An Attitude of Gratitude

I have a lot.  I can't take credit for it.  I am very blessed.  I am super grateful! 

Sometimes I wonder, has Thanksgiving been reduced to eating and football and Black Friday ads?  The holiday seems to be caricatured with buckled hats and feathers, turkeys, and cornucopias of food.  And of course, the narration of things and people for which we are thankful. 

Today, hanging out after work to attend mass for Thanksgiving, I am caught up thinking about the act of giving thanks.  I feel it is a privilege to attend mass to thank God for all my blessings, though I will be pleasantly surprised if more than twenty others feel the same way at 6 pm the night before game day - turkey day - or whatever.  But curiosity is getting the better of me. 

At least this one day, we seem to get the part about being thankful for stuff.  But then I wonder to whom people give their thanks?  Surely there will be lots of thanks to the cooks in the kitchen, but the whole chain of gratitude keeps traveling back to the Source, right?  It makes me wonder who people thank for all their stuff, for all their family and friends, for their blessings.

I'm certainly thankful to God for my family and friends, for a roof over my head and food on the table, for a job that affords me a great many more things.  I'm thankful for all the tasks and trials Thomas and I share building a house together, as they help us to practice patience, to be grateful for the things that go right, to care for each other better, to celebrate the accomplishments along the way, to learn how to accept our faults, and to appreciate all the time and labor our friends and family have contributed to it.  I'm thankful for many trips to see family and friends out of town, the trips they've made to see me, and the trips I only have to take "across town" to celebrate with family and friends here.  I am grateful for the people no longer with us, those lives that remain a memory in my heart.  I am grateful for the miracles I've witnesses or heard about this year, especially Mighty Max.  And hard as it might be, I have to thank God for the struggles that teach me to be a better prayer, to be more faithful, to trust in God's plan.

"If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough."  Meister Eckhart

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/meistereck149158.html#tZiWyILjLRSruHjL.99

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/meistereck149158.html#tZiWyILjLRSruHjL.99

Latest on the House....

I will get pictures up after Thanksgiving.  It's not that I don't want to take pictures of that mess, but it seems like we are in the middle of all our projects.  We've been less successful checking off the to-do's, seeming to have started nearly everything.

It's been chilly, chilly, so we took a break for a temporary hook up of the kitchen baseboard heater.  As well, Tom's been working on changing out the kitchen door into the mudroom - and sealing it up.  We decided that lovely old blue door was really not weathering so well and might not hold up.  We found a similar door - so it will still be a dutch door.  With that sealed up better, it will likely stay warmer, not that the house gets really cold if the sun is out.

Plumbing : the cold and hot water lines have been stubbed in all over.  I enjoyed spending the day with Pop last Saturday "apprenticing" with him on the hot water lines.  This literally means I got the purple stuff all over my hands and did the gluing.  I also helped measure and cut the pipes.  I think I did a good job, especially proficient in getting the purple stuff all over me.  Next up: hooking all those stubs to faucets, toilets, etc.  Then we will do a pressure test before closing up all the drywall.

Drywall: we have finished the guest bathroom, the guest bedroom (save for the piece we took down to negotiate the plumbing lines), and most of the master bath and bedroom.  The guest bath and bedroom are about 75 % done with taping seams and mudding over the screw heads.  Next up: going back over my crappy job taping, sanding, and texturing - as well as getting the rest of the drywall up.

Electrical: Tom has been chipping away at hooking up the outlets and lights.  The kitchen light is such a beauty.  With our mirrors and bathroom lights picked out, he's been able to place the outlet boxes for the lights, etc.  Next up: hooking up baseboard heaters after the walls are textured, more connections...

Wood work: The ceilings in the bedrooms and  bathrooms have all been sanded, and Tom just loaded up on lemon oil.  Tom has cut down a couple of tall pantry closets for linen closets in the bathrooms (cut down so they're not so deep).  Next up: oiling the ceilings already sanded, sanding the rest of the ceiling, finishing the center peak of the ceiling

Oh and there are floors to work on, kitchen cabinets; more of everything, it seems.  We just keep pushing along and chipping away.  We agreed on a bathroom paint color, though when it comes to those decisions, I am completely clueless how to choose.  Part of me wants to be bold, and part of me is nervous - I'm convinced we won't end up with an all beige house, but there's so many colors to choose from that it can be a little paralyzing. 

And we will be home for a long Thanksgiving weekend, and maybe the message that comes with pictures will show lots of progress?!?

Snowing and Blowing

The last several days have been chilly.  We woke up to a fresh blanket of snow on Friday, Sunday, and Monday.  It's much needed moisture, for sure.

Friday I headed into the office only a little bit later than usual.  About a mile from the house, the first traffic popped up in my mirror - a big truck I hoped would be dropping sand or something.  I pulled into a neighbor's drive, so it could pass - not a sanding truck.  I continued on my way and with my prayers.  Driving so slow, I finished my first rosary rather quickly and started on a second.  The road was a combination of thick snow, slush, and frozen slush.  It was icy, and the car wiggled from side to side as the layers of ruts pulled in different direction.  More Hail Mary's and a stronger grip on the steering wheel.  About the halfway point, I saw the next "traffic" behind me.  It was either a neighbor or Daniel - the car too far away for me to differentiate.  I considered pulling over, but headed on given the distance between us still.

Made it past the halfway point, and I was climbing.  I panicked at a short, steep section, fearful that I was going to slow to maintain traction and forward momentum and that the road was too slick to accelerate without losing my traction.  I gassed it just a little, swerved just a bit, and up and over I went.  The car behind me continued to get closer.  I pulled over at the top of the hill, aware that I didn't want a vehicle close behind me through the crazy curves and the upcoming drop.

I took a couple breaths and rolled down my window to the slowing vehicle pulling alongside me.  Daniel asked if I was okay.  Fighting back tears I proclaimed my need for a shot of whiskey.  He laughed and agreed and offered to follow me.  I insisted I would feel more comfortable following, knowing that I would be dropping my speed down the curves.  Having his bumper to keep an eye on kept me focused forward, and I eased my stranglehold on the steering wheel.  Forty minutes of tension left me in front of the office and still poised to breakdown.  I felt it all day.  At the same time, I worried for Thomas who had an even longer (and earlier) drive back and forth to Santa Fe.

Gratefully, the sun did its thing (certainly no help from snow plows), and my drive home Friday was far less stressful and shorter, too.  And Daniel humored me and left work early, so I could follow him back.  Such a generous guy!  Thomas pulled in shortly after I did - thank God!

Too Cold to Think Straight

Gratefully, my lunch today is heated in the microwave.  And gratefully, it is hot.  Mondays are a late day for me.  Rather than come in at 11 am for an eight-hour day, I just come a little bit later and make up the difference somewhere else.  At 7:30 am - the time I would normally be heading out the door - the phone rang.  I was snuggled warm under the covers reading, Thomas having already stirred and headed off to work.  There was another blanket of snow laid over our part of the world, and everything was chilly.

I hustled to the phone, expecting it to be Daniel checking in to see if I was heading out for my commute (more on that another time), but it was someone from town.  She'd walked by the church and office where I work and smelled gas.  I am not the gas company, nor am I a dispatch.  I am glad she let me know, but I wouldn't be in town for another ninety minutes, and there are protocol for reporting smelling gas.  She said she'd take care of it.

I hustled back to bed and my book.  Once comfortable and cozy, the phone rang again.  I hopped up one more time to another call from her.  Who does she call?  Her several year old phone book for Taos didn't have the number.  Would I want to call?  I gave her a phone number from our phone book, but suggested it would be more appropriate for her to report her own experience.  I'm now wondering if that was the wrong answer.

Four and a half hours later, I am huddled over my bowl of noodles wearing my hat and fingerless gloves, a wool sweater over my down vest.  It is about 55 degrees, and it won't be long before I can see my breath.  The gas was turned off, and the servicemen left.  There was nobody here that early to let them in and check things out.  When the news reached a council member with a key, she offered to meet them here, but they didn't show.  Forty minutes away on a good day, they drove to Raton to deal with a line that had been hit and was spraying gas.  No sign of them yet.

Praying for heat....

Crazy Cat Lady Stories...

The cats are entertaining.  They require a bit more maintenance than a TV, but the value of entertainment is often worth it.  Especially these days when we don't have to feed them - Pop is still cleaning out Granny's freezer from decades old meat, and the cats haven't noticed that their daily meal is past the "best used by" date.  In fact they turn tail on the dry food we put out for them - tough.

So it is getting dark early here.  On our side of the road, the sun is setting by 4:30 pm.  We're closer to the mesa, so more quickly in its shadow.  For safety I have been walking our road instead of the highway - also, the cats will likely follow me.  Usually I can put food out for them, and they will stay at the bowl as I walk away.  Given the cat-feeding elf that keeps filling their bowl and their current attitude to what I offer, this trick is less effective.  Oh well - I'm all for not having to feed them.

I took a brisk walk as soon as I got home one afternoon last week.  All three kittens dashed out with me, but were faked out by my abrupt turn away from the highway.  Not Peanut stayed behind, likely because the last time she followed me in that direction, it was to the neighbors for eggs, and their dog scared her into a barn for half an hour until I walked home.  So Tiger and Crusty followed.  Crusty fell behind pretty quickly, and Tiger soon did, too.  I could hear a truck on the highway and turned in time to see it was a neighbor from farther south on the road.  I tried meowing for Tiger to catch up with little effect.  I kept looking over my shoulder to see where the truck was, so I could step off the road when he got close.  As I passed our neighbor with the chickens, their dog sighted Tiger and ran across the yard barking all the way.  I turned back in time to see the black mass of fur speed across the road and through the barbwire fence towards Tiger, who bolted straight up a tree about eight to ten feet up.  I couldn't stop laughing.  At the same time, our neighbor had slowed to as stop as the dog chased the cat right in front of his truck.  When I looped back to the tree, Tiger had already climbed down in hiding, but came running out to walk at my feet like some well-heeled dog as I passed home.  Crusty was at their driveway in a culvert and joined us, too.  I laughed and laughed.

Last night I tried the feeding method before walking to Mom & Pop's.  I was meeting Thomas over there to unload the stove.  It didn't work, and the cats all followed.  I tossed Not Peanut back a few feet, and she went back to the house to wait, but the boys followed.  It was already dark, so it was hard to see if they were following.  I tried to scuff my feet in their direction to scare them off, but Tiger persisted.  Heading down the highway, I did some ridiculous flailing in the middle of the road trying to shoo Tiger back to the house, but it was only a game or a dance to him.  Gratefully, it was dark.  I sped up, knowing Tiger wasn't one to keep up, and hoped he would turn back.  I visited with Mom while I waited for Tom to show.  As we were unloading the stove, Tiger came prowling into the garage.  I was barely able to catch him to haul him home. 

They really might make me crazy, though.  Working in the house in the dark, our house sounds like it is haunted by old ghosts scratching at the walls.  Really it is the cats clawing on the house, climbing onto window ledges, scaling the walls to look into windows.  It isn't so bad when you can look out and see them, but when they are all on a different side of the house making noise in the dark, it can be a little unnerving.  Still - better than half the shows on TV...

Waiting, Waiting, and Here It Is!

Thomas and I made a list last Thursday of what we need to accomplish on the house and when, so we can move into it before next summer.  It is ambitious and doable, but as we have come to know all to well, the best made plans are tossed out the window as soon as they are written down.

Case in point: this weekend our goal was to get up all the drywall, install the bathroom cabinets, and lay down our support base for the kitchen cabinets.  Some of the drywall was already up, and much of it I can do by myself while Thomas tackles some of the cabinet work.  And that was how it played out on Saturday.  But Friday I got notice that the big appliance sale at Sears that we have been waiting for arrived.  The Veterans Day sale is their end of year biggie, and we waited for it.  Consequently, Sunday afternoon and all day Monday were no longer working on drywall days.

However, in the world of checking things off our list, we purchased our kitchen appliances - oven, microwave/vent, fridge, and dishwasher.  Even better, they will be delivered in December, and we weren't unloading them in the dark on Monday.  With an empty trailer and truck bed and the appliances ordered, we were able to know off a whole bunch else on the shopping list - bathroom light fixtures, bathroom mirrors, bathroom faucets, a door between the kitchen and mudroom (the old dutch from the original mudroom when we bought the place isn't going to hold up), backer board for the bathtub tile walls, and hopefully the last of the electrical line, among other smaller items. 

As we cruised around town, we were keeping an eye out for a wood stove, but upon calling a place in Trinidad to check on the price for one stove, landed another stove at less than 50% the original price.  It is a perfect little stove for our house, not real bulky.  The markdown was simply because it was the last of that model and had been hanging around for too long.  It isn't mobile-home approved, and it is for a smaller house, so I am guessing most people in the market are either looking for something larger or approved for a mobile-home.  Tom brought it home yesterday after work.

Woo hoo....now to get back on track with the house work!  The guest bedroom is nearly finished - just the peaked ceiling over the closet needs to be drywalled.  Then I can begin laying the floor!  It won't be long now....

Crazy Cat Lady Stories...

Day of the Dead

What do you bring to a "Day of the Dead" themed potluck?
- one person "chopped up a head" of cabbage and made a tasty coleslaw
- another made chicken mole
- there was a ghost shaped cake and a squash-y quiche
- not sure of the chips/salsa or crock of BBQ ribs were theme-related
- the loaf of charm bread was really fully of curses

I brought two of my grandma's recipes - her baked mac'n'cheese (in the green pot she baked it in - thanks to Uncle Pat for giving it to me) and her mom's pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream.

It was lucky I made it with anything, as I was perpetually stumped by time on Saturday.  Tom and I got a bunch of wiring done for the baseboard heaters.  We mostly did electrical projects on Saturday.  I went in to prepare the mac'n'cheese in stages.  I am not sure what I thought would happen if I left the dry pasta in a pot of cold water for too long, but it turned to mush.  I cooked up another batch with bowties - though not the best shape for mac'n'cheese, it was that our spaghetti.  After throwing it all together and sticking it in the oven, I realized I was an hour ahead of myself - only 4 pm, not 5 pm.  Alas, it was ready, and I didn't have any more noodles to waste.

Sunday, with Pop's help, we were able to get the guest bath drywalled.  It won't be long till we can get plumbing and cabinets, toilet and tub set up.  Yikes - I don't even have colors picked out!

November Is Here!

October ended with fanfare!  We had nine trick-or-treaters last night, including four fantastic kids who brought their parents over for pumpkin pie.  It was a nice way to end the evening, especially after the excessively garlicky mashed potatoes I made for dinner.  We sent away most all the candy we bought, though I still managed to nurse myself through the day on chocolate of one form or another.

This past week has been productive for me, though our energies of late haven't been directed toward the house.  A week ago Thursday we took a day off to hit the stores in Pueblo.  It was a nice day off for us to stock up on 2-foot baseboard heaters for the rooms, some supplies for doing the floor, and some other odds and ends.  It was also a treat to eat out.  Instead of waking up Saturday morning reading to work, we woke up in the middle of the night Friday to a feverish Tom.  I did all I could to keep him comfortable and sleeping and hydrated, but he was feeling pretty puny all weekend.  I managed to get on the roof of the trailer and patch a leak along the chimney, clean out and stock the wood porch, take a long walk, do youth group on Sunday.

Then I took another day of Wednesday to manage our irrigation.  I was pretty pleased with myself (still am) for all I was able to do - walked the ditch a couple times, mudding the spots around our neighbor's where the water was flowing into his ditches; baked a couple pumpkin pies; picked up pumpkins from Pop, cooked and pureed them; filling several quart bags for the freezer; pickled a few beets; whipped up some chili and cornbread; chopped down a couple small pine trees that didn't make it; and some other things.  All in a good days work!

So this weekend we have more ambitious plans, or so I think.  Hopefully we both stay in good health and can get some walls up, some electrical lines laid for the heaters, and maybe even a few more lights on.