News

 So, I'm no longer an active Pampered Chef consultant. I should probably remove the links from the review posts... 

I read some of my old posts and wondered why I stopped writing. It's so handy to be able to look back and see where I've been. And R is jealous of all the stuff I wrote about the older children. Haha. She never gave me a chance to write! But we're working on it.

Bob had surgery on his right shoulder the week before Thanksgiving, 2022. He had bursitis and bone spurs. In the weeks following, he had physical therapy, and did some work around the house. It was a nice balmy December and January, so he got quite a bit done.

In fact, he/we finished the remodel of the old garage, turning it into a master bedroom. 

Once upon a time we'd planned for that space to be my library. Then we just about gave up on getting it to a livable condition, and just before Covid we ordered a shed/portable building that we planned to finish out and make a library/school room/play room. Bob wired and insulated it; put up lights and drywall. I painted the interior and it was quite cozy. We measured and talked... The day I ordered the 12 bookcases, I had a moment of second-guessing. And next thing you know, Riah and Ced had moved into the library/schoolroom side of the shed! They put up a partition wall, and the other side became the dedicated playroom.

But then what? 

We moved the school into the dining room and closet (where Riah had been sleeping). And the garage decided to be the master, and our old master became the library.

The garage had rough, uneven concrete floor, and that had been our biggest hangup. After discussing several options, talking to professionals, and taking measurements, we decided to just have an uneven floor. lol. We put thick sheets of foam insulation down, then plywood decking, then vinyl plank floor. Yeah, I have shims under my bed to make it level. What can you do?

We replaced all the exterior walls, and divided the space into a bedroom, a closet, and a laundry room. I had hoped for an additional bathroom (2 bathrooms for 9 residents gets a little sketchy), but it wasn't feasible. We were able to make a passage from the bedroom to our existing bathroom, so it isn't bad.

Our previous bedroom was about 9 1/2 x 12 - not a rectangle shape - with a 2x3' closet. Our new room is about 15x15, with a 7x7' closet. I haven't got used to the wide open feel yet, and still change clothes in the bathroom. We moved in the night before Bob went back to work: mid January.

Since then we have assembled 11 of the bookshelves. (2 had broken parts, and 1 was missing the hardware, so we haven't got one together yet.  Bush Business Furniture sent one replacement part, but I only requested the others yesterday. Yeah, I'm a procrastinator.) And then we carted the books in from the building - by hand at first, and then 3 trips of the Honda Pilot. If we keep the three shelves in the living room, it will just be enough. EEK! I have some duplicates, and there are some I can probably do away with. Well, actually, I already pulled out 2 boxes full. But there will be more. In fact, I sat down at the computer just now to type up 2 recipes from a cookbook that I can pull out.

 

Too much to put in all the details. But I am so happy and loving my situation right now that I hardly know what to do with myself.

So, maybe I'll write now and then. Who knows?