Trixie
Whew, it has been a crazy February here at Henbogle. Early this month, we learned Dan’s mom had a buyer for her house! Yay, Mom’s moving to Maine! With her canine companion, Trixie.
Ruh roh, she’s staying with us for a while ’till she finds a place and our house is not company ready. Not. At. All.
You see, we are in the middle of the big kitchen project, so the state of the housekeeping, always precariously perched on the side of acceptable, had plunged over the cliffs of cluttered and into the deep dark abyss of dusty, cat-haired and cluttered.
Heroic cleaning and decluttering ensued. Half a library was donated to Goodwill (there’s some good reading in there so if you live in Maine be on the lookout). A few hours days of sorting and re-organizing resulted in a lovely 2-room suite for Mom. We like it too — it looks amazingly good. Considering that those rooms are the guest rooms now that Kyle is living on his own, they should have looked better all along! Sorry friends who came to visit and tolerated the ugly cluttered rooms.
Earlier this week, we rented a GIANT pickup truck and drove to New York to bring Mom and Trixie home to enjoy the good life in Maine. The closing happened, despite the most neurotic, obnoxious buyers EVER, and we packed Mom and dog, and headed east. They are all settled in and once Mom gets rested up, she will begin looking for a place of her own. Although, I could use an undergardener….
Mom
In other news…. home renovation projects continue. With the impending move, we decided to get some help, so a local cabinet maker will be installing the new laminate for us this upcoming week. We will do all the prep work and once the laminate is in, we will install the new sink and faucet. With luck, by Saturday afternoon, I will have my gloriously large new sink and faucet installed, and backsplash, too. I hope all goes smoothly!
The other exciting news is that we have a visit from SupaFlu coming up to repair our leaky chimney, and if all goes as planned, we will soon be able to repair the ceiling and paint the guest room! Yay more homeowner projects!
I also need to report out on the seed swap I and some of my fellow Master Gardeners planned and held earlier this month. Of course, seed starting is on the horizon, and an update from the hoophouse, where things are growing! The cardinals and chickadees are singing their spring songs, and the hoophouse is heating up to the 80s on a regular basis. Spring is on the way even if we did just get another foot of snow Friday.
Did I mention it is snowing gently now? Boo hoo.
February 27, 2011 at 7:28 pm
What a great photo of your mom with a wheelbarrow of pumpkins! Neat! Trixie is adorable!
February 27, 2011 at 7:49 pm
I second that being a great picture of Mom. What a run of house projects you’ve had. It’s true what they say about homeownership: it’s always something. Hope you’re taking a breather now and then to appreciate and enjoy the progress you’ve made, before plunging into the next thing.
February 28, 2011 at 11:46 am
Kate, you can say that again about home ownership, it is ALWAYS something, frequently somethings.
I find that once you get started with home improvement projects, it is better to go with it full steam ahead until you run out of steam or funding. We had quite a lull on interior renovations until we started on the kitchen. I’m so glad I got fed up with the small sink basins, I am looking forward to putting my baking sheets flat in the sink to wash, and I hope, never having a bath with the dishwater again!
February 28, 2011 at 10:35 am
A helpful mother in law is a wonderful thing. Enjoy your time together.
February 28, 2011 at 11:41 am
It is indeed. She is prepping squashes and pumpkins for cooking and freezing as I write :-)
February 28, 2011 at 1:14 pm
What an adorable dog! And how great you have a couple of rooms for your mother-in-law to use. No matter how much we love our families, some personal space is always good.
March 12, 2011 at 12:32 am
I enjoy your blog very much. Have you discovered wintersowing yet? Go to wintersown.org and then check out the winter sowing forum at gardenweb.org. It is a great way to raise hardy seedlings outside in the winter!
Linda