 6142 for the ceiling and SW 7569 Stucco on the walls.  Our living room is a fairly large, rectangular-shaped room with three windows and the front door.  The pellet stove and brick work are on one end and that's where we usually congregate during the cooler, fall and winter months.  So, my hopes are to create a more cozy and intimate feeling of welcome when you enter the room.  When we moved into our house almost 18 years ago, every single wall in the entire house, upstairs and down, was painted a bright white and had (still do) tan carpeting.  Talk about boring!  The carpet is disgusting!  I've had it cleaned several times and there's simply nothing more that can be done with it.  It's got to go.  I considered replacing it with new carpeting, but have since decided to go with laminate/fake wood instead.  I'll more than likely use the same choice that I did for our kitchen and nook/woodstove room.  It's a fairly dark and rustic-looking flooring in the shade of walnut, but not quite that dark.  It has a very slight reddish tone to it, but is truly more in the brown family.    With the darker flooring, I still need to keep the walls fairly light, but I definitely want warm/neutrals.  I hope these color choices will look nice with our reddish-toned leather couch and loveseat.  At some point, I'll get a large area rug for the seating area.  My many throw pillows are also in the rich, dark reds, blacks and tans of what would probably be considered kind of a Southwest earthen tone??  I'm not sure, it's kind of difficult to describe, but you get the gist, right?

The one wall where the pellet stove is located is the only wall that's not painted white right now.  And I'm still in a bit of a quandary as to what to do with it.  Right now, it's paneled in a very light, (almost maple) bead board.  Maybe I'll do the painting and then decide what to do with that wall.  We could leave it as it is, remove the bead board and paint it the same as the other walls, or paint it in a contrasting color.  What to do?  Right now I'm just focusing on getting the new paint up and the new flooring and trim boards in before making a decision on that wall.  It's probably going to become a much bigger project that what I'm envisioning...that always seems to happen!

If we can accomplish this project and still haven't committed hari-kari, then it's on to our bedroom...I have definite plans already in place for that, but won't go into them right now.  First things, first.  :)

In other news that isn't news, we're still working, still interacting and caring for our horses every day (feisty, fat and furry), and maintaining everything that comes along with home ownership and rural properties.  No rest for the wicked, I'm afraid!

We just cut and stacked in our wood shed, a cord of fir for our stash.  This weekend we're getting 2 more cords of oak firewood, and that will be it for this year.  That should be more than we actually need to get through this winter, but it doesn't go bad, and it'll be nice having a little extra to layover for the next year.

We got our order of a quarter beef.  Not only does it look mighty good in our freezer, but it's really tasty as well.  We're very, very happy with the quality and the flavor of this meat.  So...the pantry and the freezer are well-stocked.  The wood shed will be full with beautiful firewood very soon, and we will then, turn our energy and attention to inside projects.  No, we never get bored!  We're feeling especially blessed and as ready as is possible for the coming winter weather...barn full of hay, plenty of bedding on hand, pellets for our stove on hand, plenty of firewood in the wood shed, pantry and freezer well stocked.  I even found lamp oil for our kerosene lamps and have plenty of candles if we ever have an electrical outage.  Yes indeed, feeling very blessed!

And that's about all she wrote!  Until next time, Lorie @ Cingspots

Happy Fall everybody...hope you find good ways to keep your hands and minds busy, and your hearts at peace.

A flurry of activities

That's putting it mildly!  These last few weeks, I've been feeling slightly overwhelmed and not on top of my game.  I've got too many irons in too many fires and feel somewhat scattered, for lack of a better description.  I don't do well being so distracted.  More familiar and comfortable territory for me is a clear mind, routine, and knowing what my day will (mostly) be like when my feet hit the floor in the morning.  I really don't like surprises.  And I really dislike disruption.  It makes me feel all wonky and out of control.  Maybe I am a little bit of a control freak.  Hmm...I don't like to admit that, but maybe just a little.

So, like I mentioned in my last post, we have sold our big horse trailer.  It's gone.  :)  I don't even miss it; yet.
The first time we go horse camping and I have to sleep in a tent, I'll probably cry like a baby.  I loved the bed in the big trailer.  All plump and cushy, positively luxurious accommodations for camping!  Ahh well, we can't have everything.  Anyway, cash was (briefly) in hand *sigh*, but has been handed over to the bank.  Our loan is paid in full.  House re-fi is in progress.  I have fulfilled all my obligations and the ball is in their court.  We're hoping for a closing sometime in May, I think.  That means no house payment in June.  :)  See me smiling about that?  That money will go back into our savings account.  Most of our savings will be used paying for our new hay supply, but I'm thankful we have the money to pay for it.  Occasionally, I remind myself how much more expendable cash we'd have without so many horses.  Oh well, I can't imagine life without our horses.  It's only money.  And money can't buy me love!

Our house remodel work is finished.  Yep, totally and completely finished.  They showed up in full force on Tuesday morning, April 23rd and when I arrived at home on Thursday evening, April 25th, they were just finishing up with the debris clean-up.  Seriously!  They were fast, very efficient and their quality of work is outstanding.  We are completely and 100 percent happy and totally satisfied with everything.  Everything is beautiful, and looks so much better.  I really can't believe it's all done.

But of course, like so many projects, doing one thing quickly leads to another thing, and another and another.  You know how that goes, right?

We noticed that the paint was looking a little dingy.  So we bought new paint.  We're now in the process of repainting the laundry room and the mudroom completely, including the newly replaced trim boards.  I need to wash all the windows because that's so much easier when the room's empty.  May as well pull the curtains down and launder those too...see what I mean?  Plus...we discovered that our washing machine was leaking onto our already dry-rotted old subfloor.  So, the old machine's definitely NOT going back onto our beautiful new flooring.  Ca-ching!!  We're going washing machine shopping this weekend.

The old door knobs looked positively shabby on the beautiful new entry door.  So, I purchased a new door knob set for that, and all the hallway, bathroom and closet doors as well.  They look so much better when everything matches.  *sigh*  I just had to have a new door mat too....seriously, just shoot me already!!  I need help!!

Not to mention that our kitchen stove and fridge, in the glaringly bright sunlight on the deck...did not look so good.  I swear I do clean it regularly.  I pinky swear I do!!  It took me the better part of an afternoon just scrubbing them to pass muster.  Oh my aching back!!  But, we're beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.  We've got the stove, fridge and kitchen table and chairs back in place.  It's starting to feel like a home again.

Oh, and my husband.  You know, the one who doesn't care about anything; leaves the designing and color choices, that sort of thing, entirely up to me?  That guy decides that since our bathroom door is painted "Dove White", that the entry closet door really should be painted to match.  It would look much better. So...we removed that door, sanded it and are in the process of repainting it as well.  One thing just leads to another!  We're tired.  And every single day, I swear, the grass in our yard grows by about 6".  No kidding!!  I'm ready to let the horses come up and do some mowing work for us.  We're falling totally behind in the yard work department.  Oh ya, and our weed eater bought the farm and died, no hope for a resurrection there.  So, that's right, you guessed it!  We bought a new one!  Ca-ching!!  Our savings account is dwindling so sharply it's beginning to look like Wall Street.  *sigh*

But, we did have a wonderful evening out this past Tuesday evening.  Just Biff and I for a welcome date night..  We ate dinner at a favorite Salem restaurant and then attended the Don Williams concert at the historic Elsinore Theater.  It was wonderful!!  A relaxing evening out, away from home and all our duties there.  What a welcome treat that was!  *sigh*

Oh, and just as a quick side note...as of this past Monday, I've lost 10 pounds.  Whoohoo!!  I'm so happy about that.  Seeing some progress will further my resolve to continue towards my goal.  :)

I'm a happy, stressed out, tired gal.  And I promise.  As soon as we're finished painting and whatever else we decide just has to be done, and the furniture's back in place...I'll post the "after" pictures.  I promise!!

Blessings all,
Lorie @ Cingspots

p.s.  Almost 3 weeks ago now, we took Eagle to a clinic and he made us both so, so very proud!!!  It was a remarkably productive and positive day for him.  My boy is coming along and I couldn't be more pleased and proud of him.  :)

Whoohoo!! It's official!!

**happy dance**  I'm finally feeling secure enough to reveal my long-awaited good news.  We have sold our big horse trailer!  Oh yeah!!  That means a lot of different things for us.  In fact, this whole deal has turned out to be one very unexpected and multi-faceted blessing that we couldn't have anticipated or even imagined.  A true blessing!!

The guy that's buying our trailer has Fresians and Gypsy Vanner horses.  Incredibly beautiful horses!  In only my wildest dreams have I ever imagined having a Fresian.  They are so beautiful in fact, that I can usually only watch them through tears, that's how much emotion they emit from my soul when I see them.  Truly gorgeous and elegant movers.  But before we go any further, yes he did offer a young Fresian to me as part of the deal, but I said no.  Heaven knows we don't need any more horses!  But, for a tiny amount of time, my heart did dare to dream about the possibility...if only for a moment and only in my mind, I galloped bareback, glossy mane flying,  through a grassy meadow on the back of a jet-black phantom horse I called Gypsy.  *sigh*

Hmmhuh, sorry.  Back to reality.  Yeah well, it was fun while it lasted.  Anyway, we did eventually strike a deal that was pleasing to both parties involved.  Juan is also a contractor.  He owns a construction business and specializes in home remodeling.  My eyes begin to twinkle...he asks me, "is your home everything you want it to be?".  Are you kidding me?  Our little house needs lots of work, there's plenty of room for improvement.  We've just never got enough money, time, expertise, patience, energy...need I go on?  Then there's the likely event of a murder taking place between my husband and me.  We have differences in how we think things ought to be done.  You understand, I'm sure.  I invite Juan inside...

So we struck a deal for some cash and some work to be done in our house.  Specifically, they're going to demo our floor in the laundry room, which has dry rot.  Replace some needed joists and build a new sub-floor.  They're going to re-enforce the floor in our kitchen nook (wood stove room) and rebuild the sub-floor there also; it sags a bit.  They are replacing the flooring in the laundry room, the entryway (mudroom) and the pantry with new vinyl of my choice.  They're also replacing the flooring in the kitchen and the wood stove room with new laminate (fake hardwood) of my choice, and replacing all the base trim and the adjacent bathroom door facing trim, and we're getting a new front door too!!  Oh my gosh, I never would have expected such an immense amount of work to be completed; and by someone other than ourselves!!  I'm still in shock.  I haven't been sleeping well.  I make flooring decisions in my dreams.

And, we're getting enough cash to pay off some bills, enabling us to refinance our home at no cost at all.  That in itself will save us over $50,000 in interest over the life of our loan, cut our payments by over 5 years and cut our interest rate almost in half, while reducing our monthly payment by about $90.00 - can you believe it?  I am completely humbled by our good fortune, and overwhelmed with gratitude.  The overall value of our home will be increased, and it will be much closer to market-ready if and when we decide to sell and relocate.  It's simply better than we ever could have hoped for.

I'm going to try to remember to take a few pictures of the before and then of the after.  We're in the process of moving all our large appliances and furniture out to prepare for the work to begin next week.  I'm horrified by how bad it really looks without everything in its' place.  My husband found a mouse nest.  Good grief.

I'm also mildly concerned about the prospect of showering without a hot water heater.  And we may be eating cold sandwiches on paper plates for a while.  But that's alright.  We're thinking of this as one of life's little adventures.  Building a memory and all that...counting our blessings.

It's all good...

Until next time, Lorie @ Cingspots

Glorious Fall and the art of list making

Well hello there.  I'm feeling quite blessed and ever so thankful today.  We've been experiencing simply glorious fall weather these last couple of weeks.  Our temps have cooled to the 70's by day and lower 40's by night.  Perfection in my book - absolute perfection!!  We're still sleeping with our bedroom window open at night, but it's just the one, not both windows.  We still haven't had a frost, but they're predicting one possibly tonight.  If so, technically we'll be having our first true "Indian Summer" in quite a number of years.  Oh, my favorite time of year!!  It just doesn't get any better than this!!  It's days like these that I'm reminded that we really do live in the perfect place.  

Anyhoo, as you may or may not know...I'm a famous list-maker.  Just ask my husband.  He'll vouch for me.   He may add a few curses here or there, but vouch, he will.  

Ever since my husband's lay-off from work over 2 months ago, my list-making skills have been getting plenty of honing.  Let's just say he hasn't gotten the chance to get bored yet.  So, you take this magnificent fall weather, my habit of list-making, a husband at home during the day while I'm at work, and my "squirreling" tendencies this time of year...he's been one busy feller!  Whew!!! (wipes brow)

So friends, without further adieu...the following pictures represent some of our my hubby's accomplishments so far this season.  He's making a habit out of telling his friends (and anybody else who'll listen) that despite his working harder around home than he ever did at his job, that amazingly enough, his "to do" list just keeps growing...ahem.  

Seriously, the man's imagination is out of control!!

 See those racks on our truck?  My hubby made those out of lumber scraps we had lying around.  All the better to hold more wood dearie.  This is almost a cord of seasoned, cut and split black walnut which we'll be adding to our ever-growing collection of firewood for the winter.  Thank you Craigslist!!  All we had to do was go pick it up and it's ready to burn!!

 This pile already stacked in our woodshed, is maple.  Again, found the ad on Craigslist.  The trees were down in piles and we had to cut to length and split.  Splitting seasoned maple is tough.  But it's all done now. On the opposite wall there is a nicely stacked cord of white oak all ready to burn.  Hmmmm, winter warmth!!  I love it!  We still need to get some fir.  All these other types of wood are hard woods, but you need some good old fir to burn hot and keep the others going.

 That pile of bricks there represents another of my Craigslist finds...vintage bricks awaiting our off the deck patio we're going to build.  I'm still hoping to complete that project before winter, but who knows...

 The newly cleaned and stained deck...we did this last weekend.  I helped, but the credit needs to go to my hardworking husband, who did most of the work.

We've had the natural, aged cedar for so many years, that it was a bit of a shock seeing all this red...it's called "brick red".  I'm not in love with this color, but with time, I think it'll grow on me.  More importantly, it's an oil-based semi-transparent stain that should protect from water and UV rays from the sun.  We get so much enjoyment and use out of this deck, we're hoping it will last for many more years to come.

The natural, aged cedar railings that await staining...so many projects, so little time.  *sigh*  They never do end, do they?

And, finally - my new kitchen counter tops!!!!  I take no credit for this project whatsoever...other than picking the stone from a total of (2) choices, my hubby did all the work.  I stayed out of his way.  I tried to stay out of his way.  Last winter we repainted the kitchen walls, ceiling and cabinets, added new hardware and new curtains...only the flooring remains.  Remember what I said about those projects never ending???

Sooooo much better.  I really do love it!!!  Oh, and my kitchen sink and faucets are new last winter too.  The kitchen sink is actually new to us.  It was a take-out from a kitchen job from a client.  Even the stone was left over from a client's job.

A closer view of my pretty granite counter...Blanco Antiquo.  It has tiny pieces of garnet and shiny, gold veins and some translucent agate type rock that looks like pools.  It's so pretty, and I'm so happy with it!!

The wall above the back splash we (my husband) replaced as well.  This is a porcelain tile from Italy that I found on sale.  I'd actually put this all over the kitchen floor if it was affordable, but I only needed 15 squares...too expensive for the entire space that needs to be re-done.  

One week ago today, Shad had a colic episode.  Thankfully.  So thankfully, he is doing well and seems no worse for the wear.  It was a scary day.  We're so thankful for all the prayers, kind words and warm thoughts.  

Ladde and his beloved "Uncle" Shad sharing supper.  Ladde was so concerned for Shad when he wasn't feeling good, he tried to stand very, very close and would periodically lick Shad's lips.  And some people don't believe that horses can love each other.  I heartily disagree.  I for one, believe they do.

This would have been a beautiful sunset picture minus the power line.  Oh well...it's still beautiful I guess.  We've had so many beautiful evenings lately, perfect for backyard bonfires and friends sitting under the starlit sky...maybe this weekend.  My husband's youngest son Justin and his family will be staying with us for a couple of days.  I'm picturing the campfire, roasting hot dogs, marshmallows and grandkids.

Sounds good.  Oh, and no working on projects this weekend...we're taking a couple of days off to relax and enjoy.

Blessings everyone,
Lorie @ Cingspots

Horses, family and kitchens, oh my!

Last night was another very good session with Eagle.  And no, I've still not mounted him yet.  Last Friday, it was hotter than the dickens after work and very windy.  Eagle was a little snorty and I didn't feel like it was the right time for our first ride.  So, we did some groundwork instead, and he was a star pupil.  I worked with him again early Saturday morning before it got so hot, but the winds were already gusting.  What is it about wind that always causes horses to be so goosey?  Just one of those things, I guess.  Anyway, I worked with Eagle again last night and it was much cooler, and there was no wind.  I had Ladde saddled and waiting in the wings, so just worked with Eagle naked.  We did a bunch of work from the top of the roundpen, sliding my feet all over his rump and back and getting him to step up into good mounting position.  One thing I love about Eagle, is he's usually timid and unsure of something at first, but as soon as he figures out what you're asking, he's got it.  Lesson learned, and he doesn't forget.  After he "gets it", I usually walk away from him for a few minutes and let him "soak" for a while.  That's it.  Lesson has been firmly entrenched in his amazing mind.  I love that about him!

Ladde dozing while awaiting his turn...

After working with Eagle, I just turned him loose in the roundpen and rode Ladde for a while.  His toes are long, he's sorely in need of a refit, which causes him to be a bit stumbly.  So, we just did some walk trot transitions and a lot of relaxed walking and two tracking across the ring.  He was spot on once again.  Eagle kept tabs on what we were doing, but never interfered even once.  Instead, he concentrated on weed management in the roundpen.  Such a good fellow.

 Eagle, ever the curious fellow, checking out the saddle.

 Ladde wondering when the treats were going to be passed out, since he was such a good boy...

 Here's Harley enjoying his supper.  He's been soooo lovable lately.  Not sure what's gotten into him.  But, it's cute - he likes to put his upper lip on your cheek and he raises it and makes it all stiff and wiggles it around on your cheek, chin, whatever.  I trust Harley...but not totally, you always have to be on guard for the telltale lip smacking sound of his mouth opening widely for a sneaky bite.  :)  He does it ever so slowly, which I guess is his forewarning you that the devil's about to make him wanna bite.  Ya gotta love the little turd!  Even before his blindness, almost every day he'd be sporting some new scratch, scrape or something.  I always felt sorry for him until I figured out exactly why.  We don't refer to Harley as the "fly in the ointment" for nothing, if you catch my drift.  :)

This is Lilly.  Or, Little Lilly as I refer to her.  She is my great-great niece.  Lilly just turned 2 years old.  She's so sweet that sugar won't melt in her mouth...mostly.  Same child that just told Shelley, my niece (her grandma) that she "tinks" when Shelley was singing along with the car radio.  Where do they come up with this stuff?

 Another great-great niece, and Lilly's big sister...Arieanna.  She's just 12 years old, but the girl's already 5'7" tall.  Good golly but she's got some long legs on her.  Some gals have all the luck!!

 This is Shelley, my niece and my sister's oldest daughter.  We were celebrating Shell's 50th birthday and having a family BBQ.  Kendall, on the right is Shell's oldest daughter, Kendall - Arieanna and Lilly's momma. Good grief, I'm feeling old right about now...  Shelley and I grew up like sisters and we're just 2-1/2 years apart.  There, I feel a little bit better now.  :)

A family tradition we all enjoy...eating!!

I'm hoping to have some more pictures of our kitchen counter top project posted here soon.  Yesterday, I picked out some 12x12 tiles to go above the backsplash.  I think they're a pretty good match and will look better than just painting above the 4" backsplash.  It will make wiping down easier too.  The granite is in and I've got to say that I absolutely love it!!!  It looks so much better than it did before. Just can't wait to get the sink back in.  Have I mentioned lately how much I miss having a kitchen sink?????  *sigh*  Doing dishes in the bathroom is for the birds - seriously.

Anyway, soon...

Cingspots

Ya gotta go through it, to get past it...

Home remodeling sucks.  There, I've said it.  I can also say that I totally and absolutely hate it.

I do not do well with chaos.  I'm uncomfortable with change.  I'm a creature of habit and I generally consider myself a homebody.  Ones' home should be ones' sanctuary...am I right?

*sigh*

Which is why, this sort of thing makes me more than mildly uncomfortable...

Tools all over the place.  Plywood where my counter top once was...

More tools, and paint cans where my kitchen sink used to be...

Dirty dishes on the plywood because there is no sink...which also means that, there is no water.  No water!!!

What was once our counter top, can now only be described as debris...and is stacked against the wall where it should not be...

My sink.  It looks lonely and forlorn, doesn't it?  I stubbed my toe on it this morning.  You know why???

Because kitchen sinks should not be in the middle of kitchen floors!!!!  That's why!!!!     :(

But alas, this too shall pass...

 This is what my new kitchen counter will be.  Antico Blanco granite.  I had 2 choices to pick from, and this is the one I liked.  The other one was kind of pink and had "motion".  Funny huh?  Motion in rock.  What a silly notion.  I do not like the idea of pink rock in my farm kitchen.  I do not like green eggs with ham.  Sam I am...

I'm so glad it's Friday...

On a completely unrelated subject, I think if everything feels right...tonight might be the night I mount my Eagle horse for the first time.

Prayers would be most appropriate, and certainly appreciated.  Aahh, thank you.  Thank you very much.

:)  Lorie @ Cingspots