Spiffin up the old house

It will soon be 9 years since we moved to the farm and there've been a few things on my wish list. Finally got to cross two of them off. No, not the upstairs hallway. That may be on my list forever. Sigh. I had contacted a local couple and asked about the possiblity of having them find or make me an antique kitchen table. I gave them the dimensions and the husband said it would be easier to make me a table that size than to find one. Next, of course I needed chairs. Done! They look awesome - so much nicer than the formica topped table and vinyl chairs that had rusted legs and cracks in the vinyl with stuffing showing through. It pleases me greatly when I walk down the hallway to my kitchen and I'm greeted by wood. Real wood. And next comes my living room where my new couch sits. Ever shopped for a new couch?? It's time-consuming and even painful. I got John to come with me to a few places and when he pretended to be busy I talked Macy into it. Once. Then everyone left me and I was on my own. I knew what I wanted and knew what furniture company I wanted to stay AWAY from and finally found this in a catalog at our local funiture store. Ordered it, choose the fabric, and waited. I hadn't heard from them for about three weeks so I stopped in two Saturdays ago to ask about it and it had been delivered the day before! I fell in love with it and had the delivery guys come over and measure. The best part of living in an old house is narrow doorways. The addition John put on was no problem. Large doorways and hallways. Then we get to the kitchen. Uh oh. Smaller than average doorway into and out of the kitchen. This couch has hump on the back (like a camel) and even taking the legs off, it would get stuck. There is an outside door in the living room but again they are more narrow than average. The entry actually has two doors and they aren't lined up with each other. Bad deal. So John's idea of taking the living room window out was the best solution we could come up with. Out the window came, out with the old couch and in with the new one. I'm happy. It's beautiful.

Stamp Camp

Some friends and I went to Belle's Stamp Camp recently and used her Stampin' Up supplies made 10 of the cutest cards ever! We stayed for about two hours and went from station to station in Belle's home and stamped, punched, adhered, embossed and attached with brads some of the funnest things to make amazing cards. Watch your mailbox, maybe you'll get one!! I'd definitely go again! A fun evening with fun friends doing fun cards. The bonus was some pretty amazing cake and bars, too!

Valentine's Day, John Coleman style

Having been married to the most unsentimental, unromantic man for 28 years I have learned not to expect anything from him on these very high profile sentimental holidays. However the past 4 out of 5 years he has taken it upon himself to have supper almost ready when I come home from work on Valentine's Day. It is much appreciated on my part and I often wonder if he does this so I won't expect to be taken to a restaurant on this day. He hates restaurants, hates eating in public, hates waiting for a table or waiting for food. I really can't blame him. Being diabetic is a balancing act on a good day and to have such a big unknown like 'when will I eat' is hard to deal with. I know a few have witnessed this first hand and I can tell it shakes them up to see him get pale, grey, sweaty and shaky. Believe me, it isn't fun for him either and that's a big reason why he prefers to just stay home. It's easier to have control over when the carbs and proteins and insulin will hit your system when you're at home.

Anyway, he told me at lunch today that he was going to look for some nice walleye in town to fry and I knew there would be potatoes and a vegetable (his favorite) and he also added stuffing. Not sure why we needed the extra carbs but he likes it so what the heck. I will be the clean up crew but considering I'm usually the cook AND the clean up crew - I will do my half this time and be happy about coming home to a nice hot meal. Thanks, honey. Love you too!

Football - 7th grade style!

Official 7th Grade Football picture.

Tough guy :-)
Hanging out with Nick on the sidelines

He's in there somewhere. I think he's the tallest one with a black helmet on. Maybe. I don't know much but I do know he wears a white uniform.

See?? There he is. The tallest one with a black helmet, white uniform and the number 66 on his back.

Daniel decided to do football the fall of his 7th grade year. Lots of his friends were in it and even though I don't know anything about football, I was glad he chose to be in a sport. He has tried (unsuccessfully) to teach me about football but my plan for this sport is to sit quietly and wait for the other parents in my section of the bleachers to start cheering and I will gleefully join in! First down - not a clue what that means but the other parent's seem happy when it happens so I will cheer along. Daniel's job seemed to be to stand in the middle and pass the football to the kid standing really close behind him. I guess that means he's a center. We purchased cleats and while shopping at the sporting goods store, I chose to look really lost and confused (coulda won an emmy for my performance) and waited until a nice sales clerk asked if we had any questions. Uh ya.... about these football shoes..... Luckily he took right over and started dealing with Daniel directly. It went quite well after that.

Salesclerk - I'm guessing you're on the line?

Daniel - uh ya, a center

Salesclerk - these are some good shoes for someone who plays center

Daniel - ok, can I try on size 11?

Salesclerk - sure, I'll be right back. Are these ok with you, Mom?

Me - yup, they're great

Ok seriously, like I have ANY idea what line they are talking about. The last time I had a kid on 'the line' it involved danceline and nobody wore cleats. I'm just grateful Daniel didn't want to shop for an athletic cup.... there's a place I NEVER want to go!