What a week! As the world around us rapidly sinks into chaos because of a stupid, tiny virus, our world here at 3305 Parker St. is climbing out of the chaos it has been in for the last two months. Steve and I painted every day in a huge final push and, with the exception of the living room and the top of the entryway, all the interior rooms are finished! We couldn't do the living room until after the windows were installed on Friday and James is going to paint the upper part of the entry because it is too high for either Steve or me to tackle. James was dealing with sickness (his own and his wife's) the first part of the week so we didn't even see him until the latter half of Wednesday. He finally finished laying the downstairs bathroom floor and then spent Friday and yesterday even (he usually doesn't work on Saturdays) cutting and installing all the baseboard molding in all the downstairs rooms because tomorrow - March 23rd - is when the downstairs carpet gets installed. At least, it was still going to happen as of Friday afternoon. I am still holding my breath that they don't cancel due to that stupid virus. Once we get carpet and we paint the living room first part of this coming week, I will post pictures of everything we have done so far. And, this whole remodeling endeavor is still not completed. There are some interior odds and ends to finish and we still have the exterior of the house to paint, the deck to repair, the garage ceiling to repair, and the yard to bring into shape. I had hoped for an April 1st real estate listing but we won't be ready and, given current conditions, I'm not sure there would be anyone to even look at the place, much less be ready to buy.
Two photos below - Steve at the Home Depot this past week. We have made SO many trips to hardware stores! Home Depot, Lowes, and, my personal favorite, Menards (because they have the absolute best selection of everything). And our poor, ugly front yard - still scarred from the foundation repair. Happily, I have found someone who can help me get it into shape for a reasonable price.
Besides painting, we did do a handful of other activities. Steve and I visited with a dietician Wednesday morning and received some very useful lists and charts for a low potassium diet. I reported for work at the Music Suite both Wednesday and Thursday but only stayed for about an hour and a half each day. I was not needed to mind the store while Pat taught piano lessons because all her students cancelled. My Friday cello student cancelled because she has a broken arm. We watched the movie "The Aeronauts" and, because I am extremely uncomfortable with heights, it was kind of a stressful watch for me. Still a good movie. We also watched the two-hour first episode of Deep Space Nine over two evenings. And, of course there is Jeopardy every afternoon at 4:00 to watch!
In spite of all the bad things going on around us, I am still very grateful for all my blessings
1. that Steve and I are still healthy and able to handle all the physical demands of remodeling
2. all our children are forging through this crisis with mostly positive attitudes.
3. all our children are making efforts to communicate with us and with each other
4. for two wonderful women who helped me paint this week - Betty Stow came over Tuesday afternoon and Tracie Downs came Thursday morning.
5. that we have enough toilet paper (!) and food
6. that we are not still on our mission during this craziness. As I took the photo of the forsythia, I was reminded of the yellow blooming palo verde that were the "forsythia of the desert". Our mission was so great but right now is a challenging time for missionaries - being sent home early, having to stay in their apartments. I can't imagine the stress of working in the mission office at this time.
7. for SPRING!
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