Ninety Years Old and...

~~...in need of a face lift! Our house is a lovely lady, built in 1920 for John's grandparents. It's the first house in Temple to have electricity. His grandfather had a generator that he powered the church, the house, and his stores with. The wood used in construction was cut off the farmland he owned. We started renovation in 1980 and in successive waves, we have lowered the ceilings from twelve feet to ten, refreshed the walls with paint and wallpaper, and added a solarium and second bathroom. The house survived a direct hit from a hundred year old pecan tree during hurricane Opal in 1995.


~~During the last two weeks, John and Rayford, a family friend, have removed the ninety-year-old siding from the west side. It was beginning to show its age. By the way, this is the side of the house with the cherry tree referred to in my blog title. They have replaced it with plywood weather sheathing, house wrap, and new concrete fiber siding. Then they are painting her with a new, darker coat of green paint. If you look at the photos closely enough, you will see the name of the building supply store we purchased materials from. ; )


~~John plans to tackle the east side next spring. Around here, I don't create "Honey do" lists. He creates his own "Honey, I'm going to do this next" lists. It's great to be married to a handyman. ; )

Helping Momma Write

~~Do you have little helpers when you write? I do. I have two poodle helpers who constantly have to find a way to wiggle their way into the job. I'll be honest, typing is a lot harder when a puppy tongue is licking your thumbs. ; ) Or two puppy feet are propped on your lap and the little head nudges your elbow. That's what happens around here.

~~After realizing they can't make Momma stop working, Casey and Max take up new positions. Casey becomes the guardian of the study and Max sits politely and watches me type. Here's two photos to show the action. I was unaware John was taking the computer one. Max wasn't. ; ) John said it was really cute when Max was reading with me.

~~If you have little helpers, I hope they are as sweet as mine are--at least most of the time.

Happy Birthday to Casey and Max!

~~Believe it or not, Casey and Max are one year old today. They are big and bouncy and a delight to live with. Their early gift was to get to sleep with us in the big bed. Yeah, we know. It's a classic picture--the big dog crowding out the owners of the bed. But really--how much can two toy poodles crowd us? It's just sweet and they don't jump on and off the bed. They sleep all night cuddled up beside us. This morning, they got extra wet food for breakfast. Yum! At least to them. ; ) Here's a first day home photo and some "my, how big you've grown!" shots to compare.

Done!

~~Well, it's as done as a rough draft can be. I finished A Christmas Walk's rough draft and now I'm planning to start the rest of the process. As many of you know, editing, formatting, and getting a manuscript ready for printing is a much longer process than writing the rough draft. In fact, this rough draft is a record. I've written it in about four months! I'm amazed and thrilled that it is done. Now on to the tough job. ; )
~~I'm going on the record of when the rest of the job will be done. In April, I'll do the first rough edit and type it in. Yes, I'm a long hand composer. If that is complete by May, I'll let my husband John and Susan Edwards at it. June is scheduled for two more of my close readers. In July, I plan to finish the ticky formatting stuff and in August, if all is going well, we print.
~~So wish me luck and fast fingers. ; )