decor for the 4th!

You've seen the sign before - but it is included in our July 4th holiday decor, so I wanted to mention it. 

I added a star for the front door. (total sidenote, but the spring wreath was taken down early as 2 birds were starting to create a nest inside the wreath!)

I'm not sure that I like that it covers the door knocker, and it will definitively look better once the door is washed and painted black! 

All decorations were purchased at Kohl's for 50% - how could I leave them for that price??
I also bought a standard 3x5 flag but we have to pick up a flagpole before that one goes up :-)

Log Splitter & New Handy Man

Previous picture of partially cut wood

And those that still needed to be split.

This is Eric with the rented wood splitter. Yep! You guessed it, our new handy man. He's the boyfriend of a sister of one of my co-workers... did you follow that? ;-)

This is after 2 hours. That entire side was done! 

This is after day 2. I should say partial days as Eric came after his regular job.

The rented log splitter. Thank you Taylor Rental for your understanding since I kept extending how long we had it!

End of day 3

End of day 4. Completed! 

There is so much wood, I had to take close up shots as the longer views don't really show how big the piles are!

Almost all the wood is red oak, which means it will burn really well and  warm the house nicely!

Another pile.

And another pile.

And another pile. Yes, we have some stacking to do now. But that I can handle! This was such a bigger project than I thought it would be! Thank goodness for Eric!!

living room update 2

I moved the old temp gauge to the mantel for the summer and also added a 4th of July decoration.

I moved the second lamp to the entertainment center to flank the tv. 

I then moved the 2 extra dining chairs to either side of the bookcase, keeping with the symmetrical.

The 2 side tables that I purchased last year moved to either end of the sofa, as originally planned.

All in all, I like the changes and the lighter color has freshened up the room!

refreshing to living room

After the hallways and stair hall got painted last summer, I've been looking at the living/ dining room and wondering if the paler shade (light incense by Behr)would tone done the yellow on the first floor. This past Saturday, I bit the bullet and it was so worth it!

Always wise to take a photo of the plugs BEFORE you unplug them! I did it right this time and everything went back and works perfectly!

moved furniture into the upstairs hallway

and filled the kitchen 'U' with other pieces as well.

The big stuff stayed and was draped

hardwood floor was covered by drop cloths

new, slightly lighter, pale yellow that matches the hallway, stairs and upstairs hallway 

the room feels a bit bigger, lighter

but still retains the warm feel - sorry this pic is blulrry!!

2 new coats of paint should do us for a few years!

I need to take a few photos now that the room has been put back together. I moved a few things around when I put it back together as well, so the new pics will include those little changes.

father's day

I couldn't find a good Father's Day card this year, so I switched gears and got a cheesy one instead! :-)

 I hope everyone has a wonderful Father's Day! 

 "Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope." ~Bill Cosby

The Charles River

This past Sunday, Matt and I went down to Cambridge to see an old friend and go kayaking on the Charles River .
We spent 4 glorious hours gliding along the river in rented kayaks. 

It was a great way to spend a beautiful Sunday!

Allergic to Carrots???

Our dishwasher has died. Really died. Even Reese knows it and told me so when I came home to him standing in a puddle of soapy water in the kitchen with the look 'I didn't do it, but there's stuff all over the floor!'........So, we waited until a Memorial Day sized sale and bit the bullet. Please meet our new, and ever-so-SUPER-quiet dishwasher!

I didn't even take pictures of the old dishwasher.... it wasn't worth it. Bosch? Thank you for making it possible to wash dishes and watch TV without having to lip read!

In other news, my beloved CR-V has now surpassed 200,000 miles. I freakin' love my Honda.

oh! so the title of the post? Yes, I went and had my allergy tests today. They covered both my arms with 32 skin prick tests. Yep, and then I had to sit there for 20 minutes - which felt like an eternity - because my arms were swelling up and turning red and they itched like crazy! I felt like I had chicken pox again. Or poison ivy. Or really bad bug bites. bottom line - not fun and very itchy!
But, when it was over, before the blood test, I found out I'm allergic to Reese - kinda knew that, but love him anyway! I'm allergic to grass, pollen, mixed trees, ragweed - mostly spring, but I already knew that too. What I didn't know? garlic, shellfish, oats, sunflower (seeds, oil, flowers) and yep, carrots. Random, right?
The blood test will deal with milk, wheat, nuts and whatever else they want with the 4 vials they took. ick.

What's new in your world lately? :-)