Louisberg

Joe has been with us for a week now. We decided to take a trip to the fortress of Louisberg in Cape Breton NS. It was a French stronghold during the 18th century. It's been largely rebuilt, we had fun in the rain taking a look.

Joe tried to throw Nate down the wishing well..."If a quarter is worth good luck, what will I get for a little boy?!?"

The deck

Ok Joey, this one is for you. This is my deck. That`s Zach standing in the basement entry. As you can see, the deck is dangerously low when you exit.

The first time I walked up the basement steps I almost knocked myself out hitting my head on the deck. I want to raise the section over the basement exit. I also want to extend the deck to go under the double window so I can put in a sliding door. We`ll have to have a 5 foot wide section at floor level, then step up to a higher section.

Side view.

back

Front of the house

Gadget the black standard schnauzer trying to escape the basement. Notice the diagonal crack on the right.

The crack in the stairwell. This part is outside.

We`ve had the cracks on the inside filled with rubber stuff. This one is to the left of the door. It is the partner to the last picture.

This is the crack on the right side of the door. We had to remove drywall to get it fixed.

I know this is all vague, but at least you`ll have some idea what we have to work with. I really need to get the water to stop coming in under the door. I think the cracks are pretty well sealed, but the door itself pours water whenever it rains. If we are able to create a storage area under the deck, the water issue should get resolved. Runoff is really important to factor in.

I`ll post more stuff as I get it.

Introducing Aaron

This is Aaron. Well, at least that's what he likes us to call him. His real name is Chen Feung. It has become sort of tradition for the Chinese international students to adopt a western name for their stay here. Took some time and persuasion for me to agree to calling him Aaron, but now we're used to it. He's a cute kid. We enjoy getting to know him.

Our Living Room

OK, this one's for Laura. She asked me to post pictures of my remodeled living room. We did this at least a year ago. We changed the flooring from the old pink carpet (yuck) to a thick laminate that feels like hardwood. We debated long and hard over hardwood, but decided that with a dog, the laminate would be a better choice. We changed the mouldings around the doors and floor, as well as adding crown moulding on top.
I got this couch and its matching chair from a friend. They sold the set to me for 100 dollars, I'll get them reupholstered sometime, but I love the shape.

The detail of a little block at the bottom of the door.

Crown, and the small medalions at the corners of the doors. I guess I like the historic feel.

The rust couch was free. It was on the street to be picked up for garbage. Of course at the time it was pink, with no cussions and ant-infested. I had it reupholstered, and painted the wood because it was too badly damaged to stain. Dennis thought I was crazy, but likes it now. The color on the walls is called Copper Mountain.

Snow

This is the sidewalk!

I know that one of my earlier posts was about a "Green" Christmas. I wanted snow so much. Well sometimes you get what you wish for! We've had storm after storm, with no thaws between, so the snow is DEEP. We have had four days off of school scattered over the last month. We're all loving it, until time comes to shovel.

Today we came home from school to find the plow had gone by and blocked our carefully cleared driveway. Sigh, better go get the shovel.

Life These Days

I find such joy in viewing my sister-in-law's blog. Carrie is an inspiration to me. Her blog acts as a journal and family history all in one. Being as far from my side of the family as I am, it is comforting to go to the computer and receive updates on thier family almost daily. What a lady she is.



I won't even pretend to try to keep up with her.



However, I do want to post this update. Life these days has been hectic, blessed, trying, exhausting, mournful, joyful and all around dizzying. There are so many things to be greatful for. But I find myself so caught up in the hectic pace that I often fail to recognize the blessings God has given me.



My two sons are so very important to me. This month's Ensign has a beautiful picture of Timothy being taught the scriptures by his mother. In the picture the little boy looks so much like Zachary my heart was captured. It reminded me how very vital it is for me to teach the gospel to my boys. Our primary president has been encouraging the children to read from the scriptures daily. The boys and I have started to do this every night before they go to bed. I love to hear thier voices calling me to come read with them. We have truly felt the spirit. I find as I explain the passages to them, my understanding of the scriptures grows. There is a new depth to them.



Yesterday my husband was called to be the 1st councilor in the branch presidency. We are both anxious about this new calling. Please pray for us, and him especially as he gets used to the new responsibility.



Dennis' brother died suddenly in an accident three years ago. My brother died four months ago. Dennis' sister is battling leukemia, she came out of remission recently, which means a lot more chemo then bone marrow transplants. Dennis' father just went into the nursing home. His mom is selling her house to move closer to both Anita and Dad. Dennis' brother Eddie has practically left the family. He refuses to make contact.



Life isn't always easy. We both struggle with depression lately. But we love eachother. We love our little family unit. We sacrifice for eachother. We depend on eachother.

I love you all family!!

Nor'easter

It's fun getting to know the physical definition of some of the phrases I've read about in books. A Nor'easter always meant just a big rainstorm in my head. Not always so...we're having one now that is supposed to dump a foot of snow on us. I guess the weather system is kindof like a hurricane, only cold. So you get bad weather on both sides of it as it crosses over you, but the wind comes from the opposite direction on the last half of the storm. This one came all the way from Ohio, crossed over to Mass. and swept up to us. Hope it dumps tons on us. I want a day off school!