04 May

Goodbye Anderson

Wade and I spent the week in Anderson packing up the house (or rather watching the movers pack) and saying goodbye to friends. Wade was able to arrange a research trip in Atlanta and Charlotte for this week so the company paid for him to come down. I drove down with Madison and stopped in Atlanta to have dinner with Tina and Carol. Thursday I had lunch with Danielle, Emma, and Brooks. Then I met up with Debra in Greenville. On Friday, I went to lunch with my replacements at TTi. Wade and I spent the afternoon at TTi talking to old friends. Friday evening we loaded up the few things the movers wouldn’t take and started our drive. We made the trip in three days and stopped to see all of our family – Memphis and then Paducah. Now we are safely in our new home and trying to finish up a few projects before our furniture arrives on Tuesday.
Goodbye Old House

11 Apr

Lounging Around

Remington is gone. Now we are back to two dogs – at least until Saturday. My friend Rob and his girlfriend are coming tomorrow to spend the night on their way to DC. Wade and I did some cleaning and some household stuff. I took a break and the dogs both wanted to be in my lap.

22 Mar

Mr. Smith comes to Anderson

I met Rob when I lived in Washington D.C. About the time Wade and I moved to Anderson, he moved to Atlanta to attend Georgia Tech’s graduate Industrial Design program (the same one Wade went through). As close as he has been to us, I have only seen him once in the last year. He and his girlfriend, Sarah, are making a trip to DC for the weekend and asked to spend a night with us. We were excited to have them. We went out for sushi and then played the Wii for quite a while. It was Rob’s first time. Jack found his favorite place – someone’s lap.

06 Mar

Work Time Equals Nap Time?

Having the dogs inside while I work is a challenge. Madison is good and well behaved. Jack is a nut case and all over the place. He doesn’t know what he is allowed to chew and what he isn’t. He tries to get food off of the counter. To keep him in my sight, I have shut the doors to the office and have both dogs in here with their basket of toys. I turned around and realized they were napping, which actually sounds like a really good idea.

20 Feb

Let the Training Begin

I was home for half of the day so I kept the dogs inside. Jack is full of curiosity and hasn’t learned the difference between dog toys and human stuff so I have to keep a close eye on him. He hasn’t had any more accidents. He has learned “sit” but won’t eat food out of human hands, which makes training him quite a bit more difficult.

Jack is definitely a lap dog. He is a nut and won’t leave you alone till you let him lay on you. Then he is calm and gentle and asleep in a few minutes. What a sweetie.

17 Feb

Chaos Once Again

We got our new foster dog today. He is a 30 pound, 6 (or maybe 8 ) month old puppy. I couldn’t believe how much he looks like Madison. Jack is on the left and Madison is on the right.

After a while of calling him “puppy”, I picked the name Jack. Jack and Madison had quite a romp in the backyard. I think Madison likes having a dog that will finally play with her. Our neighbor’s dog even jumped the fence to join in the fun. In the few short hours he has been with us, Jack has had a bath, learned that Wade is the boss, and had an accident inside. Let the housetraining begin.

Good thing he’s adorable.

02 Feb

Madison Has a New Spot

As we add furniture to our living room, Madison keeps finding now places to take over. Her new favorite (now that we have a rug) is laying under the coffee table. I guess it goes back to being a “den” animal. We have also added a desk to the living room so her floor pillow no longer fits in the corner. We have dead space under the pinball machine so I was curious if she would like that if I put her pillow there. Then we can use the “pillow” command and she would have something right over her head. What a great idea I had. Madison seems to like it and isn’t always under the coffee table (where we want our feet).

01 Feb

Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Who would have thought we’d have snow in South Carolina? Well I woke up to just a little bit of it. Madison wasn’t sure what to think of it.

28 Jan

Lights, Camera, Action

This post is really just about lights. Wade and I spent the day doing some wiring in his shop. I wanted another light switch for the outdoor lights inside the back door. He wanted an additional 220 line run for his new compressor. Spending today in the attic was much better than last time in 100 degree weather. Wade did most of the lighting and I worked on the 220 line. I installed a new junction box and was about to cut the existing line when it occurred to me we had only turned off the breakers for the overhead lights. Thank goodness I didn’t think of that a few seconds later. It took most of the afternoon, but we got it all done. Did I mention how dirty the attic is? I think I’m wearing quite a bit of it on my face.

26 Jan

A Hopping Friday Night

Obviously Wade was worn out from a week of hard work. I’m not sure what Madison’s excuse was. I enjoyed a new book (after a trip to the library). Wade did eventually wake up and we decided to have a date night with dinner out and a new game for the Wii.

15 Jan

Come For a Visit – We Have New Mattreses

Wade and I left Memphis early, hoping to make it home in time for Small Group. About half way home we got the message that Small Group was cancelled. Oh well. We stopped to pick up my alterations in Atlanta and made it home by 5:30. We got the new desk and chair, mattresses, and bed unloaded before dark. We didn’t actually put the mattresses on the bed, but maybe tomorrow. Now I just have to find a home for our new desk…

Madison always looks like a devil dog in pictures. I wonder if they have a red-eye reduction that works for dogs..

Update: Ask and you shall receive. Kodak is making a tool for dog eyes in pictures.

29 Dec

Choo Choo

My dad was into trains during his childhood. His mother (my grandmother) saved everything so the train is still around and in excellent shape. I have always been fascinated by train sets, but I have never had one. At some point in the moving and cleaning out of my grandmother’s house, my dad passed the train to me. Wade and I have had it in our attic, but never tried to get it running. We decided to pull it out tonight and see what was what. We have determined there are some pieces missing and the track looks “weathered”. However the Lionel name still means a lot so we are doing our research and plan to put the dining room floor to good use – at least until Wade builds us a table.

19 Dec

Christmas Comes A Little Early

Wade and I started separating the presents under our tree into piles. We are going to try to pack the car so that what we need first will be easiest to reach. While making our piles, we realized we have too much stuff. My car is only so big… (Did I forget to mention we are also bringing a lot of tools from Wade’s Tool Sale at work?) The obvious initial solution to our problem was to leave a few of the presents at home. Wade and I each opened the largest (in size) gift the other person was giving us. You can see that Wade got a remote controlled helicopter (he is very bummed it won’t be coming to Paducah) and I got a Slanket (a blanket with sleeves so I can be warm and read)!

07 Dec

The Tree is Decorated

Wade and I have been very slow getting our tree decorated this year. We bought the tree Monday night. Tuesday night we rented the Bourne Identity and strung the popcorn. The dogs were very attentive. Due to the dogs, the popcorn isn’t on the bottom of the tree. Wednesday night we bought some more beads and began decorating the tree. Today I finished. The tree is decorated. There are presents around the tree. Now I just need to remember to keep checking the water or we’ll have a dead tree.

19 Nov

A Very Long Day

The Sundays our church meets are always extremely long days. We have to be at church in Greenville by 7:30 am, which means we are up at 6:30 am. Wade and I both work both services so we aren’t finished with church until 1:00 pm. Today we met Wade’s Aunt Louise and Uncle John for lunch at Stax’s Omega – they even had chocolate chip pancakes! After lunch Aunt Louise and I visited a flea market and Wade tried to fix Uncle John’s computer. At about 5:30 pm Wade admitted defeat. We got home, built a fire and started back in on the dining room. We got all of the crown molding sanded and primed. We even got a coat of primer on two of the walls. (I am only painting two until I decide if I like the color.) Tomorrow I will put the first coat of red on the walls – woo hoo.

02 Nov

All Tuckered Out

We took the dogs back to the fenced in field for a run tonight. We’ve been working on Tubbles staying near and coming when called. She and Madison did great. Then Tubbles suddenly ran off. I thought she was running far away but she ran right to the car door and sat. She wouldn’t budge and wasn’t happy until I opened the door for her. She sat in the car and watched us play with Madison for a few minutes more. When we got back to the house, we were all tired.

24 Oct

Cookies – 4, Me – 0

There is an ongoing war at my house between cookies and myself. In the last month, I have made all of my favorite cookies and they have turned out perfectly. However, something then went very very wrong. I have tried chocolate chip cookies (which I am known to have trouble with), chocolate chip cinnamon cookies (which always turn out), oatmeal cookies, and chocolate chip cookies again. The cookies come out very flat and appear unappetizing. Surprisingly, they still taste good. I have tried real butter, margarine, switching out my flour, cooking at a lower temperature, etc. My next guess is to buy some new baking soda and baking powder. I have no idea if it will make a difference, but I have had them since before Wade and I were married.

As a side bar, I used a wooden spoon fresh from the dishwasher to stir my cookies tonight. It was still warm, but that didn’t really register. I noticed the spoon seemed less rigid than normal and pretty soon it broke in half. Wade dislikes my plethora of wooden spoons so he was more than happy to see one bite the dust. Madison had fun with it though.

Now I am off to eat cookie dough – the only real reason to make cookies!

20 Oct

Apple Peels

Wade’s family is coming to visit and arrives tonight. I am cooking dinner, but the best part is the apple crisp for dessert. As I was peeling the apples, Madison plopped down right in front of me and just stared. I gave her one of the apple peelings and she loved it. Of course she did, she loves anything coming from a human hand.

14 Oct

Pumpkin Carving Extravaganza

Once again Wade and I had our annual pumpkin carving party. We have had it in three different locations in three years. Hopefully next year we will still be in our same house! Just to recap, here are pictures from the previous two years.

None of the Atlanta people made a return trip, but we had people from both Anderson and Greenville. We had singles, couples, kids, work people, church people, and neighborhood people. I didn’t get the chance to carve a pumpkin, but we had a few extras and one has my name on it.

While painting our living room, we had done some test painting in the dining room too. We were trying out various shades of red. Wade suggested painting over the red with orange. Then we let people sign the wall. The room will eventually be painted, but for now we are going to have fun with it!

09 Oct

They Look Cute, Don’t They?

Today was just a Houdini day. The area between our backdoor and backyard is not fenced in. Normally the dogs happily run from one to the other. Today Tubbles decided to run off. By the time I had Madison secured inside the house, Tubbles was nowhere to be seen. Of course this is one of the few times she doesn’t have her collar on, she doesn’t respond well to her name, and I wasn’t sure she was smart enough to find her way home. I spent an hour looking for her, but found nothing. Nobody I talked to had seen her so I still wasn’t even sure which direction she ran. I sat down for lunch with Wade and then went out to look some more. Who was sitting at the backdoor waiting for me but Tubbles? Thank goodness!

Later that evening Wade and I were eating dinner when there was a knock at our door. We looked at each other and said “Madison.” Sure enough, our mean neighbor (who I have decided is no longer mean) had sent her granddaughter over to tell us Madison was running loose. She had once again jumped the fence about 10 minutes before we had to leave for Bible Study. The good news is she came running when I called. She will now be an inside dog until we figure out where she is escaping.

Why oh why did they both decide to run away on the same day?

25 Sep

Tubbles, Come!

Wade and I took the dogs for a walk, but they are little hellions when you try to take them both. We decided to try something new and took them over to Wade’s work. There is a large fenced in field behind his building. I thought they would stay around us and play. Tubbles had other ideas. She immediately took off for the far corner. I thought it was all fenced in, but I wasn’t sure so I ran after her. I can normally catch her after a short distance, but she must have been building up her stamina. When we finally caught her, Wade decided to teach her “come”. It took a few tries, but she seems to get the idea now. Because of her bad leg, you can just touch her with a little pressure on her butt and she collapses. I feel bad when it happens, but it makes catching her much easier.

We took home two very tired dogs.

10 May

MIA

Maybe instead of MIA I should say MFP – Missing From Posting….
I know I haven’t written in a while and unless something crazy out of the ordinary happens – I won’t be writing until after next Thursday. That’s the day of my big test. If all goes well then I will be writing that I passed it. If not, I will be going through another period like this when I have to do some more major studying.

18 Apr

Now This is the Life

As you can see, Madison has obviously had a rough day. I can only imagine how difficult it is to spend a few hours chasing birds in the yard and then sleep inside the air conditioned house the rest of the day.

16 Apr

Will It Ever End?

I thought our work on the house would slow down after my mom’s visit. Somehow that didn’t happen. Wade and I spent the afternoon and evening working on the house. I like tedious tasks so painting trim is normally right up my alley. However, I think I’m about to reach my limit. Right now I am painting the underside of the crown molding – yuck. The difference in the room is dramatic, but in the picture you can just see the shiny and the not shiny.

Madison has been neglected lately. While my mom was here she spent all day every day in the backyard. Tonight she wouldn’t leave my side. She even brought her toys into the sunroom while I was painting. You know it is love when she’s willing to stay in a closed room with nasty enamel paint fumes.

Wade spent the day working in the yard and then tearing out the upstairs bathroom wall. He decided the wall was in really bad shape and since he needed to do plumbing work and put in an outlet (there isn’t one at all in the bathroom) this was easier. He seems to be enjoying himself.

13 Apr

The Turtle and The Walrus

Wade has developed a love of crazy t-shirts, which he actually just wrote about on his blog. I am following his lead and aquiring a few of my own.

26 Mar

I Was Busy

It turns out my mom is coming to visit in a few weeks. Because of this, Wade and I have a lot we want to get done. Most importantly was finishing the painting upstairs so that we could rip up the carpets and have the hardwood floors refinished. (Carpet makes a nice easy drop cloth.) We spent the entire last week working hard. The house is old so there was a lot of patch work to do before we could even think about priming the walls. The trim paint has to be enamel (I hate oil based paint) so I wanted to do that before we painted the walls. Anyway, as of last night, the upstairs hall and bedroom are done!

The bathroom is still having some work done on it, but you can see the color we are thinking about painting it. We picked out a cool new sink, but I don’t have a picture of that yet.

19 Feb

Our First Completed Project

It wasn’t much and we actually got some help (labor is cheap!) laying the tile, but finally one thing is done. I think the fireplace looks lots better. We still have to sand down and seal the inside, but the hard part is done.
Before:

After:

09 Feb

Dusty

I took a few days off work to do some serious remodeling on the house. Wade’s dad had a conference in Athens so his mom was going to come help Wade and I. I picked her up on my way out of work and we headed to Anderson.

We started prepping to paint and realized we had a little problem. The house uses plaster board, which over time starts to turn to powder. If there are a couple layers of paint, they become too heavy and start peeling off. The only way to fix the problem is to chip off all the paint and sand it down. As you can see, I definitely got into the sanding.

05 Feb

It’s Official

Wade and I are homeowners. We had to make a last minute wire transfer, set up an escrow account for some unfinished repairs, and the house was ours. We got the keys and immediately started our projects. The first was ripping the carpet out of the downstairs bedroom. The rest of the weekend we sanded the front door, patched holes in the walls, chipped the tile from the fireplace, scraped the sunroom ceiling, and scraped the sunroom walls.

Madison wasn’t too sure about all of the remodeling. She would run and hide and then sit peeping around the corner checking on us. She did love the backyard and the dog on the other side of the fence.

I had a first encounter with a neighbor. We had a full driveway of cars so I parked on the street (due to the realtors, Wade’s car, and mine). When I got back from the closing, there was a typed note telling me not to park in the street. Of course, the note begins with “Not to be a bad neighbor, but…” You’d think she would at least introduce herself to me first or wait to see if it ever happened again. Geez.

11 Jan

We Did It!

Wade and I finally chose a house – the brick one. Wade took care of most of the details and if everything continues according to plan we will close on February 3rd!  We are planning on painting and some remodeling. The first thing to change will be the pink and blue tiled bathroom!

19 Nov

A Trip to the Park

Madison and I got up early this morning and drove to South Carolina to visit Wade. He had wanted to spend last night working on his portfolio – and he is almost done! We toured Anderson and then drove to Greenville. They have an awesome park and downtown area. We played around and did a little shopping. We even looked at neighborhoods to see if we could possibly be happy living here.

I was surprised at the number of people that recognized Madison as a Brittany Spaniel. Most people get the spaniel part, but have never heard of a Brittany. Someone even commented on how well behaved she was – ha!