Little Turkeys and Rotting Fences

This morning dawned with a predicted "cold front" coming through the state.  Ha!  To those of us raised in the North, a cold front means that when you step outside, the -30 degree weather sucks the air right out of your body, making moving, breathing, and even thinking slightly painful.  To Floridians, a cold front means that the temperatures today dropped down to the low 70s!  What wimps.

We went to church this morning, and we were again greeted very warmly.  The congregation is small (only one child went to the front for the "children's lesson"), and because many in the congregation are elderly, never once did the Pastor ask anyone to stand.  That was all right with me this morning as I was rather tired.  The service lasted a bit long, but it gave me enough time to rest so that I had energy to shop and to do a little around the house after lunch.

We stocked up for our Thanksgiving feast by buying a small -- although still expensive -- Butterball turkey breast.  I might try it in the crock pot this year if I can find a good recipe.  If not, I have an almost new oven that will work just as well.  Rick and I also went to Kohl's and bought a new Cuisineart Griddle/ Grill/ Panini machine.  That will replace the old George Foreman griddle that definitely has served us well in the past but is now ready for retirement.  I like the new machine because all of the grill pans just pop off and can go into the dishwasher. Not only is that easier but also much more sanitary in the end.

Owen's first Thanksgiving outfit and pose.  What's not to love?

We were delightfully surprised yesterday when Lindsay sent us "first Thanksgiving" pictures of five-month-old Owen. He is the new love of our lives, and his shirt says, "Everyone is Thankful for Me."  We truly are. He makes us smile, renews our faith in discovering the world all over again, and keeps us happy that he has joined our family.  His adoption becomes final in December, and that is the greatest Christmas gift that this family ever will experience.

This afternoon Rick concentrated on starting to remove the rotting north fence.  Steve and Chris had

Rick removes a section of fence from a
rotting fence post.

The Saws-All easily cuts through the wood
to separate the fence into sections.

The sections come down, one by one. Since
two could not cut at the same time, I sat in
a chair.  Every good job needs a supervisor!

Once Rick detaches a section, he cuts
it in half to carry to the curb.

each put back one section after it blew down twice, and when we looked out this morning, that same corner section was down, leaning against a small bush, and taking out a branch on the bush in the process.  The Saws-All and a little muscle power made short work of the first sections of the fence. Having the cooler temperatures also made the job much more enjoyable.

In this city, we can only put out construction debris and yard waste on Mondays.  They do collect garbage on Thursday also, but that is just for regular garbage cans.  By taking out four sections of fence today, we had about as much debris as they would pick up on Monday.  We'll take out the rest of the fence over the next week, stacking the sections so that the second and then last third go to the curb in the next two weeks.

Rick said that he felt good getting back to work on the house.  I know that my medical limitations has totally changed our viewpoint on remodeling the house, but today renewed my faith that we can still make progress.

I did a little and feel pretty good this evening.  A little light exercise is good for me, so I have to keep that up each day as I slowly regain my strength.  Tomorrow, unless it is raining, I would like to take a broom and sweep down the soffits and sills of the house.  We have cobwebs everywhere, so a good sweeping will begin the process of clearing the house for paint.  I would imagine that while I am doing that, Rick will take another crack at taking down more of the fence.

We are making progress.  While we may not move as quickly as we have in the past, we are still moving forward, and that is the greatest feeling in the world.