Copley Gray And Elephant Tusk

The body aches but feels good having climbed up the tall ladders over and over.  The hands are wrist or puffy and swollen from the repetitive strokes with a brush but they can be overlooked because it was so worth it.  The garage painting is complete.  There are still some minor touch ups and a few side doors to paint but oh . . . the feeling is surreal.  So that was the good news.  Here is the bad news.  The shade of copley gray is slightly off from when I painted the house about three or four years ago – yup it is noticeable!   So when the legs get sturdy and the hands calm down Mr. House is up next.

Up Close And Personal

The lift.  I love the lift.  It gives such a different perspective anyway you look at it or are in it.  From down low I look so small and insignificant although my work that was up close was important and time consuming.  The roof and shingles became a new fresh sight.   Being able to paint the fascia board with great ease was awesome but the hardest thing was maneuvering the lift to get me where I needed to be.  There are controls down below on the unit that can be switched over and often I would just have Mike get me in position.  Once he left to get lunch and I hovered up close to the eaves when I tried to move my bucket but couldn’t.  He hadn’t switched over the controls!!   I was stranded “in the leafy tree tops” until Kelcy came to my rescue.

The Burn and Burning Hot Day

It was a sleep over at Grammie’s with Root Beer floats, late night movies, air mattresses and lots of burning in the morning.  Brecken still in his jammies  chose to roast marshmallows more than burn.  We got the lift for the last few days of painting, got it all assembled and up I went but it was soooo hot.  The sun was scorching the side I was painting and my brush kept “gumming” up.  So, we had a change of plans.  The lift came down and it got moved to the back.  We aren’t wimps in Alaska but our sun is hot.  It is all in the angle of the sun.  Trust me.

One Talented Family

Our family has the most unique talents and hidden talents too.  Kelcy busted out this sandbox for Atlas’s first birthday.  She sanded it and then brought it in the garage to stain at night while Gwennie was sleeping.  She did a remarkable job and the little benches are just so cool.  Next one is for Gwendolyn and then one for Grammie’s house.  I just have a turtle sandbox – how boring is that – right Remi and Cal?

 

Merci Beaucoup

I bought some strawberries.  I flipped open the lid and there was the French translation which seemed sort of odd since Driscoll’s is based out of Watsonville, California and I believe the majority of workers are probably Hispanic.  I pondered this question for awhile and then – well – do you sometimes think you are the only one who questions certain things?    So I googled it and I’m not alone in the query.  I didn’t get an answer and neither did they but at least I know I’m not alone.  The strawberries are juicy and amazing by the way.

 

The Best Example

I love this message from our Prophet.

The other day a family friend asked my wife, Wendy, what it has been like to have the sacrament in our home. Wendy wrote the following in response:

“Knowing that our dining table will become the sacrament table on Sunday, both of us take special care on Saturday to make sure our home is clean and tidy. My husband finds such JOY as he folds the laundry and vacuums. And I am happy to find joy in his joy!

“The highlight for me is hearing my husband bless the sacrament. I can feel how much he loves the Lord and how grateful he is for the Savior’s Atonement by how tenderly he pronounces each word. I can feel how sincere he is about the privilege he and I have—in that sacred moment right in our home—to renew our baptismal covenants and to make a new covenant with God about how we will live the next week. I am moved to tears every time.”

Hey Sugar Plum

Sugar plums came up in a conversation today.  They aren’t the sugar plums from Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore where he visually moves us to the children lying in their beds with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads.  Or are they?   What are sugar plums really?  When I have called someone a sugar plum it is a term of endearment meaning sweetheart or darling but the real sugar plum is a candy.  It is a hard piece of candy made of hardened sugar in a small round or oval shape.  They call it a plum not because it is the fruit but because of the shape.  So all you sugar plums – whoever and whatever you are.  You are sweet, tasty, a sweetheart and very darling.

 

Love The Orange

We survived.  Our camping trip’s last day and as I retired to the woods for my morning potty moment, with my derriere fresh to the wind and the moose I found myself saying, “isn’t this great.”  It is great.  Being with my family, being in my beautiful state that I love, being away from the world and just feeling and absorbing the quiet totally erases sleeping on rocks, feeling the cold and drying little two year old’s clothes on the fire all day long.  This is camping and this is totally worth every moment of it.

Camping Day Number Two

The day began at 2 am with the entire campsite hearing Cal yell, “I wanna go home!” followed by my air mattress going flat and many cold bodies waking up to a brisk cool morning.  The guys cooked a great breakfast which always takes away the campfire blues and Easton and Brecken kept us warm all day with a good fire going.  Granddaddy did some good old Boy Scout fire training so they learned what kind of wood was the best.  Remi was content with a chair, a blanket, a phone and one of Grandma’s applesauce muffins.  When the rain came harder the guys built a tarp lean-to so we would stay dry.  We survived day two of camping on the Su and we were feeling the sting just a little.  Time to blow up my air mattress again.

The Family Campout

And we made it . . . to our campsite . . . ready for the family campout.  We started off great, tents put up, cooking area staked out, three foot circular fire pit formed, wood gathered, air mattresses blown up and smores lined up for the making.  Cal and Remi went from dry to wet very quickly,  the smores turned into burnt marshmallows and the evening went on as all family campouts do – smokey and fun.  There wasn’t a soul in sight, there was no rain and no other boats.   Great idea for a camping weekend Micah.