Outside my window... it is nice. A great Spring morning with everything greening up and not too hot, not too cool but the perfect warm. The kids wore shorts and t-shirts to school today. No jacket. I’m telling ya--perfect.
I am thinking... still about our new addition. We got two bids recently out of the four and it was Deee-pressing, capital D. We feel like we might as well build a new house or go buy a $500,000 plus one. Which isn’t gonna happen but we would have more than that tied up in our current place once we do the addition and it’s still a crappy house (the original part anyway). Gary and I both were kinda down over the weekend, realizing that there’s so much more involved than we ever expected. Like, we didn’t anticipate not being able to just add on new fiber cement siding against the old fiber cement siding. Never expected all the old stuff would have to be replaced because it will break when they try to blend in the new. So much labor and the cost of materials and oy. We just want some space. Not fancy. Just some more room.
I am thankful... that we have a glimmer of hope this morning in that the one builder that hadn’t seemed that interested but we were very interested in is meeting me today and may have time to come over to the house tonight or tomorrow night. We have some hope that we could still execute the plan as the architect drew it, if his bid is significantly less than the other two fellas. And then there’s one more out there we are waiting on, plus, we got another recommendation for another builder so maybe it’s not as lost of a cause as it felt the past days.
In the kitchen... the sun is shining through and it makes me feel great and really solidifies the fact that I am a window girl. Last night I was up in the night and sitting in a chair and felt happy looking out our large window only seeing the tree silhouettes. Even in the dark I like to look outside.
I am going... to meet the potential builder today to give him our drawings and then go to Columbus School to work the library like I do every Monday. Then I get groceries and everyone comes home and we get through homework and I make supper. We eat in a hurry on Mondays because it is Scouts for Gary and the big boys.
I am looking forward to...a vacation like the one we took to Santa Fe last spring, just Gary and I. Don’t know when or where but I like to imagine that can happen again sometime. 
I am wondering... if there’s a way to edit posts that I send from my phone, like the cat in the flower pot one that I sent and forgot to attach the picture.
I am remembering... how much fun we had yesterday. Gary and I walked with Caroline through our woods and back to the creek. It was bank-full and there was a big ol log jam. I got a long stick and started poking around trying to dislodge some of the stuff and see if I could break up the whole jam. Gary thought I was crazy messing with it but it was so fun for me, just like I used to do when I was a kid growing up on the creek. He eventually got himself a long stick and together we broke up that big jam. Watching it bust up and float on down the rushing creek was so rewarding.
My latest heart attack… was when Scooter jumped into that high, fast water thinking he could walk on the jam. It looked like solid ground I suppose to him, but it was just a mass of floating twigs and branches and occasional glass bottle and trash all bound up by who knows what under the surface. It stressed me out completely until he made it back to the bank. Made for a memorable day though. And things like this is why we bought this place, right? It’ll all work out.
I am hoping...Sam’s soccer goes better this week. Last week he was really sick and missed practice and he’s never played soccer before in his life. We went to his first game Saturday morning which was amongst the sea of soccer fields at SIU-E. It’s such a big event they have paid staff to direct traffic to park. I had no idea. And then we were throwing Sam into this game, granted with other first graders, but with refs and rules and all. He refused to join his team and stood along the sideline trying to hide behind my leg the whole hour. It was not a good experience for him or his parents.
I am listening to….I Me Mine by The Beatles.
One of my favorite things...is my favorite Beatle, George.
I am learning...about geo-thermal units in homes and that there’s all kinds of turf-wars going on in the world of PTO moms.
Around the house...the grass is going crazy. We haven’t mowed yet but it is going to have to happen very soon. I pulled weeds yesterday along the drive and fence and didn’t even make a dent. So much stuff growing!
A few plans for the rest of the week...is to catch up on laundry (the excitement!), wash my van, and rid the upholstered chair of the horrible vomit smell. I have fought it for a week and next going to try my friend’s steam cleaner. Hope that works!
A recent pic....a house I thought we might copy the porch detail.
That’s it for today!
