<p>kmc…so sorry re your H’s diagnosis. Like TA I always worry about getting diabetes. Both of my grandmothers, both of my parents and a few of my sisters and cousins all have diabetes so there is a strong family history. I go through phases of being very careful and then throwing caution to the wind. I need to be better!</p>
<p>TA…thanks for the tip on the TV show! Will look to see if I can find the listing.</p>
<p>H and I spent several hours cleaning out our bedroom yesterday. What a difference! He spent a lot of time cleaning out his closet. He had old basketball coaching files and notebooks from when the girls were young and so much change that his shelves were bowing. So nice to get rid of old junk and make some money! He will turn the change in and get several hundred dollars! Yay! He also had a box of clay figures that the girls had made him in art class in elementary school. I took pictures of them and told him to throw them away. He was struggling with that so I’m not sure where they ended up!</p>
<p>We spent Saturday up at the cabin in the snow and ice checking on the remodel progress. The in floor heat tubing was in and then the basement floor was poured and the LL framing is almost finished. The two bedrooms down there are so tiny but not much we could do with the DNR regulations! So many things to nail down. I hope I don’t forget anything!</p>
<p>I just love the idea of in the floor heating!</p>
<p>Older D is applying to be a freshman mentor for fall quarter next year. She has made it through two steps of the application process. The next (last?) step is to make a 5 minute presentation about “anything.” Her topic is “How to Not be a Victim of Crime” (or similar title.) She is using her attempted robbery experience as the big example. I think that’s a great idea, especially since the point of the program is to get the students ready for life in the big city.</p>
<p>Kmc sorry about the diagnosis. you might be suprised, (hopefully) my H has actually started to realize that he needs to take care of his body if he wants to age well. I wish he would cut down on the beer… however I have found it is better if someone ELSE tells him.He needs to know it wont be pretty down the line if he doesnt change. A relative of mine was drinking to much and on medication, his doctor took him to see patients waiting for liver transplants made a huge impression.
NM following your renovation closely, I never thought abut lifting the house. We have lake cottage that we love. It needs work and sometimes is the money pit, but in order for it to be “retireable” it would need some changes, like to fantasize about how we could do it. With both kids in college we have had the opportunity to go up to the lake in more than the summer and its heaven to us. All in due time.
We had cleaning people come the other day, and I threw everyting n my closet, i looked at itthe other day and said “oh my it looks like an episode of hoarders” I know I am not a hoarder as I love to get rid of things, but I avent had the time andI have been sick sowe are are going to attack it soon. I am like your H I would hve trouble parting with those things. I think one reason I havent wanted to do that closet as it has all my photos and it makes me sad. I love where my kids are now but the pictures make me cry. My H not so much. He is loving it haha
PRJ have your girls seen Girls? I wonder what they would think? Is that really what it is like? I dont remember this, however was in a different field and so were may of my frends, so we had jobs. I was dismayed that it seems normal to go on a date and go to bed. As the woman said I wouldnt want to be 24 again. (Now) when I was 24 was getting married and pretty happy.</p>
<p>Girls - jury still out, although I might watch tiny furniture as it sounds good. I like it and then don’t. I worry about any show that talks about Coke use or sex with a stranger as if it’s a regular Weds night thing.</p>
<p>Decorating - Not very good at completing a room, but definitely know what I like. We have lots of family stuff -some awesome, some just sentimental and some complete crap. The dining room is painted and fortunately or unfortunately, it looks like it did 20 years ago when the builder finished it except that the fresh paint and brighter color definitely leaves the carpet looking bad… which brings me to my next point. This entire house needs recarpeted IMO. I will do the family room, but honestly it seems like WAY too much of a hassle to recarpet every room especially when having to move all the furniture. I think I am sure to be shortly overwhelmed by this entire process and it will be a wonder if we make it thru with everything else on our plates this spring. And I am kind of sick of hearing how today’s buyers don’t want to have to do anything. We’ve obviously had a hand in creating such high expectations for everything in their lives to go off without a hitch…</p>
<p>Lots of people raise their houses where our little nook is. It’s the “easiest” way to gain livable square footage, especially in home that were originally built on Tent platforms and barely have a foundation. But it’s also a great way to use the original footprint AND maintain the historical integrity of a home - something that becomes very important when youre talking about 120 year old cottages amid an architectural review board that has veto power on anything property owners wish to do with their property.</p>
<p>Sorry about the Diabetes diagnosis. I will probably resemble that remark as well. I was borderline for gestational diabetes with both younger kids and grandmother and her mother both had Diabetes II (latent onset - like in their 70’s)</p>
<p>Snow is beautiful today except for the need to shovel. Bigger question is, how did I have no idea that was in the forecast?</p>
<p>cross-posted with Missy’s sad news… I didn’t post on that thread, but I had been following along. </p>
<p>What I don’t quite understand is how I could cry so hard for a woman I never met and yet my own Mother’s battle has not elicited the same emotion. Or maybe it’s all about transference or something. In any event, how incredibly generous of her son to take the time to let us all know the situation. He didn’t have to bother and it certainly would have been understandable. But he was her son. So I shouldn’t be surprised. Oh How I wish her peace. She fought so so hard for so very long.</p>
<p>I have just started reading Train To Nowhere: Inside an Immigrant Death Investigation by Colleen Bradford Krantz for one of my book clubs. Wow! Where was I when this was reported? For some reason this story is really compelling to me. I need to finish the book and figure out if it is the author’s writing or the story itself. </p>
<p>missy… we are hoping in floor heat will keep the the cabin warm and toasty and make us want to use it more often in the winter. There are many things that I would like to have at the cabin but we are really hampered by DNR regulations. The cabin is “L” shaped and figuring out the vaulted ceiling at the turn of the “L” has been really difficult for me. The actual footprint is only 1300 sq ft so was very small for all of us together. Now we will have 2600 sq ft on two floors which also holds the mechanical room. One of the lower level bedrooms is only 8x10 and the other only a bit longer but they have lakefront views! I posted a rendering of the cabin as viewed from the lake on fb. If you look at the drawing the windows on the bottom left are the bedrooms. The 2 bedrooms on the upper level are on the back side of the cabin so no lake view. That is where the master suite will be. I am holding my breath that I don’t forget anything!!!</p>
<p>I saw the rendering on FB…just lovely. H’s parents’ MN lakehouse is tiny. When they were younger, they thought of remodeling, but the septic system can only handle what is there now and they didn’t want to bother with that. There is one “bedroom” in the basement about which everyone jokes. Really just walls built around part of the unfinished basement.</p>
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<p>Moda, I felt sort of the same way. I think part of it is the idea of unfinished business. We all want to live to see our kids grown, self supporting, married, to know the grandkids, etc. Sunriseast won’t see that, and her grandchildren will never know her.</p>
<p>Oregon, what a scary feeling but thank goodness you are okay, except for the toe. Ouch–broken toes are so painful. One night some ten years ago I walked into my closet in the dark and stubbed/broke my toe on a dumbbell. My doc (who could do nothing except say stay off of the foot) had amusing questions about the dumbbell. </p>
<p>kmc–I’m sorry to hear of your H’s diagnosis, and hope you can manage to help him with the diet, without triggering the male “leave me alone” response. It is such a fine line to walk sometimes. I have reassured (tearfully) my DH that I only have his health in mind and because I love him so much, I want to keep him around as long as possible. </p>
<p>Very sad about Sunrise. I too have had a big lump in my throat since reading her son’s post. But, I find so inspiring and beautiful the way she dealt with her disease, her family; And I find hopeful the response she elicited from a group of strangers, scattered all over the world. </p>
<p>DH is back from his long travels. Our youngest went away for the weekend with a church group, so we had a very quiet, wonderful two days. I was up early with son this AM, and poor H, who has a travel comp day, has spent the entire morning at the DMV renewing his license. What a pain and incredible waste of time.</p>
<p>Sunrise was so eloquent and honest abot whatit is like to deal with this nasty disease. We had all hoped for a miracle. Its interesting how we all interact as we dont have the blinders of social, economical etc biases. We are all really just people and good ones at that. her H is facing a long road as well.
Our lake house is closer to the lake than what would be allowed now, so it has to be built on the original footprint, H’s uncle was the original owner and there are many ways he did interesting things with the plumbing etc… We would need a new septic, a well, witch would entail blasting. the house next door is for sale, but he wants too much for it, would be nice to have the land. Oh well we arent there yet, will follow yourjourney and live vicariously.</p>
<p>dte…we are also too close to the lake so didn’t want to move back. We thought we would be doing a new well and septic but thankfully we didn’t have to so we were able to save some money there. </p>
<p>My pet turkey and his friends scared the dickens out of me this morning. I was walking past the front door and there they were gobbling away peeking in the window. Gosh that was a strange experience!</p>
<p>A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam,
And for a brief moment, its glory and beauty belong to our world…
But then it flies again, and though we wish it could have stayed…
We feel lucky to have seen it.</p>
<p>DTE - I will assume that your prose was in reverence to Sunrise vs NMN’s turkey sighting. :)</p>
<p>Watched Downton Abbey… I did not see that coming and was crying all over again. However, I used to somewhat admire Lord Grantham but now find him somewhat similar to Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. A little milk toast to deal with the real metal that is required in life… regardless of status and stature.</p>
<p>D posted the silliest picture for her FB picture taken this summer in one of those wooden figures where you stick your head in the hole. The pic is made doubly funny by her caption. The point is… it is SO nice to see her letting a little of the goofy out. While aloof is her go-to place when insecure, aloof can also appear standoffish at best, arrogant at worst.</p>
<p>And Sunrise is such a remarkable woman. I still hope that her essays (as I like to think of them) are published someday. She brought a remarkable way of looking at life to a terrible situation. (And I really, really hope that her husband’s health problems resolve successfully.) I went back and read the very first post she wrote in starting the thread, just over two years ago.</p>
<p>I agree , she had such an amazing way of that could be so helpful to others. I know how she was so honest about her feelings has helped me to sort through many things, and I know she affected others the same. Her H has such along road, that is one of the harder transplants.</p>
<p>Received a phone call from D a little while ago - she had her first day of classes today, but her big news was she received an email regarding a paper she submitted for a conference that takes place over spring break. Her submission was accepted! She will receive an all expenses paid trip to the Middle East in March!</p>
<p>She is looking forward to many things about the conference, but especially the average high March temperature of 80 degrees. I texted both my kids with a phone screen shot of the local weather today - a ridiculous 75 degrees! Both replied that it was snowing where they were.</p>
I posted a rendering of the cabin as viewed from the lake on fb. If you look at the drawing the windows on the bottom left are the bedrooms. The 2 bedrooms on the upper level are on the back side of the cabin so no lake view. That is where the master suite will be. I am holding my breath that I don’t forget anything!!!</p>