The year is almost done.
It's been an interesting year. We moved into the new house at the end of last year, and it's taken us most of this year to get settled. Well, to try to get settled, anyway. There has been some good progress on the house:
It seems like things are taking forever, and that there's no end in sight for all of the projects, but looking back, I guess we have made some headway.
Down the zoo row, all of the dogs and cats are still with us. When I left Naperville, we had 2 ferrets. When Laura arrived in Belleville, we had 4 (Watson and Dolly). About 4 months ago, a co-worker of Laura's relocated, and wasn't able to take her son's pet ferret (Rascal) with her, so we adopted her (her name is now Rachel). Lastly, at about the 2 year anniversary of getting the original pair (Sherlock and Penny), we wandered into a pet store, and found a cute little blaze boy. His name is Moriarty, and like many ferrets with the blaze marking, he is deaf. He's adjusting nicely to the business (that's what you call a herd O' ferrets).
Cassie did so-so at school. The short version is that she's in full blown teen-age hellion mode, and has been since she was 11 or so. So, she has availed herself of an opportunity for change - she's living with my sister and her husband in England. If all goes well, and she does what she's supposed to, she may yet graduate high school on time.
Other changes? Well, when the weather is warm enough (above freezing), I ride a scooter (150cc Kymco People) to work. I've also become interested in wood working, and am in the process of building a modest workshop in the basement. Hell, with all of the work we're doing on the house, it's just about a necessity.
Laura is still working as a CT at Christian Hospital in St. Louis - things are going OK there, but we both wish she could find something a little closer.
- Front and back porches stripped and repainted
- Cassie's room refinished (paint, panel, etc)
- Furnace, Air Conditioner, and all ductwork replaced
- Partition wall between living room and dining room removed
- Wall between front room and kitchen removed
- Kitchen refinished (completely gutted, down to the studs)
- New Kitchen cabinets installed
- New kitchen concrete counter tops/island poured
- Downstairs bathroom completely remodeled (w/all new plumbing)
- First floor - all hardwood floors refinished
- Indoor stairs built (rough), upstairs, and 2nd downstairs bathroom demolished - in progress
- Finished part of basement - removed all old tile and drop ceiling
It seems like things are taking forever, and that there's no end in sight for all of the projects, but looking back, I guess we have made some headway.
Down the zoo row, all of the dogs and cats are still with us. When I left Naperville, we had 2 ferrets. When Laura arrived in Belleville, we had 4 (Watson and Dolly). About 4 months ago, a co-worker of Laura's relocated, and wasn't able to take her son's pet ferret (Rascal) with her, so we adopted her (her name is now Rachel). Lastly, at about the 2 year anniversary of getting the original pair (Sherlock and Penny), we wandered into a pet store, and found a cute little blaze boy. His name is Moriarty, and like many ferrets with the blaze marking, he is deaf. He's adjusting nicely to the business (that's what you call a herd O' ferrets).
Cassie did so-so at school. The short version is that she's in full blown teen-age hellion mode, and has been since she was 11 or so. So, she has availed herself of an opportunity for change - she's living with my sister and her husband in England. If all goes well, and she does what she's supposed to, she may yet graduate high school on time.
Other changes? Well, when the weather is warm enough (above freezing), I ride a scooter (150cc Kymco People) to work. I've also become interested in wood working, and am in the process of building a modest workshop in the basement. Hell, with all of the work we're doing on the house, it's just about a necessity.
Laura is still working as a CT at Christian Hospital in St. Louis - things are going OK there, but we both wish she could find something a little closer.