Ta-daaaa

I have a big announcement! We have lumber! We have the beginnings of the floor system. Ladies and Gentlemen, we will have a shed!

 

I am pretty excited, yes.  I know you all have been on the shed journey with me and are celebrating as well.   I hope not to wear hubs completely out with my enthusiasm for this shed but I am so happy to get to this point as we have talked about it for a couple years.

When hubs and I first met, he was a manager of a men’s clothing store.  After being married for a few years, he accepted an offer from a family friend to go to work in a lumber and hardware store. I was pregnant with our third baby at this point.  We were a little nervous as he had absolutely no building experience but the owner knew, with his retail and detail background, he would be great in the inventory area.  He was, but as far as lumber and building, he had a lot to learn.

Our old shed was his first project.  Built from scrap lumber he could salvage at the lumber yard and of his own design, the shed has done its job for many years.  But, folks, come on, it is falling apart.  The floor is all but disappearing before our very eyes.  The shingles? Ha.  It still put a roof over the deck furniture last winter but it is long past its prime. 

He’s had quite a bit of design and building experience since that first shed 30 years ago and I am happy to say the new shed will be a thing of beauty.  We searched out the perfect spot, we have a great design and he has ordered many parts of the construction lumber to be delivered.  I finally got excited about the shed last evening as he and I worked together to set the first floor beams and pull up the pink string that had been outlining what might be.

Our new shed.  The beginning of what is yet to come! We have some other plans for our property over the next year so it is a VERY exciting, and very busy,  time!

Carwaxing nostalgic

I am starting to think ahead to a new car in a year or so and have already tried to think about what kind of car that will be.  Hubs will be retired, I think, and so it will need to accommodate both our needs.  I hate to say it, but I am leaning towards a mini-van. 

I had a mini-van a few years ago and loved it.  We drove it until the wheels almost fell off and it saw some great, fun times.  Plenty of room, could load it up with people and take to the highway.  Since hubs and I plan on doing a little traveling by car when he retires, I am starting to think mini-van.  I’ve done the red car, I’ve done the sports car and am over it, or at least I will be. 

I have a sister-in-law who drives a mini-van.  I think she likes it a lot and can also pile all her grandchildren in when needed.  I wish I could say that is one of my considerations but since my grandkids are all out of town, it’s not like I can pick them up after school and run them to their next event or practice.   Oh, how I wish.  Maybe I just want to remember those times…maybe I am getting nostalgic for those days…when I had a van load of kids, my own and many others, and it was magic.

Yeah. Probably.  Now it would just be creepy for me to pick up a van load of teenagers and take them on the road. 

Late summer slump

I am in a slump.  No interest in cooking dinner.  No interest in going to the grocery store to get items I may need to actually cook dinner.  Oh, I make lists.  I hang them on the fridge but I am really hoping someone else stops by to have a look at it and run to the store.  I haven’t been able to muster up any desire for cooking of late.  I even glance through magazines with pretty food pictures and think “Huh.  That looks yummy”.  But, skip over the ingredients list, ‘cause I am not interested. 

Now, since I am the party in the house that cooks dinner this is a bit inconvenient for hubs.  I have slowly been introducing the idea of sandwiches at dinner.  Rueben, grilled ham and cheese, BLT,  Italian beef and even Philly Cheese.  I have a jar of Cheese Whiz in the fridge right now, as a matter of fact, to make Philly Cheese steak.  He’s good with those.  Hamburgers and hot dogs..yes.  I can even stretch it out to tacos.  But, there aren’t any left overs with sandwiches and even if there are, that means lunch sandwiches AND dinner sandwiches?  That just doesn’t seem fair, does it?  Doesn’t a hard-working guy like my hubs deserve something other than a sandwich twice a day?

But, I’m in a slump.  Summer starting to glance over her shoulder to introduce autumn as she walks in isn't helping.  My mind is going to potato soup, chili and a nice hearty stew, served with crusty bread and soft butter.  But, I can’t do that now…if I do those in August, I’ll be in a soup slump in November.   

I am pretty sure I'll get through it.  I will continue to serve up some special sandwiches till after Labor Day and begin the switch to soup.  Hubs may have to start buying his lunch rather than depend on me for the piles of meat loaf and mashed potatoes I have provided in the past.  I'll stock up on cream of mushroom soup so there's always a possibility of a casserole, his favorite leftover, on the horizon.  Noodles, rice and yes, even those little bags of instant mashed potatoes will line my pantry.  I'll begin thinking about a roast in the crock pot every once in a while. I will go ahead and get some potatoes, too.  Maybe get some cream, and I think I am out of sherry. Maybe a special pasta for a nice, rustic, Italian main dish...and oh yes, bread. I better make a list as I am headed to the store later.   

Hey, I just might pull out of this yet. 
 

Once, in a blue moon, ...

“There’s that one day, just one day, that makes a summer, a year…tonight out on the lake with kids swimming, the sunset, the full moon rising, followed by a surprise fireworks display…this was the day.”

These words, spoken by our nephew around a fire with friends and family, define why we do what we do.  To give the opportunity to get together, to gather and to get to know you.  To laugh and to remember, to agree or disagree, but politely or maybe loudly, and to learn.

I hope you had the night of nights this past weekend, like we did.  I hope you enjoyed the company of loved ones you see often, as well as those you see rarely, like we did.  I hope you laughed hard at silly things, at fond memories and grew reflective for a moment for people and times past and are grateful, so grateful, for what you have been given, like we are. 

‘til next we meet, sweet family, dear friends.