We are still waiting for our household goods to get here. We kinda thought it would've come by now, but last we heard, our stuff made it as far as Billings MT last Monday, and is still sitting there (as far as we know). It's good to know it's on its way, but it only took us 2-1/2 days to drive from Montana to Cheyenne to South Bend. So ........................ what's up with that? I don't know. I suppose the rumors are true that they are short on truck drivers. Anyhoo, in the meantime I am learning to get by on less, and it's actually good for me, I think. I have to get creative and think outside of the box sometimes, learning to make do with what I have. I do wish I had my stuff though cuz I can't make cookies or bread or pies or smoothies or pizza or ice cream etc. One day last week I started making some salad dressing and then realized I didn't have my food processor; it still tasted good but it didn't have the smooth texture that I was aiming for. So until I get my stuff, we are limited to stove top cooking and sandwiches. I also miss having my scrap booking stuff. I thought I would get really bored without having my stuff, and sometimes I do start to feel bored, but we've been finding ways to fill up the time while we wait for that big glorious truck to show up in our driveway.
As you can see, I got all that black paint scraped off the fireplace, and I like it a lot better now. It took me two afternoons to do it with that can of brain-cell killer that I bought from the paint store. I couldn't get the paint off the grout, so it still has a black "grid" pattern, but maybe the grid pattern really doesn't look that bad. Later on, after we get the upstairs repainted with a different color scheme, we will decide if we wanna pursue changing it, but for now, I can live with it. I'm just glad the whole thing isn't black anymore. But now it seems to clash more with the brown paint on the walls, which makes me more eager to start painting the upstairs.
As for the downstairs, we started working on painting the big areas.
As usual, I did all the frog taping, and Chuck is doing the painting. The downstairs will get done pretty fast cuz the walls are like big blank canvases.
The upstairs will be more of a challenge.
You can't really tell in these pictures, but we are repainting with a color that is very close to the color that was on there, and then we will complement that color with a light gray (and cover up the walls that are beige colored). I know the carpet is an ugly green, but since it's the downstairs, it's not gonna bother me that much. I am getting excited about filling up this space with my scrap booking stuff!!
Today we made a new kind of commitment. We decided to identify with the church that we've been worshipping with, so I am happy to say that we have a church family again. We are very happy with them! They are such a nice group of people and I know we will make some really good friends there. Anyhoo, every time there is a 5th Sunday, which was today, they do what they call a "church-each-church". At first we didn't know what this meant, but it basically means the same thing as what we've been doing in Wasilla all these years. Worship service, potluck, and then worship again. Since we had our evening service right after potluck, it freed up the rest of our day, so me and Chuck took another drive into some other towns, which is something we've been doing when we just wanna go do something. We enjoy looking at historical places and going into antique shops.
Today we drove north into Michigan. First we went to a little town called Buchanan. When we first rolled into the edge of town, I was reminded of "Planet of the Apes". Remember when the three astronauts were getting close to the ape city, and they started seeing those scarecrow-looking things? Well, we started seeing a few scarecrows on the edge of town, and then when we got further into town, they were EVERYWHERE.
You probably can't see this very well, but everywhere where it looks like a person is standing, that is a scarecrow. The downtown main drag had scarecrows lined up on both sides of the street. Upon closer inspection, we learned that every business owner in town puts one out. I just thought it was such a cute idea!
The scarecrows weren't scary looking though. They fashion them to match their business.
For example, this one has a broken arm and a broken leg.
This one has a cat sticking out of the top of the overalls.
Anyhoo, we got coffee at a coffee shop and kept walking around the town and found this trail.
It was supposed to be a trail that skirted along a little river and it just kinda meandered all over.
And then it led us to these ducks. Unfortunately, we only had one quarter, but they sure like to crowd around you when they hear that coin drop in the food dispenser slot. I always feel bad when I have to tell the ducks "sorry, all gone!"
Then we went to another town, Niles, and spent some time in an antique shop.
Then we drove around and saw this big old house.
I hope to get back there another time during it's open hours. It's a museum that supposedly has a lot of stuff in it. I would love to go in there and see what it's like on the inside.
Then we got hungry and went to a local pizza joint. We were the only customers in there so we sat at the counter and chatted with the old guy while he made our pizza. He said he was a native of Niles (he was born there and never left) and told us all kinds of things of what it was like to live there as a young boy. The building that he is now using as a pizza joint, he said was built in 1838 and was originally a place where they repaired horse buggies.
On the way home, this "sea of pumpkins" caught my eye, so of course we stopped.
Lots and lots and lots and lots of pumpkins and gourds.
Pie pumpkins were $1.50 each, so I bought two to add to my growing collection.
The weather is starting to cool off a little bit now, and we are seeing more and more Fall and Halloween decor, so I feel justified buying more pumpkins now. I don't know how many I'll end up with by the time I quit buying them, but I'm sure I'll be picking them up here and there as I see them during the next few weeks. Buying them in Alaska wasn't this easy or this cheap. Up there, you had to go out of your way to find them and then pay out the nose for them. Here, they are so abundant, they will find you and they are so affordable!
 |
| I now have five! |
So anyhoo, yes I want my stuff, but so far I've been happily distracted.
Tomorrow I go to Michigan and visit my friend Tammie! Woo-HOO!
No comments:
Post a Comment