Random Photos of the House

We've lived here since April 6th. Wow - three months. I guess that feels about right. While I"m not ready to show you the whole house, as in a tour of the house, I thought I'd show a few bits and pieces. Here's the front. This is old. Not our car. But every time I try to get an outside shot, the lighting's bad...

Pretty, huh? I'm told it's deceiving. I guess our house is much larger inside than one would think. Here are a couple of other outside shots. Love the round red door. Cool, huh?

The inside, empty.

Dining room - from red to blue.

Cool mail catcher.

Close up of the cool old solid brass chandelier. (We'll replace the shades with something that goes with our new dining room set - pictures later)

So, there's a little bit of it for you!

The Trip

The nucleus for the trip was a Family Reunion that Cowboy's mom's family was having in Jackson, TN. We were requested to go, and I thought (as I logically do), "Well, if we're driving ten hours to Jackson, we may as well drive ten more to Richmond, VA." We have friends there, and although I knew my dear friend Martha wouldn't be there, I've wanted Cowboy to see Richmond, and all of the East Coast. Then I thought, "WEll, if we're going to Richmond, DC is only two hours up from there, and then Cowboy and Halle could see DC, and maybe that would help Halle catch up with Social Studies/History in general, or give her a leg up on next year. And, as long as we're going as far as DC, we may as well drive two more hours up and see my College friend Kimberly and her husband Seth, because I want Cowboy to see that area, also." Then, we realized that the date of the Reunion would cause us to do it backwards, which worked as well. So we rented a car, and drove the first day to Columbus, Ohio. This was a long trip. Over 900 miles to Columbus from OKC. But I wanted the first day to be long, so the second day would be shorter, and then maybe we could fit a side trip through Amish Country in Lancaster County. We did. We left at 4:40 am. Before the trip I made Halle a Travel Journal. It had a two page summary for every state we were driving through with a little worksheet about the State at the end. Then there was a page of lined paper for her to write her day's thoughts on, and then I also included an expense sheet, so she could keep track of all of our expenses. Every day had boxes for gas, meals, lodging, miscellaneous. We (I) also packed fruit, sandwiches, snacks (Skittles) and water for the road. Day One was uneventful and long. Day Two took us into Lancaster County, before heading down to Seth and Kimberly's.

There WERE two cuter pics of her, but her eyes were closed... ala Cowboy....

It's so pretty here, isn't it? It was so much fun at Kimberly's. Relaxation, laughter, chatting, laughter, Arts and Crafts for Halle (thus, her favorite stop), laughter, crabs and ... lots of laughter. We went out to the Chesapeake, so they could see it.

Cowboy was hoping for fresh Maryland crabs, and he was NOT disappointed.

Seth, Kimberly's cute husband.

Then with a sad farewell, (and Starbucks to go), we headed on down to DC. We drove through DC and then on out to our First Father's house. Lovely day. Hot, but DUH! it WAS July. (Oh did I mention that we found out on the night of Day Two that the reunions as canceled...?)

Have you ever heard that Civil War soldiers scratched their names into bricks around General Washington's tomb? It's actually a true story, although which names are actually from the Civil War and which ones were carved by copycats is disputable. Mount Vernon was neutral ground during the Civil War.

Cowboy loves to smoke a good cigar. This is a cigar in it's purest form, no?

Although Halle did say she LOVED Mount Vernon, this was probably the picture she was most excited about. Dorothy's ruby slippers at the American History museum.

Yes, we hit the Main Three memorials. I think it gave Cowboy a glimpse into my long days. At one point, I said, "wouldn't you think I'd be in a LOT better shape with all this walking?!" And while he wisely didn't agree to THAT statement, he said, "This is a LOT of walking." (And we didn't do it nearly as long or as much.)

Next day we walked Arlington and then took a tour of the Capitol and the Library of Congress. To say Cowboy was disappointed in the Capitol Tour would be an understatement. I would guess that for 95% of the people that come on the tours I give, that would be the case. But it's pretty.

Then we went down to Richmond, VA where we stayed with the Young's. As luck would have it, poor Joseph, the 23 year old, got stuck with us. But it was a TREAT to see him. We took in Williamsburg,

and then drove over to Jamestown and the Yorktown Surrender field, with a quick sidestep to dip our toes in the James River (Something I've wanted to do for 15 years on tour. It's just not on the schedule...)

Since the Reunion was canceled, we wrangled an invitation from Cowboy's Aunt Debbie, who lives in Knoxville, (home also to his favorite cousin, Dave, and his wife and two children). Also, his Grandpa Curt (WW2 Vet) lives there. It was really nice to see them and have some EXCELLENT smoked ribs for the Fourth, before heading to Jackson to spend the night (in a nasty, scary hotel). Then on home. We had SO hoped to see our bathroom almost completed, but that was a complete disappointment. But the trip was NOT a disappointment. We traveled 3,230 miles in 8 days. Quite a trip. Hopefully, quite a good memory. Time will tell.

I THOUGHT

I would really be abetter blogger starting with the summer. But, alas, it hasn't happened. SUMMER has happened, and is happening a little too quickly, to be honest, but blogging, not so much. I can't even pinpoint the reason why. So, a quick recap: The bathroom conversion from half to full is easily in it's 8th week, probably. I'm seriously not counting. Can't take it. SLOW GOING. Not sure why. Is it that they don't show up until 2pm, WHEN they show up? LOVE our contractor, but he doesn't do much of the work. A few pics:

Door closed off to make space for shower:

Floor all trashed.

Floor fixed. (Which is currently ruined again due to tiling of shower)

Tiling in progress.

What needs to happen next. Shower finished.(Grouting, door ordered...) New toilet and sink installed. Walls painted. Light fixture hung. And then the kitchen starts... We also went on our First Family Vacation. It was a success. Pictures forthcoming...

This is Our House

If all goes well, (and it should...). We are under contract on OUR house and OUR house. Inspections are currently underway, we are packed (mostly), and will be moving March 31st.

(Deep breath)... we're excited.

I'll post more pictures and write more later. (Promise...)

Citrus-Cream Cheese Pull-Aparts

Okay, Friends. Merry Christmas!

Ingredients

1 (25-ounce) package frozen roll dough (24 rolls)
Cooking spray
1/4 cup butter or stick margarine, melted
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries (such as Craisins)
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
2/3 cup (6 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 large egg
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind (I use the rind from both the lemon and the lime)
1 tablespoon grated orange rind (I use lime - I like it better)
1 cup powdered sugar
5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (however much you get from the lemon and the lime works just fine)

Preparation

Thaw roll dough at room temperature 30 minutes.
Cut rolls in half. Place 24 halves, cut sides down, in bottom of each of 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray. Brush butter evenly over rolls. Cover; let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 30 minutes. Sprinkle with dried cranberries. Combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar, cream cheese, orange juice, and egg; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Pour cream cheese mixture evenly over rolls. Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and rinds. Sprinkle evenly over rolls. Cover and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Cover with foil. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until rolls in center are done. Remove from oven; cool 15 minutes. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over rolls.
Overnight Variation: After pouring the cream cheese mixture over rolls, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 12 hours. Gently remove plastic wrap from rolls; sprinkle with rind mixture. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Proceed with recipe as directed.

Yum!

The Waiting Game

We've put a bid on a house, and it's been a whirlwind. We've been looking. Kind of. So many things have to fall into place for us to be in a position to buy a together home, but we look and see what's out there. And there was this one house that kept grabbing our eye, so we made an appointment to look at it. Cowboy just called the realtor listed on the sign, and she showed it to us. It was awful. So that was good. At least we no longer keep looking at it, and wondering if it's the house for us.

That realtor asked us what we were looking for, and we told her the areas and the price range, and that we aren't really in a serious position at the moment, but are looking. Cowboy also mentioned foreclosures. Hence, our current situation. She found one.

This one:



And it's as wonderful inside as out.

Although, being a foreclosure, there are problems:

a lot of the windows are knocked out. These A/C has been stolen. The dishwasher and stove have been stolen. No washer/dryer. The back door has been broken in (Hence, the stealing). And it needs piers. But still... it's SOOOOO beautiful inside. Oh - we'd want to knock a wall down, add a bathroom, etc. But, still...

So - we made an offer. There are multiple offers... we dont' get a second chance.

But, there is peace. We did what we felt was the right offer, and if it's the house for us, then that will be our house, and if not, then it will not.

But... it's really pretty. But, surprisingly, I really am at peace. I have no idea how long these deals take. Two weeks, two months, two days...

Seriously

Why in the heck have I not been blogging?! Too busy, bad computer, no good pictures...

all lame answers.

So, to re-cap the last four months before the bell rings for 7th hour:

Tomorrow will mark four months of marriage - WOW!

Yesterday was perhaps one of my top favorite five days with Cowboy - because we slept in, and it was just us. Breakfast at I hop (not a normal deal for us), grocery shopping together (not a normal deal for us), a relaxing afternoon on the couch, watching a movie for which I stayed awake (not a normal deal for us),and a really yummy dinner made by me (fairly normal).

I'm busy at my job, and I like it, but I'm ready for Christmas Break. I do more than I would normally do as an accompanist, but I like it.

We finally rented my house in Broken Arrow, and it seems as if the renter is not only a great tenant, but would love to buy the hosue. She has a daughter who has already made a friend in the bneighborhood, so we'll see. Certainly not holding our breath, but seems like a win-win for us.

We're ready to start looking for a house to call OURS. We'll see when that happens.

There goes the bell!

Love you all!