Cold and Cloudy, So We Painted

Today was another cold and cloudy one, so we decided it was a good one to stay inside and tackle our painting project.  Right after breakfast, John got busy taping all the trim.  We laid down some plastic to protect the carpet, and then got busy.  I did all the painting along the trim while John got busy with the roller.  

After an hour or so, we took a break for lunch and then got back to it again.  By early afternoon the job was done.  It was a bigger painting job than we first thought with four doorways and an angled wall.  We're letting everything dry overnight and then we'll put the hallway back together tomorrow.  That's one more job off our "To Do List".

A Sunny Day At Last

We had our first clear, sunny day in just about a week.  The only drawback to today was the wind which had gusts of 25 MPH.  At least the sun felt nice and warm when you were out of the wind.

John spent most of his morning up at Matt's helping him work on the wood splitter.  They replaced a broken part and then proceeded to change the oil and do some other maintenance.  While he was gone, I stored our travel crates away and did some cleaning.  The last cleaning was in January, so the furniture had a nice coating of dust.

I have been wanting to repaint our upstairs hallway and the stairway with the same color I used in our living room.  It'll be three years this summer since we updated the kithen and repainted the downstairs and I am determined to get this job done this spring.  I wanted to get it done last summer, but all of our time was taken up with closing the business and getting ready for the big sale in the fall.  I spent some time today taking down pictures and clearing out all the little do dads and knicknacks.   Hopefully we'll get started on this job tomorrow as the weather is suppose to be cold and rainy again.

Today was John's birthday, so we went out for supper at Applebee's in Bemidji.  On the way through town, we stopped at the golf course and bought a membership for this summer.  We have decided we are going to try and play golf at least once a week or more as we have time.

All Day Rain

As you can probably guess from the title of this posting, John and I were pretty much house bound today.  We have had a dripping valve in the basement, so this morning John went up to Matt's to pick up an extra one he had on hand.  From there he ran into the hardware store in Clearbrook to pick up a couple of parts needed to install the new one.  Once he had all the parts, it didn't take him long to get the job done--no more leaks.

With all the doctor appointments, etc. of last week, I still had quite a bit of unpacking left to do.  This afternoon I finally got the last box emptied and just about everything put away.  Even though the weather remains on the cool side, I have started pulling out the summer clothes and getting some of the winter items stored away.  Think I'll hold off on putting the heavier jackets away for a little while as it looks like we'll be needing them the rest of this week.

High Winds All Day

The temps dipped slightly below freezing overnight which left our back steps and walkways with a slight covering of ice.  By the time we ate breakfast and left for church temps were just high enough to clear off the ice, so it was easy driving into Clearbrook.  This was our first Sunday back at the church and it was good to see everyone again.

The winds were extremely strong all day, so John and I just vegged out most of the afternoon watching the PGA.  Since we can't play golf right now, and with the way the weather is going, it will be a while before we can, at least we can watch it.  

 

Busy Saturday

This morning John and I spent some time cleaning and re-organizing the basement.  When we were in Grand Forks yesterday, we stocked up on flour, sugar, and other items that we purchase in bulk.  After an hour or so everything was stored in plastic buckets and put away on the shelves. 

Matt, Sam, and Rachel came down to our place so John could help them cut some wood for redoing a hunting shack for Rae.  After they got the wood done, they all stayed for lunch and visited for a little bit.  The rains over the last couple of days had caused ruts in our driveway, so John got the four wheeler out and dragged the whole drive.  Now it's nice and smooth and hopefully will stay that way for a while.  

Today I finished up in the office and got all of last year's paperwork that needs to be kept filed away.  Our home office is now back to normal and you can once again see the desktop--at least for now.
We spent a quiet evening watching the movie "Captain America" and a couple of other favorite TV shows.

Out of Town Day

Since today was my birthday, John and I decided to take a road trip to Grand Forks for some shopping.  The snow of yesterday melted and we found the roadways to be clear and dry.  We arrived in town a little before lunch time, so our first stop was Culver's for something to eat. 

Following lunch we shopped at several different stores and slowly crossed the items we were looking for off our list.  Our grandson is getting married in July out in California so I need an outfit for the occassion.  Since the GF mall was nearby, we stopped in there so I could look at what the different stores had in the way of outfits I could use.  I found something I liked in the first store, tried it on, and bought it.  I'll still keep looking, but at least I have something I can wear if I don't find something I like more. 

Our original plan was to stop somewhere nice for supper, but neither of us was hungry enough for a big meal, so we stopped at DQ for some ice cream and will save the special dinner until we celebrate John's birthday next week.  

Oh, No, Snow Again

Well, winter returned today.  Everyone here has been complaining about the cold weather and the snow today has really dampened everyone's spirits.  It was just plain miserable to be outside today.
On the bright side, however, the birds are returning and we have seen ducks on the pond along with a few geese.  At least the moisture will green up the grass.

When we were in Bemidji the other day, we purchased a new bird feeder and seed.  John put it up and today the birds began feeding. 

 John and I spent the morning doing some chores around the house and then, after lunch, he went to the dentist to see about the tooth he chipped off a couple of weeks ago.  While he was gone, I worked on cleaning out files in the office and then went up to Sara's for a haircut.  The rest of our day was spent hanging out around the house and hoping the snow melts away by tomorrow.