Home

Home......"Home at last". Part of a quote from Thomas Wood. The Mr. and I are working at making this abode our home. Some call us 'flippers', and it may seem to those who know us well that we have done that in the past. It keeps us busy. We buy at a good price and have been fortunate to make a profit on our sales, but really I think it is time to stop. The Mr. has spent the better part of the week scraping, caulking and priming the exterior of the house on a tall, tall ladder when necessary. We still have to pick our colors for the final coat, but that is still a week or so away, providing the weather holds. I began stripping this ONE wall of paper and have discovered that this is original to the home, no sizing or paint behind this wall and the paper is so old and brittle that what you see is the result of 3 hours work. It will take me an eternity to finish this and I have removed LOTS of wallpaper in the past. Nothing compares to this!!! UGLY
We also need carpet and that will be on this week's agenda....to price carpet. There are always those incidentals...in stripping wallpaper from the guest bedroom (balloons), I moved the ladder, and a plastic water bottle for spraying fell off hitting my glasses which couldn't be repaired. So I had to fork out over $400.00 for an eye exam and new glasses. Gorilla tape held them together until I could find an old pair to wear for now. I have finished staining the woodwork and the interior doors. They are beautiful now!!! They were scratched and are all 2 over 4 paneled (maple I think). Paint on the walls will complete this makeover for the fall. Next spring the yard will be a priority. Pictures of the doors will be posted soon as well as this dining room remake. We have had the most glorious weather as the first day of fall has come and gone. It still is in the 70's and the trees are beginning to turn and the nights and mornings are a little cooler. I spoke with an older lady tonight about the beautiful evening and sunset, as I was waiting for a friend and she said "yes, why would you live anywhere else". She had been here for 50 years. We are living to turn this house into our home and....
~It takes a heap o' living to make a house a home!~ Edgar A Guest

Winter around the corner

No picture today...will try to get busy and add one soon. We went over the Snowy Range to Saratoga to get our camp trailer today. It was beautiful and the aspen are beginning to turn. Also the chokecherries are ripe and still some left after a heavy picking season. I am not in a position to be making any jelly so we are not picking chokecherries. Coming back home this afternoon it got a little chilly on top and the temp dropped to 39 degrees with a little rain turning into sleet. No moose or wildlife was seen today. This is the hunting season here in Wyoming and the fashion of the day now is camouflage in every shade and pattern available from the big hunting supply store. In addition, all of the fancy "must have " equipment to aid in the capture of the game of choice is dusted off and pulled out for all to see. Trucks with big tires and engines pulling fancy trailers, some with camping trailers you could live in all year, some loaded with four wheeler ATVs and some with horses, all parading to favorite campsites. This is a big deal here!!! I remember when my dad went after the annual deer to fill our freezer, he packed a sack lunch with a thermos of coffee, headed out in an old pickup with mom in tow and was back in the afternoon with the "meat". When the Mr. and I first started to hunt for elk, we went with a week's worth of food, gas, fuel for the camp stove and camped with a party of several other friends and it became a real social occasion, hunting during the day and sitting around the campfire at night. As our son grew, he too joined the sport with all the experience of the Mr. as a teacher and that first kill is always a bit traumatic. Then came the camp trailers and a much softer and warmer place to stay. Still it was a fun experience and as father time creeps up on us, it has become for us merely a spectator sport. We "watch" the hunters parade down the road. We are amazed at all of the fancy equipment hunters have gathered up and know they must be having a ball, and the youngsters are excited, taking off a day or two from school for that right of passage the first hunt. This will continue here for several weeks and then the bows, arrows, guns, gear and fashionable clothing will be put away until next hunting season. We will be watching for next year's parade.

Pot O' Gold

It has been one week since we moved into "our new digs" and it has rained a good deal this past few days.  But with the rain, comes the rainbow.  Spectacular was this one this afternoon as it made a complete double rainbow from horizon to horizon.  The colors were so brilliant and the picture doesn't do it justice.  If I had not been so tired, I would have looked for the pot of gold.  (I am sure it was just over the hill...He! He!) As we continue to unload boxes and boxes and more boxes, we wonder where we will put everything.  This is our 7th home purchase and it seems that we accumulate more as time goes on.  Everyone our age is downsizing and we do just the opposite I believe.  The Mr. has been able to make arrangements to get on a pool team already and his table is up and getting a work-out when he has time.  We have made numerous trips to the big box hardware store for things like drapery hardware, screws, brackets of all sorts etc.  The critters are settled in and it was about four days before the skinny bitch Hildy decided we were staying.  She kept going outside and would sit by the pickup waiting to get in and go "home".  Poor thing.  The beagle made a great adjustment and the cat, who was my worst worry, adapted best I believe.  He has even been outside to explore and found lots of new places to hide. He did make a lot of noise during the ride over the mountain...not a happy traveler. Both dogs had been kenneled for about a week while we were moving and closing etc.  When we picked them up and headed over here, you can see how glad to be in their truck they were. They just conked out cold. 
I am so behind on my communication with everyone and have lots of contacts to make yet...but all in good time. Tomorrow  we will trek to the Farmer's market here at the old depot and I am anxious to see what is available. We have already found such an abundance of fresh fruit and produce available.  We will miss the small-town atmosphere of Saratoga, but have lots to look forward to here.  We have met a few of our neighbors already and they have welcomed us into the neighborhood and that is a good thing.  So until I find that pot of gold, I will just keep plugging away.