Let's Talk Turkey...

Okay, so on any given day while Cleo is at work, this is what our yard and the woods surrounding it look like...full of turkeys. And yet as soon as he gets home, camos up and heads into the woods to hunt turkey they amazingly disappear! Turkey season officially opened on March 21st and Cleo has diligently tried to call in a turkey and kill one without resorting to sitting on the back porch and just shooting one at the feeder. Several weeks before the season opened, we headed to the sporting goods' store, got him a turkey call thingamajig and he has been practicing (in the house while I'm trying to read or watch tv!) his turkey calls. He has read up on the internet and had coffee at the local waffle house with several old locals and tried to get all the ins and outs of successfully calling in a turkey and yesterday late in the afternoon it all paid off for him. He was like a little kid who shot something for the first time with his new BB gun when he came walking onto the back porch with his prize over his shoulder and a really big grin on his face...PRICELESS!! I was so excited for him...and we both figured that since he's been feeding them corn all winter it was only fair that he kill at least one of them. He said it was such a rush to call one in and actually get a shot at it.

Cleos' first turkey kill of the 2009 season

This wasn't the biggest Tom we have seen, but he was pretty good size. He had beautiful feathers.

So now that he's figured it out, I'm sure he will be out every night after work and on the weekends trying to do it again and get another one. He doesn't hunt just to kill anything but more for the sport of it. He has gotten pretty "soft" in his old age and he would never just go wild and kill something...but if he could get a really big Tom with a long beard, he would like to have it mounted to add to his "man cave" furnishings.

It is so cool to see him have so much fun right outside our own backdoor. He truly is in heaven our here......

Sue & Brent

This past weekend we were lucky enough to have Sue and Brent (Cleos' sister & brother in law)come and visit with us. They had been on a bike tour through the back country of GA, TN & NC with some friends and extended their stay by a night so they could come and see us. They got here Friday afternoon and Cleo got home from work shortly after. We visited for a while and then Jarod came down and went to dinner with us--Lindsey had to work late and wasn't able to come with him. We went to eat at a cute little diner in downtown Newnan called the Redneck Gourmet. It's obviously nothing fancy, but they have great food and the atmosphere is fun. Sue got to experience a southern treat and ordered fried pickles as an appetizer. The whole table enjoyed them. After dinner we went back to the house and Jarod left shortly after to head back home. We stayed up until well after midnight talking and laughing and just enjoying being around each other.

Sue and Brent...y'all are the BEST!!! We love you both so much and just appreciate you coming to see us and our new home. Even though we don't get together often enough, we can always just pick up where we left off and feel comfortable with each other. It's fun to spend time with family and not feel obligated to "entertain" or do anything special. We can't wait for the reunion this summer and to see the rest of the family. Thanks again for rearranging your schedule and coming down---thanks also for dinner and really glad you enjoyed the fried pickles!

Aren't they just the cutest sister and brother ever???

Happy Birthday Lindsey!!!

Tomorrow is Lindseys' birthday (our beautiful daughter in law) so to help her celebrate, Cleo and I went up to Atlanta last night and took her and Jarod out to dinner at our favorite Mexican Restaurant "Los Bravos". We eat up there whenever we get a chance and this was a perfect opportunity to enjoy good food and good company. Jarod had told me a while back that Lindsey was always stealing his cozy made for him by Grandma Cheney years ago, so I thought it was time she got her own. Now, I wish I could say that I made this beautiful pink NC State cozy for her but that would just be a lie!!! My good friend Alison made it for me and she did a beautiful job and Lindsey loved it. It has the NC State logo all over it in pink and then pink flannel on the reverse side so it will be nice and cozy and I don't think Jarod will be stealing this one from her...what with it being pink and all (what a plan, huh??).

This is a close up of the material...isn't it cute??

I ordered cupcakes from a great bakery here in Newnan called Sweet Sensations, but we were all so full after dinner that we didn't eat one. I hope that you enjoy them Lindsey and let me know if they're any good.

And then of course there's Georgia (Jarod and Lindseys' golden retriever). She is pretty much a "princess dog" and loves attention and she does like to pose for a picture so of course I couldn't leave her out of this blog. She is a sweet dog and a really good "practice in parenting" for Jarod and Lindsey.

Cleo and I hope that you have a wonderful birthday weekend Lindsey and hope that you enjoy your surprise today that Jarod has planned for you. We had a great time with y'all last night and we love you very much.

Blog Fog..........

It seems that I'm in a state of "blog fog" lately and don't really have anything of interest to write about. Apparently, I"m ready for the weather to warm up (and stay there) so that I can get outside and get some much needed fresh air. I"m just much happier when I can be outside and working in the yard and feeling the sunshine warm my skin. I'm not really sure how I ever managed a "Wyoming winter" and I think that I was really born a southern girl and seem to function much better in this climate. Now, my parents may disagree with that...but "It is what it is!" and I just love spring and summer here in Georgia.

So, to kick off the warm weather season (or pretend to anyway) Cleo and I are headed to Florida tomorrow for a long weekend with friends. The weather is gorgeous there right now and although I don't miss living in Florida at all, I do miss this time of year there. I have a dr. appt on Friday (decided to keep my sinus dr. there---he's great!) and we are gonna stay with our great friends The Mountains. They are the best and we miss them dearly so we're gonna play as much as possible in the 3 days we're there. We're planning to go to the dog track in St. Petersburg on Saturday night and that's always a hoot. It's pretty cheap entertainment and we always have great fun when we're with Tammy and Mike. It will re-energize me and prep me for spring in Georgia.

As I said, "I'm in a blog fog" and this is pretty much all I have to write about at this time. Maybe after we get home from Florida, I will have something of more interest to blog about. Stay tuned.....

Good News!

We heard from the transplant coordinator today and it was pretty good news. Cleos' GFR went up to 22 from 21 in December. You have to be at 20 or lower to be on the active transplant list, so this just buys him a little more time. He does have to have a stress test which they will schedule in the next couple weeks and he also has to see the urologist tomorrow for a prostate exam (how fun!) and these are both at the request of the insurance company. But other than those 2 things, everything else looked good. He will continue to be followed by his nephrologist and have blood drawn every 3 months to monitor the GFR. He goes back on March 9th for bloodwork and sees the dr. on the 16th so she will let us know if anything changes and be in constant contact with the transplant team in Atlanta.

We will continue to update as things change and to let y'all know when they will start testing potential donors. They aren't allowed to do that until he's on the active list otherwise the insurance won't pay for the testing and it's quite expensive so we can appreciate that.

We sure do have a wonderful family and network of friends who continue to pray for Cleos' health and well being. We do appreciate it even if we don't thank you individually. Love ya all...

Transplant Update

Yesterday was the "big day". Cleo met with the transplant team at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. Our day started very early...left the house at 5:20 am in order to be at the hospital promptly at 6:30. You never know what traffice will be like in Atlanta even that early in the morning, and we definately didn't want to be late. Anyhow, we made it in plenty of time and got started immediately. They had sent all the paperwork ahead of time, which cut down on a lot of time and then took him back to a room. There a nurse gathered the paperwork, gave him a name band and got the ball rolling. From there we went to the radiology dept. and they did an abdominal ultrasound...sent us to the cafeteria to get breakfast and whisked us to the education class which was a mass of organized information, literature, etc. explaining the whole transplant process. We went back to the clinic, where they drew at least 15 (yup, you read that right, 15!) vials of blood. After that we met with a social worker, a psychiatrist, one of the transplant surgeons, the head of the transplant dept. who is also a nephrologist, a dietician and were then introduced to the lady who will be Cleos' transplant coordinator. Now this may not seem so daunting to some, but we met with each of these professionals one at a time and they each had their own agenda. After that was done, they sent him back to radiology for a chest xray and then off to pulmonary for a PFT test. The whole process took 8 hours and we were both exhausted and ready to be home.

The whole goal of the transplant team is to find a suitable living donor so that when the time comes (and hopefully before Cleo goes on dialysis) the transplant can be done right away. The odds are so much better for organ longevity with a living donor and if he doesn't have to be on dialysis he will be stronger for the surgery. We must now wait for 3 weeks until the transplant committee meets again and they go over all the test results and evaluations done yesterday. According to the head of the transplant team, Cleo should be an excellent candidate and he feels very confidant that they will put him on the list at that time. Once we receive the call from our transplant coordinator letting us know their decision...then it's out of our hands. Any person wishing to be tested as a potential donor will then have to contact her personally expressing their desire to be tested. We cannot be involved in that for ethical reasons and the transplant team cannot contact a potential donor as that's considered "soliciting" and is illegal. Some of the initial tests could be done locally (where a donor may live) but if they were a blood match and the other tests looked good, then that person would have to come to Atlanta for 2 days of intense testing with the transplant team. The ONLY person who knows the outcome of the donor testing is the donor. We are not allowed to know unless that person wishes to tell us and the transplant team cannot divulge that info to us. If a match is found then the surgery would also be done here in Atlanta in adjoining operation rooms. They will test as many candidates as needed to find a match, but will only do one at a time due to the high cost of testing. Our insurance does pay for the donor testing and the Georgia Transplant Foundation could help with transportation costs for donors as well.

Cleo and I just want to say that we feel so blessed to have so many family and friends who have and continue to pray for his health and a positive outcome from this ordeal. This is all somewhat overwhelming to think that anyone would be willing to donate their kidney and go through this grueling process with us. It is not something that we would EVER ask any of you to do, nor could the gift ever be repayed, but since so many of you have expressed an interest in getting tested we wanted to pass this information on to you. As soon as we hear from the transplant team, I will update again and post the coordinators name and phone number.

Once again, we are extremely grateful for the gift of each of you in our lives. This road is much easier to travel with you by our sides. We love each of you.....

Megs' Visit

We had a surprise visitor last night for dinner---Megs (Cleos' niece). She came to Atlanta for business and drove down here to see our house. We enjoyed a nice dinner with her and Jarod and Lindsey were able to come down as well to see her. We really enjoyed our visit (even though it was too short!). These "kids" have just grown into the greatest adults and are just a hoot to be around. We sure appreciate you stopping in to see us Megan and only wish you could've stayed longer. We love you and have a safe trip to Florida and New York.

Lindsey, Megan and Jarod

Uncle Kevin (aka Cleo), Megan and Marcy

Transplant Appt.

Just a quick update to let y'all know that Cleo has an appt. with the Transplant Team at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta on Jan. 28th. He has to be there at 6:00 am and will be there all day. It's our understanding they will run a battery of tests that day, but we don't have any specifics right now. A nurse will be calling before that day to give us more information and we really hope to have answers to a lot of our questions at that appt. NOTHING has changed as far as his health---he is still feeling good and in stage 4, but inching closer to stage 5. I will update after that appt with more information.

Thank you to everyone for thinking of Cleo and praying for him. He will beat this thing and be around for many years to come. We sure love everyone of you!!!

Fun weekend with Extended Family

Stacie, Whit and their 4 beautiful little girls came down this past weekend from NC to visit us and we had a wonderful time. It meant a lot to both Cleo and I that they would make that 6 hour drive (especially with 4 little ones!) and just "hang out" with us. We really didn't do much, except go bowling on Saturday afternoon which was a hoot. I did post some pics of that fun, but I purposely left out the pics of our scores!!! That's because little Eliza beat us all!!! We decided that the next time we go, the adults need the ramps and bumpers and maybe, just maybe, that would increase our scores as well!!!

Stacie and I were able to get away for about an hour that morning to run over to a little consignment store that I just love and we both found some incredible bargains. I think she ended up with an LL Bean (I think that was the brand) down vest for around $7 or $8 bucks and it looked like brand new. I found a pair of jeans and some cords that were also like brand new and looked as if they'd never been worn. I really love a bargain. And you know what they say, "one mans trash is another mans treasure". So true.

Once again, I just want to say "Thank You" to Stacie and Whit for making the trip down here. We love you guys and you have a beautiful family.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

Okay, so this might not be your "typical" ringing in the New Year blog, but I gotta say it was rather peaceful at the Cheney home last night! We did go to some friends for food and fun last night and made it all the way to midnight (maybe the first time to be awake in years!) and watched the ball drop in Times Square. It was a lot of fun to get together with good friends to ring in a new year. But, the best part of the whole night was when we got home and went to bed(get your minds out of the gutters!). You see, Cleo had developed a nasty habit of snoring so loud that it kept me awake---but the kicker was when he woke himself up. So, in Cleo fashion, he surfed the net and found this awesome RipSnore mouth guard and ordered it. I was leary at first thinking there's no way this will work and absolutely no way he'll keep it in all night. Well, much to my surprise...IT WORKS!!! No more snoring and he says he actually feels rested in the mornings again. Of course I'm a much happier camper now that I can sleep thru the night as well. So I guess we rang in the New Year in peace and lets just hope it stays peaceful all year long!

I also wanted to show this really cool sign that Jarod and Lindsey had made for Cleo for Christmas. He hung it the other day above the shed door and it looks really nice. He really loves our "little piece of heaven" out here in the beautiful Georgia country and loves tinkering in his yard and the woods behind. Thanks Jarod and Lindsey for the awesome gift!

I hope that each of you have a happy and healthy 2009. We are looking forward to the new year and all the blessings it will bring our way.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This truly is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!! Cleo and I really had a great Christmas and enjoyed spending it with family and a few friends. We started it off on Christmas Eve with just Cleo and I having a "Thanksgiving feast" at his request. I made a turkey breast with stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy and rolls (nothing like a little starch!). We then went to a beautiful candlelight service at church that was truly magical. We came home and opened one gift from each other as has always been our tradition. On Christmas morning I was so surprised to find that Cleo had purchased an antique ladder that I had seen months ago but was told was for display purposes only. Well Cleo, being as thoughtful as ever, went in and sweet talked the lady who owns the shop. She originally told him that she wouldn't sell it but would look for another one for him. After weeks of looking, with no success, she called him up and said she remembered how much I loved that ladder and she wanted to make this Christmas special for me and that she would indeed sell it to him. Is that not the sweetest gesture ever??? I am just amazed at how much thought went into that gift and I think it made him just as happy to see my delight. I got him a double trail cam to put in the woods behind the house and a heavy duty spotlight. He was just like a kid in a candy store and couldn't wait to "play" with his new toys. The spotlight didn't work after charging all day and we had to take it back on the 26th, but found one that was even nicer, with a carrying case, so that was a pretty good deal. The trail cam works perfect and takes pretty good pictures so lets just hope now some wildlife will stumble into its path. Jarod and Lindsey came down on Christmas day around noon and we then opened gifts with them. They did way too much for us and we just really enjoyed spending the day/night with them and Georgia (the dog). We are so thankful to live close to family and only wish that our other kids lived as close. We enjoyed a really nice roast pork loin dinner with them and some friends who recently moved here from Miami. After our friends left that evening, we played Skip Bo with Jarod and Lindsey and had a really good time. I had never played that game before and now I want to go buy it! On Friday morning, Cleo and Jarod got up early and went hunting for a couple hours (no luck) and then I cooked pancakes and bacon for breakfast. It was just really a great Christmas---but honestly the greatest gift this year for Cleo and I both was being in our home and finally feeling settled. We feel blessed in ways too numerous to mention and I pray we can keep this magical feeling alive throughout the coming year.

This is my antique ladder with all my quilts displayed on it. I really LOVE IT!!!

This was how Cleo left it after I went to bed Christmas Eve. I was so surprised on Christmas morning---just like when I was a kid and couldn't wait to see what Santa had left.

Cleo playing with his spotlight and trailcams.

Jarod and Lindsey with Georgia. Jarod was going for the "Griswold" look this year---don't you just love his sweater?? He actually didn't think the sweater was tacky enough and it's now Lindseys' mission to find a gaudier (is that even a word?) one for next year. They are both great and we are lucky to have them so close. Thank you both for a wonderful Christmas!

I hope that each of you had a truly wonderful Christmas as well and that we'll all try and keep a little bit of that magic in our life all year long.

Cleos' Dr. Appt.

Just a quick post to tell everyone that Cleo went to the dr. again yesterday and there wasn't a huge change. His creatinine went up just a bit and his GFR went down a bit which does indicate that there has been a little more kidney damage, but not enough to bump him from stage 4 to stage 5. His potassium and phosphorus levels continue to be normal as well as his blood pressure and there is no swelling or extreme fatigue, so those are all good signs. The dr. did give us somewhat of a timeframe. She felt like he would need to be on dialysis/prepare for transplant within a year, but of course there are no guarantees it will be that long or it could even be 2-3 years. It at least gives us plenty of time to prepare for the inevitable and we just continue to live our lives normal and take each day as it comes. Cleo has such an amazingly positive attitude which we hope will comfort our families (especially our kids) and as the dr. said...that's more than half the battle. She said to just live life and when the time comes, we are in good hands and know that it will all work out. We are once again very grateful for each of you and the prayers that continue to be said for us.

December Fun

I really love this time of year! Everyone is so festive and happy and it also gives me a time to reflect on all the blessings bestowed upon our family. I also love decorating the Christmas tree (not so much the whole house--but it gets done!). Jarod and Lindsey surprised us with this beautiful Christmas tree they cut down up in Cashiers, NC. It actually sat in the garage for 2 days as Cleo and I both caught colds the last day in Mexico and we just didn't feel like putting it up, but once it was up, I had a lot of fun decorating it. Thanks Jarod and Lindsey for thinking of us. Sorry the picture is so blurry--but I retook it 3 times and that's just how it turned out!

This is a picture of the wall in our family room that I had painted this week. It turned out beautiful and really added to the character of the room and made the fireplace mantle stand out a bit more.

We also had the painter do the entire dining room as well (same color) and it turned out really good as well.

He also did the half wall beneath the kitchen bar area. I want to eventually have him do the breakfast nook and the entire kitchen the same color, but we needed some warranty work done on those walls from the nailpops, so until that is done, we didn't want to have it painted. I really wish I could do the painting myself, but after the fiasco with the trim around the shed, I don't think that would be such a good idea :~o The painter we hired had done several of the neighbors houses and did such a good job at a very reasonable price that we just decided that was the only way it would get done. Anyhow, that is what we've been up to this December and now we're just looking forward to spending Christmas with Jarod and Lindsey and some of our friends who recently moved up here from Miami. Hope y'all have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Fun in the Sun

Cleo and I just returned late Saturday night from a week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We were celebrating our 20th anniversary which was in July, so this little towel display that was on our bed when we checked in was pretty appropriate. We had such a great time just hanging out on the beach, eating, walking on the beach, we even did boogie boards one day. That's not as easy as it looks and lets just say I "drank" more than a little salt water and lost my bathing suit once!!! I thought I was drowning, so I wasn't too worried about the bathing suit issue and was pretty concerned that I couldn't breathe for a second--but in the end, I got the suit back on and the salt out of my nose and all was well again. Cleo took a few pretty good licks also, and he also lost his trunks but got them back on before he exposed himself to the world!

One day we rented a jeep and drove about 45 minutes north of PV to a little seaside fishing village called Sayulita and another one just a few miles further called San Francisco. It was so cool driving through the mountains and seeing the "real Mexico" and not just the resort cities and beaches. It was a really neat little town and we ate a a great little restaurant right on the beach that cooks whatever they catch that day. It was some of the best shrimp I've ever eaten. We just walked around the town and shopped a little after that and then drove back to PV and into the city that night. We never could find a parking spot, so ended up just sight seeing from the jeep, but it was still pretty neat. We found out later that 2 cruise ships had docked that afternoon, so when that happens, the locals jack the prices up on everything so we really didn't miss anything by not getting to shop there.

All in all, it was a really great trip and very relaxing for us both. We both had a little eye opener Sat. night when we landed in Atlanta as it was only about 38 degrees and we had been enjoying temps in the 80's all week in Mexico. We also both woke up with colds the last morning there so we're glad to be home in our own beds if we have to be sick! Jarod and Lindsey surprised us Sunday afternoon and brought down a beautiful 8 ft. Christmas tree they had cut down at her Moms' place in NC, so hopefully tonight we'll both feel like putting it up and decorating it.


First day on the beach

This is the view from our balcony of one of the pools at the hotel

This is the view of the back of the hotel as you walk up from the beach

This is the beach at our hotel

Dinner picture

Fiesta night--these hats were really quite heavy!

Lunch at the beach in Sayulita--the biggest Pina Colada EVER!!

Walking on the beach at Sayulita

The fresh shrimp the locals caught in Sayulita---HUGE!

Now, doesn't this look just like Megan Porter?? Cleo and I were both just staring at her. Her name is Cassie and she was there with her 2 girlfriends from Wisconsin on a girls trip. They were the nicest people and we hung out with them a couple different times at the pool.

I even tried to take part in the dance lessons on the beach one afternoon. That's me on the far right--and as you can tell, Cleo only wanted to take pictures and not join in the festivities!!

This was the sunset on our last night there. We tried to take pictures of us on the beach with it, but the flash wouldn't go off on the camera, so you can't see our faces at all, only black silhouettes.

We are already trying to figure out where to go next. We definately want to go to Greece for our 25th anniversary but we'd like to go at least every year or every other year (if finances permit) to someplace tropical. We just love the beach and the ocean and if we could, we'd just travel all the time, but it's back to work now (for Cleo--haha!) to save up for that next trip.

I Love it!!

Last night Cleo started our very first fire in the fireplace. Now, to most of you this shouldn't be such a big deal, but we were so excited. Kinda like little kids at Christmas almost. You see, it's been almost 13 years since we've had a wood burning fireplace and that was one of the most important things we wanted in this house when we built it. It's been since we lived in Wyoming since we've enjoyed the real warmth of burning wood in a fireplace and not just lighting the gas. We have had a couple of those in all our moves since leaving Wyoming, but it was just never the same feeling. It was in the 40's last evening as we were watching tv and it just felt like the right time to light one. Cleo has quite a bit of wood cut from clearing all the trees in the woods around the yard, but he didn't have much of it split so we only got to enjoy it for about 2 hours before we ran out of wood. We will try to work on that project later in the weekend so we can stockpile for the next time. I guess as I get older, it's really the little things in life that make me the happiest. The smile on Cleos' face and the warmth in our home are the two things that make me the happiest.

Holiday Tag...Thanks Sara!!!

Okay, so this is my first time to be tagged as well. Thank you Sara, but I'm sure my answers/comments won't be near as funny to read as yours. But here goes anyway...

Top 3 Vacations:
1. Cancun
2. Myrtle Beach (when the kids were in school--too much fun!)
3. Canada (as a kid, my parents took me and my siblings there--aw, memories!)

Top 3 Favorite Flowers:
1. Lillies
2. Tulips
3. Roses

Top 3 Comfort Foods: Gotta agree with Sara--a girl shouldn't have to choose only 3!
1. Chocolate
2. My Moms' homemade chicken and noodles---YUMMY!
3. Chocolate---oh wait, did I already mention that one??
Contrary to my daughters blog, I do eat some things that aren't fried, although a good artery clogger is always good for the soul!

Top 3 Places to Shop:
1. Victorias' Secrets---that's right, it's nice to look good on the inside too!
2. Ann Taylor Loft---this one is tied with Lowes/Home Depot (I know, get a life, right?)
3. Bath & Body Works

Top 3 Opinions About Halloween:
1. Used to be one of my favorite, not so much anymore.
2. If I don't get any trick-or-treaters again next year, I'm boycotting!!!
3. Seriously, it means fall is officially here and I really love this time of year.

Top 3 Opinions About Thanksgiving:
1. I think Thanksgiving doesn't get the props it deserves---everyone is in such a rush for
Christmas to get here, that we forget what Thanksgiving is all about.
2. Of course it makes me stop and count all my blessings and think of family far away.
3. And last, but probably first, FOOD!!!!!!

Top 3 Opinions About Christmas:
1. First and foremost, the birth of Our Savior and how some don't recognize that, how sad.
2. A lot of us get caught up in the gift giving or receiving and not the true meaning of Xmas.
3. Imagining the look on my grandkids faces when they wake to see what Santa
left them! That is what makes me happy and also a prayer that some day I will see that
look in person. I know this one isn't really an opinion, but a wish---does that count?

Top 3 Things I look forward to during the week:
1. Drinking my morning coffee and reading the newspaper
2. Cleo coming home from work and telling me about his day
3. Bedtime---even though I'm not a great sleeper, but I love watching tv in bed and
snuggling with Cleo while he sleeps.

Top 3 Events Happening this week:
1. The drywaller came and did the second application to my living room ceiling! Yah
2. I'm gonna get up early on Sat. and go sit in a tree stand with Cleo---my first official
time to do that kind of hunting---I only pray that it won't be cold or I fear I'll chicken
out.
3. Dinner with friends on Saturday evening---assuming I don't fall out of the treestand on
Saturday morning!

Now, I tag Tami Erickson and Suzan Mendenhall as I don't have near the blog followers that you young people have and I'd just really like to see these 2 update their blogs!!! Just kidding, but seriously guyz--update your blogs! Love ya and hope you know I'm kidding.

What a Mess!!

Does this look like a brand new living room to you? Well, it will by next week again I'm pretty sure! We have had a leak in the roof above the living room since the spring and the roofers have been out 4 times---and everytime they leave they say it's fixed. So we wait until we get another rain to see if the ceiling is wet and sure enough, everytime it's leaked again. So last week Cleo finally lost his patience and decided that he would call the warranty dept himself. Now, let me tell you that he lost his temper (not Cleo, right??) and he and the secretary got into a pretty heated shouting match and he basically told them if they didn't get it right this time, he would call an attorney. So last Wed. the roofers came out, ripped all the shingles off that part of the roof (which they never had done before--just patched without looking) and sure enough, they found 3 spots that were leaking. So they fixed them and reshingled the roof and told us to wait until after the weekend because it was supposed to rain and if after the rain it hadn't leaked again, to call the warranty dept. and schedule the drywallers to come out and fix the ceiling. Well, as you can see by this picture, they had to cut out a 2x6 foot section of the ceiling which they did yesterday and then they had another crew come back today and do the first drywall application. I guess that has to dry for a couple days and then they will come back and do the second application and then I have to schedule the painters to come out and paint!!! So I just got off the phone with the drywall company and they can't come back until Monday so I have to put up with this mess for the rest of the week. At least they got the hole covered which was pretty important as the temps dropped to freezing last night and there was a pretty good draft coming thru the attic. We had to move all the furniture (well, they did it for me) and take pictures down so nothing would get too messed up.

They did a pretty good job covering the furniture with plastic to keep all the drywall dust from coating it.

I'm sure this drywaller was thrilled when he heard my camera snapping pictures of him!!

You'd think this was a woman because of the ponytail, but it was actually a guy! Anyhow, we will be glad to get this mess cleaned up just in time for the builder to start working on our 10 month warranty work which should be in about 6 weeks. I just don't know why they can't coordinate their schedules a little better and get it all done in a matter of days, instead of weeks!!! I guess it just gives me another excuse not to go looking for a job just yet because who would supervise all this??? Anyhow, we really are enjoying our home and we know that every new home owner has issues when they build a house. I guess ours have been pretty minor compared to some of the nightmare stories we've heard over the years from friends who have built. This home is definately a keeper.