January thus far....

For all of our friends and family that we don't see much any more, we wanted to share a bit of what is happening in our lives.  

First off, Don had his one month post-surgery check-up last week and passed with flying colors.  Most of his initial restrictions were lifted.  He still can't lift more than 10 lbs and he does need to be very careful about putting himself in situations where he could be injured.  His stamina is not where he'd like it to be yet, but the doctor told him that by the three month check-up, that he would be able to tell a big difference.  

We were able to see some views of his presurgery  MRI that we hadn't seen before. The cross-section view looking down into the vertebrae was amazing.  What was amazing was how little room there was within the vertebrae with the most damage.  When we looked at that one compared to the others she showed us, our comment was: "Where is the spinal cord?"  There was a cyst sitting in there along with stenosis (which is arthritis in the spinal canal) and scar tissue -- we couldn't actually see the spinal cord because of the amount of compression that was on it.  The doctor told us that when she sees an MRI like that, that those people are usually bed or chair-bound because either a) it hurts too bad, or b) they have lost a lot of mobility.  So we count ourselves very blessed.  He is walking 2 miles a day on the treadmill and has been able to increase the speed at which he is walking quite a bit.  

The week after his surgery we had a visit in our home by the new stake president.  Our bishop had been called to be in the stake presidency...we had a bad feeling about that visit!  On December 27th, Don was called to be the bishop in our ward and today he and his counselors were sustained.  This is a very humbling position to fill and we wonder 'why'?!  But we have learned that when our Father in Heaven gives us these opportunities to serve, He will also strengthen us and lift us to accomplish the things that He would have us do. 

Fall in the Mountains

A couple of weeks ago Don and I took a drive up in the mountains.  The fall colors had mostly come and gone, and there weren't many bright yellows because of a fungus that affected the Quaking Aspens, but it was still an amazing day up in the mountains.  The blue of the sky, the smell of the clean mountain air, the rustling of the leaves....it was a very therapeutic day. 

Halloween Table Runner

I finally had time to do a little fabric shopping and make this cute table runner for our coffee table.  I had some different fabrics in mind when I went shopping, but I'm happy with the results.

 I was going to share with you the blog post that was my inspiration for this table runner, but when I went to the blog I couldn't find it.  I'll keep looking - and I promise - when I find it, I will update this post.  Mine is cute - hers is amazing!

And the little porcelain ghost sitting there?  The fuzzy spider on his head plays music when you push it.  We've had that ghostie for a LOT of years.  Our daughters used to enjoy him, and now our grand-kids are having some fun with him too.

Our New Home

We've been in our new home for three weeks now.  All of the boxes are either unpacked, or they've been opened and we know what's in them!  We have a gallery wall to do, and some updating of pictures that we already have hanging.  For the most part - we are settled!  We are happy to be here and it feels like home.  

As we went to help a daughter with some family pictures this afternoon, we kept remarking about how beautiful it was and what a perfect day.  Clear blue skies, fall leaves, nice temperatures and mountains!  

This our new home!  I cleaned out all of the flower beds on Saturday and I found muscles that haven't been used in a while!  We are looking forward to spring and putting in one or two Knock-out rose bushes, a hydrangea bush and tearing up some of the back yard for a garden.  There is a cement pad out back that will be home to a fire pit.

This is standing in our kitchen looking into the living room.  There is a fireplace on the right side of the wall.

This is standing in the living room looking towards the kitchen.

This is the room just as you walk in the front door.

Love this staircase.  At the top of it is the little tv/play room that is pictured below.

Master bedroom.

Master bedroom looking out to the hall.

There are two more bedrooms and a study/craft room.  Plus a HUGE pantry!  LOVE IT!!
There is plenty of room for company!   Just sayin'!

In the next few days, I'll show some of the special things we enjoy about our home in more detail.

Dear Realtor.....

My husband and I have spent the last several months looking for a house to buy.  We've gone online to look, then driven around neighborhoods of houses that we like.  There has been one consistent thing that has made this house-hunting experience very frustrating, and that has been some of the photos used in the advertisement for the house.  We know that you might want your client's rooms to look bigger than they actually are, but seriously!!!!

This is a picture found in a listing....  really?  This bed is for a very tall person who doesn't mind sitting on the edge of it with their knees up around their ears. 

To this realtor's credit - they did include a 'normal' photograph also.  Why even use those wide angle shots?  Hate them.  

To be honest with you Mr. or Ms. Realtor - there are houses that we didn't even go to see because we were so disappointed with the quality of the photos that were used.  Here are a few more examples.  These photos just do not do justice to the home.  I can 'almost' say ok to some of the fish-eye lens shots -- almost....    We did actually see a couple of these rooms in real life.  They looked much better than how they were portrayed in the ad. 

Notice the squatty fridge? 

As a person who is trying to sell your home - ask to see the photos your realtor takes before they go live online.  And I beg you - please don't allow them to use wide-angle shots, they are a disservice to your home and will not help to sell your house.

We did finally find our next home - and not a single picture in the home ad was a wide-angle shot!  Likewise with the house that we sold.  Kudos to good, old-fashioned, picture it as it is photography!