Another Room Bites the Dust

Mum came over and helped me finish another room today - I can't imagine doing everything by myself!

The good news is that the pantry is still in pristine condition, so I have high hopes for the garage.

Step by step photos of the work:

GO was an angel and sat in her swing and her rocking chair while we did what needed to be done.

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Swimming in Crap - No, Literally

Guess who came to my house today!

The septic tank people!

I have no photos, but you should be thankful for that. Ironically, the Caterpillars and I watched a Dirty Jobs earlier this morning, where Mike Rowe went into the sewage waste facility.

They were enthralled by the real-live Dirty Jobs going on in our backyard.

Because where does my septic tank live? Why - right outside my huge kitchen picture window, of course! Where the Caterpillars could sit and watch the workers dig into my backyard (killing at least 2 azalea bushes), then watch them lift the lid on the septic tank, to see the mass of overflowing...goo...and they were super-enthralled when the huge tube went into the mass of goo and started sucking everything out of the tank.

Then the bad news started, such as - "oh, by the way, when the "brilliant" former homeowners added that quaint sunroom on the back of the house, yes, they parked a cement truck on top of the septic tank and cracked at least 2 of the 4 lids (at a cost of $450 each to replace) - and, ma'am, your feed line is broken along with your distribution box."

It was touch-and-go for a while, when the cost looked like it was going to be over $6,000. Luckily, by the end of the two hours, we were down to only about $1,600 in damages - and a promise that they could be out next Wednesday to fix everything at once.

So guess what Hubby and I are giving each other for Christmas?

Toilets that flush. Who says plumbing can't be romantic?

~Lone Butterfly )i(

(If anyone in my area is looking for an excellent, honest septic tank guy - let me know. The owner of the small company was the one who came out to the house and he was incredible. Even Doc was impressed! And Doc is very hard to impress...)

Thanksgiving - Let's Make it Last!

For Thanksgiving this year, Hubby and I decided to spend four days camping with our good friends - the Royal Family.

Of course, that meant that Mum and I needed to do serious prep work the Monday and Tuesday before we left. Mostly that included cleaning the house and doing LOTS of laundry.

As far as cleaning goes, I have four room that are "finished" - and my family has been threatened with having their ears snipped off and made into soup if they dare to dirty the rooms.

This is the perfectly clean master bedroom. Purrr-fectly clean, if you ask Bathsheba!

And here is Baby Larva's bedroom, with her things laid out until we get everything sorted and put away, but otherwise clean.

Here is the dining room. Rearranged, dusted, and set with my special Christmas China.

Finally, there is the laundry area. Please note the lack of dirty laundry! Yay for us!

There is also a wonderfully clean hall bathroom, which delights me to no end - though I know that the Caterpillars will be using that room quite often!

Mum helped me pack the clothes for the Caterpillars and I in one large suitcase. However, as you can see - someone was sad to be left behind. I wish we had taken her, other than the last day of camping with the rain, we would have had a wonderful trip with her.

Next time, I really will pack a travel litter box and let her come!

~Lone Butterfly )i(

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

I'm not going to post all of my newest pictures, because I am saving up for BooMama's Christmas Tour of Homes, but tonight Mum and I set up the new Christmas Tree.

I've had a small tree (four feet) for the last 5 years. I've been desiring a larger tree, with the good intention of purchasing one on clearance after Christmas. But, there's never been a great selection of the nice trees left, so this year we just bit the bullet and bought a new tree. It was on sale at least.

Bathsheba loved it immediately.

I didn't have to buy to many ornaments, since we keep it very simple. Only blue and silver shiny balls and clear lights (this tree came pre-lit). I don't even put tinsel or other ornaments on the tree.

We also got a new treetopper, which is a lovely silver metal star.

I'm so happy! I think it looks great, from indoors and outside when you look at our bay window.

The majority of the other decorations will go up tomorrow, when Mum comes over to help me pack a bunch of stuff up for the attic and finish getting stuff together for the camping trip next week.

The front room is almost perfectly clean (YAY!) and then we'll move on to the foyer/front of the house. In fact, if we can pick out the colors, we might even get the shutters/front door painted this month. I love progress!

And, I have to agree with BooSheep - I love this time of year!

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Silly CW

Cookie is helping me organize everything before the Larva arrives and we took a trip to the Home Depot today to pick up a few of the large cabinets for my homeschooling supplies.

CW loves trips to the Home Depot, even when there isn't enough room for him in the car afterwards!

Here you can see the "fort" he built to hide himself. Lucky for us - otherwise we might have had to leave him there to get everything else home. ;)

~Lone Butterfly )i(