The great house swap.

So we live in Clive now. My husbands parents moved out to the country and offered to let us rent their house / Jer's childhood home. We moved in as of the end of December.

Jenn bought our house - with the new deck. ;-)

All of us are moved but boxes and totes are everywhere. We have to clean up the basement so it can be the computer room. After that most of the rest will be unpacked. Still have a few things at Jenn's that we need to move but just small stuff.

Today was Bethlynn's first day at her new school. Good Luck babe!!!

The pets seem to be handling it fine. I was worried about the dog and all of those stairs but he is ok so far. He huffs up them and tears down them. No crash yet. We had to get him a kennel because we did not have a room to lock him in at the new place. He seems to really like it. But I feel bad that at around 10 years old he is being locked up when he was not before. :-(

We are happy and it will be great. :-)

I'm so excited about a programmable thermostat !!!

We just got a new furnace today and of course a new thermostat. Our old one was just the bar that you moved to the temp you wanted. The new one can be programmed. :-)

Between this and the new deck we are broke again but happy. Just need to do a few things around the house and a new screen door.

BTW - the deck is complete - Jer and Roger finished the railing for the steps.

The new deck is done ...... almost.

This past weekend worked for everyone ...... even though we missed a craft show and a gun show.

The new deck is beautiful. The side rails are taller so it looks bigger. The base structure was still good so all we had to replace were the deck boards, the steps and the railing. And the lattice work. Our helpers were great!!

Tear down and getting the supplies took most of Saturday. The building was Sunday. Only a couple of things need to be finished - the hand rails for the steps, fillers here and there and the lattice work. I hope to get the lattice work done myself in the next couple of weeks. There will be some cutting involved so wish me luck.

The only thing we put back on the deck was the grill. I felt bad putting the planters back on because I know they leave a ring ... so they are in the flower bed right now. :-)

The deck that will never be ........oh it will if it kills me.

We have been needing a new deck for a couple of years now. A section has been replaced by my wonderful father in law but that was only a band aid.

The knot holes are falling out, the railing for the stairs is broke and at least one side rail is not secure. The stairs were sagging but Jer braced those a while back.

We got a quote from a professional and it was over $3,000. I wanted to go that route for it to be fast and done up to code but that was way too much money and they said it could take over a week. My father in law and husband are going to do it for just over $1,000 for supplies. That is if the weather and personal plans will allow.

Spring was too rainy and summer was too hot - 100+ days and of course no shade. We wanted to try last Saturday but it rained all day ....... and then personal plans got in the way for the rest of the weekend.
Anna and I had already cleared off the deck and replanted some flowers from in front of it. This weekend is a no go because of personal plans so I put the deck stuff back up. It was too bare.

I just hope we get it done by the first frost.

BTW - I have been posting all summer - adding to the previous one about power bars. :-)

Power Bars / Energy Bars

I'm on this kick to see if I can find a yummy power bar.

I have tried a few so far but forgot to write down what ones were good .... so now I'm going to do it here.

Clif Bar / Crunchy Peanut Butter - it was soft, sticky and had a very sweet aftertaste ...... like apples. No chocolate. Results - Good. I would have it again.

Luna / Caramel Nut Brownie - it looked great. Caramel on top drizzled with chocolate and a chocolate covered bottom. Taste was not so good. Results - Yuck. Would only have again if forgot how it tasted.

Luna / Nutz Over Chocolate - it looked like the description. Taste was not good - the peanuts tasted stale. Results - Yuck.

Kashi GoLean Roll! / Caramel Peanut - it looks good and tastes good. A little sticky but soft. Results - Good.

Balance Bare / sweet & salty peanut butter - it looked like a peanut butter rice crispie bar. Tasted ok. Results - OK.

Promax / Double Fudge Brownie - it looked like a long piece of chocolate covered fudge. That is not how it tasted - it really had no flavor. At least there was no aftertaste. Results - No thanks.

Clif Mojo / Peanut Butter Pretzel - it looked ok and tasted ... meh. Results - not again.

Clif Bar / Blueberry Crisp - it looked a mess but was ok. Had a good blueberry smell and a sweet aftertaste. Did not like the random nuts in it. Results - maybe again.

Clif Builder's / Peanut Butter - Looked like a regular granola bar. Had a good PB taset. Results - ok.

Clif Bar / Chocolate Chip - it was soft, sticky and had a very sweet aftertaste ..... hardly any Chocolate Chips. No chocolate taste really. Results - no thanks.

Stained shirts and still fat.

The weather has gotten nice enough to get out the short sleeved shirts. 3 out of the 5 I wore last week were stained. I was able to get out some of the stains but one shirt is now just a weekend shirt. Of course it was one of my favorites.
The shirt I wore to work today has a stain on it ....... what the !!!!

It is time to go shopping again. I just wish I would have lost some weight. But that does not happen if you do not get up off the couch.

I was on some horrible meds for most of February and March. First a cream for three weeks and it did not work. Then two pills for 10 days. One was Prednisone ....... never again!!! That stuff messed me up. I hurt all over, could not sleep and my eyesight was messed up. The doc said I had every side effect but the rage and urge to eat. I was too tired to eat or be upset. It took another week to work out of my system. I still do not feel right. Any injury I had in my life hurt and still does hurt. My broken arm from the 3rd grade, my messed up knee from college and my neck from who knows when. And my leg started to swell again and it had not done that for about a year.

I'm flying to NY for work in May so lets hope that turns out well. I do not like to fly because I get airsick and last time I went (June of last year) I was just on my first blood pressure meds ....... I was a mess. Now I have been on new blood pressure meds for a while and cholesterol meds. Lets hope that I feel better this time.
I just do not know if I want to buy a new swimsuit just in case the place has a pool or not. I do not think anyone would want to see me in a swimsuit.

Oh well ............

Hillary kitty passed on a foggy February morning.

The song playing at the vet was "Tears In Heaven" by Eric Clapton. I cried a little. She was our cat before she went to live for years with Anna.

She was almost 18 and her kidneys were failing. It was very hard on Anna.

Be at peace Hillary. So say we all.