Teeny Tiny Front Door: Trim

One of the projects for this year has been to work on the trim around the doors and windows of our teeny, tiny little cabin. This is for two reasons: first, Clara (the woman who previously lived and died in our house) had a dog named Lady Ruby who apparently did not like to be left alone and thus there are claw marks on almost all of the moldings around the windows and doors. Second, we don't trust the insulation/installation technique used by the previous owner(s). Honestly, for good reason. Every time we remove something or update something in this house we have found shoddy workmanship. The plumbing, electrical, exterior paint job, insulation -- all of it done by someone with inferior knowledge.

Our front door was no exception. It only took about $20 worth of supplies from Home Depot to make it right -- good thing I have a husband who is rockstar at handyman projects!

We haven't decided if we will keep the trim white or paint it a different color. I suppose it will all depend on if we keep this door or switch it out for something better.

Spring has Sprung

Spring is officially upon us here in Oregon and we have been graced with both soggy, rainy days and days of brilliant sunshine. On those days of sunshine, we spend them outdoors either relaxing or gardening & landscaping. There is so much work to be done on our property it is almost daunting but pretty flowers make it worth the effort.

One of my rose bushes went crazy beautiful!

Churro is certainly an Arizona dog, she loves the sunshine!

One of the few times Trudy is sweater-free.

Lily isn't much for playing, just relaxing when it is warm.

The deer have returned with their babies, my favorite time of year!

My Birthday was Rad!

There are so many wonderful things about my birthday each year, I cannot adequately describe how much I look forward to it. Hubby always makes quite a production about it and it usually lasts several days. Plus, with all my clean eating lately due to my acid reflux little things like donuts and Taco Bell are more of a treat than they used to be. He knocked it out of the park this year with indoor skydiving! I enjoyed every minute of it! Thanks Hubs for another great year!!

Kristi's 37th Birthday Extravaganza

Thursday (My Actual Birthday):
Donuts for breakfast, Dinner at La Provence, Post Dinner Birthday Present, Cake

Saturday:
Homemade French Toast for breakfast, Indoor Skydiving at 9:30 am, Taco Bell Quesalupa for lunch, Eat more Cake, Watch "Zootopia" in the movie theatre and "Sisters" at home.

Easter Sunday:
Homemade French Toast for breakfast and a massage from the Hubs Man

Me

Hubs Man

Model Group Luncheon

Winter time is notoriously difficult for Oregonians, the cold and the rain forces us all to hole up in our houses and disappear for 6+ months. Now the sun is out, the flowers are blooming and friends reassemble like no time has passed at all. I was lucky enough to join up with (most of the) model group from Evergreen for a relaxing lunch. Good times and many laughs!

Me and Matt's Best Friend, Bob

Silly Schnauzers and Churro

Now that I am home again full time it is easier to catch the dogs doing adorable things. Since Hubby's mom had a stroke back in October, we have been caring for her dog, Buni, full time until she is well enough to have her back. The first few weeks were tough, introducing a new dog into the fold always is, but Buni (or Churro, as we call her) has acclimated to our home really well. We have Lily to thank for that as she showed her the ropes, taught her what to do/when to do it, and plays with her.

Not staged, they all just got here on their own.

When I sit on the floor, Lily gets on the couch to see what I am doing.

Lily's newest toy, the octopus

Trudy sleeps anywhere and in any position she so chooses.

Churro is very sleepy and just a tiny bit cute. 

They rarely share the same bed, but there are rare exceptions.

My morning snuggle buddy!

Star Wars sweater friends

Piper finally made an appearance on abnormally warm day.

Look at these two idiots, I love them!

Lily does this every. single. night.

It's tough being Trudy, wrapped in a blanket in front of the fire.

Suddenly awoken and still adorable!

Trudy looks so tiny and old in that big yard.

Trudy was having a "bad back" day, but Churro and Lily aren't far away...

Grandpa Phillips

We received sad news on Sunday that Hubby's grandpa passed away. Our prayers are with Grandma Mary right now as she suffers the loss of her lifelong partner and friend, I can only imagine how much she misses him after 64 years of marriage. Grandpa was awesome! He was strong and talented and had a green thumb like you wouldn't believe! Grandpa and Grandma have been our biggest supporters, always there for us when we needed them. He was a wonderful man and we will both miss him tremendously. Safe travels Grandpa!

Favorite Grandpa Story:

We were still living in Tucson the last time they visited and we had just moved into our first house together. Grandpa had just started to learn the violin and he had brought it with him and serenaded us in our living room with the song that he had been practicing -- "Amazing Grace". I remember being so moved by his performance and so impressed with his ability to learn at his "youthful" age. He taught me that day to always keep trying, discovering and learning!

Marion "Bud" W. Phillips, son of Albert Jordan Phillips and Dorothy Graves Phillips, was born on June 28, 1932 in Dexter, Mo. and died on February 28, 2016. He was united in marriage to Mary E. Jackson of Dexter on May 22, 1951. Mr. Phillips served in the Air Force during the Korean War for 3-1/2 years. Upon his retirement as an accountant, he returned to Dexter where he loved to sing at many of the nursing homes and at New Bethel General Baptist Church. Marion was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Helen Robinett. Survivors include his wife Mary, son Marion B. Phillips of Dexter, and daughter Carol E. Kannes of Phoenix, Az. His grandchildren are Nicole and Logan Kannes; Robert, Joshua, and Matthew Phillips. Visitation will be held on Friday March 4th at 9:30 AM with services beginning at 11 AM. Burial will follow at Mo. State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield. Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. Donations in lieu of flower may be given to Stoddard County Childrens Home.

Resting Under an F-15

Despite the fact that I no longer work at Evergreen I still volunteer quite a bit. The other night we finally had a night flight in the Space Museum so I took the opportunity to rest somewhere unique -- under the F-15. It is nice & dark and blocks the overhead lights but it did cross my mind around 1:00 am that I was putting a lot of trust in the engineering and maintenance of said aircraft. :-)

Daffodils are Confused

It isn't Spring yet, but try telling that to my daffodils.

Teeny Tiny Kitchen: Moving Appliances

In preparation for the largest remodel to date -- the kitchen -- we are doing work in other areas of the house first which will hopefully make the kitchen remodel larger and more effective. 

The first thing we did is had the entire house replumbed! Our house was built in the 1970s and although we hadn't had any trouble with the galvanized pipe, it was time for it to go. The old galvanized was removed and the new PEX piping was installed in 2 days. Since the major repiping was taking place, we had the plumbers move the washer and dryer into the garage along with the water heater, and had them run the necessary water lines into the garage. Our house is only 900-1000 square feet and a good amount of square footage was being taken up by appliances that could be placed elsewhere. The plan is to utilize the former washer/dryer spot by placing the refrigerator and built-in cabinetry in its place. Where the water heater used to be, a new pantry will be built.

The area near the kitchen where the washer and dryer used to be

The new location for the water heater

Washer and dryer relocated into the garage next to the water heater

Now big decisions have to made, like what color cabinets?

Notice we painted an old cabinet to see what white would look like.

We are also considering cherry cabinets.

Crazy Dog Lady

I have known for quite a while that I treat my dogs too much like humans and less like dogs. Some of my friends even joke that I am a "crazy dog lady". I take it in stride because it was a conscience choice on my part and not an accident that I dote on them like I do. Truly in my mind it almost seems like common sense.

Problem: Trudy can't walk far
Solution: Get her a stroller

Problem: Lily is cold
Solution: Put her in a sweater

The most recent problem has been Trudy's arthritis. She goes through good days and bad days. The bad days usually consist of me carrying her around and taking her outside because her back legs don't work. The veterinarian has her on several medications, but even those can't keep up with her pain level sometimes. So what does one do when their puppy cannot walk and cannot take more meds? You hire a masseuse, of course!

Trudy had her first at-home massage last week and although she didn't quite know what to do at first, she quickly realized the relief it created. I wasn't completely sold on it until the masseuse started telling me things about Trudy that I didn't tell her in advance. She knew exactly what was bothering Trudy and where! That night Trudy slept better than she had in quite some time. The plan is to get her a massage every couple of weeks to manage her pain. Crazy dog lady? Yep, I am okay with that.

Happy New Year!

As I do each year, I look back over the year and see if we accomplished some of the things on our list. Well, it went about as well as could be expected considering how much time we both spent at work.

Hopes for 2015!

1. Go to a convention or two -- No

2. Work on the yard and plant a garden -- No

3. Find a church we really like -- No

4. Watch less television -- No, even worse -- we watched more!

5. Give back to our local police department -- I tried but I received no response

6. Run a 5K (K) and run another marathon (M) -- No

7. Reach my goal weight No but I didn't gain anything either so this goes under "win"!

8. Buy a new car -- Sure did! 

9. Get a new area rug for the living room -- Yes, you can see it here

10. Pay off my credit card -- Yes and one of my student loans!

11. Continue doing home improvements -- Yes, you can see our closets here

12. Continue to have a healthy and happy little furry family in our teeny, tiny little cabin! 
      -- Yes, for the most part we succeeded but Trudy was at the vet quite a bit this year...

Things we did but didn't plan on...

1. Went to the NCAA Tournament

2. Went to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

3. Saw Cobra helicopters up close and personal

4. Petted some sloths

5. Visited with the Hudsons...twice!

6. Learned to shoot and bought a rifle

7. Quit my job

8. Lost some friends and made some new ones

9. Helped Hubby's mom through her stroke and dealt with hospitals and rehab centers

10. Saw the new Star Wars movie and wasn't disappointed!

Goals for 2016!

1. Run a 5k (K) and run another marathon (M)

2. Update plumbing in the cabin

3. Remodel the laundry room

4. Replace all the lighting in the kitchen

5. Make plans for full kitchen renovation (2017?)

6. DIY new curtains for the living room

7. Install a french drain on the front of the house

8. Have a Super Bowl party (Come on Cardinals!)

9. Get my rose bushes under control

10. Get a new computer desk (K)

11. Visit my sister in Texas!

12. Continue to have a healthy and happy little furry family in our teeny, tiny little cabin! 

Life Lessons from Trudy: As you get older, you can sleep anywhere even on hardwood floors, it gets harder and harder to keep your tongue in your mouth and sometimes you have to wear two sweaters just to keep warm. 

We love you Little Bear -- keep breathing in 2016!

Merry Christmas

From Our Furry Family to Yours...Merry Christmas!

Giving Up or Had Enough?

I QUIT!

These are honestly words I never expected to use during my tenure at the museum. I had always anticipated my employment status would change based on their decision, not mine. Unfortunately, the changes and uncertainty surrounding the museum have altered the way it needs to do business. Those changes include taking comp time and flexible scheduling away. While we are considered salaried employees and therefore exempt from comp time, the museum had always honored it since our department's schedule was so erratic. Sometimes we work 50-60 hours weeks, working hours during the day and the night, but we always took days off to compensate (flexible scheduling) or "banked" those hours (comp time) for later. Not anymore. If I were to work Monday-Friday and have an overnight on Saturday/Sunday, I would be expected to return to work Monday-Friday instead of getting Monday/Tuesday off. From my calculations that is 12 days without a day off. When I voiced my concern, I was told "that's the job". There are dozens of other conversations and altercations which lead to this outcome and wish I could say that I was sorry about my decision...but I am not. 

I will return to volunteering at the museum -- being a docent and giving tours brings me happiness -- I still plan to help my co-workers out with big events and maybe an overnight from time to time. I still love what the museum stands for and I believe in its mission but I will decide just how much time I will donate and when, not the other-way around.