Jim's New Job

http://www.envicomcorporation.com/

Check out this website as this is where Jim will be spending a lot of his time from now on!! He just got the offer of a job yesterday from them. He sent a brief outline of his job:


"Staff Biologist and California Environmental Quality Act Analyst with general responsibilities for the conduct of biological field assessments, related technical reporting and research and reporting for CEQA document topics. General work responsibilities include literature research, field investigations, site mapping, analytical evaluations, technical reporting, work scope determinations, client representations, and attendance at public hearings, as needed. "

He will be starting on November 11th. The fact that I find most amazing is that the company is in Agoura Hills!!! He will have a five minute drive from the house to there. How great is that!!
There are only around 15 people that work at the company so it is very small. He won't get lost in the crowd!

Congratulations Jim!!

*

I know you will do great! We are so proud of you!!!

San Diego Weekend Visit

After weeks of looking for granite and tile and all the other things that go into getting the new kitchen ready we were Finally able to take a weekend off to go and see the kids in S.D. We left Saturday morning and stayed overnight with them. I really was having Jake withdrawals so it was great to finally get down there.

One of the first things we did was go out to lunch at Islands. Here are a few pictures from the restaurant .

"All right, food!! My favorite. What are we ordering Mom? "

"I'm so excited!! Maybe a big hamburger would taste good right now!"

"Ah, Waiter? I think you forgot to take my order. Don't listen to those two, I don't think I want "baby food" today. Can't you see how big I am already?"

Back home after lunch, sitting in his high chair eating (mashing) a teeth biscuit.

Gee, another picture that involves food. Why am I not surprised!! Jake loves his food. Here is the whole family eating a banana. Guinness is hoping for some too!!

Happy Jake with his daddy.

Steve and Lisa cooking dinner. They fixed a roast and made BBQ sandwiches with it. I heard they were wonderful. They also made corn and sweet potato fries. I know those were wonderful. I really enjoyed the sweet potatoes. That is going on the "to be cooked in the new kitchen" list. They were so easy to cook but so goooood!! I finished those up!!

Looks pretty professional doesn't it!!

Sunday morning bright and early and happy. Still in his cute little sleeper.

Jake and Steve.

All in all a quick trip but a great one. It is so good to see them. It has been two months since we were down there last so Jake had changed a lot. He is interacting with everyone so much more. He is sitting up by himself and "talking" a lot too. He is just so kissable! He is growing into his cheeks now but they are still the best things in the world to kiss!!

Week Two

Things are going along here during Week 2. The plumber is here trying to finish up his work today. Let's hope!! The Electrician was here yesterday and has to come back to finish his work.
Today the appliances got delivered. There was is a rebate that Paul needs to send in by the end of the month so we had them delivered now so there wouldn't be a problem. Also this way the contractor can check them out and make sure everything is okay. If the garage wasn't full before it is now!! I can't wait to get them all unboxed and into the house!

We went with all Kitchen Aid so they would match each other. That is very important don't you know!! I think of Jim talking about the people down in Peru and how some of them cook on not much more than open fires. Somehow the importance of all the fancy features seem much less important!! They are nice though!! I just have to remember they are nice, not necessary!!

If you look up at the ceiling you can see the wiring for all the lights. Six can lights and three hanging over the island. As we get older the less the eyes work so light is Very important!! (Guess who is feeling her age today!!)

New plumbing where the sink will be.

Now the plumbing I knew would have to be changed a lot but I never thought that there would be as much electric work as there is! They have to have several new lines in for the appliances and there is all the lights, and plugs and switches. Wires, wires, wires everywhere!! Here they are coming out of the house into the garage. Don't worry, they aren't going to stay like that!!

Here is a beautiful site. New plumbing for the washing machine! That was always backing up and running over. What a mess all the time. Now there shouldn't be any problems. You can see more wires too!!
All in all there is a lot of work being done. Not as fast as I would like to see but as fast as most projects get done I'm sure. The plumber just said he had just a couple more hours to do tomorrow and he would be done!! Sounds good to me! We are looking at cabinets going in the first of next month. Then the flooring after that. What a different kitchen this will be.

I was looking at the before pictures last night and missing the old kitchen. It is more than just not having the kitchen to use. I am missing what I am so used to having. I'm sure I will Not miss it after the new one is done!

One week down, 5 to 7 more and things will be back to normal. Well, as normal as they ever are here!!

At the End of Day One

Here it is at the end of day one and I feel like I worked at tearing everything down myself!! Just the noise and "stress" of the day and I'm beat!!!

They got a lot done. All the tear out and a little framing done. They got the floor jackhammered for the electric to the island and the new drain line to outside done. That was Loud!! Here are some pictures from the day.

Looking from the front door area to the garage door.

Looking to back patio

Looking out front

They have us nicely sealed out. No dust got into the main part of the house at all.

This is now all one room. This is how it will be from now on. What do you think?

The Refrigerator Wall and on into the dining room.

Contruction Has Started!!

Day One of "The Great Kitchen Redo"

After much planning, agonizing, worry and tears, and one total breakdown on my part the kitchen redo has started. I am sitting here in the new "kitchen" (front bedroom) listening to all the banging and tearing down of our old life. Today is tear down and then it will be putting it back together again. Six to eight weeks of complete fun. I have spent the last couple weeks packing everything up and finding places to put everything. I know this house is small but it really seemed small when I was trying to find places for everything.

Here are some pictures of the before. This shows what will be the biggest change.

The wall between the kitchen and the dinette area will be gone. All one room now.

I took these yesterday after we had finished getting everything out of the three rooms. The window seat that Ron built a few years ago will be gone but we are replacing it with another seat to match the cabinets. I love my window seat! I had dreamed of having one for years before Ron made it and I had been right, it is wonderful!! Thanks Ron for a wonderful Xmas present!!!
We redid the kitchen after we put on the addition so that would be around 29 years ago! Okay, it wasn't done high class then and it is showing the years but I liked my kitchen. As much as I used it the past few years it has been more than good enough. But even I will admit it was time to do something new with it. These cabinets we bought unfinished at Wood World way back then. They were stained and then painted a couple of times.

The refrigerator wall. What can I say about the refrigerator wall? That it was never really finished? 29 years and still it wasn't finished. Oh well. It worked even if it really never looked all that good. I had a large pantry and storage areas. All this will be redone with two pantries on either side of the refrigerator.

This is the new "kitchen" for the next 6 or so weeks!! It is the front bedroom. We put the table in there. Talk about cozy!!

The front of the house with the dumpster and port-a-potty!!

I will try and post some more pictures tomorrow of the tear down part and of the floor plan.

It's Winter!!

We got a phone call from Darcy yesterday telling us it was Snowing!! This is what it looked like at 11 am Sunday morning, 30 degrees! I'm complaining that it is only 58 degrees! Maybe I shouldn't complain to all the Utah folks!! Have fun in the snow all of you guys!!

This next picture is from Anchoridge, Alaska. I couldn't get the Wasilla Web Cams to work so this is "close" to Paul Jr and Julia. It looks like they are having great weather also!! I'm so glad I live in Sunny Southern California!!! Enjoy the 4 seasons everyone!!

Happy 21st Birthday!!

Someone is 21 years old today!! His "little baby" is no longer.....

Happy Birthday, Shannen!!

We love you!!

My Doggy

(Click to Enlarge)

Update on Mr. B

It has been just over 3 weeks now since Mr. B decided that our lives were way too calm and relaxed so he needed to add some excitement. After blowing his back out and several trips to the vet and generous use of the credit card he seems to be doing better. He stayed in his crate for two weeks and now has been out and about for a week. He went back to the doctor on the 22nd. She could tell that the disc in question was still bothering him and still painful to touch. She said to start his walks again and let him play in the yard and just watch for anything unusual. Of course now I am watching and worrying about every little thing he does. He had stomach problems for two nights, getting us up after he threw up. He was okay last night and he ate his breakfast this morning so guess whatever he had has past. I sure hope so!!

I guess there is no way of knowing if this will happen again. It could be a one time problem and will heal up and never come back. Or it could be a chronic problem coming back often. There is no way to know. We have no idea why this happened. We didn't see him do anything that would have caused it. That makes it harder to predict if it will happen again. We are getting his weight down so that shouldn't be as much of a problem. He was 27 pounds at his heaviest and now is down to 22 pounds. He should be between 18 to 20 pounds so he is almost there. This didn't even happen when he was at his heaviest. The Vet said there weren't any good exercises that we can do for his back. Hips and legs they have good exercises to straighten them but nothing that really helps the back.

He can start back to the dog park next week and I know he will be so excited to go and visit all the dogs there. Just as long as no larger dogs jump on him etc....... Such a worry......

Animals are great, they give us love and calm us down but..... Sometimes I wonder if we just want more stress in our lives and that is why we get animals!!

I want to thank everyone for their good thoughts sent our way for Beardsley. He really is a sweet dog. (as long as you aren't standing near a door, then all bets are off!!)