Day One Hundred Eighty Nine

The new vinyl siding goes up on this old house. Even at this
stage, it was already looking pretty awesome.

A little extra drama added to the mix: this
yellow and orange striped kitten came
creeping into the yard Tuesday morning amid
all the commotion and mess the installers were
making. I was hoping she (?) would eventually
give up and wander into somebody else's yard.
But as you can see here, it was love at first
sight for Shelby and Elijah. The kitten (we have
tentatively dubbed "her" Sally) allowed herself
to be captured and squeezed by Elijah for well
over an hour this morning. Once I convinced
him to finally put her down, she hurried off and
wasn't seen again until late this afternoon.

She or he (just not sure yet) is a pretty kitty. We gave her
some of Buddy's food (our cat in residence for the past eleven
years). Rule of thumb for stray animals: once you feed it, you
own it. Elijah refused to share his new found friend with his
sister. Shelby is anxious to find her again tomorrow and get
her turn cuddling the kitty. I assured her the kitty would
most likely find her first.

Day One Hundred Eighty Eight

We are blessed to have new windows in our house today. The installers, a crew of about six guys, arrived around 7:30 this morning and immediately began tearing the aluminum siding off the house. They installed fifteen windows by 3:30 this afternoon. They return tomorrow with new vinyl siding and gutters. Woo Hoo!

Day One Hundred Eighty Seven

The view through my upstairs 1927 windows. You can't see the wavy glass, which I always thought was pretty cool. We're finally replacing these old drafty windows (they have the weights and pulleys inside the frame!). Tomorrow the installers start bright and early with the new vinyl insulated tilt-in windows. Makes me want to cry. I know, the convenience of the new ones will be wonderful, but let's face it. Who likes to wash windows?! Now I'll have no excuse. These old windows are part of what give our old house its character and I'll miss looking through the distorted glass. But it's time--out with the old and.....you know the rest. Goodbye, wavy glass!

Day One Hundred Eighty Six

Daughter Kelly is a veteran of playing all the Sims games. She knows how addictive these kinds of things are. That's why she resisted getting into Farm Town on Facebook for so long, she says. But once she harvested a crop of pumpkins and all those coins started adding up, she was hooked. She's advanced from level one to level seventeen just in the last week and expanded her farm twice today. Twice! Today! Oh well. So much for resistance. Moo!

The Fourth Of July 2009

Neil + Grill = RIBS!

Terry, Ann, Ken and Audrey chew the fat while the ribs cook.

Jerry, Cynthia, Jane and Holly enjoy some laughs. Where

are those ribs?!

The wait is over! Everyone enjoyed a great meal of ribs,

corn and all sorts of to-die-for salads, Cole slaw, and cantaloupe.

Kudos to the cook!

Holly, Elijah, Kelly and Sarah dig in.

Shelby and Julia take a breather from all that food.

Sparklers are always cool.

A Fourth of July tradition.

Each year, the fireworks get bigger and better.

Elijah and Kelly (and Holly) take time out to give us a smile.

Watching the back yard fireworks is always a treat. This

year, we got rained on, but that was okay. The show must

go on!

Holly and Elijah enjoy a front row seat for the fireworks.

Happy Birthday, America! The Fourth of July Independence

Day 2009 celebration was literally a blast! Even though we

got rained on toward the last, we didn't mind. We all

enjoyed food, fireworks, family, friends, fun, freedom and the

best desserts ever! Cookies, peanut butter fudge (thanks, Jane!)

brownies, and two batches of homemade vanilla ice cream. I

enjoyed everyone and every minute of it and hope to do it all

over again next year.