I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this!

I met the podiatrist this morning. He was very congenial, a bit older than I, very distinguished looking with a full head of white hair and a white beard. Funny, my podiatrist in Lufkin had a beard too. Don't think it is a requirement, do you? I liked him a lot and he seemed very competent. The office was fairly busy, but he took plenty of time with me, almost an hour. I had x-rays made and of course his exam. He diagnosed heel spurs on both feet, with the left being the worse. He prescribed a NSAID, Lodine for me to take daily. I was glad to get a new prescription, because the one's I have been taking for the last month are more than expired. Anyhow, he seemed to think the NSAID would help, but this would help even more.

To say this was a surprise was an understatement. He put on something called an Unna Boot, which from what I gathered reading more about it on the Internet is not the shoe thing but the compression bandages underneath. The real kicker is that I have to wear this thing for 12 days and stay off my feet. Showers in a plastic bag! Oh boy!

Baking Halloween Treats

The grandchildren came to bake cookie for Halloween. I decided to do this the easy way and used pre-cut shaped sugar cookies. It turned out to be a good decision, as there were just enough cookies and the project was finished in under an hour. Of course I have pictures of the bake-off ....

Zack studies the challenge at hand - he decided I should separate the cookie from the paper, and he would place them on the cookie tray.

The next challenge was waiting for them to come out of the oven ....

Waiting around - or waiting on the floor while waving our foot around!

Next came decorating. Maddie has phone in hand in case we need to call for help! This was before she put on her apron and decided to lend a hand.

In the end she became the precision sprinkler. Zack did frosting, Maddie did sprinkles. And were they good?

This was his third cookie, so I guess they passed the taste test.

What are these people waiting for?

It's a Parade!

Thank you!

Today was the Halloween Parade at Crossridge! The kids had a great time, and made quite a haul! Don't click on read more - cause it would be a trick! There isn't any more!

Like I have nothing better to do today

I spent the morning looking up tree leaves and I finally narrowed the 2 maples in the back yard down to this - Acer Rubrum, shown in the picture above. My leaves look like the top two small leaves. According to the references I found (from Oregon State no less) my tree could also be some variation of this species. Apparantly there is a maple that is often a cross between the red maple and the silver maple (which I originally thought my trees were) which is called a Freeman maple. There are three kinds of Freeman Maples and my leaves also look like one of those: the Armstrong Maple, shown below.

The issue I have with my tenative identification is that my leaf is not as flat at the base where the stem attaches to the leaf as the first picture, and is very serrated on the edges.But hey, my leaves are turning red!!! So I am close.

Oops !

I managed (my fault entirely) to mess up my email program this morning and I have lost every email address, every phone number, every street address and yes every birthday for everyone I know ..... you got the drill. I am so upset with myself (not to mention how upset Eric is). So, anyone who stumbles upon this entry who is someone I contact, and has family or friends, children, or whom ever that I write too, please send me an email to rootjoanna@comcast.net. Please send any important information, like birthdays and anniversaries, work and cell numbers, etc!

Cat keeps eye on construction crews!

Cat Perch
Originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

We are having a neighborhood uproar about the construction trucks that are using our street to access the new homes being built in our area. To make a long story short, it won't change, and other than attempting to make them obey speed laws, there isn't much that is going to be different.

We personally, haven't found the noise or traffic to be annoying. Some people say their houses shake - maybe that might come about later, but I don't think so. Luckily we already have a buffer on both sides and all the houses on the other side of the street are mostly finished. Mostly we will just have to put up with the parade.

However, the constant stream of traffic does give Silly something to watch. She has no complaints.

Re-connected with the WWW

Today was a big day, the newspaper finally arrived and we were able to get connected to the internet again. I know this doesn't seem like a major thing, but it certainly turned out to be a trial by fire. Our first hurdle was the USPS. For over two weeks they did not have us in their national database. Now, this only seems strange because we were getting mail from them. Go figure ... they don't use their own database maybe? Because they didn't undate their database, Getconnected.com which is an internet company that is used to see what internet service is available was unable to validate that we were actually there. Once we finally showed up in the USPS, then we found out that not only Getconnected still didn't have us, but neither did Comcast. Go figure that one, since we already have cable TV from Comcast. Anyhow, someone higher up at Circuit City was finally able to get around all this .... and we are connected. And it is way cool to be connected at this speed! It's like driving a race car after being in a child's pedal car.

Lufkin News Pictures

I found this link this morning from the Lufkin Daily News and though I would share it with everyone. Pay special attention to the second picture! A Lufkin landmark has fallen! I do hope they put the bull back up, he's been up there as long as I remember, since 1966 for sure! Also the last picture, number 9, of the tree on a house speaks mightily of what many in Mom and Dad's neighborhood are facing. Their old mature trees just couldn't take the high wind. It seems to me that most of these pictures were from the wext side of town. I expect they will have more on their web site later today.

Rita Rita on Her Way

Be sure and check this link, especially is you have a good Internet speed connection. If you click on the little boxes at the top you can see the counties, and pick out Angeline county. (It is the county that has 5 counties on it's borders- left of Lake). Tropical Forecast Path is the last box to the right. Play with clicking on and off the boxes, you can see the Radar sweep, winds, etc. Be sure and refresh (down below) to keep it at real time. Lufkin should get a huge amount of rain soon and I see on the KTRE blog Angelina County is under flood alert.

Lufkin KTRE Blog

Here's one of the most up to date sites I have found for Lufkin news. I see on the morning reports they are getting gusts to 40 MPH now. For your information, Lufkin is 31.34N and 94.73 W.

Rita Rita Go Away

Click on the link above (Rita Rita Go Away) and you will see amazing loop photo of hurricane Rita. As far as I know this is real time and should continue to be accurate on through the day today. I pray everyone is safe and sound as this passes over.

Friday - After the Walk-through

We met the Eagle walk through person at 2 and finished up at 4:45. I think it took longer than she thought it would, but we were pretty ruthless with pointing out places that needed touching up.If you could see inside there are about 150 pieces of blue tape pointing out dings, and paint boo boo's. Nothing major at all. The most serious was a spot of stain (varnish) on the carpet right where you walk into the room. Not sure what they will do about it.

The supervisor came by ( the one Eric had so much trouble with) - and made nice-nice with us. He will meet with us for a final punch check list on the day before closing. He said we would have grass by then. We could see that they had tested the sprinklers and the flower bed in front looked pretty nice. If these plants die they will be replaced. Right now we are getting a light rain, so that can only do good.

Look At Me!! I'm a Lamb!!!

You Are A: Lamb!

Peaceful and gentle, lambs have been used in religious imagery for millennia. Lambs are baby sheep, an animal tended by shephards since the dawn of history. As a lamb, you tend to stay together in a flock and graze on grassy land. Lambs don't mind being led and tend not to go off on their own.

You were almost a: Bunny or a Duckling
You are least like a: Squirrel or a ParakeetWhat Cute Animal Are You?

Sally had this cute quiz on her blog tonight, and I couldn't resist seeing what I most resemble! I'm sure it was the ears that did it for me ... what do you think Daddy?

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

Tonight Eric called me outside the motel where we are staying to see somthing neat! I have to say, this is the first time I have ever seen a moth that was so beautiful. We watched it drink nectar from the flowers, and it was amazing. It looks so much like a hummingbird it is easy to think that's what it really is. I immediately came inside and googled moth that looks like a hummingbird, and there it was! Exciting to see something new!

Stuck in Houston

Well, Russell and Amy finally turned back after 12 hours of driving crawling in traffic on their way to Lufkin. In 12 hours they made 40 miles. Ridiculous! They are exhausted and have returned to Amy's parents brick home.

It's pretty obvious that Houston took some cues from what happened in Louisiana, unfortunately, too many people on the road, and the road were still only open in one direction until late afternoon. Russell told us they would try again if and only if the time frame for the drive to Lufkin changed. The highway (I45) to Dallas is a 100 mile backup and they were predicting the drive to take 23 hours.

Running Away From Rita

Russell, Amy and Skyler have left their home in Houston some time last night (in the middle of the night) and are headed for Lufkin.

I talked to Mom and Dad in Lufkin this morning and Russell and Skyler in his Honda, and Amy in her Jeep are on the road. They had been traveling over 4 hours (as of nine this morning) already, and just made it to Porter, which as many of you know, is not very far north of the Airport, no more than 20 miles. So their progress is really slow. I am hoping that their pace will pick up once they get a bit further north, as there will be fewer side roads feeding on to 59.

So, once again family members are in the headlights of a hurricane. Mike, Sally and Anne dodged at least three last year, Eric and I got one direct hit two years ago, family in Louisiana just three weeks ago and now this in Houston. Anybody up for moving to a mountain top in Colorado? We could have a commune!

Saturday excitement

It's two weeks to house closing, and it seems like the time will never get here. Meanwhile, I have had some fun moments here while staying with Rebecca and the kids. The biggest event for me (quite a new experience) happened last Saturday morning.

Tom, and now Becky, are long time fans of Bruce Springsteen, they love his concerts. Bruce announced a concert here in Richmond a few weeks ago, and of course the two of them were hot for tickets.

It seems tickets are a tricky proposition, requiring finesse and mind blowing strategies (To Becky and I). Well Tom, being up to the task, and Becky and I being game for anything, were up and on the road Saturday morning, with kids in tow, to be at the Coliseum in downtown to get tickets. But not tickets for the show, tickets to get in line for a lottery to try to get tickets for the show! We were each given a number at 8 sharp, 05, 06 and 07. You see, they do the line-up to buy a ticket by lottery, whoever's ticket is drawn is number 1 in line, and then the rest of the people line up in ticket order.This prevents scalpers from buying big lots of tickets. Online tickets are almost impossible without a high speed connection.

So, once we had our 3 tickets, we broke for breakfast, because the drawing for the lottery wasn't until 9:30. Tom went on to a ball tournament with Zack and left Becky and I (and Maddie) to take our chances, but not before briefing us to find someone to trade with for our number 06. The thought and logic being that if we had a group of numbers spaced out, we would have a better chance. If they drew 08 we would have been last in line. So, Becky went off to trade the 06, and I, looking older and innocent was offered another ticket by the man handing out tickets. He told me it was 55. I didn't even look at it, I just took it and smiled. We now had 4 tickets!!! becky traded for a 20, and my 55 was really a 14. We thought we were in good shape.

Well, the number was drawn, and it was 05. I thought Becky would stroke out, as it was her ticket. I ended up 3rd in line, and the man she traded with for the 20 slot was 3rd. He was almost as excited as she was. Turns out we then had to decide if we wanted floor seats (she and Tom did) or other regular seats. Tom had committed to buying 4 of the regular seats, so I was in charge of those four. The ticket gurus split the line to those wanting floor seats, and those wanting others, so I was first in the other line, Becky first in Floor. Then they announced the “others” would be given a 4 minute jump on Ticketmaster. Seems most tickets for his concerts are sold in about 10-15 minutes. Floor people got a 2 minute jump.

To cut to the chase, I got the first 4 tickets, very good seats, for Tom's friends. Then Becky got her two, and the number 06 man got two, and then, the floor was entirely sold out. Less than 3 minutes. She was so excited, as this will be the closest they have even been.

First Day of School -

We'll it's been busy and hectic the last few days. We ended up having to purchase a new set of tires for the truck. Not in our budget plans actually, but obviously needed. We did notice a vast improvement in the ride of the truck with these new wheels, lots quieter. Silly did not wail as we drove over the bumpy stretches of pavement around Williamsburg so if they make her happy that's all that matters. We picked up our TV's from Sears and managed to get them tucked safely into Becky's garage. I was a bit worried about unloading them, but Eric managed nicely and we had Tom's hand truck which made it much easier.

Eric has gone on to Baltimore and I have been busy being Nana. Zack went to meet his preschool teacher today, and a picture of his first day of school follows.

Sunday after Katrina

As you can see I have added a link to the Red Cross in my sidebar. I'd like to encourage everyone who might read this blog or come across it to help the victims of Katrina in some way. If not money, prayers. There are several knitting bloggers Wendy and Margene and Susan who have set up sites and made arrangements for auctions and prizes as incentive to donate to a good cause. Be sure and check their blogs out if you have not seen them already. Give a Little has more information. Every Little Bit Helps!

Not much has happened here on the boat this weekend. We are having beautiful cool weather. A nice breeze. However most of the boaters who when out on their boats have returned because it is a bit too breezy. Those that had three day plans came back yesterday because tomorrow is supposed to be so iffy. I guess with the cost of fuel and gasoline it might be better. I actually wonder why the president didn't ask everyone to stay home this weekend in order to conserve fuel. Of course the businessmen in this country would not have liked that.

Where will it end?

I don't think any of us have even an inkling of all the consequences of Hurricane Katrina. Today I heard two very different examples.The UPS man came into the office while I was working to deliver a package. I asked him how he was, etc and what was new. He said all the local UPS trucks are no longer using the fuel that is in the tanks at the UPS local hub, instead they are going to be buying their gas locally. They hope they won't run out, but just in casegas gets scarce, they will still have their reserves to fuel from.

A man from the local plumbing company came in and said they have been notified by their distributor that there will be no more shipments of PVC anywhere on the East Coast. Seems all the PVC pipe for the East Coast comes from one plant that supplies all this area, and it is in New Orleans. Can you imagine what this is going to do to plumbers? Oh how about building? We speculate that getting anything related to building homes is going to be scarce and costly.

Spammed

Last night when I went to get email I had received a half dozen emails telling me of comments on this blog. When I read them they were all junk, advertizing other web sites. So, in order to remedy this, I have changed the way you are able to comment. If you make a comment, you will be asked to verify text before blogger accepts and posts the comments. It seems the spam that is generated by auto spammers can't pass this test. We'll see if it works or not.

New pictures posted

There are new photos at Flickr
See Family here.
See Househere.
Hope you enjoy the new pictures of the grandkids, Skyler, Maddie and Zack!

Look Out Below

Coming out of the yard towards the water.

In Position to begin lowering.

In the water.


This was the scene Tuesday as we put Auana Ke Kai back in the water.
The first picture might be a bit confusing, the red truck is not pulling the lift. The lift actually has a driver and it's own motor.

Inspector

Inspector
Originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

We took a new inspector to the job site today and after checking her notes she gave us an A-OK rating.

Back in Richmond

Just a short note tonight to let family know we are back in Richmond, after wrapping up all the paperwork for the furniture.We finally signed the paperwork for our furniture on Friday afternoon and headed back to the hotel. On a closer check of the contract we found that the computer had somehow reverted back to the original full price for shipping (we had been given a 25% discount) .... so a quick call confirmed it was in fact wrong and we would have to have the contract reprinted and signed again. So this morning we went back, met the salesperson who worked with us and got it all straightened out. She said the company has been tweaking the contract computer program and this was a glich that no one could figure out. It printed one number on one page, a different on a second for the same value. To make a boring story short, we did get the discount and we are done!

What about this color?

DH-studies
Originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

This was taken last week, when we were trying to pick colors for the second sofa that was just right - but also turned out not to be a finalist because it did not come as a loveseat. Since then, Eric has visited each piece of furniture we purchased and sat in it at least two times a day. We are amazed that some people actually buy sofas and chairs just by how they look, never sitting in them at all. Apparantly it is not at all uncommon.

Scene of Design

Our table in the design center at Furniturelandsouth. There is a design center in each of the two main buildings. Each is set up with tables for the customers to work. You are free to leave things on the table and a reserved sign assures you that everything will be there when you get back. A very nice serivce, they even supply paper, pencils, tape, graph paper and have copy machines and scanners you can use for a small cost. The unique thing about this place is the size of the area. There are at least 50 tables in the design rooms, and one entire wall is natural light. The fabrics are hung by manufacturer, and in the center bookcases are all the catalogs for each. It is always full of people hunched over floor plans. Some are customers and some are professional interior designers who come to pick out items for an entire home. Our designer said some of the homes she has seen are pretty amazing, especially homes in the Middle East where women have separate quarters for living and sleeping than the men.

Today we finished up all our selections and tomorrow morning we will sign over the $$$$'s and then go visit the bargain store. That's if we have any money left!

Yes, we are still here

More of the Furniturelandsouth Highboy
Originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

It's been quite a bit of time since I last blogged, so I thought it best to let everyone know we are still kicking here in High Point. Today we finished day 5 of the great furniture hunt. This place is so huge, it's hard to believe that there are still things we have not seen and that we still hope to visit! We feel like the prices are very good, and the selection is more than anyone could imagine.

The first two days of hunting were similar to the story of the Three Bears. I think we looked at every entertainment wall unit Furniturelandsouth had in stock. Finally, we found one like we wanted but then found it might not fit. We picked a second one to be safe and proceeded to sofas.

We sat on so many sofas, some were too soft, some were too big, ugly or hard, and very few were just right. We picked one, then decided overnight it might not be right .... so after a few more questions and thoughts we changed to a second. It fit right, the color was right. The price was right. But, you guessed it, no loveseat available and we wanted both a sofa and a loveseat. So we picked another. The third fit right, but the color had us stymied for many days. We kept wanting it to be like the first and second one, but no luck. We finally compromised on a color.

After each selection we would check our choice by moveing little scale pieces around, and often one change would lead to another question. We ultimately went back to the first wall unit. So now we are in the process of fitting in end tables and night stands. We had to call Rebecca to go measure the bedroom wall, since we didn't trust our plans. Turns out we had more room than we thought so that was nice.

So, we are playing musical chairs, musical nightstands, musical end tables .... you name it and we have tried it here or there! So far sin spite of the fact neither Eric nor I have ever done this before we are having a great time . . . Even if the days are 8-10 hours long. Our designer has been wonderful, patient, and has given us good suggestions. She certainly knows the merchandise, which is remarkable considering the size of this place.

The boat is finished, but the boatyard is closed until Monday, so we won't be back in Hampton until then. We also have to time the "splash" with high tide so we can get home.

So more adventures in furnitureland soon.

Furnitureland South

Click on the link above and see a better picture and some history of the world's largest highboy. It is 85 feet tall, and really pretty neat. Do you know how much difference less than 1 inch can make? We found out today as we began our search for the entertainment center for the new house. Of course, everything hinged on the size of the TV we planned to buy. Obviously that makes sense. However, the manufacturers of the type of unit we wanted seemed to think our intended TV was about 1 inch too big. The day turned out to be one of compromises. In short, we think we are going to go down to a 30 inch TV from the 34 inch we originally planned to buy. The only way we can get an entertainment unit with the diagonal ends is with the center being the smaller size. We wanted doors that close over the TV too. So, we think we are a step closer.

By the way, the designer who is working with us is very knowledgeable and worked right with of all day. Tomorrow we hope to finalize the unit, and then we will move on to couches. Ha, that should be easy. I'm sure it isn't and won't be! One nice think about this company is that they will work through everything you want, do the design layout of the rooms to scale, and then keep all on file until you are ready to purchase the individual pieces.

Getting ready to HAUL

Today was busy for us. We are one day before boat haul out, and had lots of details to take care of that really needed to wait until today. Besides packing clothes, and another batch of things to leave in storage, we also had to defrost the freezer and empty the refrigerator into our igloo chest. This is the chest we found on the dock that someone threw away. We sent it to Igloo and had the motor repaired and it works like a charm now. So it’s humming away. We took off the extra hurricane lines, so they are stowed away. Snacks are packed, and we’re both roaming around trying to think of what we might have forgotten. You’d think we were going to be away for a month.

While Eric was out moving things from the boat to the cart to take to the truck the boat next to us had a power malfunction and their power cord went up in smoke where it plugs into the pedestal on the main dock. Luckily he was there when it happened. So, during the packing we also had no AC for awhile as Jerry and Eric made repairs. Thank goodness today was overcast and we didn’t really get hot. Of course it rained, so now the awnings are wet. Not good.

Silly knows something is up, and she isn’t excited about what she thinks is going to happen. Now whenever she sees a box in our hands she goes and hides. Smart Kitty! She’ll not like it in the morning when we crank up the boat engine. They she’ll be in her crate, and then in the car, and then back with the monsters grandkids and dogs. Oh what fun for her. Little does she know she’ll be back in the truck the next day for the trip to NC.

So, tomorrow is an adventure. We haven’t had the boat out in the bay since the summer after Zack was born. Hopefully it will be a smooth trip. It is supposed to be cooler, in the 80’s, so at least that will make standing around in the boat yard a bit better. They always tend to be hot places, obviously no trees for shade. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Like how hot is it?

. . . I'd like to turn the calendar back about 8 months - yes, I'd trade this August heat for snow any day! (Don't let DH know I said that though).

Not much going on because it is just too hot to do anything. We went to the grocery yesterday and have laid in enough supplies to last until we haul the boat on Tuesday morning. Then we will be homeless for awhile as the boat bottom people will be busy redoing the bottom. I am not looking forward to seeing how bad it looks when they haul it out, but I guess I'd really feel bad if I was the one doing the work in this heat! Anyhow, we are down to 1 package of meat in the freezer and a half gallon of ice cream! Good planning I think! We'll have to toss or ice down the refrigerator supplies, as they won't keep unless we have somewhere to put them, and since it might be a much a two weeks, it would be kind of pricy to be buying ice everyday. I guess it all depends on where we end up freeloading staying while the boat is out!

We plan to spend Tuesday night with Tom and Becky, and from then on, everything is up for grabs. We hope to go to Furnitureland South. This is in High Point North Carolina. it would be better if we had carpet and floor samples, but since we don't we plan to focus on looking for an entertainment center like the ones here.

Well the office is closing, so I'll head back to the boat, as Jerry says, "It's too hot for anyone to even walk up the pier to buy a bag of ice, so I'm going home."

Good Intentions

I out smarted myself this morning. I packed up all the laundry, library books, and computer and went up to the office and worked on the blogs. After finishing with the computer I went to the library and on to the grocery store to get a small salad for lunch to eat as the clothes washed. Drove all the way to the place and realized (at least before I parked and unloaded clothes) that I had forgotten my quarters. In my consolidation efforts for the morning I had only taken my car key and credit cards, so I wouldn't have to carry so many bags - thus no real money.

Guess what I'll do tomorrow?

Unless we head back to the house - so we can check those lists!


Latest and greatest from Henrico County building permit office

Progressing Slowly

Here is the latest overhead view of our house. As you can see, the garage has changed from last week, we have a window instead of a gable vent. Check the house set in Flickr for more pictures by clicking on the link in the sidebar.

Happy Birthday Mike

Little brother is 51 today. I hope he finds it less traumatic than last year when he turned 50. So, Happy Birthday Mike, have a great day. I do hope you got to get out of work yesterday to see the shuttle launch!

Thinking back, I hardly remember when he was born, as I was barely six. But I do remember seeing a picture of him in my lap sitting on the porch in Roseburg Oregon. I also rember his crib in the room we shared. It was shortly after he was born that we moved to our first new house and where I started first grade.

Once again Mike, celebrate with gusto and have a steak for me too!

Waiting-for-the-Pizza-Man

Waiting-for-the-Pizza-Man
Originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

Sunday after an afternoon of working out in the yard at Tom and Becky's we decided to let someone else "do dinner". So the vote was for pizza! I don't think anyone was more anxious for the pizza man than these two. After waiting patiently at the window they finally relocated to the front porch to sit and wait. They held the money! Pizza turned out good - Maddie by far ate more than Zack!

The only down side of dinner was that Silly and Maddie had another encounter of the worst kind, and this time Maddie got a scratch on the left side of her face and eye. A visit to the doctor confirmed all was well, but he did give her antibiotics to take just in case. Silly is now going to be confined to the room we sleep in on upcoming visits. We think Silly was startled and cornered, but still not acceptable behavior.

Eric and I spent about 4-5 hours at the new house, and I'll post pictures of it soon on the house blog. We're having high heat again tomorrow, heat index was 115 today. We watched the shuttle launch, and wondered if Mike and all got to see it. I hope so.

Maddie-and-Abe

Maddie-and-Abe
Originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

You might wonder who Abe is? If you look closely, Maddie has a $5.00 bill she is trying to put back in the wallet she has already plundered!

We had to laugh this past week on out visit with the grandkids. We brought them a Fisher Price cash register I had found at the thrift store. Both kids loved it, though Zack thinks you make the drawer open and you give away the money in it to the customer!

Looks like Maddie thinks you are supposed to put money back too! Someone is teaching them right!

View of Front Porch

Porch-w-dormers
Originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

I loaded new pictures taken in the house this past week to Flickr, they are in the house set of pictures. As before, it you open the set it can be shown as a slide show. Hope you enjoy seeing these updates to the progress being made.

Sunday and all is HOT

The house is coming along quite nicely as this picture taken Wednesday morning shows. The scaffolding for the workers to be able to do the vinyl trim around the eves of the house was up and waiting. Great to see the progress. The houses up the street that are about a month ahead of us were getting their driveways and sidewalks. More evidence that things are moving!

Today (Sunday) has been really hot and humid. The heat index is well over 100 degrees, and the forecast for the next week doesn’t improve any. Eric spent most of the day online doing house research. The audio man’s estimate seemed high to us, and with Eric’s research we were able to get the man to lower his estimate almost $790.00. Not peanuts. The internet made Eric's research and the emails back and forth possible, easy and convenient. Eric got it all ironed out and that has been satisfying for him.

I’m about to begin a new knitting project, but just haven’t decided what. Sally and I discussed starting Christmas stockings, but not sure now if she will be able to work on something. I’ve got plenty to choose from so that won’t be hard to find a project to start. Meanwhile I am reading, it’s just to hot to do much else.

Check the house blog for another picture and more news.

What I did today!

Detail
Originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

Here is the detail of the Flower Basket Shawl I was working on the last week or two. Can you see the baskets? It's amazing what blocking does for lace. See more pictures in the knitting blog.

Socks for charity

What am I doing? Here's what I have been up to in the last few days, if you want to see more, click the link to Floats, Knits and Purls in the side bar.

Tonight we are getting winds fron Cindy, the first tropical storm of the season to come near us. We're under thunderstorm alert until 3 am. Luckily the bulk of the rain is in Richmond. Of course, we're glad the roof is on and the new house is pretty well closed in. Hopefully we will miss the rain here.

Bottlenecks Averted (Right!)

Great news, if you are driving in our area – the state of Virginia has given all the road crews three days off so that there will be no construction going on during the 4th of July Holiday. How considerate.

One of the top news stories today in the local paper was about the traffic congestion in our area. Apparently, we are one of the 3 most congested areas in the country for bottlenecks in traffic. First was the Oregon Coast, the second we can’t remember, and the third was us. The seven city area here – Norfolk. Hampton, Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Newport News, and Chesapeake are all at the end of the HW 64 corridor that has one way in, and one way out! Don’t we know that already? You’d think they would have solved the problem, but no, there doesn’t seem to be any relief in sight. Those of you who have visited us know how the construction at Coliseum Drive has been, and it isn’t better yet. I think they are still two years away from finishing the project.

So, for our 4th of July, we will stay put and watch the fireworks at Ft. Monroe from the upper deck of the clubhouse. From there you can usually see displays from at least three different areas, the Ft.. Buckroe Beach, and Langley AFB. Last year there was a display down at Grandview also, so we were surrounded!

Sunday the 26th - Roofing begins

Overhead---06-26-05
Originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

Here's this weeks picture of the progress at the house. The roof was only partially finished when we were there yesterday As you can see, some of the windows are installed, and the rest are in the garage. We expect to get a call this week to go for our electrical walk through, so we are seeing progress. Of couse after the roof is done and they move inside it may be awhile before we see brick and vinyl. And I don't know how much longer I'll be able to get into the house across the street for my overhead shots!

I'm Home at Last

We are all so excited that Michelle has gotten to go home with her mom and dad and grandma.We didn't go into great detail about the events of last week, but it turns out that Michelle wasn't really ill after all. Her one week of deluxe accomodations in NICU were just a event for babybook history now - only she had to endure all those pricks and sticks for nothing. What a girl doesn't go through for attention! NOT!!!
I hope her daddy doesn't mind me using his photo - but she just looks too cute and happy to be at home!

All Wrapped up and Nowhere to Go

Is this not a cute face?Michelle is going to have to spend the better part of the next three weeks in NICU for an infection found the day after her birth. All indications are she will be fine - she looks great doesn't she? Her mom is going to be able to stay in the Fisher House, which is available for the families. It is great that she got a room because they live 45 minites from the hospital. You can check the link to her blog - Michelle's Moments in the sidebar to keep up with her progress.

Tomorrow we will head for Richmond to check on the house. Tom ( DSIL) informed us we have a first floor. So we are excited to see some real action that we can walk in! Should be fun to take Zack over now, as he is interested in this house that isn't there yet!

Michelle Elizabeth Walters (Mitch)

Michelle Elizabeth Walters (Mitch)
Originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

This is my new great-niece - daughter of Christine and Brian Walters - who live in Germany. Brian is in the Air Force. Right now my sister in law, Sally is there to help with the baby, She arrived almost two weeks ago and was about to get worried that Mitch was not going to make an appearance until time for her to come back to the states! I know she will have a great time holding her in the coming week - and it will be hard to leave her.

Happy Birthday Baby Mitch

Welcome to the Walters Family! New Baby girl born to Brian and Christine in Germany. Brian is stationed there in the Air Force and baby Michele was born on the 16th, sometime in the early hours. Grandmother Sally Walters is there and will no doubt have all the more information soon via email!This makes 4 great-grandchildren for Earl and Annabelle - they are very proud. And now I am a great-aunt! Not to mention that my younger brother is now a grandpa too.

Pictures and news later!

The kitten is scowling at us again, she only got five shrimp for dinner and now she has thrown herself down on the floor in weakness. Of course, she keeps raising her head and looking up to see if anyone is watching her pitiful condition. I guess she is waiting for her nightly brushing too. She has gotten so spoiled to this new routine she rolls from side to side and even lets you brush her tummy. Pitiful, guess we need to change her name to the Pitiful Perfect Purring Princess with Prissy Paws. She was PPPPP for short, but will now have to be PPPPPP.

Well on a discouraging note, the house failed it’s first inspection of the foundation. It appears from what we can decipher looking at the permits online that the plans submitted don’t match what they actually build for a footing. Since we added a bay window and an extension, our bet is the plans the workers are working from are different than the set of master plans the county has on file. Since our plan is one of the variations, and the first to be built with this change, we are hopeful this is all a matter of a minor mixup. We are going to to to Richmond in the morning, so we can see what is going on ourselves.

So as they say, pictures and news later! We should have some shots of dirt and brick soon.

And now we have summer

Obviously we are now full into summer heat. I see the weathermen are already watching a tropical storm headed for the Gulf of Mexico. I can only hope that this year is not a repeat of last year or the year before. Mike and Sally are preparing with special window coverings, and we are prepared with extra lines! Not much else we can do.

Today started and ended on a cool note, but it was near 90 mid day when I was making my way home from doing laundy. I can seriously say I am not going to miss going to a laundomat. I can hardly wait for a washer and dryer! We even discovered last night (DH discovered) that with the house plan flipped we will not have the washer and dryer doors opening opposite each other(i.e. back to back). The dryer will be to the right, with the door opening right, and the washer will be on the left with the door opening left! A smooth move from one to the other! We thought we were going to have to swap their positions (as they place the dryer & its vent on the outside wall).

We noted tonight we have a foundation inspection scheduled for tomorrow, so we are excited about that! Progress! We still don't know when we are going to go up to Richmond, though it should be this weekend.

Nana Celebrates a Birthday

I didn't make it to the beach today, ... I had a better offer. Rebecca called this morning and asked if I wanted to meet her and Maddie in Williamsburg to shop at the Outlet mall. Seems the boys (Tom and Zack) had gone to play golf, so she thought it would be more fun to meet me than stay at home and do chores! Did I not teach that girl right? We had a nice lunch and toured the shops and braved the hords of shoppers out for a SALE of any kind. We decided we really liked shopping at the thrift stores more! After walking Maddie around and not buying anything we ended the day with Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia Ice Cream Bars. Maddie said "yummy"! (PS - She shared w/ Mom),


Be sure and check over at Floats, Knits and Purls for another birthday post!

Happy Memorial Day 2005

Happy Memorial Day to all! I thought this photo was fitting for a tribute to all who fought to make America the free country we love. This is the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C.

Well, the loop of weird cool weather seems to have finally broken and we are having lots of sun and warm (70 ish) temperatures. On our boat all the ports and hatches are opened up and we’ve been able to sleep at night with them open – it’s great! Being that this is a holiday weekend, there has been lots of activity on the docks, boats coming and going and people working on their boat projects.

Nothing more happening, I plan to go to Buckroe Beach tomorrow for a walk!

Sunday, and the sun is shinning!

Mom and Dad it’s good to hear you had a great time at Tonkawa, and are back home safely! I'll call back later tonight or Monday!

Ok, news from the boat – the sun is shinning today and we didn’t even have to turn on the heat this morning. Yes, we continue to have really strange weather. It was cool enough for a sweatshirt yesterday and tomorrow is supposed to be chilly again. If this strange mix is any indication, to those of you who know DH well, he is still wearing shoes, and long jeans and may be all Spring/Summer – whatever we are having!

If you go over to: Moving Ashore you can see the latest pictures from our lot.

And to my Mom!

Here Here !! A cheer for my mom, who I admire so much! She is so full of life and energy, I wish I had half what she has! She may be little, but she is mighty! I love you Mom! Happy Mother's Day.

Have A Great Day

I want to wish my daughter-in-law Amy a Happy Mother's Day! Dear grand daughter Skyler is one now and growing up so fast - I hope Amy and her Mom Candy are enjoying this special day with her! I wish I could be there now too!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother’s Day





Happy Mother's day dear Rebecca - you and your children bring such energy and fun to my life! Thanks for being such a wonderful daughter to me and mother to your children! Have an extra special day!

Slow Boat Week

This past week has been pretty uneventful, except for a wonderful Nor'easter storm that blew through here starting early in the a.m. Friday and is still blowing this morning (Saturday). At least the tides have diminished; we were about 2 feet above normal last night. That translates to mean if we had wanted to get off the boat we would have needed a parachute. At the very least, a step ladder. Of course with the wind gusting to 50+ mph at times, there wasn’t much chance that either of us were going anywhere. Silly went into her storm shelter early in the morning and only came out at 3 for a quick look around, then retreated back again until dinner. That’s how exciting it was! Hopefully this will be our last storm for awhile. We could still use some average temperatures.

Thursday I did take a trip to Barnes and Nobles, a thrift store, and Wal-Mart. We knew the storm was scheduled for Friday, so a few groceries and some reading material was in order. I picked up a new knitting magazine, a book about planting in containers and a gift. Also stuff for salads. Not terribly exciting in the grand scheme of things, but a good chance to get off the boat and get outside into the larger world. I also picked up a few more boxes for packing, as we are slowly removing more and more things.

DH is still trying to figure out when we will go to the yard to have the boat hauled. He is yet to call though, so I am not sure what kind of a schedule we will have. I heard a rumor at Yoga that the yards are all still very busy and behind, as the weather has delayed may people getting their boats back in the water from the winter. That makes us getting in soon seem more unlikely. We’ll probably need a diver to come clean the prop before we can even back out of the slip, or else it will be a really loooong and sllloooow trip over to the yard.

Next weekend we will head to Richmond to take care of the grandkids, while their Mom and Dad have a weekend away. I’m looking forward to it. The weather should be nice and we can all have a good time. B and T are going to a Bruce Springsteen concert in northern Virginia. It may be that DH and I will leave Richmond and head back north to Baltimore to visit there again. Those plans are still up in the air.

I am going to go to the library today, and make a quick stop at the grocery. Church tonight might happen too, if I can get organized and plan how to do all the little things in one trip. I also need to walk, as I have already missed two days this week. The weathermen say the wind will die down this afternoon, so we’ll see. DH said it was pretty nippy out, with winds blowing 20 mph now and temps only in the 50’s I imagine it does feel pretty cool.

I’ll leave you with a picture of the pond, you can see the sea grass is turning green and soon it will be a wave of green out there when the tides are out. The heron doesn’t seem to mind that it looks ugly, all he wants is minnows.