Summer III Continued (More Pictures)

Porter and his soon-to-be sister, Magnolia, were enjoying the Sunday at the park as well. And here are the pictures of Christy's yard.

Summer III

Ah, summer--that time of ease and fun! For our 40th anniversary Glenda and I traveled to Corvallis where all our kids were getting together on that Sunday in August to help us celebrate. What a treat for us because we got to hang out with our five wonderful, energy-bursting grandkids. Christy and Tobin took us to a park that was simply wonderful for all. The kids biked, climbed all over a train, climbed a rock-climbing wall, swung on swings, climbed monkey bars--oh, you know, everything that was fun. Of course, on the Saturday before, Glenda and Christy went to garage sales while Tobin and I assailed the front yard and the noxious weeds--ivy!

At the conclusion of the weekend, I offered to come over in the not-to-distant future and help groom their front yard. Well, that took place just last week (see this blog is not that old), and I thoroughly enjoyed the three days I got to spend with the kids. They went to work, and I went to work on their yard. Juniper tams, ivy, and blackberry vines were in my sights. When it was done (at the least the part I was able to complete in those three days), Christy and I took three loads to the green refuse landfill. Sorry I don't have any before pictures, but let's just say it was the way Daniel Boone found it when he got lost traveling over the Cumberland Gap. Now he would not even recognize the place. Christy and Tobin were indeed gracious to let me have my space tearing into their plants. Now their ferns should have room to grow, and through my efforts they got to know their next door neighbors when I extracted a blackberry vine from their property. They are so blessed to live where they do especially with their hectic schedules and Tobin's neverending work.

Summer II

Well, as summer progressed, Glenda and I were able to visit our kids and grandkids. We enjoyed visiting Christy and Tobin's new home in Corvallis. Since they were going to remodel and replace some doors in their home, Tobin asked me what size doors we had. When I got home and measured them, Tobin said they were exactly the size he was removing. Their doors were 300% better than ours, so instantly I had another project. Now the problem--the doors were 125 miles away in Corvallis. Solution--Christy was going to be running in a race in Central Oregon, so Tobin offered to bring them over when he came to pick up Christy. The doors arrived, and with the help of a friend within two weeks the doors were installed. Then I bought new baseboard molding and learned the fine art of angles and how to cut them for each of the corners I encountered. I replaced all the molding in the hall and bathroom. Glenda's remark about this was, "The bathroom is finally complete" because ever since we moved in 21 years ago some of the bathroom baseboard molding was missing or in need of repair. We didn't want to replace it until we did a makeover, and the doors afforded that opportunity.

The very first picture of this group shows the remodel of our living room window. I framed it totally in wood in preparation for the new shades that are soon to arrive. I think this was the highlight of the small remodeling we have been doing on the inside of our house. Glenda was overjoyed to finally get rid of the 24-year-old drapes. The new wood will definitely showcase the new shades.

Our Summer

Since finishing my fifth year with WorldStrides, I returned home to enjoy working in the yard as well as other activities. My first love was to work in the front and back yards and get things in shape. Since my springs are spent in Washington, DC, I can only drool when I come home and go through a garden center, knowing that I can't really buy flowers and plant them in the short time I am home between trips. I also re-stained the deck and added pavers in various places around the yard.