Since my last post, Summer has been in full swing. May 28 I lost my first grandparent; Grandma Kohmetscher. Yes, I am very fortunate to be 39 years old before this happened, but it is still not easy. I was honored to play the organ for her funeral mass, and receive one of her African violet plants.She was known for her pretty flowers that sat in her bay window, especially African violets. I am thankful for growing up with the presence of all of my grandparents, and especially thankful that I decided to visit Grandma and Grandpa K. at the Blue Hill nursing home just 3 days before Grandma passed away. Last week I went for a walk around Lawrence with my mom and Samantha on Wednesday evening. It was sad to go past Grandma and Grandpa's empty home, and know they aren't there, and not see Grandma's "Impatience" flowers in her brick planter on the front of their home. She knew how to grow them! The next morning I went for a morning run around town, and again felt sadness when I ran past their home. I saw Grandma's sister (who lives next door and looks just like her) working in her garden. My second time around town, I was deep in thought on other things. As I ran past their house, I suddenly felt a "touch" on my right arm. It was crazy...but sure gotta think it was Grandma trying to make her presence known. There was nothing else around that could've caused this feeling. We spent the month of June and half of July getting our boys to and from practices in Fairfield, and cheering them on at their ballgames. Samantha chose not to participate in softball for the first summer since she's been old enough to play. Each week we have made progress around our home; some weeks more than others, depending on the ball schedule. I have spent time organizing what I can. As Phil has put his "handy-man" skills to work and built closet shelves, it has made my organizing fall into place more easily. In my last post, I wrote that the outside needed shaped up, but that we were going to focus on the inside first. Well, that lasted about 2 weeks! :) Phil and I would both rather be working outside on the landscaping. My flowers were planted in a group too close together, so I felt the need to get them transplanted to their new spots. Memorial Day weekend Blake helped me fill in dirt in low areas around the front of the house, and then I started transplanting my flowers! We obviously need to do some type of edging yet, but that is going to have to wait for next year, I'd say. Some highlights from the last month and a half involving our accomplishments on the house are: 1) Phil stained and I polyurethaned the open staircase. He used a special dye-stain that wasn't especially easy to work with. I used a rub-on extra thick polyurethane, which was really easy to work with. 2) Phil made shelves for all 4 of our bedroom closets, our master bathroom, and a storage room in the basement. 3) Phil has hung several of our interior doors...remember, we moved in with only 1 door hung! 4) I refinished the original front door of the house with chalk paint. This will be on a barn door slider for the pantry in the kitchen. 5) Phil has all of the bamboo flooring laid in the house, except for in a couple closets. 6) Our carpet layer laid our living room carpet. Sure is nice to ditch the piece of canvas we had for a rug, and replace it with this! 7) I have started to "tackle" the boxes in the basement that were making us look like hoarders! 8) Phil finished Samantha's bathroom, except for the ceiling and floorboard. 9) Phil has worked on organizing our garage. Some things have found their way to the dump, while others have been sold. Would be really nice to actually get to park our vehicles in there! 10) Phil has moved a portion of our big dirt pile in the back yard by the chicken coop. 11) We have picked up big sticks and been able to do some major mowing. 12) We kept our promise to the kids, and welcomed a puppy into our family at the farm...Maverick. Moving forward, here is a partial list of goals...goal setting is good, right?! 1) Get both sets of stairs carpeted. (That may happen this week, but haven't heard back from carpet layer for sure.) 2) Buy trim (going to Menards tonight...11% rebate :)) 3) Paint trim 4) Phil is going to put his carpentry skills to work on the trim to create the look we want around the windows and doors. 5) Install shelving units in closet underneath the open staircase and hang the original doors back on there. (Samantha has these painted and ready to be hung!) 6) Finish mudding and sanding two closets in the basement. 7) Install flooring on the landing and to Samantha's bedroom. 8) Polyurethane the upstairs wood floors in the hallway. I have been procrastinating doing this, because it means the boys have to move downstairs temporarily. I think I'll stop there for now. The list could be much longer, but it starts to get overwhelming! School will be starting in just a few short weeks. I was pleasantly surprised today to learn that we (teachers) are not allowed to work in our rooms until Thursday of this week, due to janitorial work going on out there. Thank you, God, for the extra days at home, guilt-free! I plan to be at the pool this afternoon! Grandma's funeral June 1, 2017
June 22, 2017 Original front door from the house. Chalk painted to be hung on pantry in kitchen June 24, 2017 Miley & Maverick June 28, 2017 Staircase is stained & polyurethaned! Us at the 4th of July parade in Clay Center July 10, 2017 July 10, 2017 Upstairs bathroom July 17, 2017 Samantha's bathroom July 17, 2017 Kitchen (Pantry still needs the door put on that is in previous photos)
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AuthorI'm just your ordinary small-town type of gal. My family is my world. Gardening, running, camping, and boating are my hobbies. Teaching youngsters is my career. Archives
July 2017
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