I've been a nosey neighbor

Our neighbors have Longhorn cattle. They have been a novelty since they first entered the pasture next door. 

Being farm folks, Mike and I thought it was odd that the neighbors would buy such a creature. They were not really farm people and simply bought them for the novelty of how the cattle looked, I think. The first two who came to be our neighbors were Wanda and Willy. Wanda was a hefty, older looking cow who looked like she had not had a calf in years. Willy was a young yearling bull.  

Then, the neighbors added another and another Longhorn cow until they had an entire herd. Some of the new cows gave birth shortly after arriving next door and the herd continued to grow.

The neighbors wound up selling and moving away to another state but the herd stayed next door for the new homeowners. These new homeowners really seemed to have less knowledge about cattle than the original ones. For example, they didn't realize that they probably needed to get some hay to feed the cows when it snows and there is no grass readily available. So, they asked Mike for suggestions and he shared a little information.

After lunch one day this week, Mike mentioned that there was a truck and trailer backed up to the catch pen next door and some guys were loading up some of the Longhorns. Out of curiosity, I gravitated to the window to watch. I was curious about how many they would be able to load onto a trailer with those long horns. There were already a couple of the cattle loaded onto the trailer and the guys were working to get more on. One of them came dashing around the side of the trailer and had a rope dangling from his neck. The guys came dashing after him and the chase ensued.

The young bull went loping off down the pasture away from the barn. At one point one of the guys grabbed hold of the dangling rope and he began to dangle along as well. After a while, the guy turned loose and stood in a state of ponder for a bit. Then, he eased down the pasture and circled around the young bull and drove him back up toward the barn. This time, the young bull made short work of running around and getting by the men. Finally, both guys snagged hold of the end of the rope and held on, stopping the young bull.

It became a war of wills. Which would have the most determination? Would it be the guys or the bull? The guys were patient for a while. The other cattle came over to their friend and checked him out and then they wandered off munching on grass. After the young bull tired a bit, one of the guys ran back up the hill to the truck and pulled it down toward where the young bull was scotched and holding his ground.

I was amazed by the strength of this guy! Evidently, they didn't make much progress at coaxing the young bull onto the trailer. So, while the one guy held on, the other guy circled the trailer back around closer to the young bull, who was laying on the ground at that point. 

Being the nosey neighbor through all of this, I just took a seat near the window looking out onto the neighbor's pasture and watched all the action as I was making up an online grocery order. I was certainly amazed by the strength of the one guy! They were pretty tenacious about getting their job done and I found it interesting to see how they went about getting that bull loaded. I was also thankful that I didn't have any part of the work of it!

The two guys tugged and coaxed and finally got the bull loaded and went on their way with the load of Longhorn bulls. Obviously, this was not the guys' first rodeo! 

Random Ramblings Volume 6

 I haven't been as reliable about posting to this blog for a while. I think my avoidance began at about the time that Covid hit our area. I think it had something to do with the fact that my job for the past ten or so years has been to support educators with their technology usage. Then, when the world suddenly got knocked off kilter, I suddenly became ultra busy and spent oceans of time staring at a computer screen. Thus, had no desire to craft posts about how my flowers looked and there were no birthday parties to attend.

News flash! We are still a bit off-kilter but I think we have begun to learn to live with that and are not wallowing in it as much. 

Maybe.

These days I am fully vaxxed, boosted, and masked up, when necessary, and trekking on through life.  

I recently found a blog that really makes me laugh at times. And don't we all need to find those things that make us laugh? Anyway, the blogger's humor makes me laugh as I read along - especially with the Sunday Q&A posts. Katie at Preppy Empty Nester has put together a couple of them that incorporate memes and GIFs that have made me pause and just laugh out loud. The opening of today's post really touched home for me...

On the Friday before Thanksgiving I went to one of our local schools to fill in and try to help out since they, like every other public school that I know of were having a difficult time with staffing due to illness. Even though folks in my department are rarely in school buildings anymore and are supporting teachers remotely by designing and creating materials for them to use, helping them to become more adept at using their digital tools, crafting how-to materials and asynchronous workshops to train them, and such, we heard their cry for support and we all are spending a bit of time filling in to help out. 

So, the Friday before Thanksgiving was one of the days that I was scheduled to help out. I am proud to say that I spent the afternoon 'teaching' in a Spanish class at the local school. No. I have never had a Spanish lesson in my life unless you count Big Bird and the Cookie Monster teaching me to count when my children were preschoolers. 

It was a great afternoon and the high school students and I learned a bit together, I'm proud to say. Thankfully, their teacher had posted some videos and digital handouts online in her virtual classroom and the time was not a complete wash for the eager learners. 

No, all of the young folks were not as eager to complete their assignment as some were but I found a way to motivate them. In the first class where I was subbing, I gave some of them a bit of a nudge. Having a bit of tech savviness about me, at about the half-way mark of the class time I logged into the system and took a peek into the teacher's virtual course materials and noticed that only about a dozen of the twenty-eight students had submitted their completed work. So, I looked at the roster and called off a student's name, "Suzy Q, where are you?" (No, there was not really a student with that name, I'm changing the names to protect the guilty.) A young woman raised her hand and I asked, "Why are you sitting there chatting with your friends when you haven't submitted your work? You are going to make me look like the worst sub ever if you don't finish up the assignment and get it turned in! C'mon, now!" Her eyes got a bit rounder and she quickly started pecking away at the keyboard in front of her. I moved on to another name on the roster. "Billy, where are you?" A young fellow in a football jersey raised his hand a bit timidly. "What are you doing over there? Come on, now! The playoff game isn't till tonight. Go ahead and finish up this assignment and get it turned in so you won't have to think about this next week after the big game is over! Plus, do you want to make me look like I don't know anything about teaching? Help an old gal out here!" Suddenly, I heard murmurings from all over the room - "How does she know we haven't submitted? Do you think she can see our work? How did she find out? And then, I saw some smiles and heard clickety-clacking of their laptop keyboards. Within ten minutes the number of submitted assignments had grown to twenty-four.

That pattern and the fact that I walked around the room, chatted with the students, looked over their shoulders, and watched a couple of the video clips the teacher had posted helped us to try to figure out a few of the answers to the questions the teacher posed in relation to the Spanish-spoken videos. It truly was a collaborative effort. But, I'm sure having access to the teacher's online course and nudging them really helped out in getting students to stay on task. Plus, I wasn't bossy or hateful about it, I asked them to finish up as an effort to make it look like I was doing a better job and they were compassionate enough to think that was a good idea. So, I'm calling the day a success for me as a fill-in Spanish teacher!

At any rate, the Saturday following Thanksgiving, I wound up with terrible cold-like symptoms. I was scheduled to attend a conference the following week. So, on that Monday I went to the local pharmacy and took a Covid test. My results were negative but I was still coughing heavily on Tuesday. So, I made a televisit appointment with my doctor's office. In my conversation with the physician's assistant, I explained the situation. She encouraged me not to go to the conference unless the cough and cold cleared up. She mentioned that if I had flu, I was outside the window where she could prescribe anything other than over-the-counter meds and if I actually did have Covid, I was also outside the window where she could prescribe medications that might help alleviate those symptoms as well. However, she wanted me to come to the clinic, pull around to the back of the building and a nurse would come out and administer a test for both flu and Covid. She told me a timeframe for when they would expect me. I hung up and gave that option about five minutes of thought, called the clinic back, and told them not to expect me. If there was nothing they could prescribe to help me, why would I waste my time and effort (and money) going in for another test? I mean, I had already isolated and Mike and I would be around nobody till I was better. What was the need for the test? 

I did quite a bit of eye-rolling about that telemedicine episode, I'm here to tell you!

I thought I'd also answer the Q&A Katie shared in that post that I shared above:

1. January usually has ample amounts of snowfall in parts of the world. Did you ever make snow cream as a kid?

My family did make snow cream and I probably ate a bit of it as a youngster. However, I grew up on a farm. So, after giving it a bit of thought, I decided that maybe I didn't want snow cream for fear that I might have a bit of farm flavoring in it as well, if you know what I mean!

2. January is one of the months with 31 days. What are you going to do with that extra day?

Um. I'm writing and illustrating this post aren't I?

3. In medieval times, superstition dictated that the 1st day of January was significant for prosperity, or lack of it, in a person's life. Farmers put a flat cake on the horns of a cow, and they danced and sang songs around the cow until the cake was thrown to the ground. If it fell in front of the cow that meant good luck; it if fell behind the cow that meant bad luck for the rest of the year.

Do you have strange New Year customs in your household?

Mike and I really go all out and do wild things on New Year's Eve because it is our anniversary! This year, I think we went to bed at about 10:45 after I sent all the kids a text message wishing them a happy one!

4. On January 14, 1986 motorists were required for the first time to wear seat belts? Do you always buckle up? Why or why not?

I've always been one who wore a seat belt. If you have ever ridden with me, you know why.

5. Have you ever blabbermouthed something to a significant other that in hindsight you really should have kept to yourself?

Do you know me? I don't blabbermouth anything. I hardly even talk at all.

6. Have you ever written anything on your blog that you wish you could take back?

Obviously you are not a loyal follower of my blog. I have sort of abandoned it lately. 

Honestly, I have always tried to ask before posting pictures of folks, however. I know I don't appreciate it if somebody posts my picture without letting me know or asking me first. 

Plus, I mean, who is really reading this stuff I post? Aren't you all just family members anyway? I kind of think you are just glad to see that I'm still alive and kicking.

Or maybe not.

7. Are you the blabber or the blabbee? Tell us your most embarrassing blabbermouth moment.

Are you kidding me? What could I possibly say that would be embarrassing? Remember, I hardly even talk at all.

8. Who is the biggest blabbermouth tattletale in your household?

The daughter who at about four years old informed everyone in the family that we were "pissed off at McDonald's, ain't we Mama?" (There's a whole story behind her statement but that is a tale for another day.) There were a couple of other times when she was a blabberer but I will refrain from continuing to point my finger.

9. You are the Blog Paparazzi! Which blogger's real photograph are you most interested in getting?

Gosh! I cannot even answer this one. I am always the one who is tisk-tisking because too many people I follow or am acquainted with are doing way too much oversharing on social media!

10. If you could hire the loudest and most skilled blabbermouth in the universe to do your talking for you and advertise it well, what message would you like to spread to humanity?

Use your energy for being kind. Just because you know more, disagree with somebody, or are just plain different, that doesn't mean you should let them or the folks around them know that. More often than not it is far better to just smile and be kind to somebody else than to try to put them in their place and look like the bad guy. 

(It took me a long time to arrive at this understanding and I probably owe lots of people an apology but I truly do believe this.)

11. Are you always on time or just a tad late?

I'm usually squealing in on two wheels and the truck is still rocking when I am four steps or even fifty feet away from it with my hair and coat-tails flying out behind me.

12. Is there someone in your life that irritates you regularly about not being on time?

My Daddy was ALWAYS late! My Mama was ALWAYS fussing at him about it. My youngest child seems to have inherited one of those traits and I ALWAYS wear a seat belt and hold on to the 'oh-hell handle' of the vehicle when I ride with him.  

I married a man that is very much like my father in lots of ways - he just doesn't seem to have the same time clock I do. But somehow he will ALWAYS get out the door before I do and I am left to close the dog in his crate, pick up everything that we are responsible for carrying to wherever we are going, and lock the door.

13. Can you think of a time when you were late for something and it was REALLY a big deal?

Did you even read the answer to the previous question? I think a better way to word the question might be something like: Can you think of a time when you were early for something and it was a REALLY big deal?

I'm thinking. 

Can I get back to you on that one later?

14. If you were on your way to work and had five minutes to get there, would you stop in the road to rescue a crossing turtle?

See the image below? That is gravel and dirt flying out behind the truck that is scratching out of the ditch where the turtle was avoided but left to go on his merry, plodding way.

15. Have you ever had to actually punch a time clock?

Gosh, yes! I still do. Today, though, for me, punching the time clock is just sort of a register so that our payroll department can keep up with which days we are working and which days are some sort of leave - sick leave, bereavement, administrative, etc. When we are not present for work, we have to fill out a leave request and select the type leave we are requesting. The 'clock in' action is primarily to serve as data for them. 

That is really a good thing for me because sometimes I will forget to clock in until I am getting ready to shut my computer down for the day! So, if my time sheet was ever really printed out for accuracy of my working hours, it might look like I was starting the day at four-thirty sometimes. 

Another thing about my work hours, since the world was sort of knocked off-kilter, I have found myself working far longer hours than ever before. My job is to support teachers and these days their work is far more difficult than one can ever imagine. My heart goes out to them and I try to do whatever I can to help them out. So, if that means I'm still working on a how-to document or video or I'm collaborating with them to create a digital assignment, sometimes it means that I take a break to cook and eat dinner and return for another hour or two...or more and wrap things up. Nobody is really expecting me to do that but I feel so much empathy for those teachers who are juggling so many different things that I'm glad I have the opportunity to do something to make their job just a little bit easier. I figure they are probably working far harder and far longer hours than I am and I really just want to try to make their job easier.

So, please, I ask you to practice a little kindness to those folks who are carrying a heavy load - folks like teachers. When you have the opportunity to do something that makes their off-kilter world a little easier, please do so. And tell a teacher that you appreciate them for hanging in there and working to educate our children and prepare them for a world that we cannot even fathom at this point. Plus, if you can, why not volunteer to be a substitute teacher? 

A Year in Review - 2020

What a year 2020 has been for us!

I first think about the meme I frequently see in social media that says, "When you realize your life really doesn't change that much during a pandemic."  At times that is exactly what I thought! 

I do miss visiting our grandchildren. I miss getting the chance to attend our grandchildren's sporting events like basketball games. I miss just taking a weekend afternoon to go poking around in a thrift store or antique shop. I also have missed having teachers just stop by and sit across the desk from me and chat.

What I haven't missed is long hours in a vehicle going to those sporting events or trekking to and from work each day or packing a lunch each day.  Those things haven't been a part of this year but I haven't missed out on that part of the events.

I also haven't missed being in meeting after meeting because we have had loads of virtual meetings! I haven't missed lots of things in regard to work because as an instructional technology coach, that part of my job keeps going. Sometimes it has just looked a little different or it has taken even more time to put together or make the connections because it has been virtual rather than face to face.  

All-in-all, things have been different for us to a certain degree but not that much worse.  For that I am eternally grateful.

These are the things I've noticed when I look in the mirror at our year:

1. I've made fewer blog posts this year. That was more than last year but far less than most years. I think I've made fewer posts for the last couple of years because the demand for me sitting in front of a screen with my fingers on the keyboard at work has been far greater. Last year I was assigned to support a 1:1 pilot school and this year... well, there has been a pandemic and I often spend twelve to sixteen hours at my computer working in hopes of supporting teachers who are working so hard.
2. Still the most popular posts I have made for the general audience have been the ones about our bay window seat. That is one of the posts that I made in the first year of blogging back in 2011! The most popular posts from this year are the birthday posts for family members. Those stats tell me that this blog is exactly what I intended for it to be - a journal where I share ideas, photos, and information with my family and close friends. 
3. Other than the post about our first grandson's birth back in 2013, the peak of readership for this blog was in March! I'm certainly attributing that to the pandemic! Folks were sent home. They were inside. They were looking for something to entertain themselves with and my family was certainly no different! It looks like readership took a leap at the end of most months this year. So, that makes me think that my family sat down at the end of the month and caught up by looking to see what I'd posted! Readership was also higher this year than any other year. I'm attributing that to the fact that more of my grandchildren are readers and have access to technology so they can look at their birthday posts! Ha!
4. Like a lot of people who were confined at home this year, we got a lot of home projects done during that time. Some of it was by choice and a result of being cooped up and wanting to get things straight - like Project #1. Then, combine that with having a helper, brings me to Project #2.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Some things got done that had been put off for a while and I guess that being at home made me really realize that those things needed attention - things like Project #3, Project #4, the Porch Furniture, and Project #5. Mike spent more time working in the hay field and growing our vegetables and making certain that we had meat in the freezer to fill our bellies.
   
   He also jumped into making jerky when a friend gave him some deer meat and has branched out to making beef jerky as well. Prepping and sharing the meat products has sort of become like a part-time job for him! Harris and I worked on my pantry a bit and then, we had our handyman service really do some work on the pantry to make it far, far more user-friendly. I realize now that I didn't even write blog posts about that! (Maybe I will make photos of the pantry and share in the coming year!)
   
   I got more of the plastic bins with handles like Luci and I used in Project #2 and had Harris here to help me do some sorting and organizing. We put many pantry staples into jars and sorted those jars into like items such as baking supplies or baking mixes or condiments and such. Harris was good at sorting and he was really good at combining partial bags of chocolate chips and such to fill jars. When he was visiting in July, during the heat of the day, we would work on the pantry project so that he would have the afternoons free to ride on the ATV or even drive it with Mike!
   
   
   As always, it is great to have the grandchildren come to visit and stay with us for a while. We always have such fun with them and love the chance to get to experience their personalities up close with no distractions.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   And, I think they really like to visit and do some of the things we do with them as well!
   
   
   
   
5. Another big thing that got done this summer was one that was not really planned. Nor was it even on the horizon. However, massive rainfalls and flooding bumped it up on the list of things to get done because it became a necessity for us and a financial necessity as well.  That was the building of our bridge.  Technically that was a Fall Project and I wrote about it with a solution as well.  
   
   That is one of those projects that we look at and appreciate each and every day. Sometimes begrudgingly because it took such a bite out of our pocketbook but always as a relief that it was a solution to what seemed to be an expensive problem that kept recurring.
6. One of the things we had planned and worked into the budget was to update our front door. The settling of the house over time, the wind damage to the storm door, the drying and damage of cracking the wood of the front door had really taken a toll and our entry door just needed some attention, especially since I had come to look at the front porch as an oasis during the hot summer days. So, we hired a handyman to do some odd jobs that we weren't confident at working on such as patching drywall and adding an electrical outlet to the back porch and adding a fan to the front porch oasis. 
   
   Then, we also had him replace the front entry door. That one project probably made the most difference in my appreciation of this home as my oasis, my sanctuary of anything we have done in a long time! I am just enamored with it and catch myself smiling as I walk by it or through it. It is beautiful and exactly as I saw it in my mind's eye when we first started saving money and talking about updating it!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. There were other pluses to being home and enjoying our blessings provided by living on this farm in a suburban area. The nature that we really had the opportunity to observe and enjoy is one of them. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Having a virtual courtside seat to every single one of our granddaughter's basketball games was another. I probably could not have attended each one in person due to my work schedule but having them live streamed meant that Mike and I could sit at my large computer monitor right here in our house and watch and I could yell and cheer to my heart's content with nobody bothered by it other than Toby and Mike! And trust me, there was lots of yelling and cheering going on!
   
8. I made time to do some things that I might not have otherwise. Instead of feeling tired at the end of the day and facing a long commute through traffic when I finished work early enough to have time outdoors, I actually wanted to get outside and do something. That is one reason I took on creating the wreaths for the fence at the driveway entry and why we often will just take a ride on the ATV just at dusk to enjoy our own holiday lights!
   
   
   
   
9. I also came to appreciate something that I've never really enjoyed a lot - shopping. Well, online shopping! I really do like ordering and having it delivered far better than I've ever liked trekking over store after store and searching for gifts, groceries, and items we needed. I realized just how much on the day that two delivery trucks were in our driveway at the same time!
   
   As I sat at my desk and worked, one delivery truck passed another bringing in the Christmas gifts I had ordered for the grandchildren and children. I just picked up my phone and snapped a picture through the window to document it! Then, another day, I saw a delivery guy bringing a big load of the items I'd ordered for family Christmas presents and felt a strong sense of appreciation for him and the fact that he was saving me lots of steps and from having to drag those things from store to truck to the house. It is far, far better to step out onto the front porch and simply bring the boxes into the house! With ten blessings as grandchildren who we would like to spoil and eight children and spouses, we feel bountiful and blessed in a great way!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   We truly are blessed to have the luxury of online order and delivery and the wherewithal to be able to take advantage of it and that fact never escapes us! We have made it a policy to tip well and let the delivery folks know verbally and, when asked by the delivery company, provide a good rating as well as offer them a treat if they would like it.
   
10. This year has been one where we watched with horror as other folks vandalized and looted in nearby Nashville and all over our country while others were peaceful in seeking fairness. We experienced shocking and ridiculous division in our government that is just unbelievable to fathom. We have been shocked, appalled, and disappointed when we hear or see family, friends, and acquaintances who have come to believe that it is alright to speak ill of others or put them down just because the other person's beliefs are different or actions and ideas are different from their own. When is it ever alright to call people names or put them down just because they are different? We were forced to learn new ways to do things such as teach students or learn to read and learn how to use technology for that so that others could be protected from the risks posed by a disease. We watched and made an effort to support neighbors who were struggling due to businesses closing or being overworked due to the effects of other people's illness from this horrible disease. Yet, all of these things really did open our eyes to lots of things and provided us with a reason and ways to grow and try to become better human beings. For that I am ever grateful and lift up thankfulness.

So, while 2020 has certainly been a very different year from others that we have lived and that I have written about here on this little blog, it really has had some positives.  I am grateful for each of those positives. I also look forward to sharing new joys and hopes and ideas with the few friends and family members who visit here and I thank you for your visits and for your encouragement!

A New Front Door!

This house was moved here in the year 2000.  It came from just down the road and around the bend. It was originally built by my mother and father-in-law. Most of the features of the house remained the same, I believe with just a few minor changes. The antique clawfoot tub was replaced with a garden tub with jets. There was a window seat added to the bay window. A tin roof replaced the shingled one. Some simple changes and upgrades. Over the years, some things have needed updating and replacing or repairing but by-and-large this house is very much like when it was built.

We have continued to maintain and update and repair as our budget allows. During the past few years we've replaced the windows and a couple of the exterior doors. At some point the storm door got caught in a wind storm that ripped the hydraulic closer out of the wood frame leaving the storm door where it would not close snugly. Then, last year, we noticed that the sun peeked through the panels in the door each morning. So, we knew it was time to start planning for an update. I started searching and dreaming for what I wanted. Looking through blogs and magazines and Instagram posts. I started pinning colors I might like and styles of doors.

At first, we thought it would be a matter of simply swapping out the door itself. Then, we noticed that it seemed to be connected to the sidelights. So, that became a bit more of a budget planning issue. We had a few other odd jobs that needed some attention - a plug for the pellet grill, a patch in the ceiling drywall, etc. So, I called on my cousin's husband who had recently started a handyman service, The Tool Chest. We shared our ideas and he set up a projected date when he would get started.

First, Richard came and completed the small projects. Before he left for the day, he sat with me here at my computer and we ordered the new door with sidelights and the hardware for the door.  I was somewhat nervous about it because I know so very little about construction and that sort of thing. So, I was glad to have his guidance and knowledge. I mean, I didn't know if I wanted left-hand swing or right-hand swing. I thought I knew but it was so assuring to have Richard confirm what was needed.

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Mike said he wasn't picky about it and trusted my judgement. So, I knew I wanted glass in the top half. Being home so much this year made me come to appreciate having the wood door open and the sun streaming in through the storm door. I loved how that lightened up the whole room. I also knew that I wanted a wood finish. The porch furniture we had gotten last year has a wood finish and I really have enjoyed how it feels cozy and makes the porch seem more like an outdoor room of our house. So, I wanted to do the same thing with the door. I also came to the decision that a lighter color would be better because wood usually darkens over time. So, sight-unseen, I pulled the trigger and ordered our front door!

I also debated on changing the hardware. We'd replaced the lanterns on the front porch a few years back and I got black ones that were also easy to swap out the light bulb for. So, I seriously thought about going with oil-rubbed bronze or a black finish for the hardware.  In the end, though, I decided to stick with the brass that was there before. I knew that I liked the handle on the outside that was on the old door but I also wanted the lever-style handle on the inside. I've had arthritis for years and just find the lever handle easier to open. I had read years ago that when you have a glass door, you should have a keyed deadbolt instead of a lever deadbolt.  So, that was also added to my cart - again, sight-unseen. 

The one bobble that I made was with the doorbell. I ordered a brass doorbell that was all metal because the plastic button on the previous one had cracked and broken over the years. The one I ordered was too wide to fit on the door facing. So, we wound up having to go with one that had a plastic button after all.

When the door came in to the local store, Mike and I went over and picked it up. There was a crew of three women and one guy who put it up on two palette jacks and pulled it up onto Mike's trailer. We strapped it down and carefully hauled it home to sit in the barn for a few days.

We commented that we were a bit concerned that it might be difficult for Richard to get up onto the porch but decided that he knew what he was doing and recalled that he had said he would wait till a day when the boys could come help him. So, when it actually came time to unpackage the door and get it up onto the porch, Richard and his bonus son, Noland, had a bit of a struggle.  That thing was just as heavy as it looked! They took the door off the hinges to lighten the load and got it up there.

First the old trim, windows and door came out.

Then, the new went in.

I was working that day. So, I didn't have the opportunity to take many photos. This one came about sort of as a documentation. I was sitting at my desk here in front of the window working through Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting. I paused for a late lunch at around 12:30 or 1 o'clock when I was getting a bit toasty closed up here in this room. I had seen Mike go out the driveway to his haircut appointment. I had also seen Richard and Noland go out the driveway to pick up some needed supplies and their lunch. The day wasn't cold but there was a bit of a briskness about it.  So, when I came into the den and saw the door leaning up against the wall and the opening bare I understood a bit why I had gotten toasty. You see, the thermostat is in the hallway just off the den. The place where the door opening was left uncovered. So, the heat was running overtime trying to warm the space up! I just rolled my eyes and shook my head and said a little prayer that no squirrel or bird came in before the door install was complete.

I don't have a good photo from the interior as yet but I think you can tell how wonderful it is to have the windows and the light shining through.

The exterior view is absolutely beautiful if you ask me! I could not be more pleased with how it looks, the quality of the craftsmanship of the door and sidelights, the quality and beauty of the installation. I am quite smitten with it and think it looks so beautiful that I don't really want to do much decorating for the holidays because I don't want anything to be covered up!

It really does continue the warm and cozy feel that the wood furniture on the porch sets and it looks great from any angle!

We'd love to have you come knocking and walk right through for a visit!