Gotta Stay Positive

Erika and Finn headed up north today to visit her parents in MT (she has the week off since students are on an international trip). Unfortunately, I'm stuck at home...but took advantage of all the spare time to work on a couple of overdue projects (once fully fueled with coffee, obviously). First - I tiled a few trim strips between the kitchen and "mudroom" and down on the lower landing. This was supposed to be easy - but try as I might, I had a hard time getting the individual squares to look level. Oh well, not that anything in this house is level anyway.

Here is the "before" photo...from when we moved in. Notice the wallpaper in the hallway - those walls (and ceiling) are the only surfaces that we have not painted in this house!


And the after shot. The mudroom walls are painted "faint flickr" which really brightens it up.


Next I gingerly approached another long-standing project. I donned the HEPA-filter mask, eye protection, gloves, and ipod and started scraping and painting the shed. Ughh. Luckily good songs came on "shuffle" and I pushed through. Here are the before and after photos:



Looking through the old photos I came across this one, housed in the folder "kitchen demolition and choas," which about sums it up. I think it's my favorite shot of the total madness that sprung from our kitchen remodel. I had no idea what I was up against (mold, coal soot, plumbing issues, electrical issues, plaster issues, window issues...) and spent a lot of time staring blankly, but somehow pulled through. Notice the open book that has plumbing photos for a PERFECT house. A lot of help that was. Also notice the essential kitchen gadgets: Coffee maker, Egg & Muffin Toaster, and Toaster Oven.

Snowy October Weekend

Setting good habits early
















as I am posting this,
Finn is sitting in my lap very clearly exclaiming, "Daddy, Daddy!" and pointing to the pictures. He loves his daddy and if only he know that tomorrow was his daddy day (Fridays) he'd be jumping up and down with joy!

Bummin' 'Round the House

September has been kinda slow, but good. We've enjoyed the fall weather, late-season harvests, and watching Finn turn in to one hyper boy. Here is a random collection of photos. -cbd

Finn quickly figured out that he can climb onto the couch using his push cart. He's looking pretty proud of himself. Yes, I know - he needs a haircut.

Who needs toys when you have tools! I finally dug deep and found the motivation to start another house project. Actually I didn't feel like finishing the other six projects I have going...

Finn showing much improved technique here.

Finn showing his sign for "more" (index fingers carefully put together) and showing his best "please mommy" face.

We harvested lots of squash (of four different varieties) this year, but only one pumpkin. Finn and I are about to harvest.

The pumpkin generated lots of interest... (cool crop by E)

But only Finn tried to eat it right away. Our hyper little boy.

Fall Fuggles

Our first hop harvest! Thanks to Craig for donating his Fuggles noble hops from his old house. We "adopted" this plant mid-summer and were surprised by a pretty good harvest. Hops are a fragrant, bitter herb used in making to beer to balance the sweet malt. I'm looking forward to using them in my next batch.

What a Character

Things have been slow on the blogfront lately with home projects, me being back to teaching full time, family in town, and the general busy nature of life. I figured it was time to sit down and add a few posts.

Finn's personality is definitely becoming more pronounced. Here he is getting hyper before bed. He found his hat that no longer fits him in his bedroom and decided that he just had to wear it. It really compliments his pajamas nicely doesn't it? So, he put it on all by himself and plowed through the house giggling away. He's getting pretty proficient at cornering with this toy, without ramming into too many walls or door frames.








Today I noticed that he has two new teeth. That makes ten!

Fall BBQ

The daytime temperatures continue to cool and the night time forcast threatens frost. With BBQ season winding down we decided to host a small gathering. Even Finn got to invite a few friends.

You can see the shed project in the background here. The front is painted a nice pale shade of green called crisp celery. We have yet to scrape and paint the sides or build doors. These are all on the short list but projects have moved indoors lately to the mudroom/back entry. I'll have to try to capture photos of Chris's transforming paint job. Next we lay backerboard, tile and wood treads.

Greta















Kaya













Finn showing off the fridge in dad's "man space" (a.k.a. the shed)

Corn Dog

Last Friday Finn enjoyed his first State Fair. Thanks to Stefan, Jess and Greta for the laughs and for taking all these photos (we forgot our camera - oops).

We didn't get to see too many animals (except Bengal Tigers! and some horses), but did enjoy foot-long corn dogs, square-dancing Texans, people watching, a fun farmer chore activity for Finn and Greta (see photo of him harvesting veggies!), a Ferris Wheel at dusk, and polish sausage!

The ultimate corn dog. I think the age-old DuRoss quote goes well here (used to be on our fridge in Ohio): "You have freedom of choice but not of consequences."

Big apples. Finn and Greta posing

Finn reaping a bountiful harvest

E, Finn and I on the Ferris Wheel. He wasn't quite sure what to think at first (whereas Greta was standing, bouncing and smiling!), but was smiling and clapping by the end.

Perfect Fit

With the cooling temperatures I've been going through Finn's drawers and pulling out the clothes that no longer fit. In the process I ran across this sweater that he got for Christmas. It was worn many months ago but is just now the perfect size. All your efforts and frustrations were well worth it Mom. Look how adorable it is on him!

City of Rocks weekend

This past weekend we got out of town for some climbing at the City of Rocks, thanks to some master group organizing by Craig. We camped at the Breadloaves group site (somewhere around twenty-five of us) and took turns kid watching so everyone who wanted to could get on a few routes. Saturday night we did potluck style burritos. These were hands-down one of the tastiest camp meals I've ever had (and all I had to do was cook up some tortillas). We're typically so good about photos, but somehow we drove away with only a handful of Finn photos and not a single climbing shot. Although, I think this sparked an interest in both of us to want to get out climbing more. With that in mind, there should be upcoming photo opportunities.

Renae entertains Finn and Kaya with bubbles, bubbles, bubbles... "Hey, do you have your helmet?"

Finn thinking about climbing safely already.

Four other kids to play with and so much room to roam, what fun! Finn was all over the campsite. He'd wander off into the sagebrush or across the vacant parking lot, turn around to wave "bye" then continue to wander farther. He's definitely becoming more independent.

Affinity for the Backyard

After years of aspiring to have "dueling hummingbirds" in our yard, we've succeeded. We've spotted at least three individuals visiting the scarlet runner beans and various Penstemon flowers, or sipping nectar from the two strategically placed hummingbird feeders. Most recently this female broad-tailed hummingbird has been fiercely defending the entire backyard as her territory. Both Chris and I savor sitting for hours on end quietly watching them flit around the yard and hearing their high-pitched chirps and whirrs.


It is not just the birds that have an affinity for the backyard. We have an abundance of bees that make their way from flower to flower. They are especially abundant in the mint and the cosmos. I've seen damselflies and even had a huge praying mantis stalking insects on the Sacred Datura plant near the mint.

Finn is taking advantage of his newfound mobility to make the rounds in the backyard. Not only is he picking tomatoes from the garden (with no consideration of whether they are ripe or not), he is now ravenously eating the Finn sized tiny yellow cherry tomatoes. I never thought I'd keep up with how fast they were ripening, but as of yesterday afternoon he's effectively wiped out all of the tiny little gems.
Behind Finn you can just see a glimpse of our enormous pumpkin. Soon it will be pushing on the sides of both raised beds. I'll have to get a picture when we pick it

The bountiful harvest we returned to after vacation

Homelife

Finn relinquishing his "mommy-mode" for Daddy time. He just lights up when Chris gets home from work. Below: he's crawled up into Chris's lap to share an after work snack of chips and garden salsa (omitting the salsa for Finn since it has a bit of a jalapeño kick and he's not too fond of tomatoes yet).Finn's creative play shining through. He's stacked each drum on its own step and is pushing them all around the house, giggling as he goes along.

Simple Pleasures

Finn got some Fall clothes in the mail from Grandma. He was way more interested in the packaging than the content. Who knew that a few sheets of packaging paper could be so much fun?

Post II of II: Adults Had Fun Too

OK, here are the rest of the photos!

This was the start of Finn's magnetic attraction to the ocean!

Finn ready to call it a day

Typical Fort DuRoss

Requisite shower shot

Papa and his clan

What's up "cuz?"

Somehow I managed to capture this storm off the coast to the south. The bright white light above the trail of taillights is the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.

Finn's first ocean swim! He loved it.

Stingray?? Doubtful. They stay away from the surf - it was probably just a cloud of sand. Actually everyone is looking for a lost sand toy.

Papa enjoying some much deserved rest.

Finn checking out the waves. That's me in the red shirt in the background.

Papa and Judah. Judah knew from day one that he needed to be in that ocean.