Hallelujah! We Are Not Alone

Upgrades are nice, but remodeling out of necessity isn't much fun.  While cleaning the front bathroom one day, I noticed that the floor felt soft in front of the counter.  Rusty and I searched high and low for a leak, but none could be found.  Eventually we took the flooring and counter out to discover the damage was much more than just a small soft spot as it had apparently been going on for a long while. The water heater had been leaking and running under the counter. The damage couldn't be seen until it spread past that area. (For a similar story, see Water Damage 101 from Feb. 26th) We knew we would need to patch the subfloor and install new floor covering. However, before it was over with, we were having to repair floor joists as well.  Since it's just the two of us at home now and we had another functioning bathroom, we took the opportunity to make several changes while we were at it, and we could do it at our own pace. This included: walling up a closet, insta...

When we bought our property, there were several trees in a row next to the house.  Through the years, storms and disease have taken some of them out. The latest was a large poplar that started dying for no obvious reason. As limbs began to drop and the chances of it falling on a vehicle increased, we had it cut down. A few days later, the clean-up process began.  The small dead limbs burned easily, but the large trunk and log like pieces took a little more effort. There were times when it would look like the fire had just about gone out but by adding a few small sticks to the hot, orange coals and using the tractor to continue pushing everything closer to the stump as it burned, flames would roar again. Are there times when you feel that your fire is dying out? Maybe you’re stressed, spread too thin, or just plain tired. Does it take a lot of effort to make it to church or study your Bible? I think we’ve probably all been there at some point.  The question is…  How d...

A while back, I was mowing the grass at Mom's camp when these bright yellow cactus flowers caught my eye.  I snapped a picture so I could show Rusty the prickly pear in full bloom.  As I was trying to get the best angle for the photo, I noticed the sharp needle-like spines near the center of the plant. They were long enough and thick enough to easily see and know to avoid.  There's no doubt a poke by one would be painful.  What isn't as easy to see, are the tiny hair-like spines that cover each pad.   If you’ve ever fooled with any cactus, you know what I’m talking about. They're usually covered in tiny fibers that can enter the skin and hide from anyone trying to remove them. I’ve had them in my fingers before and Rusty or the kids weren't much help in removing them. I could feel them but not see them and they couldn’t feel or see them. I would end up having to remove them myself, which would sometimes take days to accomplish. This is similar to anything w...

  We've all been frustrated. Bad customer service and bad driving are probably at the top of everyone's frustration list.  I recently placed an online order at a local restaurant. When I walked in, there was one lonely bag sitting on the shelf. It had my name and the description of my order printed on the receipt. I picked it up and went on my way. When I opened the bag, I discovered that it had been mislabeled. While I was fine eating what I received, I called to let them know about the mix up so it could be corrected before someone else ended up with the wrong items too. I was surprised when instead of hearing, Sorry for the mix-up , I heard... "Well, that's because you took the wrong bag!!"  Thankfully, the thoughts that were going through my head at the time were not what came out of my mouth. I responded with something like... Sorry, I thought it was mine and just thought you might need to know. But that’s not at all what I wanted to say.   I'll admit tha...

                                        What do you think of when you hear... Labor Day? For most, it means a day off of work. It also marks the unofficial end of summer and lots of sales for those eager to find a bargain. For me, it means a day of bathroom remodeling and painting. It's no fun to labor on Labor Day, but I'm thankful to have the time and the ability to complete the task. More than sixty countries around the world have designated days to recognize their workers. Celebrated on the first Monday of September, Labor Day honors the American workforce and the achievements made through trade and labor organizations. It became a federal holiday in 1894, but thirty states were already celebrating it with Oregon being the first in 1887. While most consider 40 hours a week a full load, it's a lot less than the average 70-hour weeks those of the 1830s were expected to work.  I'm c...