LOVE the deck! It looks so relaxing! I think the restore color will look great now that you have it totally done on the deck...it is just a jarring difference right next to the unfinished color. And you know I love the cushions! If you are going to paint yourself into a corner, a bar is the way to do it, lol.
Enjoying your report!
Thanks - it's coming together very nicely... We still have the railing at the back to put up though - and I refuse to do full "after" photos until that is done... Hopefully soon - trying not to nag. LOL
Happy to hear - it seems I've lost most of my readers - which makes me sad, but it's understandable since my updates are slow.
Sounds like a good car upgrade for Allison.
My car is running well. My electrical wheelchair is a hole other story. I miss places in my car to store stuff I buy or other stuff I want to take with me. But it's not easy putting in something that can stay in the car on a day to day basis that I can have things in since I need all the floor space I have in the car to get my electrical wheelchair in and out of the car. But other than that the car is working well for me. I still can't drive the car out of my garage by myself yet, but I'm practicing on it. Maybe I will manage to do it someday.
My electrical wheelchair can't go up and down very steep hills. This has resulted in me going out of the chair when going down hill because the chair was about to fall over me. So now I want to try and get a different electrical wheelchair that can handle steep hills and doesn't fall forward or backwards that easily. I also want to try and get something called SmartDrive for my manual wheelchair. It's a little motor that you can attach behind under your manual wheelchair which makes the wheelchair electric. What I like about the device is that it only weigh 13.5 lbs and is 15.3 inch in length, 5.7 inch in width and 9.5 inch in height. So it is very easy to take with you on an airplane. Or in a taxi.
That makes sense - how frustrating! Hopefully you will be able to get your car in and out of your garage soon - and until then, it's good that Ulf can help you.
OK - and how scary about your chair!!!! Wow... That would make me fearful of using it in hilly areas... I hope you are able to find a chair that more suits your needs, and is SAFE for you!
Your deck is such an amazing space!!! I know you will get years of enjoyment from it.
You have every right to be proud of your girls, they are already showing great financial responsibility at such a young age.
I sure do miss you, friend. Let me know if you are ever in Knoxville again. I am fairly certain we will not take any other parks vacations for a long time. We will definitely plan to get a day in at DHS when Star Wars Land opens, but that will probably be about it.
Next year we are taking another cruise with
DCL. This time we are taking an 8 night cruise, and I am so excited about that. We will be going to completely different destinations, all places we have never been. So ready for a vacation. We are booking our 2019 cruise in September, and it is going to do my heart so much good to have a countdown again!
DH and I are both using up all of our sick and vacation days for the year taking care of our girl right now. So, our October beach vacation will most likely not happen either. I AM grateful we have a beach Thanksgiving tradition. We will at least get to do that. To help us cope with cancelling vacation this year, we did book a room at the Opryland Hotel for my birthday weekend...(pricey as Disney). My parents are coming into town for three weeks, and they are going to stay at the house with the kiddos. REALLY looking forward to that!
Congrats on your upcoming Aruba trip, that will be so fantastic!!! How strange is it adjusting to life as just the two of you?? Brian and I are getting close to that phase of life ourselves.
I hope so - that's the plan anyways.
Yes - I hope they continue with being financially responsible - it's not easy, we all know that.
I will definitely let you know when we are in TN again... I do hope to get down there soon - it was a fun and beautiful trip!
Ooooh - that is very exciting... I still hope to do a DCL cruise one day - it's on my bucket list! It's likely I'd end up on a cruise with you before I come to TN though. LOL
I know... I've been following your girl and her recovery very closely.
Seeing all of your family together these days just brings a huge smile to my face...
It sounds like you have some great family (and alone) time coming up!
Yes - we are excited for that trip... Let's just say - without going into a lot of detail... Now that we have had so much time together to reconnect - it has been WONDERFUL - beyond wonderful...
Not that it was ever bad, but as sometimes happens in marriage, It's a winding river that ebbs and flows, other people and things in life distract and take precedence - it sometimes takes a conscious effort and time to reconnect. If that make sense? So, in a nutshell, it's been incredible.
So happy to see you here! I miss ya!
Allison got a great car. That generation of Focus often sells at auction for more then the next generation. They were a solid little car that had few problems they just never got the "love" because they weren't very "exciting". Whatever, they ran and rode great and I always liked that light blue color.
Loving the updates, I haven't been on the Dis lots lately so at least I haven't missed too much.
This is good to know... She loves her new car - and so far, it has been great to her!
I am glad you are enjoying the updates... I am trying hard to jump on when I can and get them done.
Oh my goodness, I can't believe I missed the start of this TR! How did that happen? I've missed reading your updates and was wondering how you and your family was doing. I'm just over halfway through right now and can't wait to finish it, but must do some work first.
Super excited to hear about DLP! I really want to go to DL and DLP someday just to experience them. I doubt I'd ever get DH to go to Tokyo, Hong Kong or Shanghai, but you never know, so I will keep dreaming and hoping. WDW will always hold the top spot in my heart, but I would really like to see some of the other parks too. Unfortunately, I don't have any current plans for visits, so I have to be content with looking at pictures from past trips, reading TRs from other people and watching Tim & Jen Tracker and WDW Couple on YouTube.
It sounds like your girls are doing well. V's car looks nice. Love the picture of Max and Cooper in the car heading to the lake! What a great start to refurbishing your deck. Lot's of work there, but you will love it when it is done. Also love the updated sewing room! Nice to have such a cheery place to create.
We just came back from 4 days in Knoxville, IA. We went to watch sprint car races. Once we got there, we had a fabulous time. It was the getting there that was the problem. We ended up being stuck on the side of I-80 for nearly 5.5 hours until they finally towed us to the I-80 TA truck stop a couple of miles down the road. We had some issues contacting our roadside service that we have to figure out why/what happened, but we did recover from that to have a great time and watched the BEST sprint car race we have ever seen!
Other than our trip to Knoxville, we are just doing the usual - working, racing, running, living life. DH is doing okay racing, just wishing he could run a bit more consistently. DS is loving crewing on the car and working his first real job. And I am just trying to find any excuse to go back to my happy place!
Hope I am able to stop by again soon to catch up on the last bit of your TR. Have a great day D~!
Lori!!!! It's great to see you here! So happy we can stay connected on FB though! As with many of my Dis friends!
I am thrilled I was able to experience DLP - but my heart is always in WDW... So, I know how you feel - while I'd love to visit all of the Disney resorts - I just don't think any of them will hold up to WDW for me?
Thanks! The girls are doing very well... It's hard - yet gratifying - watching them go through another stage in life.
Oh wow!!! Glad you made it to the race - that sounds like it was pretty stressful... . At least you were rewarded with a great race to watch!
Thanks for stopping by and checking in with an update - I always love seeing what all my friends are up to.
Give my best to the family!
Your deck looks great! I hope you’ve been able to enjoy it!
I’m loving all your pictures of DLP. Are the Earful Towers and Sorcerer’s Hat the same ones from WDW? Maybe one day I’ll get to DLP and experience it myself.
Thanks! Yes - we've been spending a lot of time out there!
No, I don't' think they are the same ones... I think they are a bit smaller and just replicas.
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A quick life update...
So... I feel like our life is one never ending car saga... A few weeks ago, V and Carter went out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings (or as they call it B-dubs)... V was backing out of her spot and about 90% out, just getting ready to shift into drive - and some ******* backed right out into her... This has been an annoying situation. V was distraught (obviously) and not thinking... She took pics at the scene, but not of the vehicles in the locations that they were hit - so while we feel he is 100% at fault - and we turned it into his insurance company - his company deemed it 50/50... So we had to file with our insurance company for them to fight it. Anyways - it's looking like - at this time - her car will be totaled. :angry: :cry: For a rear fender/bumper dent. Sickening. It appears that the damage is only cosmetic and not structural (though we are taking it to our mechanic to double check) - and if that's the case, she is planning to buy back the car and fix it. We'll see... It' has been quite stressful.
And then Allison is moving out next weekend... She starts college on Tuesday!! Yikes!!! I am super nervous about all of this - and she is super excited. I suppose that is the way it's supposed to be?
V also enrolled in college - spring semester... This makes me very happy!
She hated high school so much - I always prayed she would find the courage to go to college.
Um...
Oh we all went to a huge family reunion last weekend at the lake house - Josh and his dad have been coordinating and planning this event for the last year... It was great to see all of his aunts, uncles and cousins together - it had been 20 years! The lake house was FULL... the guest house was FULL... Both garages were FULL... And one of the neighbors took pity on us, and offered Josh and I their guest house - which turned out to be a giant blessing... We were the ONLY ones with our own bathroom and shower.
It was a fun weekend!
Allison even brought her camera and did a small photo shoot... She was able to get some great pictures of Josh and I!
So, with Allison moving out... V is moving into Allison's room... And for the first time ever - living in a 5 bedroom house - I will have a guest room!
While I will miss my girl lots - I am excited to have a space for friends and family to stay! We already have 2 weekends of guests slotted for September! My BFF from HS and her dd will be here in a few weeks... And then Brian and Myrthe will be here at the end of September... So we have lots of work to get done in V's room beforehand. We plan to rip out her "built-in" bed, and replace it with a double bed (her room is too narrow for a queen - which is what I'd prefer to have...) - and when Josh's dad remodeled the guest house at the lake - he had 2 extra vintage bed frames with new mattress sets... (I am taking one and V is taking the other) - I plan to use this in the guest room and I am super excited about it! Before I knew about this bed frame - I was pinning "spindle beds", "farmhouse beds" and "Jenny Lind beds" on Pinterest like crazy... How perfect did this turn out? I am still debating on whether I want to paint it black or not though...
The wood isn't in very good shape - even though it appears so in the pics.
Inspiration photos for the above room:
And then, eventually, when V moves out - Allison's room will also turn into a guest room... Thinking 2 twin beds... Similar to this - I just love this look! I think I want white beds though - and I doubt I will do pink walls... but this general look/feel is what I am going for.
Yah - that room will be a while yet, hopefully.
So, Josh and I will be working like mad over the coming weeks to get V's room ready... There is a lot of work to do up there... Taking out her bed, taking out the carpet, painting the walls and painting the wood floors (we have wood plank floors under the carpet) and getting all of the furniture up - and hopefully ready in time for all of our guests.
And hopefully - all of my Dis friends will come visit me eventually too?
So, again - I will rush off... I hope to do a Day 2 TR update tomorrow morning, and then it may be a while again. Sorry everyone... I miss you all and looking forward to planning our BIG WDW 2020 trip soon... A few more months and we will be a year out - and I will need to start planning that.
It's looking like that one will be a BIGGIE... Including - but not limited to... Josh, the girls, their boyfriends, BMTL and me!
Sending pixie dust and hugs out to all of you!
D~