The day started out with Craig throwing up and not going to work. But Steve got the faucet on just fine and even made a trip to the lumber yard for parts and fixed the drain, too. Looks great. Then he made a trip to pick up the desk, brought it home and Steve, Ruth and I got it together while Craig lounged on the couch. Looks great and we would be all done except I wanted to rearrange the kitchen and move everything around. The big pieces are in place, but will take me most of next week to do all the tweeking and pitching. Pics when I get done!

Some days are better than others and this is one of the others. The car is in the shop getting brakes fixed, and tires on the back end- just put 2 new ones on the front.

Steve heads off for work this morning and dropped the front end of the muffler down, so he came back home. I called work for him as he headed back out the door to access the damage and they offered to come and get him. So, he did get to work.

So................now the shop has both the car and the van and all I have left is a bicycle sitting out here and a couple pair of ice skates.

Went to bed with thunderstorms last night and woke up to snow.

The desk came in but can't go get it until they get the van fixed.

Craig starts working at the greenhouse Saturday, and he just might need a pair of the ice skates to get there.

I am so grateful for guardian angels. Its hard telling what would have happened this morning without them!

It's a dreary day out today- still warm for now- but the storms will be moving in with winds and those winds are bringing back colder weather.

Ruthie is home today for the 3rd day in row- but she has her voice back.

Here's a pic of my large crock bowl full of balls. I love balls and collect them. I think they are fun. They sit on the coffee table for now. It's almost warm enough to start moving the furniture around again.

Ruthie was home sick again and now Steve came home from work with a fever and not feeling good. Looks like they got the same bug I had last week.
The kitchen faucet came in today and it is wonderful. Steve said he guessed he was playing Mr Plumber this weekend. He's not always as dumb as he acts.
Got a book I had bought on ebay today and I'm totally thrilled to find more information on the Rutherford family. I have been doing their genealogy for 3-4 years now and anything new I find now is great
It did warm up today! I went out and picked up the yard a little bit. Some things had been blown over.
Dropped the car off this evening so they can check out the brakes tomorrow and let me know how much its going to cost. Yippee!
Stopped by the store when we were out and Kyle was laying carpet at the library. I saw him but I don't think he saw me.

Ruthie was sick yesterday and she's not up yet, so I'm just waiting to see what she feels like this morning. Steve worked until 8pm last night and is moving slow this morning. The good news is that it is supposed to get up to 54 today!

This is the north side of the living room- and those of you that haven't seen my house- it's almost wall to wall furniture. I have been saving things for the kids when they move out- but for now we have to live with them.

I used my sofa table over the top of my end table to save space and it gave me a "shelf" over the table for the lamps and the pretties.

The lamps are vintage- found them in a second hand shop!

I had them rewired to make sure there would be no fires, and they are great. $12.00 for the pair!

This is Pickles. She has a sister, Potsie. She is 1/2 siamese with big blue eyes. Its been hard getting a good picture of her- she never sits still.

This is Potsie and she was supposed to be Craig's cat- but she ended up being a momma's girl.

This is Boofy- she is a brat in the mornings and chases the dog around and then he chases her.

This is Doofy- the mentally challenged one. Soon I will post pics of his goofy pet tricks.

This is BeBe- he is a toy poodle and totally spoiled.

He was very bad yesterday- came back in with muddy paws right after the kitchen floor had been mopped.

Oh, its early, I know, but I have been up since 4am. Got the kitchen cleaned up and dishes out of the dish washer. Trash is ready to go out. Cleaned the counters off of all the clutter. Steve is up watching FOX news and on his second cup of coffee. He should be able to move before long. The temp outside is 21 this morning. It said its going to be up to 41 today.

I'm going to work on a genealogy project I started this winter on early Oakland settlers. Have one notebook done, just need to finish typing it into the pc. This one is the births, deaths, marriages and land purchased in Oakland from 1829-1910. I have two other large notebooks full of the family trees. Found these early Oakland photos on ebay and I have no idea who they are. The seller says they are from Oakland.

Happy First Anniversary to my friends!

Aren't they so cute? Well, at least she is.

Just kidding, Kyle.

Hopefully we will be able to get this on without any trouble. I can't wait to see how it looks when we get it done. I ordered both of these online. The desk we will have to pick up when it gets here, but the faucet is coming right to the door!

Picked out a couple of new items this weekend for the kitchen. It's a little too early to start painting- like to be able to have the windows open when we do, even though the paint doesn't smell as bad as it used to.

Steve and I went for a drive this morning and came back home to get the camera. People were getting things set up for Jared's funeral this afternoon and some of the officers were already arriving. The route from the school to the cemetery is lined with flags and a huge flag is draped over the entrance of the cemetery. There are just so many flags everywhere.

We are just a little small town of right around 1000 people, but the support everyone is showing the family and all soldiers who are still over there or about to go is so overwhelming.

I don't know how the family is able to keep going. It's so sad and they are such great people.

Here's the living room after we got it painted. We are going to paint the kitchen this color this spring and paint the kitchen cabinets an off white. I have been looking for new hardware for the doors, but really can't decide. Just might spray paint the ones I have.

Here's one of Craig a couple years ago before we redid the living room.

Found this picture of Craig and Ruthie when they first started dating.

Well, it snowed again early this morning and the wind was so high, it looked like a blizzard. The sun is trying to come out now, so hopefully it will be melted by the end of the day.
Doug and Tiffany brought Craig home from school yesterday afternoon and stayed for supper. Doug had to work last night so they didn't stay long after they ate. Doug helped me cook.
Steve and Craig got up early to get in and out of Jared's visitation before the crowd got too large, and by 9am- they were lining up already. Bob and Kim, his parents, were there already and two soldiers were standing at ease at each end of the coffin. Steve and I went for a quick drive yesterday just before dark and all the flags they had lining Main Street were moved to in front of the funeral home and then around the corner and all the way down the street to the high school.
I had forgotten that Jared was one of Craig's high school baseball coaches. He graduated the year Craig was in 8th grade, so they never played high school ball together, but he helped Craig and the other players. Jared was an excellent baseball player and he was good with the younger kids. Craig was in his sister's ,Nikki, class.
There are no major plans for this weekend except house cleaning and the boring laundry. We may bake some cookies one afternoon while its still cool outside.
Can't wait till we can open the windows again!

This was Thursday at the Coles County airport. The Honor Guard are moving 1st Lt Jared W Southworth from the plane to the hearse. Literally thousands of people lined the streets in Charleston and Oakland to pay their respects to him and his family.

Just a taste of things to come....can't wait to get started!

Woke up to about an inch of snow on the ground with the high at 26 today, but the sun is finally shining! By next Saturday it should be almost 50, so we just have a few more days and it should start warming up.
Steve's been going in at 5am the last couple of mornings. He looked tired this morning, not sleeping very good.
Made homemade pizza last night. We made a long cake pan full to the top, and what wasn't eaten last night, Steve and Ruth took for lunch today. The dog got his share, too.

We got some very sad news last week about a "boy" here in town. He went to Afghanistan in December and he is coming home tomorrow. They are planning on lining Main Street for his arrival. The visitation will be Saturday 8am- 8pm and the funeral will be at the Oakland High School Sunday afternnoon at 2pm. Jared Southworth was only 26 years old. He leaves his parents, who were Craig's tee-ball coaches, a sister and a brother, his wife and 4 very small children. Jared and Doug played little league at the same time and were in Webelos together.

Please pray for his family and friends. It's going to be hard going on without him.

The Easter cards are finished! They came out so colorful. Just as long as I don't forget where I put them by the time Easter gets here!

Still working on Easter cards this morning- got 3 done yesterday and they turned out good, so thought I would try to get some more done. It rained sometime in the night and everything is damp outside and a bit warmer.

My friend, Kyle, helped me with my new blog skin. His wife has a very cute one on theirs, so I asked him where she found it. Thanks, Kyle!

Making Easter cards this morning. I found these online and thought they were pretty, so they will be the front of the card. I wrote a poem about the Easter Bunny about four years ago that I will print out and put inside. These vintage postcards are so bright and cheery and we have a very gray, cold day happening here.

This is where we read the paper and listened to the birds sing, in warmer weather.

Just a few of the flowers we planted last year- can't wait to play in the dirt again.

This is Ruthie when she was a little bitty girl.

This was taken back in November, but we have had many snows this year just like it. It is pretty, but enough is enough!

We sure don't want anymore of this kind of weather. Would be nice to see everything green again. Can't wait for someone to visit the blog. Let me know what you think.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. I found this image on ebay last month and thought it was pretty.

This is a long weekend, with kids out of school and Steve home for four days. Ruth spent a night with her mom, and Doug came by yesterday. Craig has class tomorrow, and will be going back in the morning. We had nice weather last weekend, but it's a little colder today. Can't wait for spring!