Real Life

The dailiness of our real life has continued to hum along here in PA. As Jim wraps up his work for his boss here and prepares for the move to Dubai there has been an acceleration to some of our projects, but we are also slowing down in other respects, just appreciating time spent together. It has been cold enough to keep most of our activities indoors, but the snow drew us outside to shovel the driveway and build a snowman or two.

Shoveling the driveway- more fun when working as a team.

Sweet Erin.

There's mischief in those eyes!

Isaac's Sinking Snowman, inspired by Calvin and Hobbes.

The big project that we have kicked into high gear is the guest room in the basement. From giant open space to ripping out nasty carpet, framing in walls, hanging drywall on the ceiling and walls, spackling, priming and painting, the room is really taking shape! As of last night there now hangs a door at the entrance and Jim is right now preparing to lay the flooring.

The wall paint turned out to be quite an issue. I have known for a while that I wanted the room to be a lovely shade of green - no pastel shades, but a happy, vibrant green. Choosing four walls worth of color from a paint chip the size of one's thumb, however, can be misleading. My first color choice was indeed happy and vibrant. In fact, it was so bright that, upon leaving the room, everywhere else appeared to be dim and pink. This green was affecting how our eyes perceived light and other colors! So last week I quietly went by Home Depot, with a t-shirt in the precise color of green that I wanted, and bought more paint. The room was re-painted before the kids knew anything had been changed, and it is now a calmer, more restful place to be.

The hallucinogenic green of my nightmares.

Now this is much better...

In the past weeks Isaac has been busy with Scouts. On the coldest Saturday last month, when it was 10 degrees out before factoring in any wind chill, he and his Pack accomplished their Klondike Derby. This is an outdoors event where the boys break up into teams and pull sleds through the woods from one station to the next, performing various survival skills from cooking to rescue. Though it is frigid out, the guys have a blast.

Klondike Derby- Before

Klondike Derby -After - notice the lack of coat...

I must say, if it has to be cold during the winter, having a nice layer of snow - and a day or two off of school to enjoy it, is awfully nice.

Sunset

The past couple of days have been considerably warmer, with a feeling of Spring in the air. Certainly deceptive, as it is only February and bound to get colder soon, it is nevertheless a welcome break. This morning in fact, we were greeted by the song of this little fellow on the back porch. Just singing his tiny heart out as the sun rose! What a nice way to begin the day.

Teeny Pavarotti