A BLANKET OF SNOW

Yesterday, Monday, we had an ice storm come down on us. We had a layer of ice on the car windshield within 30 minutes of getting to work. Even walking on the sidewalk was treacherous. We had no snow, so it was slow driving home on the ice. The temperature never got up higher than 20 degrees. This morning, the blanket of snow on the grounds was beautiful! The forecast is for continued precipitation today, but a warm-up to 36 degrees tomorrow and no more snow or ice. I am looking forward to 50 degree weather this weekend!


Andy is working on cleaning out the Texas room so that we can proceed with carpet and paint. He plans on texturing the walls this week, and I am ready to look for carpet. I would have gone to the carpet store yesterday had I been able to get out. So that is on the agenda for Wednesday. I've been told by an interior designer friend that I should pick out carpet first, then pick out the paint color.

Wed. 1/28/09 -- We still have snow on the ground, but the sun is out today and the temperature is supposed to get up to 36! I picked up some carpet samples to take home and get Andy's opinion on them. The carpet will have to be ordered, so that will take approx. two weeks. The carpet guy is coming out to the house this Friday to measure.

STILL MAKING PROGRESS

The Texas bathroom is almost done. We are waiting for delivery of a custom shower door we ordered. The mural and paint look great, and I am very happy with the sconce lighting over the vanity. We don't have the vanity installed yet, but will probably get that in today or tomorrow. I am glad the holidays are over and we can get back to a normal schedule. Andy's dad was in town this week for his monthly visit, and as always, that takes Andy away from his work for a couple of days. While Andy is finishing up with the bathroom, I need to move some boxes out of the bedroom itself so that we can pull up carpet and paint the bedroom. We've finally set up a filing cabinet that I can transfer files into from the boxes, so I will work on that this week. We are expecting an arctic front to come down from the north this evening or overnight, so the next couple of days will be good for indoor work.

I will be in Coppell next Saturday, Jan. 24th, for the Annual Champagne & Chocolate Southern Living at Home Party at Mary Schueler's house. She was very gracious to offer to have the party on Saturday when I could be in town and hopefully see a lot of friends at the party -- kill two birds with one stone! For anyone who didn't get a written invitation and who reads this, you are certainly welcome to come by Mary's house on Saturday, between 3:00 and 5:00, if you want to come visit. I'll have some pictures of our project. But mainly I want to see friends and visit a little.

The weather is still cold here, but we haven't had any snow or ice lately. As long as there isn't wind and the sun is out, the cold temperatures aren't intolerable. But when the wind comes up, the cold is biting. I am so, so, looking forward to spring!

LAST NIGHT WAS BEAUTIFUL

When I got home from work yesterday, Andy and BLake had a bonfire going down in the front of the property. We sat in our camping chairs and had our happy hour as we watched the sun go down through the trees. Blake and Drew walked to the front fence and Blake took photos -- hope to have some posted here in the next day or so. It was gorgeous! We have a panoramic view of the sunset from the front of the property. It was cold away from the fire, but nice and toasty sitting next to it. Skeeter had a great time running and hunting for vermin -- he chased a mouse out of a wood pile earlier in the day and played with it for a while. Mel sat by the fire for a while but then retired to the garage before sunset. In spite of the cold, it was a beautiful evening outside.

We are indeed in the middle of winter! Today the temperature was 25 degrees at sunrise, and the high isn't going to be warmer than around 33. But this past Saturday we had a sunny, warm day in the high 60's. Andy and I transplanted some crepe myrtles and flowering quince. I can't wait for things to start blooming!

I can't believe it's been an entire month since I last wrote an update. But it's been a busy month. Both Blake and Drew were here for Christmas and we had a nice holiday. With cold weather came several days of no work for Andy on the remodeling, but he's still made some progress. He's finished the tile work in the Texas bathroom (except for the final grouting) and did indeed install a "surprise" in the shower. You'll have to come visit us to see what it is! I've chosen wall paint colors for that room and we should be able to paint this week, then install the vanity and lighting. We have the granite for both the bathroom and the coffee bar, so that will be the next installation. Look for photos at my next post . . . .