Construction in the House!

P was full of energy and grabbed a crowbar, ripping out the door frame to the basement to make room for the new subfloor.

 

He recruited a helper who offered muscle to move the wood and thoughtful advice, then he had to go finish his homework.

Along came helper #2, who needed a brownie to get cracking. You know what's wrong with these brownies?  They stick to your teeth.

An expert in electric screwdriver technology, helper #2 put in hundreds of wood screws to keep that subfloor in place.  

This is step one in the laying of the tile!  To be continued ...

Festive Prep

The annual shortbread baking extravaganza coincided with some other festive baking and managed to kick-start a Christmas spark in our house.

 J helped with the rolling and cutting, and careful placement of green sprinkles.

 Meanwhile, the tree was brought in and admired by all (don't mind the bare patches).

And then, a few busy days later, we trimmed that tree!  With the skirt underneath and a gift or two piquing our anticipation, it's beginning to look like Christmas.

Finding a Tree

 The hunt begins.  There are pines, spruce, maples and hawthorn trees on our front property. I'm thankful that they chose a spruce.

It looked really good from 30 feet down, full and lush.  P oiled up the trusty chainsaw and got busy.  But, it had a mind of its own and fell a few feet east of the intended target, in the branches of a pine tree.

 Stuck!

 To loosen it up and get it free of the pine, P cut a chunk of the trunk, then fastened a chain around the base.  J fired up the ATV and hauled it out of there.

The bottom branches had to be trimmed of, of course, as did a few feet of the bottom trunk. Now, how are we going to fit this in our living room?!?! 

Little Drummer Boy

Sammy on the skins, man, lookin' real cool, keepin' time and soundin' real sweet.

Tappin' the snares, thumpin' the bass, brushin' the cymbals, limbs workin' on their own, and grinnin' like he's havin' fun.

He's practising for next week's school concert, where he'll be performing in the jazz band, the wind ensemble and the drum line.  

 Excellent finish!  Applause!  Applause!

First We Take the Chicken

J wanted to roast a chicken and we used our awesome lemon chicken recipe. We rubbed it with garlic and sea salt, and then filled it with lemons. And by we I mean J.  He did it all, shirtless.

 Fantastic!  Delicious!  Gone! 

December Decor

 These planters were filled with bits of nature that I found around our property: cedar, honeysuckle and dogwood, all growing wild in the ravine!  I snipped and pruned and made an awesome winter planter display.  How much would you pay for something like this?  Of course, the fine dusting of snow was the most difficult part, carefully placing it on one flake at a time.  Tedious work.

This yew in the front flower bed is growing really nicely and the snow made me think of chopping our own tree down soon.  Not this one!  We have lots of fir and pine and cedars in the front woods, and I have my eye on one.  Now to find the chain saw ...

Diamonds are a girl's best friend ...

The main floor bathroom is in active renovation mode, after a few weeks of dormancy. The new tiles are a nice pale grey with a subtle pattern running through them, which will  provide perfect camouflage for muddy foot and paw prints and will hopefully reduce required mopping frequency.

They're set in a diamond pattern, which makes me very happy when I count the newly revised total number of diamonds in this house.  

 Coming up next:  grout.  Stay tuned.

Front Hall Shoe Closet Couture

Voila!  Look at thees unfashionable front hall closeet.

 Eet ees in need of a make over.  Are you at ease with thees?

 Look at thees fashionable homme who can make us over.  He is very 'andsome.  N'est-ce pas?

Et voila!  Eet ees fantastique!

Who knew that you could find a "how to tie a tie" video on youtube in preparation for a band concert and surprise your parents who were thinking that you were completely ignoring their repeated yet gentle reminders to get ready?  

Youtube is awesome!  

All Hallows Eve

Here's our very spooky Jack O'Lantern!  

Does he look EEEEEVIL?  

Or kinda goofy?  (I mean the pumpkin, not the kid.)

Here's a rare pic with J covering his top half!