Kitchen Remodel

Kirby has been working so hard on the house ever since we moved in. He has done everything himself, from the new toilet and water heater to the tile floor and redesigned fireplace. I know that what he enjoys most is the planning and designing of projects so I really appreciate all the hard work he has done. No one likes dealing with toilets, that's for sure! There is no telling how many times he has been in the attic crawling around and the trips to Lowe's would fuel a cross country trip.

The kitchen is now finished. And we had to hire the granite people. Only help he has had. We considered doing tile countertops as he could have done it himself but the granite is just so beautiful and easy to use and maintain - so it won out.

Of course I didn't think to take before pictures but we do have the pictures that Christie took when we were buying the house (since we were in California and she was here). So for your entertainment - here are some pictures.

This is the kitchen before.




























And this is our kitchen today. Everything is new except the cabinets which have been painted. The walls were painted, new tile floor, new stove, microwave, dishwasher, reefer, countertops. I LOVE IT!!

Christmas Trees for Dogs

Last night Kirby and I attended my company holiday party. Christie came over before to take our picture and she offered to take Jake home with her so that he and Socks could play.

Now, we chose to have an artificial tree this year so Jake has been around it and trying to eat my "plastic" ornaments since Thanksgiving weekend. We never even thought about what he would do with a live tree.

So, Christie took him home with her and he had a wonderful time with his best friend, Socks. But no one thought about the live Christmas tree in the living room - except Jake. He was delighted to find out that the Shumbies keep a tree in the house and he wasted no time in marking his territory! Christie caught him peeing on the tree! Thankfully he pretty much missed the tree and there were no gifts under it yet. He got the tree skirt really good but it was washable. So, according to Christie, no harm, no foul! Jake is still welcome to come back.

Soccer

Casey and Brendan, our grandsons, headed out to LA to day for some soccer tournaments. This is a really big deal for them and I am wishing them lots of luck in the games and lots of fun on the trip. Love you boys!

Kevin and Family

I haven't seen my youngest grandson in so many months! Thank heavens for digital pictures and the internet. I received these pictures today and he is just so cute and I AM a grammy - so I am putting his pictures on my blog.

Here he is with his daddy, Ryan on their Christmas Tree hunt. Kevin is 2 and a half now, is out of diapers and just moved into the Big Boy Bed. He goes to pre-school, loves to swim in his pool and is having a little brother in February. I love you, Kevin!!

Thanksgiving at the Shumbie's

We are so fortunate to have part of our family so close by. It took all of 3 minutes to drive to Christie and Michael's for our wonderful Thanksgiving Day.

As usual Christie prepared a wonderful turkey dinner. That turkey was the juiciest ever and the dressing to die for. She definitely had a great teacher. And I want to thank both Brendan and Casey for the great job of slicing the turkey! This year instead of the traditional pumpkin pie she made a gooey pumpkin cake and we all agreed it is much much better than the pie. Note Kirby's homemade sourdough bread on the table.

After dinner we played Mexican Train and Casey won for the first time. (We didn't realize he had never won, but he told us) Yea! Casey!
Christie and Michael always take great pictures!
It was Jake's first time to visit his best friend, Socks and he had a lot of learning to do. First he had to navigate the open stairs from the garage (where we contained them to say a frisky "Hi" to each other) to the house. Those stairs were scarrrrry. Then he had to try to walk on the hardwood floors. We took him upstairs later just to see what he would do. The stairs were carpeted so that part was good but he had to be cajoled into climbing them. The fun part was his trip back down where he took it nice and easy. The two dogs certainly have a good relationship going on - which is why we let Socks chose which dog she wanted!

Socks is the one decorated for Thanksgiving and Jake is the one tired from all of Sock's affection. Oh, but she does love that boy and is almost shameful in showing it!

What Kirby Did On His Birthday

For those of you who have known Kirby for a long time - or, like Lee, all your life, you might find it hard to believe that these pictures of Kirby are real and that he actually was having a good time. Since he doesn't have his boat anymore, he must put his energy and passion into something else. Would you believe that Kirby was out mowing the lawn on his birthday in 40 degree weather?? Granted it was sunny, calm and dry out so it really was pretty nice but - really - can you believe your eyes!! Well, of course you have to remember that on the East Coast football does not begin until 1:00 PM so he had all this time to kill, right? But, by 1 he was over to the Man Cave with the troublemakers, Phil, Ray and Robert drinking home brewed Ale and building a great fire for later while watching the games. The Shumbies joined us and we all stayed near the firepit as we celebrated Kirby's birthday. Phil grilled burgers and dogs in the 38 degree cold after dark! But, it really wasn't too bad. Maybe it was the good company - and of course the hot coals. We even did some science projects with melted glass - it shatters by the way - after it cools. But the Corona label lasted a long time.

We spent a lot of time in the front yard today again trimming the big oak tree. Jake loves it when we are all outside as he used to be an outdoor dog and is adjusting to living indoors. We put him on a long tether and he just hangs and waits for neighbors to come pet him.


I think Kirby had a good birthday weekend. Thanks everyone for your good wishes. He loved it!

Dogs in Motion

Here is a video of Jake and his best friend, Socks, playing in our living room. Socks is the aggressive one! We call her the "Bulldozer"!

Happy Birthday, Kirby!

Introducing - Jake!

The nice lady from the shelter arrived at 3:30 yesterday afternoon with the two dogs in kennels in the back of her car. We brought them into the house one at a time to meet Socks and the rest of the family. First Zoe came in and she and Socks were "OK" but didn't play. Then came Jake and it was love at first sight for the two of them so - Socks chose our dog for us because we just couldn't make that decision - both dogs were wonderful each in their own way. It was really hard on us to let Zoe leave and even harder on Jake to have them leave him behind.

He is going through an adjustment time. He's great about the crate, knows it is his special place, doesn't pull on the leash and we haven't heard his voice yet. I have brushed a bagful of hair out of him and we gave him a quick bath. Jake is used to living outdoors in a large pen with a roommate and lots of dogs around. He seems to just love other dogs and he really loves people too. We have had a few walks around the block so he can be outside like he is used to.

As you can see from the picture, Jake and Socks finally pooped out after all the running and rough-housing. I think they will be real buds when Socks gets over having to share us with him. She likes him, just wants to still be the only dog. But she is a sweetie and there should be no problem.

And the Winner is................Jake, our new "son"!

More information to follow when we know each other better. So far all is good. He is about 3 years old and easy to have around. That could change as he gets comfortable...but I am happy! And he and Socks fell in love right away. Kisses, hugs and lots of chasing around the living room. Fun!