Too Cute

Yesterday, I was cleaning the kitchen and Sadie wanted to play.Since I was sorting Indiana vs Michigan bottles and cans, I took a 2 Liter bottle and rolled it across the floor to her. Oh, my gosh!! On came the funniest half hour we've had with her so far!! She rolled it, she chased it, she pounced on it, she carried it by the top over to "her" rug and started all over again. I'm not sure I got anything accomplished, which of course was the goal by giving her something to do at that point, but something like that you've just gotta give in and watch. After it was all over she needed a nap. When Mike got home from work, I got the bottle out again and showed him. It was great!!

My Guilty Pleasure

So, last night Mike stayed up at the rental house working late so the workers we hired could get going again today. After some grumbling - by me - about the best part of being married was we spent every night together no matter how crazy our days were.......I agreed it was probably the best thing to do. As I went to bed early (we haven't been sleeping well lately - working late on the rental, puppy waking me up at night to go out, boys having to be up early for school...) I began to snuggle in - hey, I get to have ALL 4 Pillows!!!! I'm now surrounded by softness...Santara even got up on the bed with me and layed by my head. Hey - I can take up the whole bed - this is usually reserved for Mike, when I wake up in the middle of the night and tell him to move over, I only have about 2 feet of the Queen bed, he has the rest. Hey, the human furnace I sleep with is not making me so hot I have to have the fan on, the Air Conditioning is doing enough. Wow, the "good old days" of sleeping alone weren't so bad after all.

No News

Sorry for the news blackout from my end. Life has been incredibly busy lately - housebreaking the puppy, working to get the apartments done, Pete had a birthday, and life went on. We are about 2 weeks from having the first of the 2 apartments ready to rent. The carpet has been ordered and that will be the last thing needing done. I am almost ready to paint, Mike has to put up some baseboard and fix a couple of windows. When the painting is done, there are a couple lights to put up. Right now we are putting a new roof on half the house. We are about a month after this one getting finished until we are ready to go with the last one, and we think we have a renter lined up for the last one already - they are not ready to move until about the time the last one will be done, so that is great. They seem like a very nice couple. The puppy is growing fast. She is so sweet. I just wish this housebreaking stuff would end soon. The boys have 2 more weeks of school. Our days are long and the work tiring, so will be good to have the boys out of school so they can get more rest, as we are up kind of late a lot of nights. They will at least be able to sleep in when summer begins. Pete went up on the second story roof last night with Mike and his roofing crew. He had no trouble with the ladder, and the roof pitch is not steep, so he was fine on the roof. He even went back down the ladder very easily. I never could have done that. I will be better about posting again, I promise.

My Girl

Meet Sadie, the newest addition to our family!

She is a Newfie-Saint

(half Newfoundland, half Saint Bernard). She is just 9 weeks old.

She is the runt of the litter, so I'm sure she won't get to be TOO big!

I am SO lucky to have boys who love to play with me!!

Why won't YOU play with me, Fiona??

Sadie is waiting for you to come play with her


On Monday after the funeral we picked Sadie up and brought her home. She is the runt of the litter, and so sweet. She is a very mellow puppy and seems to be very smart.

Today I just want to update previous entries......

My sister's surgery went well. She has been re-couping and doing very well - according to what she is telling us.

The robin eggs did not hatch. We had a hopeful morning the week they were scheduled to hatch. The boys thought they saw a shell with a crack in it. The day before that, Fiona had been paying special attention to that counter, so I thought maybe she was hearing the babies trying to hatch. While the boys were gone to school, I checked the eggs closer and noticed that if I held them just right, I could see through the shells. No baby birds. I saved the eggs so I could prove it to the boys before I got rid of them that they were not going to hatch. Pete was very sad.

Mike has managed to keep track of all his mugs lately :)

The work on the rental house is progressing. Another day or two will have the living room ready to paint. Mike is set to have Home Depot come to measure, then order and install the carpet. It is supposed to take a week for the whole process to happen. I think we are still on track to have it ready to rent by the end of May (knock on wood).

Our Loss

Today we lay to rest the Patriarch of my family. Robert LeRoy Fair lived a very long and loved 87 years. He had 67 years of loving marriage to Carol Jean (Cook) Fair. They brought 3 children into the world, had 5 grandchildern ( I was lucky to be one of these) and 13 great-grandchildren. He was everything good in the world - loving, gentle, gererous, strong, talented... I could go on and on. He is greatly missed, but in a better place after his almost 3 month battle with cancer. I love you Grandpa. I miss you. Here is the poem I wrote for the funeral service later today - Mike willl be reading it for me, I would never be able to make it through.

Dear Grandpa,

You always made time in your own special way
When your grandchildren came over to play
We fished on the ice, and you wrestled all five
Of the gandchildren demanding your time

You taught life lessons like: Sunday nights are for popcorn
And how to eat ice cream - "Is there any more?"
Centerpieces on tables make less room for food
And families are loving and helpful and good

I used to think that your counting was strange
"15 for 2" made no sense in your cribbage game
I felt very grown up when I was invited to play
The counting makes sense now, it's my favorite game

From the living room window, you'd wave at the boat
Whether we went by skiing or at a leisurly float
You came to my games and concerts and plays
Always there cheering, no matter the day

You supervised projects, we planted a tree
You checked the faucet I put in 'cause my old one had leaked
You're my biggest supporter when I'd try it myself
Always making the time when I needed your help

I know you're in Heaven now, giving the angels some grief
As they take you to fittings for your halo and wings
The family's all waiting there, to welcome you home
And I'm sure there is ice cream, so have a big bowl!
Love,
Amy

When A Cup is Not a Cup

I must admit that while we have been combining households, my "things" seem to be what we use, and many of his are ending up in the garage sale pile. He was a bachelor for seveal years, and a lot of his stuff is not a full set, or does not match anything. We are now a family of 4, and a lot of my stuff can accomidate that. A cup is not a cup when it threatens to begin a fight. Mike is a big tea drinker, hot tea, not iced tea, he drinks it almost every day. He opened the cupboard to get himself a mug and was upset because he could not find any of "his" mugs. They are nothing really special, most have business advertisements on them, but they are something of his still in use. "Where are all of my mugs, are they in the garage sale now too?" "No, honey, I don't know where they are, maybe the dishwasher?" Nope, not there, so I check the cupboard on my own, maybe he missed them, nope, not there. Ok, I will look around. Remember he was living here alone for several years... Here's one, on the nightstand where he had tea last night. Here are 3 in the office, around his desk. Oh, here's another, in the basement where he was working the other night. "Honey, I found your mugs." "Oh, sorry"

What Are The Odds?

When I took Steve up to the U of M hospital in Ann Arbor last September for his regular, every 2 years check-up, it happened to fall on the college move in day. The campus was a mess!! Cars everywhere, campus police all over the place, certain roads closed or only one way to try for a controlled chaos. Unfortuanately for those of us who just wanted to get in and out of the hospital, it was not easy. With all the cars parked everywhere, the roads were narrow, and my regular route shut down. I don't like driving in a city when I don't know where I am going and with all the bumper to bumper traffic and cars waiting for parking to open up to move their student in, well, I'm sure you can imagine how grateful I was to get back onto I-94 and on my way home. I vowed then and there, if I ever make an appointment around that time again to make sure it is not move-in day. So now, we come to Steve's appointment on Thursday. We got into Ann Arbor and traffic was heavy. Hey, we are in town later than normal, so maybe I just usually miss this. Then we pull onto campus. Cars were everwhere, and the chaos was back - Oh, no, how could we now be here on moving OUT day?