Joy....barely contained

Yeah....I'm slavin' at the desk, I turn around and there he is, just lovin' his life!

I think it's time to break the chains and take a walk, ya think?

Okay...updated Office pictures....really

We finally got a light to greet you! One we can actually turn on and off when people come and go. How cool is that? We're replacing the screen door and the storm door, but they're just not done yet!

When you first come through the door, you face the door to our new storage closet (formerly the little nook where we stored Arrow's food, for those of you in the know) . It's not a huge space, but it will be great for my office supplies and totes and such! And it's got an automatic light switch so when you open the door, the light comes on! (I know...little things impress little minds!) Back into the foyer, here is the pocket door with glass that matches what we used in the bathroom. We also added the sidelight as a little architectural interest point. I really like it!...and it serves creates an airlock in the foyer, so the winter winds don't come racing into my office! Here's Scott laying down on the job! Not really...well, yeah, really! He's measuring twice and cutting once as he installs the new heater in the office. Be sure to notice the sheen on the window sill...Scott spent a lot of time really working it over!

ARRRRRRRGH! Now I remember why I quit posting pictures on my blog! I've spent probably 2 hours, all told, trying to get the rest of the photos to upload on this stupid site! It LOOKS like it's uploading, but then I never get the "done" signal, and they never appear. And I'm using the lowest setting on my camera, so it's not that the photos are too large. Does anybody else have trouble with photos here? And have you discovered a secret? Let me know what you've done and maybe I'll be able to add more pics. But for now, I'm too frustrated to keep trying. Sorry!

Office update...uh...I mean, Scotty's birthday picture!

Not sure if I remember how to do this....it's been so long!.... but enough of you have said I've failed at keeping it current with the remodeling, so I thought I'd best give it a shot! In fact, I just took a video with my camera, hoping to be able to upload it to the site, so y'all could tour it with me.....but that doesn't work apparantly. So, instead, I'm attaching a picture of Scott talking on the phone to my sister Patti, who called to wish him a happy 51st birthday! Isn't he a handsome man? I'll be back shortly with photos....promise!

Dilema at the Drive-Through

It's happened more than once, so I can only surmise that I am to learn something from it.... About a month ago, when I pulled up to Mickey-D's for a quick sandwich, there was a twenty-something black man standing near the speaker, talking to the person in the vehicle ahead of me. He wore a flannel jacket and some not unusual jeans, and his head sported dredlocks. I wondered about his story....was he a junky? Was he the product of a horrible childhood? Was he just lazy and a scammer? Regardless, it was obvious he was asking for change from the driver ahead. I wondered if the money collected would actually be used for food or would it be used to buy drugs or alcohol or something else...? When they pulled forward, he looked back toward me, as if measuring the likelihood of my donation. I don't recall shaking my head, but something must have indicated to him that I was not an easy "mark", as he shook his head, turned and walked away without even asking. Later, when I talked with my husband about it, I told him I was disconcerted by the chance situation....wondering what it was about my demeanor that told the man not to bother. Scott cheered that I did well by discouraging his approach. Using some of his favorite descriptive words --- you know the ones! --- he made it clear that encouraging such panhandling was just plain wrong. And yet, I was troubled. The thought of "as you do to the least of these, you do unto Me" kept running through my head. And I wondered, if the situation were reversed and it was I who was so hungry --- regardless of the reason I couldn't afford food without begging --- would I not hope that someone would find it within their hearts to share? It bothered me a lot. Yesterday, I again approached a fast food place (gee, do you think there's a pattern here? Could it have anything to do with my ever-expanding waistline? Hmmmm?).....sorry...back to the story..... Yesterday, as I again waited in line at a fast food chain, I was approached by a young black man with a woman by his side. He explained that she was his wife and she was pregnant and they hadn't eaten all day, and he wondered if I could help. I glanced at the girl in her oversized coat, trying to gauge if she was really pregnant or if they were scamming me. She kept her gaze downward, and I wondered if it was because of her shame at having to beg....or to hide her lie behind sheltered eyes. As I struggled with the decision, the young man continued to talk, his conversation peppered with "bless you" and "God bless".... and again I wondered at the truth of their situation. Finally, I gave my troubled reply......"I'm sorry...no....." It truly pained me to deny them, but I was so torn in my indecision, " no" seemed like the right answer at the time. As I moved ahead in the line, I felt so guilty! Here I had plenty of cash in my purse to have bought them lunch...easily...and yet I didn't . Was I wrong? What message did that cross hanging from my rearview mirror send that young couple? Did I fail a test, somehow? I can't even begin to tell you how unsettling it was for me as I rounded the corner and watched the couple approach car after car, person after person. I saw some women --- and I noticed they ONLY approached women ---- reach in their purses and hand something to the young man...in fact I saw it at least 3 times, so, minimally I would assume they had at least acquired three dollars in the time that I was in line. So why didn't they go in and buy that poor starving pregnant woman something to eat? I received my order, pulled out of the lot and headed on my way. Ahead of me stood a billboard with the headline "Pray for Those in Need". I felt convicted. So I did send up a prayer for those two people .... regardless if theirs was a scam or not .... that they would be provided for. And I also sent up a selfish prayer that I would know how to handle that situation if/when it should ever arise again. It's been on my mind a lot since then and I think I've been provided a solution. When this occurs again --- and I'm sure it will! --- I've decided I will invite the people to place their order at the speaker with me and to proceed to the window to pick it up. Then I will be certain that the money will go toward food and I will not have denied them if they are indeed in need. And, if time allows, I will park my vehicle and go inside with them and buy them whatever they wish to eat. Then I will ask them their story and will offer whatever help I can to direct them to a solution for their situation. (I'm sure Scott will absolutely freak when he reads this...but I have to do what is right for me, with reasonable caution and cynicism, but with a right heart.) They will have to invest to receive my investment. And if they are unwilling, for whatever reason, then I can continue on my way without guilt. Who would think a simple drive in could produce such a dilemma? Who would think it could produce such an opportunity? I love drive-ins!

First canoe ride of 2006

While I was waxing philosophical as I tackled housecleaning chores, Scott was enjoying his first canoe ride of 2006. Unusually warm January temps near 50 made for a most pleasant trip around the lake for my little Nature Boy....!

Life between the cushions.....

This was an ordinary Saturday morning of hot coffee growing tepid as I putzed around the house, cleaning this, looking at that. I was thinking of recent blog posts from Steph and Michelle, amazed at their willingness to explore and expose their innermost thoughts so freely... As I grabbed the cushion off the couch to fluff it up, something pink caught my eye. It was a plastic camera we had given the kids in Vacation Bible School two years ago. I lifted the cushion further and revealed its cohort, a blue camera. My mind flashed back to Mom's visit that summer, when she and I had spent some really wonderful time together, just sitting side by side on that couch, stringing the cords through the camera loops, prepping them for the kids' Vacation Bible School adventure. It wasn't a momentous occasion, just Mom and me, working on a project together. Dad and I had always done that, but Mom and I? Not much. Maybe that's why that little camera popping up drew out such emotion... Upon further exploration, I found that my couch reveals far more about me than any blog possibly could. When I tugged all the cushions off....

• I found an embarassing amount of crumbs from way too many snacks munched on the couch, along with a few revealing mouse remnants (eeeeeewwwww!). Now I know why Dad was such a stickler about food being eaten in the kitchen, not in the living room.....

• I found a flashlight, probably dropped by Christian or Connor or Cameron in one of their visits...or maybe even by me when I sat on the couch waiting out an electrical outage during a storm...who knows?
• I saw little fur balls collected from blankets or sweaters or whatever else decided to leave a lasting reminder that it was there at some time...and of course, enough Arrow hair to weave a small dog, too!

Then I looked at the tags I had never removed from the couch --- "under penalty of law" --- only to realize after actually reading them for the first time that it's the retailer who can't remove them, not me....duh! (Thought for future consideration: How many other "laws" inhibit my life which have never really been imposed by others, but by my own misguided belief that certain things are expected of me? Hmmm ....) But as I studied the tags more closely to see what they revealed I found that...

• my couch was "born" on September 12, 1996 .... I had missed its 10th birthday!
• Some upholsterer with the initials "T.Y." was evidently having trouble with his pen in September 1996, as he had to scribble to make it work
• And sewer #82 had a big day on September 12, 1996, as he or she sewed at least 3 couches that I know of.....

So many little things had been hidden between the cushions....inconsequential things in themselves, but very revealing when given half a chance of consideration. And it occured to me that the reason those recent blog posts had tugged at me so was because they were looking at life "between the cushions" rather than rushing past, merely accepting things at face value. I love lessons learned on ordinary Saturdays!

And the office adventure continues (1-28-06)

Okay....the dramatic daily changes of the first few days have now slowed down to dusty ... dragging .... damnable moments. Hanging drywall, taping, mudding...it all adds up to a lot of time without a lot of that immediate satisfaction we enjoyed early on. But it's all got to be done! So we spend our days trying to remember that it will all be worthwhile in the end.....and to wipe our feet when we go upstairs!

Here are the latest pics for your viewing pleasure!

Here's the view from the top of the stairs. This shot shows the new wall and how it separates my office from Arrow's room... The view from Arrow's room into my office and the foyer area... (stairwell is to the immediate left)

The view of the picture window in my office....

The veiw back towards the stairwell from the picture window...

A look at where my desk WILL set, as seen from the new foyer... Now this may be a little hard for you to envision, but this is my storage closet. For those of you very familiar with the layout before, the little nook on the right was a storage closet built in under the floor of the entry closet upstairs. We couldn't eliminate that, so we opened up the bottom and created an area where I can store office supplies and all those wonderful totes I love to fill up (as well as our guests' coats). When you come through the basement door, it's direclty in front of you in the foyer (with a door, of course). It'll make more sense when there are lights and you can actually see stuff in there... And, once again we return to view the exit from this mess...the stairwell!

Lin finally gets her office!

A little history.... 'Way back in 2001, a tornado came through our area, knocking over a huge pine tree in our front yard and damaging another large, old tree so badly that we utlimately had to have it cut down so it didn't come down of its own accord on our house! A very scarey event which has started a snowballing effect in changing the appearance of ScottLin Yard! At that same time, the door on our attached garage was so damaged we needed to do something. Rather than replacing it, we opted to put in a picture window, with plans that we would eventually finish off this level of our house, turning it into my office. Well, after much dreaming and planning, "eventually" has finally arrived! Here is a pictoral of the before, during, and after ---- well, we will show the "after" when after arrives!

Let's start with the empty shell.... It all started with leveling the floor, so my furniture wouldn't rock...

Then Scott had to research options for replacing our hot-water heat radiators (circa 1955)....and stub off the current plumbing until after the drywall is installed. That green paint along the bottom is where the big ol' clunky heaters formerly were located.

THE VERY FIRST DAY.... Little things mean so much! Just seeing where the partition wall would eventually be was a big thrill for me! It's actually going to happen!

Looking towards the storage room, you can see that the wall will pretty well divide the space in two, so I can have half for my office and Arrow can still have his half, too!

The remodelers left, and Scott went to work, installing some super efficient reflective insulation with an R factor of 15....all in less than 1/2" space!

Scott worked 'way into the evening....but was very pleased with the sound and temperature barriers created by the insulation.

DAY TWO: MORE WALLS!

This is the view looking from the entrance towards the far corner storage room. Perhaps you can get a better feel for the foyer and how the center wall are positioned?...or not...

Here's that center wall, looking out towards the picture window...

And this is a shot looking towards the foyer. The doorway you're looking at is actually a pocket door frame. The door will have reeded glass in it and there will be a doorlight glass to the right side. If it looks as nice in reality as it does in my imagination, it should look really nice!

DAY THREE:

MORE OF THE SAME

More fine-tuning .... working quite a bit on the storage area that will be directly east of the foyer. Also had the electricians here today, which means a lot more happened than is possible to show in the pics. But we're getting closer every day! They should begin drywalling on Tuesday! Yahoo!

A snapshot of 2005

2005 held a bounty of memory-making moments for Scott and I. We traveled more in these 12 months than we have in our entire married life. What a wonderful time to be alive! July presented a delightful getaway for us at Lake Tahoe with Jack, Sue and Calin, Kathy & John and, after many, many hours on the road...Nate, Michelle, Noah and Elise! Air and road warrior adventures made getting there tough.....but leaving all the laughter and fun at the end of the week was even harder.

See that arrow? It's pointing to the hot air balloon that carried Scott, John and I way up into the wild blue yonder so we could see the beauty of Lake Tahoe's mesmerizing Emerald Bay. As they say, "Now I understand why birds sing!"

We enjoyed a lot of laughter, great food, good singing and collected many, many tales to tell for years to come...like the Great Charter Fishing Expedition ...and the Bobby-Boo and Suzie Too moonlight serenade through the walls....and the earthquake...and the mountain trek....Oh what a fun, fun time!

August was spent at ScottLinYard....or, more acurrately, on the pontoon, between lawn cutting adventures. Each year Scott picks a "CD/Artist of the Summer" and this year, it was LeAnn Womak. I can only imagine it's her pretty tones mellowing him out this much!

A BIG milestone in the family was the highlight of the summer was Nate and Michelle's wedding in September. Here the happy couple seals the deal with a kiss! May the rest of their lives be the best of their lives!

Beyond the great joy that event brought us, it was the first time we were able to see all of our kids and grandkids in the same place. Noah and Elise weren't able to be in this picture, but my oh my! What a memorable time!

Seeing Steph & Matt's home, spending time on the beach with the boys and catching up with our dear friends Wendy and Dan was hectic, but delightful. Can we do this again next year....please?

Before the cold set in, Scott and I traversed up to the Grand Hotel at Macinac Island for our annual "Somewhere In Time" weekend....a relaxing time for us to catch up with each other and enjoy Mother Nature in her greatest splendor. Of course the trip was marred slightly when Notre Dame lost to Michigan while we were there, but we tried to be brave.....

November included a quick trip to Indy to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Sharpes and, as usual, there was no shortage of food, laughter or love in that kitchen. (And, no, I don't know what tale Scott was telling here.....but it looks like it involved the turkey)

Christmas came early as we had to plan to have Santa arrive in California and Arizona on time...and we wanted to avoid Chicago prime holiday traffic, so we trekked back to Cottonwood Corners a week early. Even so, traffic made the trip longer than we'd like, but much like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it was worth it! We were able to visit with Denise and Gary at their new home in Davenport (lovely!), spend time with T & Jodi's daughters, see Erich & Kim's home (and "children")...then shot up to Clinton to meet Maxx, AJ and Mikayla's new addition.....then finally landed at the farm to see Mom and Jim! Made a quick side-trip to see Aunt Evelyn on Saturday night, and Sunday included lunch with T, Kim,Patti and Mom! Whew! What a whirlwind! Unfortunately, we were only able to see Julie and Randy as we passed on the road, but they're planning a trip to Indiana in January or February, so we'll have some quality 1-on-1 time then!

The rest of December found us nesting at home, enjoying a quiet holiday season of love long-distance from those we love. But if 2006 holds anywhere near the fun 2005 presented, bring 'er on!