 Kitty kitty kitty So I'm coming up on three weeks since I last posted. Really, has it been that long?!! Life has been a whirlwind! This past weekend we had the pleasure of taking a short (but much-needed) getaway to Greenville, South Carolina where our artist daughter had a showing of her beautiful wares at the Indie Craft Parade. She and her fiancé drove the 800+ miles loaded down and tucked in like those infamous sardines in the can, non-stop for 13 hours. I know I'm getting old when the sheer thought of such an endeavor wears me down! But it was a great weekend and a wonderful excuse to visit one of our favorite southern towns. Hollie and her brood got to go too, so it made it even more fun with the babies there. If you've never been to Greenville, it is the perfect weekend trek from the Atlanta area. Take the ninety minutes north up Interstate 85 to I-185; enter the revitalized downtown area; park your car and never get in it again until you're ready to go home. It is truly a walking city, with entertainment in town (the Peace Center and other event venues), hotels, shopping, restaurants galore, and the Reedy Falls park right in the middle of town. What more could you want? FYI: on our way out Sunday, we visited the Greenville Zoo where we ended our weekend on a high (but very hot!) note. This green space is not walking distance from downtown, but is well worth the effort to pull the car out of the parking garage and leave for home a couple of hours early...well-maintained, family-interactive, and small, but with some very interesting residents (giraffe family, anyone?). You're welcome for this well-informed (but definitely not all-inclusive) travel post! We are beginning to have some of that wonderful fall-ish weather I so look forward to every year...cool nights and mornings...tolerable midday heat and the brightest blue skies you can imagine. The good (post-Irma) weather has really helped on the jobsite lately, and I am happy to say that things are percolating right along -- not as fast as I would like (of course), but patience, my dear. Our re-framed master bath area stood the test of torrential rain during our Irma invasion and not a drop of water leaked in. We did lose one of our huge hardwoods on the property, but we knew it was in its final days because of a somewhat hollow trunk. Mother Nature did the work for us by taking it down and we are very grateful it wasn't near the house. I see a day of chainsaw work in the future for the hubs. In the meantime, I have been able to pull out some of the pretties (vanities, etc.), and place them for a small glimpse of what the endgame will be. I met with our very capable tile contractor this week and shared my vision with him. Now, what will really make me a happy camper is if his estimate fits into my budget. Fingers crossed! Siding is going up on the bump-out and preparations are in the works for beginning outdoor painting on the entire house. This effort has been moved up on the timeline to be able to finish before the really cool weather sets in, which around here may not be till January, but who knows? The existing HVAC ducts have been cleaned and a brand new heating and AC system has been installed! Next big chunk of time will be spent on installing the plumbing system. Every last pipe and plumbing fixture had been pulled out of the house, so everything will be fresh and new! But what I'm most excited about is having a working toilet -- no more running to the Home Depot to use the bathroom! Then...we will close up the walls, and begin to rock and roll as they say. Fingers crossed on that one as well! Every day I am on the jobsite, I can't help but see a correlation between old houses and people. We are like old houses in so many ways...we have imperfections and dirty places. We have things about us that used to be pristine, but that have deteriorated over time (like our skin!). We have areas of neglect. We have dings and knicks and holes and bruises and the evidence on the inside and outside of hardships that have come our way. But just like that old house, no one can touch our soul if we don't let them. Our bodies might be decaying toward the grave daily, but our soul and inner spirit can be as young as the day we were born. And, just like that old house, it is never too late unless, like termites, we allow hurt and anger and bitterness to overtake us. We recently considered a house for renovation but found upon inspection that it was completely eaten up by termites, and there was nothing we could do because it was irreparable. Just like that, if we allow the hurts and trials of life to eat away at our very souls, we just may come to that place where there is no turning back, and that is a very sad place to be. And just like that old lion at the zoo (oh my gosh, it was so loud!), sometimes life roars and scares us half out of our wits, but then we realize it was just noise and can't hurt us, and our world settles once more. And like that thick plexiglass between us and "the beast," our human resolve is tough and very protective. Everywhere I go, no matter what I'm doing, places and things -- even animals -- remind me of human life...people and their struggles and their triumphs. Thus, this blog that I've been writing for years now, "thoughts about life." Thank you for reading.
Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of.
- Charles Spurgeon
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