Back in the Saddle

Well first things first!

Friday we had circumstances change and we ended up leaving at 9 pm to get to Atlanta, GA by 6:55 am the next morning to drop off a pup for a flight.  This didn't preclude me from being able to do work on Friday (I got a lot done actually!) but it did make me unable to post. Soooo...

Friday I sanded, primed and painted the kitchen walls.  Here is the end result. 





Then we were off for an overnight voyage.  It was crazy; this is the second time this year Nate and I have driven overnight spur of the moment (the first was a trip to NH for a festival Nate wanted to visit).  This time however, I was unable to drive at ALL because Nate didn't include me on the insurance for the red CRV we rented.  I do NOT like CRVs.  The stupid thing autolocked itself every time you turn around.  I felt like a little kid scrambling at a parental lock in the back seat. 

So up all night, we arrived and sent the puppy on his way to Calgary Canada...and then looked for a Walmart to camp out in (since they allow trucks and RVs to park there for sleeping).  We picked up a couple dog bowls and a collar for the puppy we had left.  Here is a pretty pic of this Walmart at dawn.  Say what you want of Walmart, but I will always have a place for them in my heart after this....allowing us to snooze in their lot for a few stolen hours. 




Here I must give tribute to Nate Paziamor for driving overnight at a moments notice to Atlanta for my business endeavors (a PR move to make up for missing a flight to Canada since I couldn't send him when I wasn't able to contact her the day before), and for taking it all in step without protesting even ONCE.  It is wonderful to have a man and partner who is supportive of me.  Thank you Naters!

We dropped off the second pup around 1 and then drove to our cabin in Seviervile TN...which is a location I would recommend to anyone!  Next time (if there is one) we want to try to get a cabin in Wears Valley. Here are some pics from our trip.

 View from our cabin.

It's Woody!

 Gobble Gobble.  These ferocious beasts were at one of the cabins on the Cades Cove loop we looked in to.

We saw some bears on our way to Cades Cove (an 11 mile drivable loop in the Smokies).

Da Bears.  

We also went to the Gatlinburg strip and walked around hand in hand, looked for some good finds (all we found was fudge which is at this moment likely fattening me).

Me in Gatlinburg in the cute town area. 

Sadly, all good things must end.  However, we stopped at a winery on our way back to the O-H.  It was pretty good, and we picked up a couple bottles for Christmas gifts and for ourselves.  The pour-er was skimpy on my tastes though.

(boo)                                    

  (hiss)

Our girls getting to play on the winery grounds. 

But, the doggies got to run around on the acres of land a little and it reminded me of one reason we want to move: so our dogs can run on ACRES of land and play.  

Today.  I came back last night and of course needed to do some cleaning and putting away...so nothing has been done on the house for almost a week!  However, I need to ease back in. 

First thing I did was sand the edges in the dining room and then painted along the junctions of the ceilings to walls.  This resulted in uneven painting so I repainted all of the walls as well.  

View of the room that is finished and the room that still needs to be finished.  I suppose I will have to work on ceilings again this week.  Oh the horror.  

I also painted this stairwell wall.  This room is almost finished minus some details needed done by Nate beefore I can do much.

Then after ALL of that, I got myself to go upstairs and work on the plaster in the bathroom.  Both Nate and I are pondering how I am going to make this look resplendant due to the amount of sanding needed.  

B  L  E  C  H.   

It stinks because I have to make up small batches of it since it starts to harden and be unusable fast!







Well, Thank You for reading and do please

Come again!

Dog gone.

Well today was a satisfying day!



I worked on sanding the drywall in the kitchen and in the dining room. This should be ready to paint tomorrow if I have the time between cleaning, organizing and preparing for a dogsitter this weekend whilst Naters and I go on Holiday. 













AND THENNNNNN.....

I painted the dining room ceiling!


Now you may not appreciate painted ceilings like Nate and I...but I havent seen a finished ceiling this large in a long time...at least in our house.  I was soooo proud of myself.

AND THENNNNNN.....

Naters came home and helped me carry in the groceries I had gotten.  We settled down to eat sushi.  He still hadn't noticed.

And THEN...

Finally I asked him if he knew what I did today.  He said "ummmmm".  I pointed to the dining room....He was like..."oh."

So sad.  Here I thought it would be super DEE duper exciting.  I need more accolades than an "Oh" when I have worked for 8 hours a day on this house.

Sigh.

At least I enjoyed it.

Happier news!

Nate officially booked our hotel in the Smokies this weekend.  Whooooohooo hott married people time!  It has been THREE years since we have had a vacation together.  And we will have a PRIVATE HOT TUB (Should I mention my adoration of hot-tubs again?) during our stay as well as a jacuzzi tub.  I must say, owning your own cabin in the smokies to the tune of $120 a night does NOT sound bad at all.  Not at all.

Again thank you to my friend Katy who is making this happen. 

The rest of tonight I spent with Nate getting a crate ready to fly tomorrow, double checking the flight times, and trying to contact the puppy owner to be with no luck.  If I dont hear from her tonight I won't be able to ship the puppy since I do not feel comfortable shipping a puppy when I haven't talked to the soon to be owner in two days.  I mean, what if something happened to her and she won't be there to pick up my little one?  Its tough being a breeder sometimes, because I have to keep in mind my puppy's rights and well-being as well as the purchasers'.

Pup who is supposed to fly tomorrow

witty repertoire

No witty repertoire tonight...I'm drained and tired.  Many apologies y'all.

Sadly, our date night last night wasn't to happen....we settled in to eat dinner around 10-10:30 and Nate promptly fell asleep afterwards.  Nor a HUGE surprise I suppose though...we are both sleepy lil' babies right now with all the work we are doing.  I am not sure when we are going to have time to go see Harry Pooter.  Boo.

Well today was a long day!

With the stucco in place and dried, and my paint purchased and ready, I had planned to just paint the two walls that I had stuccoed today.  But as I painted I kept wanting to paint more and more and ended up painting the entire downstairs!  I like the color I chose, although I am a little worried it is too dark.

I made handprints because I got my hands covered in paint switching from the normal paint roller to the stucco roller

 Tomorrow I hope to work on the ceiling drywall (and the ceiling-wall junctions) and to put the glaze on the stucco to make it look shadowed like real stucco.  You use a shade darker than your base and a natural sponge (which my dogs found and ate most of! Ugh counter surfers!).

I have Breeding business to do this week- including calling Continental airlines to make sure I have everything needed to ship a pup to Canada on Friday and to find a cabin to stay in....for a trip to Gatlinburg we are taking December 4-7.  We are driving to deliver a puppy to a woman in Atlanta, Georgia and are going to stop in Gatlinburg on our way back.  We haven't been on a vacation together in YEARS!  So I for sure wont get anything done on the house those days :0(. But yay time with my Naterman!  I have a wonderful friend who has agreed to watch my doggies after she takes the GRE!  Now that is a friend :).

 Something I was thinking about today.....
Lots of people I know are pregnant now...or just recently had their first little one.  Shopping for kids toys makes me so envious!  Yesterday when I was shopping I saw a father playing a game with his kids in Costco...he seemed like such a wonderful dad and it made me tear up.  Pathetic.  Guess the ole uterus' clock is ticking. Good things come to those who wait.







Well off to make steak and veggies for dinner.  MmmmMMMMmmm. :)