Over the weekend my brother gave us some elderberries to make jelly with.  Even though he couldn’t see hubby help me clean them.  He started a branch and I finished cleaning it off.  I have never even seen elderberries before but I was game to try making the jelly.  I ended up with Monday with 52oz. of something I don’t like.  Oh well maybe Jay will eat it.  If not out it goes!

This morning my daughter-in-law Deb, grandson Dakota, and I picked raspberries and this afternoon I canned jam.  32 1/2 cups of it by around 7:30 this evening.  Now this is good stuff and I won’t have any trouble getting rid of this. 

A labor problem put the deck men behind today but in the afternoon two of them showed up to take over for the guy that quit.  So we are still not quite done but very soon!

A little story:
Sunday morning expecting SEB and family for a visit I wanted to get up early and mop the kitchen floor.  I took the foam mop off the hook and found that the foam had separated from the base of the mop.  No problem I’ll just go to the basement and get the replacement head.  I brought that up only to find that with the original one the head was held on with plastic fasteners and the new one had screws in the foam head which fastened to the metal part of the mop.  I checked the garage for nuts to fit the screws with no luck.  I finally decided to use the old string mop that weighs a ton wet.  I don’t have one of those buckets with a wringer on it so it was fight with wringing it out.  So here I am half way through the floor when I hear clink.  What was that?  Didn’t see anything so I continued to mop. Clink-clink- now what!  I pulled the mop back and the head came off and laid there on the floor as I stared at an empty wooden handle!  Well shit is someone trying to tell me something?  After some searching I found the screw that goes through the metal head and the wooden handle to hold the string mop on said handle.  Now the wing nut that goes on the screw took a little more searching to retrieve it.  But it was finally assembled again and the floor was finished before my arms fell off.  I got to get a smaller string mob and a fancy mop bucket and throw the two mops I have in the trash!

So there was good things and bad things going on but such is life!

The deck floor is started and it is getting exciting.

By the end of the day both deck floor and railing was in on one end.

At the other end a shortage of parts delayed the other railing being finished today.  Tomorrow morning the deck floor boards will be screwed into place, the railing finished and two sets of steps will be built and in place.  Then we can call it a wrap!!!

Since August 22nd when the bees were gone and the deck men returned I have been taking pictures of the progress.

Tuesday night the boards that were bolted to the dome were gone and the basic frame was going up.

The new uprights were put in place but now the wasps became active as the day warmed up.  So much for living in the country with nature.  Wasp spray and a good aim became the priority of the day.

Progress the next day and on Thursday in the on and off drizzle one man worked all day by himself with us acting as monitors for him.

He worked on placing floor joists and accomplished quite a bite.

Ending his day with the majority of planks in place .

Friday work started around 7am to avoid the warmer part of the day and our friends the wasps.  With two men on the job floor joist were nailed into place and uprights for the railing were bolted on. 

So when they left Friday afternoon this was what it looked like.

It is now 1:43 am on Monday morning and I expect the drive way doorbell to go off in another roughly five hours announcing the arrival of the deck men to start the the new week so good night my friends!

I remember the good old days when you could be embarrassed because the guy you were walking with had on corduroy pants.  Everyone stared as you walked by because of the sound they made.

Today SEB and family came to visit for a bit and this is what granddaughter Courtney was wearing.

She pointed out the shiny chains, the glow in the dark thread and announced that her Grandma help her pick them out.  A thought flashed through my feeble mind—Not This Grandma!

Yet the more I looked at them the more I thought ‘how cool’!  The fact that it was a cross between Motorcycle Momma and Cowboy Spurs seemed to fade into the background and all I could think of was that Grandma sure has great taste! 

Even from the back these jeans were an item!  The more I looked the more I loved them.  Yes ‘other Grandma’ you sure know what teens like and I must admit I’m jealous of your fashion savvy!  All in all a great job Grandma!

At 12:41 am on August 25, 1967 Lesley Troy arrived at Brent General in Detroit.

We joked that he was 6 pounds of baby and 15 oz. of nose.  Something he outgrew thank goodness with age.

One of his many loves was Inspector Gadget, the Atari, the C 64, and the Amiga.  First games and then later a BBS called Les’ Place.

He played Santa handing out the gifts at Christmas for several years.  Christmas is one of his favorite holiday.

On his 21st birthday we had a clown (much to his embarrassment and the neighborhood children’s delight).  But he did all the magic tricks with her like a real trooper.

At High School graduation he still had the blond hair and great blues eyes he was born with.

He even puts up with a ‘brotherly love’ kiss from Wes!

In his beloved leather hat he was our ‘Indiana Jones’.

He also became a Daddy during these years. 

Even after 39 years he still smiles big, he is every one’s computer tech, still Courtney’s Daddy, and still our birthday boy!

Ten Years ago today two people became one in a ceremony witnessed by friends and family.  They had met, fell in love, and wanted to share this happiness with every one.

So they wed.

They toasted each other and we toasted with them.  Pictures were taken to remember the occasion.

Young nieces stood proudly beside the couple on that day.

Yes commitments were made on that day long ago and there have been good and bad times since.  Living happily ever after sounds wonderful but reality make that dream hard to hang onto.  But they have tried hard to.

May times get better, happiness find it’s way to you, good health bless you, and these rings, a symbol of the dreams promised you, make those dreams a reality.
Happy Anniversary Cyn & Dave!

Last week before the bees halted work the demolition was started on the old deck.

Pry bars and saws became the order of the day.

Standing on top the deck or down below the old wood started flying and was safely deposited into the nearby dumpster.

Soon the joist had been cut off and only the uprights remained around the outside edge of the deck.  But the bees were starting to take get angry with the activity and work had to stop.

So debris and tools were pick up and put away and work halted until the bees were gone. 

This is how it remained until last Tuesday when the bees were gone and the workers reappeared!

A little after 7:30 am the hubby heard the driveway alarm.  His reaction brought me into the land of reality.  The deck men were here so Brandy is awake and the morning routine has started.  Being that yesterday I threw a coat over my nightgown to take Brandy out for her potty break and open the garage door for the workers, today I would not shock the deck men and get dressed.  I mean there is only so much ugly a man can take so early in the morning.

We have talked about this deck for about three months now so I think it is time to show you what is being torn down.

This is the area of the garage doorway.  Note the sag in the floor because the span is so wide and the support isn’t sufficient.  This will be corrected with a new setup.

The corner post like this-

and this-

shows the condition of the posts on the railing.

The uprights are cracking and warping badly.

The floor is in a little better shape but quickly failing.

So there you have it.  Not pretty—yes. Expensive to replace—yes.  Worth the effort—we will see soon! 

Ten minutes to eight this morning the driveway alarm went off.  Up like a shot I pulled on clothes over my nightgown, put in my teeth, grabbed Brandy and took off for the great outdoors to see what was going on.  A big truck with a crane was unloading a second delivery of lumber for the deck.

Now if you look out the french doors in the dining room to the left this what you see.  The ground and the edge of the dumpster.

The picture is through the screen door which is barred by a piece of lumber so that dummies like me can’t step out on the deck that ain’t there for a breath of fresh air!  In another few minutes I will go out and conduct the ‘bee test’.  It consists of watching the hole for 15 minutes and if there is no activity I call call the deck man and get this show back on the road.  Yesterday I had one at the opening and three flying around the area so maybe they are about gone!

Tomorrow it is back to Dr. Schuster’s office to get the rest of the stitches from the surgery out of Jay’s arm.  We are going to stop at Oliver T’s ( a specialty food store) on the way home for fresh mozzarella.  Jay wants to make special Italian sandwich he heard on Food TV.  ( I tried a search for it but failed so I can’t give you anymore info on it).  I guess I’m a poster not a searcher!

Well wish me luck on the test!

Today marks anniversary number 30 for my dear friend Pam and her wonderful hubby Earl.
That is a long time to stay together.  But I have no doubts that there will be many, many, more. 
Our wishes for happiness and good health go with our Anniversary wishes.
Love yuh!