Holiday Chill-laxing!

So just as the cooler weather set it, we took on another 3 cords of wood and got that stacked and covered.  (The assumption is that 5 full cords of wood should last us the winter). We also managed to get another wall done, this time in the kitchen.  But in the process I managed to tear up my knee and was out of commission. We would, however, be able to prepare, in a more relaxed manner, for Thanksgiving.

Zach, Kara, Jain and Fiona are in from Thailand and would be up for a few days.  They would make use of the guest bedroom and put it to the test. Caleb would be down from New York, Jacob, Joanna, and James, Natalie and Titus from Wellsboro would all be with us. It would be busy and it would be fun. It's my favorite holiday - unmuddled by competing theologies or commercials trying to sell you something that will fulfill a deeply perceived emptiness within. It's simple.

Thanksgiving came and went. My knee began to mend.  Christmas came with all of its trappings but we were able to spend more time with family.  It snowed and the Thailand contingent were able to build a snow man and hike in the snowy woods.

Now the decorations are down.  We've sold the Christmas tree opting to try a real tree next year. I was able to see a doctor and get that wonderfully simple cortisone shot in the knee. And we are back into work mode.  

In the midst of all of this we've managed to get two different heating companies out to talk about heating systems.  The numbers are being run and we hope to have quotes by the second week of January.  One of our longer term goals is to get heat in the house so that we can be away during cold weather periods without having to drain all the lines, put antifreeze down the drains and otherwise winterize the property.  The encouraging news was that the work could likely be done yet this month!

AND BEST OF ALL my amazing wife encouraged me to move ahead with a changeover for the guest room.  We've made it into a study!!!  We found a great futon and plan on using the Master Bedroom as the Guest Bedroom when friends and family come and make use of the study futon for ourselves. So there is yet another before and after series of pics...

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, as we continue to get the other rooms settled, we're able to unpack boxes and make the living/dining room areas more functional.

 

So while we still have 100 amp more service to add, gas lines to run, a laundry room to put in, a bathroom to remodel, a living/dining/kitchen area to panel, lighting to install, flooring to put down, new windows to put in and insulation and siding to be applied outside, not to mention a garage to build, tile to run to dry out some of the land, and a pond to dig, WE ARE making progress... I have to keep telling myself that.  

God is good!