Renovation and More

We started a guest bathroom remodel on September 22^nd and it was finished by the end of that week. The bathroom needed updating and the plumbing for the double vanity sinks needed to be put into the wall instead of the configuration that went through the cabinet when we added a sink to the original plan a few years ago. Before photos. 

The only thing that remained from the original bathroom was the tub, it was still fine. So the new plan added new larger tile in the shower and on the floor which had been vinyl. A new upgraded cabinet and quartz counter top was installed. A new shower head was also installed and a new shower rod. We had them take out an old medicine cabinet in the wall and repair the hole in the wall. Steve and I did the final work of priming and painting the ceiling and walls and adding in two new mirrors over the sink to replace the one large mirror. A new toilet and a new lighting fixture plus new towels and rugs completed the remodel. It was all great. After photos.

However somehow a leak had developed in the hot water source to the new plumbing and we came home from church a couple days after the workers left to find a giant bubble in our kitchen ceiling. We had three containers collecting the dripping water until the plumber found the source. Anyway the entire kitchen ceiling had to be replaced and that was a huge mess and took another couple weeks. We again did the final priming and painting ourselves.

Photos of the kitchen.

We are glad to have it all done and that the contractor paid for the damage repair. Now we are in the process of doing a deep cleaning of the whole house to get up the fine dust that got all over despite all the plastic sheeting and floor coverings.

Fun Times!

We had our three year old grandson staying with us for a few days while his mom went to visit her sister. His dad has a new job and goes to work too early to get him off to the sitter or to his preschool on alternate days so our grandson came to stay with us.

These pictures are to show his mom some of the things we did. He and grandfather put together a Lego race car. He can look at the photo directions and know when a piece goes but can’t always manipulate it into place by himself.

The weather was sunny but cool and windy. We managed to get him to a place to pick out pumpkins and then we played at a large playground at one of the city parks. He played “follow the leader” with a couple other boys.

Later he watched recordings of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the episode called “Aye, Aye Captain Mickey” became his favorite. He called it “Hi, Hi Captain Mickey.”

Another day we went to story time at the Children’s Village near the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. Then we walked around looking at the various windmills and interactive stuff for kids. There was a stone wall with a ledge and curtain and on the other side a box of puppets. So Grammy (me) used some of them to make a short play and he loved that.

Then we walked around the gardens looking at statues and crossing the bridge over the lily pond. We ate Pizza at Pizza Hut.

He also spent time helping grandfather set up the HO train track on the basement carpet and cooking soup in the play area kitchen.

We had a great time. It is a lot easier now that he is potty trained! 

Vail Village, Flowers, and Birthday

My husband and I spent part of a week in Vail in August visiting my parents. The past couple years we have visited in September so it was a treat to come in the summer and see the flowers at their peak. The flowers in Vail Village are splendid and overflow their baskets and pots. My camera battery ran down early on so I only got a few pictures though. At the height of the summer tourist season we saw many families with young kids sometimes all of them on bicycles since cars are not allowed. We enjoyed the restaurants with open air patios and the water features and fountains and also the beautiful river that flows right through town and often has tubers and kayakers on it to watch.

In my own yard I finally have mature hollyhocks that have the deep wine and hot pink colors that I love. For so long I only had white and light pink. I planted some richer hues from seed a couple years ago and they are finally noticeable this year. I have loved hollyhocks ever since I was about five and I remember helping Mom plant some hollyhock seeds in our backyard in Missouri and my extreme disappointment when they never came up. I always coveted the “hollyhocks by the fence look” that one sees in artwork. I finally have them too.

My birthday was on a rainy day in the middle of the week this year so we didn’t do much except go out for a nice steak dinner that day. I did get two deliveries of beautiful flowers from my kids that truly brightened my day though. I so appreciated the lovely bouquets and they are still going!

On Monday of the Labor Day weekend the skies had cleared and we were able to get in a nice little hike (Round Mountain nature trail.) It follows a narrow dirt road about a mile up to an overlook of the Big Thompson River west of Loveland, Colorado. There were five of us including our three year old grandson. We saw lots of cool stuff from his perspective, a green praying manthis, cactus, trees that cracked and fell down, piles of stacked rocks and other groups of hikers and various dogs. Maverick made it to the top with only a couple stints of piggy back and did the steeper climbing toward the top near the overlook without help. We enjoyed our sandwiches and grapes in the rock shelter which was nice and cool.

Later, we all had a grilled chicken dinner at our daughter’s house. After dinner I got to blow out candles on my custom blue birthday cake with green frosting and lots of sprinkles and purple lines thanks to my grandson’s artistry. It told him it was the most beautiful cake I’d ever had!     

Trip to Charlotte and a New Home

We spent last week in Charlotte to help our daughter settle in to the house she moved into three weeks ago. We ate at a rooftop restaurant with a view of the skyline on our first night. It was in the nineties the whole week, but the abundant shade helps cut the heat, the humidity is also high quite a change from the comfortable dry seventies that we enjoy in the summer. We had a whole list of projects that we worked on including some painting, cleaning, unpacking, and shopping for new shelving and bathroom mirrors plus installation, yard work, re-potting plants, putting together a new grill, and helping to host a dinner party for nine and other stuff. We also helped her perform an energy audit on her home with the help of her co-worker.

We got to watch the first US World Cup game at a local outdoor bar/restaurant since Em does not own a TV and does not want one. We also attended her church and were invited to lunch at her community life group leader’s home. On our last day we got to help her shop at an antique mall for a piece to display and store her china. She found a cute art-deco wood veneered chest that is just right for her home.

The crepe myrtle trees were all in bloom and are very showy with their large blooms in a variety of colors. I also enjoyed the lightning bugs at night because we don’t have them. Sitting on the front porch in the evenings was lovely as well, so long as we sprayed up with mosquito repellent.

On our last night we road the light rail from uptown to her old neighborhood at dusk and also ate at a terrific soul food restaurant in uptown. I  took a picture of the queen Charlotte statue. 

It was a great visit!

Easter Weekend 2014

Well, I haven’t posted anything in awhile but I have some photos I want to share from this past weekend so that is my motivation. Spring is here and we are very glad. My best girl, Callie (that’s what I call her) is turning three and had her birthday party on Saturday in Kansas although we did not get to attend. Maverick our oldest grandson suffered a left leg fracture on March 12^th not long after our return from New Mexico. We helped out some in Loveland, Colorado during his recovery time. After the family was getting by OK with a new babysitter and after Chris returned from a week on spring break in California, Steve and I visited the Kansas grandchildren for a week. So life has been busy. We also got to meet-up with our youngest daughter in Denver one evening recently and had a delightful dinner with her and the great guy who is her boss. They were in Colorado to attend a seminar.

The first half of my Easter weekend was spent in my hometown of Omaha, Nebraska to attend a baby book shower for my niece who is expecting her first baby next month. I flew in to Omaha and my brother and sister-in-law picked me up and hosted me at their lovely home for the night. On Saturday we attended the shower and then my sister drove me to the airport to catch my flight home. I wanted to get back for Easter as we had planned an egg hunt for Maverick and an Easter dinner with our daughter and son-in-law.

The first batch of photos is from the shower  that was hosted by former neighbors and longtime friends of both my niece and my sister. The idea for the books was because several attendees are in a book club together and books would be easier to transport by car back to Texas. The little miss yet to be born will have a perfect library of great children’s books from the earliest soft touch and board books to toddler counting and naming books to some fine classics of prose and poetry. There was even a great world atlas with the continents and animals from each country for her to peer into one day.

The shower was held at a charming older home and there was a wonderful lunch buffet combined with a lot of laughter and fun. I was so glad I was able to go.

The second half of the Easter weekend was on Easter Day itself attending services at our church on a beautiful and warm (no coats) day. Our daughter, son-in-law and grandson joined us after attending their church in Colorado. We got to see Maverick walking gingerly without his cast (removed three days earlier) and he had an egg hunt for plastic eggs out in the backyard. Note to self do not use chocolate candies in the eggs left out in the full sun for a few hours, even on a still cool day they will turn mushy inside the eggs.

Maverick stayed interested for a little while hunting eggs but then all he wanted to do was play in the sandbox that grandfather had gotten out again from last year. We added some trucks that I bought off of Craig’s list recently and he was a happy camper.

I hope  everyone that reads this had a blessed Resurrection day too.

  

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