What do you do when you learn that the people who put up your house division made a critical building mistake on the construction that would cause dry rot and water damage that would not show up until a few years later?
This happened to my son and daughter-in-law. A neighbor found the mistake and passed on the news to the rest of the neighbors. Solving the issues cost a lot of hard work and money.
When you find out your house is in danger…..”Who ya gonna call? Dad!”
Tom tore the siding off until he removed the dry rot. Dad showed up with all the tools and lumber one would need to finish the job. They worked hard together, removing the window, putting it back in the right way, trimming it and putting on new siding. Took them a few days but they did great work.
Once the job was done, it will need sanding and some new paint. It will be as good as new (actually better than new). I sure hope they can find the workers who made the mistake and did the damage to the whole neighborhood.
Our oldest turned 39!! We felt like Oprah… you get a pizza and you get a pizza and you get a pizza. Bryon introduced HIS kids to “The Last Starfighter” and we all dug into the pizza of our choice.
Ice cream for dessert and the evening was a success. Cards and gifts were opened and wishes made.
Father and son…a birthday filled with laughter, fun, mugging for the camera and making good memories.
A quick trip though a fabric store (silver material) and a scrapbooking department (for two sheets of glitter paper) was all I needed for this terrifying costume.
I already had the plastic nails (doesn’t everyone), and only needed to paint the nail part silver.
What took the longest was drawing out lightening bolts and cutting them from the two glitter papers stuck together. I did all sizes of bolts. Two bolts were connected to a ring, which secured the cape.
Small lightening bolts were taped onto an old bracelet.
The hardest part was making the earrings, which I combined with crystals to add some extra sparkle.
The crowning glory (pun intended) was three bolts punched and woven with a sparkle pipe cleaner around an old plastic tiara. We all have those lying around, right?
I dressed in black and had a blast (there’s another pun for ya) at the party.
More than a year ago I figured out a compromise (between me and my pocket book) relating to my goal of living at the coast for a full year. I wanted to see every season, experience the changing tides.
My husband and I began a year long adventure of staying, once a month, 3 days and 2 nights at the coast in Lincoln City, Oregon.
Mission Accomplished!
Because posts can be organized in this fashion, I decided to link all 12 months to this post. This has been a great adventure. I want to thank those who have followed along with us.
As busy as last month was at the coast, it was equally busy in September. Hubs and I drove out on a Sunday, around noon, and are shocked with the traffic leaving. “I wonder if they know something we don’t,” I teased.
Once at our cozy hotel, The Sandcastle, we chatted with the host at the front desk. She said that the last two weekends had been full for the hotel and the entire town. There appears to be an app (of course there is) that let’s one know hotel availability. Well, the town has been full up the last few weekends.
We unpacked and knew we’d be in for a rainy three days. Rain does not spoil the coast, it is just a different way to enjoy it.
It was hard to keep up with the weather Sunday and Monday since it changed so quickly.
There was something brewing from the north and we could see rain showers through the clouds. “Our” seal went back and forth peeking at anyone who strolled by. Hubs went out a couple of times to gather rocks or shells and spend time near the ocean’s edge.
We usually close the drapes when it turns dark, because we have learned from experience that if you leave the drapes and lights on….your large window becomes a TV show for those on the beach. But Monday night was different. We heard about a storm moving in and learned there might be lightening.
I understand that this is no big deal for those used to thunder storms. But in the valley, we get lightening and thunder about three times a year, if that. We were eager for a show.
The thunder rolled and the lightening struck, zig-zagging into the ocean from time to time. Mostly, we saw lights behind clouds, but it was still very exciting. It was a first for us both.
Tuesday morning around 7 AM we heard what sounded like a bolt of lightening and then hail descended. I was first to the window, cell phone in hand. Hubs was growling in the bedroom about the light switch. What???
Then we tried another then another. No electricity. We tried to call the desk. No phone, no wifi. Hummmmm. Hubs went down to the office and learned the whole hotel had lost power. Not only that, the town along main street had lost power as well.
We bundled up and just enjoyed the view. The electricity was back on within three hours, so we felt rather lucky.
The storm had re-arranged the view. New rivulets twisted to the north. Tiny pipers and large seagulls alike were feasting. Mounds of seaweed had been tossed on the sand.
The tide, which had been a good distance from the hotel, delivered a huge trunk near the back door. Click on the link below to see a wave I caught from our hotel window.
We left at 11:00 feeling rejuvenated, another wonderful three days at the coast.
While thinking about our grandchild’s birthday party at a park, I wondered what field games could be played with the variety of ages in attendance. My brother, who was visiting at the time, introduced us to Kubb, a game from Sweden he had heard about.
There was a great deal of information on YouTube and Google about the game. A few of us watched several videos and thought it would be a splendid game….and one we could make rather “easily.” Lincoln and I discussed colors and how to change the original rules to something more birthday-friendly.
My husband, who can make anything, bought a couple of dowels, a piece of wood, and gathered some wood from a wooden pallet. He cut everything to size and rough sanded the pieces.
I took over the blocks and painted them with used paint from the garage. It took a while, but it helped to give the wood two-three coats.
The next step took the longest. I taped off each block and baton in preparation for the colors.
To say this step took hours would not be hyperbole. Still, it was fun to see the colors bring the set to life.
Once the set was painted two or three more times, everything was handed back over to my husband who sprayed a sealer on the entire set. Yes, several coats.
The game turned out to be a lot of fun. After the kids played a couple of games, the adults played as well. It was a success, and a game I hope we will play for years to come.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sailaway from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain
Drawing on Words 