Back to my usual routine this morning. Freshly juiced veggies for breakfast. Yum. lol Feels good to break the routine and feels good to get back to it. I think I survived the holidays. [g] We still have to take the tree down. We usually do that on New Year's Day. Julie...you certainly have your challenges to try to accommodate and such a busy schedule. Your family is lucky to have you. Sounds like you had a little bit of everything mixed in to your holiday. I hope the good moments outweighed the not so great ones. I usually do a lot of thinking and regrouping around the new year and make written goals for myself, so I will be over to post on your New Year's thread soon. Chelone....who is certainly not shrinking from any of the challenges of finishing the Salon. 550 pounds of stove to move...well, it's a great thing that helpmeet has a jack at work. lol .... I just asked the same question about photos of ornaments. We also do not really have a topper for our tree. Our ceiling are pretty low so there never seems to be room. Instead we have a trio of large, soft, angel ornaments that normally are reserved for around the top branches of the tree. ... Yes, that foot massage is getting used. :-) It was from Brookstone and they do a pretty good job with that sort of thing. Jerri....I find computer issues and especially viruses one of the most irritating and time consuming problems to deal with. You have my sympathies. :-) What virus protection program are you adding? Woody...barely any snow here. Glad that photo is not of a tree down in your yard. Kathy...do I detect a bit of resistance to bringing plants in the house over the colder months? [g] Are you lacking windows with enough light for them? Very sorry to hear DD and Aiden didn't make it to BIL's. I would not have thought snow would be that significant a problem there in the PNW. Well...maybe you can have a 'second' Christmas next time you all get together. ...LOVE your GGBridge ornament! Very cool! Denise...you are right on the ball, getting your house back to normal. I'm still enjoying our decorations but the house has been cleaned. Another couple of days and I will be ready for them to be put away for another year. DD just received two cookbooks for Mexican food for Christmas. A favorite of hers. A friend of hers is originally from Texas and is a Mexican food lover. He gave her some kind of mortar and pestle to make her guacamole in and it does come out very good. Last year, she was asking me to grow cilantro. ....What is going on with Marty's back and leg? Injury? Arthritis? ... Photos of sweet peas and new container? Is it really gardening weather there still Denise?... Yes, family was properly impressed with my fledgling sewing skills. :-) Your ship ornament is a keeper! Very pretty! I wonder if you have multiple ship ornaments? Saucy your Sarah is SO pretty!! And yes...Doe eyed, Denise and yes, expressive face...Chelone. Michelle...your holiday sounded very peaceful and full of friends and family. I know you said something I was going to comment on but I can't find it now. I will though! Martie...glad you found some bargains out there. This is the first year I can remember having no desire to shop the sales at all. Nice to hear you are 'gardening'. My head is so far away from gardening at the moment, I'm barely taking care of the houseplants. LOVE your showerhead! And a DH that can install it too? Wonderful. Cynthia...why is it your grays play nicely with their stuffed animals and carry them around, when DS's dog chews everything to bits? He would have the stuffing out of that gorilla in 5 minutes flat. [g] They look quite happy and content and seem to enjoy their red sweaters. Deanne...great Duck photo...is that the Loon? I thought they were a different color? Wonder if we will hear from Brenda today? V....thanks for the name of that Christmas tree. I will have to look for Red Pine next year. Not sure there is a lot of that around my neck of the woods, but at least I can ask. Marian...very sorry to hear about the death of your friend. He was young. Imagine having celebrated a 50th wedding anniversary at such a young age...he was married young! Hope you are feeling better. Eden....loved your Christmas photos! Bella is adorable in her sweater and double socks and maryjanes. How did she like Spike? That expression on Magglio's face is priceless...lol. This is Jenni's first child, right? She looks so excited and in such good shape. Has she have a nursery she is getting ready? Happy Belated BD to Monique! Hope it was relaxing. Well...that is as far back as I can go...not such a bad Monday, since it will be a short week. DD is off the rest of the week and today will be day two of painting at her house. Middle DS went home with our van and we are down to one car that is not so good in the snow until we find our new car. That is on our agenda this morning. He was thrilled to have it, btw, but a flat tire had to be changed before he got on the road and no sooner did he park in his driveway, then a pizza delivery person slid into the passenger door and left a good dent and scratch. *sigh*. That's all the news that's fit to print...enjoy your last Monday of 2008! No time for proofreading... :-) pm2

Thynes! Thanks so much for giving me the exact name and number for your tile. I had seen your expanded kitchen post and couldn't find the exact tile. You have such a lovely kitchen, so warm and welcoming and the tile really makes a statement. I also see they only have one USA distributor. Your tile in your kitchen looks totally different than on the website..were you able to get a sample or see the tile in a store? I've sent Saltillo an email as well..so we shall see. Thanks again for the information. This post was edited by harleysbud on Sun, Mar 31, 13 at 15:25

I am so excited for you! Your house is coming together so beautifully and I just love that you let your beautiful five year-old pick her pink: I bet it makes her feel that much more excited about going to a new place. (I saw your other sweet girl in the Kitchen forum -- you did good! Such happy daughters.) I am really enjoying watching your house come together. It's lovely! (I love Chattanooga, too. My grandmother summered in the Smoky Mountains and my godmother lived on Minnekahda Road [on the river]. I have many happy memories of staying with her and playing with her [close to my age] children, swimming in the river. Aren't you lucky to live there in your lovely new house. I'm looking forward to more of your pictures!)

The house was build in 1924. Kitchen and bathroom were probably last updated (other than paint) in the 50ties. We remodeled in 2002. We didn't know that the original iron pipes in the bathroom had corroded and water was slowly leaking into the cement underlay of the bathroom floor. One day the weight became to great and the bathroom floor ended up in the kitchen. We had planned a remodel a couple years down the road. I had no time to really plan. Everything had to be picked out in a hurry, but I think for not having time to really think about layout and design it turned out pretty good. We had some snags along the way. Somebody had done a very amateur job on the electrical updating. Our electrician just shook his had. Sometime they had added a rickety mudroom addition and when we opened everything up we found out that the whole weight of the addition rested on the back door frame. It had cracked a footing. We had to put a header through the kitchen and pour a new footing. Amazing how the house straightened out. After the header and footing I all of the sudden noticed slightly bigger gaps between the boards of the hardwood floor in the living room. We found the original hardwood flooring in the kitchen under several layers of linoleum and other unidentified flooring. Last year we remodeled the "finished" side of the basement.Our son resides there now. Next will be the front porch and then we "only" have the roof, windows and siding left. Oh, and we relandscaped. http://picasaweb.google.com/glaserberl/Yard?authkey=fwYKO3IyaFQ We own a landscaping company. Thank god my brother in law owned a mortgage company at the time and made it easy for us to refinance. Here is a link that might be useful: Basement