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Monthly Archives: May 2014
Bonus Room Update and Move In Day
Hey!
Last week was a blur filled with packing up our daughter’s apartment and finishing the flooring in the bonus room upstairs. My husband was literally installing the last of the baseboards in the room as Catie, Devin, and I arrived with all of their things from the apartment this past weekend.
This remodel began because their initial plans fell through and they needed a place to stay for a short period of time. Although unexpected, we’re glad that we had a space for them.
A reminder of the room when we bought the house in 1997.
And a reminder of where we started with this renovation — turquoise walls and pink floors and no real closet. If you’d like more details on this remodel, click here.
And how the room looked moments prior to their arrival with all of their stuff.
This picture of the closet doors shows a truer color of the flooring. We went with a bamboo flooring that we found at Lumber Liquidators. I like the sustainable quality to using bamboo and I think the flooring is pretty. Plus, bamboo is much cheaper than hardwood and since bamboo thrives in a damp environment, the product is also water resistant.
And the room 3 hours later — I’m so glad that Jack took the above two pictures so I could share the finished room before all of the boxes and furniture were brought in.
Catie and Devin love animals. So, we also have a few additional pets living at our house. I’ve forbidden her to add to the mix while they’re here. They can visit the local animal shelter but NO TOTING the pets home!
Zara, my ‘grand sugar flyer’. She doesn’t appear in the open often. Not my favorite. She loves blueberries and mangoes to eat.
Opie, my ‘grandbunny’. Opie is a Velveteen rabbit and is very, very soft. I like him — might be because he is quiet. He loves spinach, carrots, bananas, apples, and blueberries.
Bella, my ‘grandcat’. She is a Maine Coon mix. This breed gets quite large and she is still growing. Currently, she weighs 12 pounds, likes to perch, play in water, and chirps like a bird instead of meows.
Catie and Devin have fish too. Thank goodness, she doesn’t like birds or reptiles!
This week has been filled with unpacking and letting our bodies recover from the move and the work on the room. The bathroom still needs work and the railing at the stairs needs to be finished but for now, Catie and Devin have a space to call their own.
Blessings,
Mimi
“He brought me out into a spacious place” Psalm 18:19a NIV Bible
Leaves Of Three Or Is It Five?
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Today’s post idea comes as a response to help my friends who are in danger of unwittingly becoming the victims of a horrific case of poison ivy.
I’ve been the sufferer more times than I can count of a case of poison ivy. The itching, oozing, crusty puffiness is miserable. All the ointments in the world only alleviate the symptoms. They don’t really get rid of it. The dreaded affliction must run its course.
The worst case I had was when I went to summer camp. One night, our camp counselors wanted to give us the quintessential camp experience so they built a big bonfire for us to roast marshmallows and sing camp songs. Unfortunately for me, the tree limbs they burned had poison ivy on them which I inhaled in the smoke. I developed a systemic reaction and became covered inside and outside of my body with poison ivy. Misery — Pure Misery. I had allergy shots after that experience and avoided the plant like the plague.
The best way though not to get a case of poison ivy is to recognize it and avoid it. Poison ivy has three leaves. A very common saying is “Leaves of three, let it be” and “has been cited in print since 1907″ according to this site I found. The leaves can be very small when they first unfurl in the spring but can become quite large like the one below which is about the size of a salad plate.
Poison ivy is a vine that will go up trees and send out runners across the ground.
Virginia creeper is often confused with poison ivy but virginia creeper is not poisonous. Although, the berries that form on virginia creeper are toxic. Virginia creeper has five leaves and like poison ivy, the plant sends out runners and climbs trees, fences, and structures.
Virginia Creeper working its way up a tree.
Poison ivy on the left and virginia creeper on the right.
Additional information
- Article from the CDC
- Article from Mt. Rainier Cabins
- Pictures of Poison Ivy, Poison Oak and Poison Sumac
- Photos of the rash
- Information about burning Poison Ivy
Remember ‘leaves of three, let it be ‘ — I hope you have an itch free summer!
Blessings,
Mimi
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” 2 Timothy 4:3 NIV Bible
Graduation Day and Bragging Rights
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She did it! Our daughter, Catie, graduated from college this past weekend. We’re so proud of her and all that she accomplished. I also think our bank account groaned a sigh of relief.
She graduated magna cum laude { with great honor} with a degree in biology and a minor in chemistry. She’s employable, y’all! If you have a job available …
The weather didn’t cooperate. It rained the whole day. So messy!
The graduates were divided into two ceremonies. Catie graduated in the afternoon and the ceremony lasted around 2 hours. As luck would have it, she was seated behind a good friend from high school.
She’s a smarty pants — she KNOWS how to hold the diploma just right!
My stress face as I’m telling my husband to hurry up and take the picture without breaking my grin. Catie says my crazy was showing.
Catie hopes to work for a time and then enter a graduate program to study marine biology. Her dream job would be to work with marine mammals in bioacoustics.
We think the whales and dolphins would be lucky to have her on their side.
Blessings,
Mimi
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV Bible
Busy Times and Yard Visitors
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This week has been C-R-A-Z-Y! I’ll be back next week with more details and life happenings. In the meantime, I had a few visitors in my yard this week.
Aren’t the indigo buntings pretty? Hard to catch a picture of them, they’re skittish.
Blessings,
Mimi
“He is your praise, he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.” Deuteronomy 10:21 NIV Bible
Ugh, Jury Duty…
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Have you ever received a summons for jury duty? Do you dread it? I received one a couple of weeks ago to serve for this week. When I told people I was summoned, almost without fail, everyone said {with a grimaced face, I might add} something along the lines of “Ugh, jury duty“. Maybe, the system needs a revamp if they want happy jurors serving.
{photo from Wikipedia — Hinds County Courthouse, National Historic Register}
I’ve been summoned 7 times for jury duty since I was eligible and I DREAD IT! How is 7 times a random drawing when my husband has never been summoned once, I ask?
The more I thought about jury duty, the more anxious and stressed I became. One of the major reasons for my stress was that my daughter’s graduation from college is this Friday and I was afraid I would not be excused from duty.
Why do we dislike it so much? I’ve listed my reasons below.
My Reasons for Disliking Jury Duty
- Jury duty is an interruption to my schedule.
- It’s boring. I sit for a l-o-n-g time while the sorting of people takes place.
- I don’t get paid at least minimum wage for my time.
- I can’t take in my phone, a magazine, a book, or snacks to help pass the time.
- I have to sit in really uncomfortable chairs in tight spaces which makes my knees ache because of my arthritis.
- Small talk is required, in order to pass the time, with the other jurors, who are just as miserable as I am.
- I feel like I’m made to do it instead of choosing to do it.
- I don’t want to have to decide the fate of others.
- Comfy clothing is not an option. I’m required to trade in my jeans and flip flops for something stiff but fancy.
- My family suffers because I suffer. Happy Mommy = Happy Family; Miserable Mommy = Miserable Family
- You have to act interested…it’s not even the good gossip (not that you can share it anyway).
- Parking is notoriously awful; if you’re not the judge…you’re parking way in the back.
How do you feel about jury duty? Relish your civic duty or fear the jury dirge?
Blessings,
Mimi
“There is only one Law-giver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?” James 4:12 NIV Bible
April 2014 Viewpoint
Hey!
“The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year” Mark Twain
Blog:
As I looked back over my posts for this month, the common thread was renovation. We have a week left to wrap up this bonus room renovation before our daughter and her husband move in. Would you like to see where it all began? You can find it here.
In April, I also was invited to write my first guest post for Cara at be,mama.be. I wrote about a little parenting wisdom I learned. If you’d like to check it out, you can find it here.
I also wrote a couple of memoir pieces centered around nature. A tribute to my grandmother and a piece about tending the garden, tending the soul.
Books:
I didn’t read much this month. I had started most of these before the month of April but finished them during the month.
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Sycamore Row by John Grisham — 3/5 stars
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A Touch of Wonder by Arthur Gordon — 5/5 stars
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Hamlet by William Shakespeare —5/5 stars
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The Memoir Project A Thoroughly Non-standardized Text for Writing and Life by Marion Roach Smith —5/5 stars
- I also read my daughter’s thesis a couple of times but I don’t think that counts…
Music:
Nothing new downloaded this month. I love the mix of this instrumental piece so I thought I’d share and let it be the benediction.
I’m joining in with others who have shared their April month stories. Come join us at Leigh Kramer’s: What I’m Into.
Blessings,
Mimi
“…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 NIV Bible
