Heartsick

We have been busy packing, and one of the vases we bought back from Peru shattered in our hands as we were wrapping it.

sigh ...  We used it for wine corks.  Looks like we'll need to go back to Piura, Peru to get a new one.  Wish I had taken a picture of it prior to this disaster.

Our New Basement

This is how we spent a quick weekend.  The following Tuesday new carpet was laid.  Everything is fresh, white and new!  The spare room was pink, the bathroom was green, and the large room was just ugly.

Our New Deck

I'll let the photos speak for themselves ... from beginning to the end!    Here is a glimpse of the old deck.  Pretty bad!!!

 

And the final reveal ....

For those who commented, yes, it was water sealed, twice.  And the only ones building were myself, husband, son and youngest daughter.  The plan was our own, and it was a sad day when we sold the house.  Though, it was probably this that helped sell it in less than 4 days!

Great House .. Now It's For Sale

After a long summer of having to sit on my hands (when they weren't busy with stripping wallpaper, painting, nailing, scrubbing and digging dirt) we can announce our plans ..
Tuesday a start date was finalized, Friday the resignation submitted, Saturday papers signed with the realtor ... The news is that we are heading south, waaayyyy south, all the way to Zambia with a stop in Houston on the way.  We hope to have the house sold, us packed, moved to Houston, unpacked, then repacked and off to Zambia between now and the end of October.

As time allows, I'll put up pictures about all the work we've been doing on the house.  In the meantime, enjoy these of the exterior of the house, including our fabulous deck!

Life Without the Dogs

This is what happens when our version of "Hank the Cowboy" dogs are gone:

Jess is "Hank" and Basil is "Drover" ... and they are now living in Houston.  This black squirrel has reclaimed the yard, here he's sitting on the neighbor fence eating some treat.  A few days ago he was actually prancing around our back deck.  Yes, indeed, no dogs to bother him, and the cats could care less.