Thoughts and Prayers

After every shooting, I see an offer of "Thoughts and Prayers." I cynically posted a "Thoughts and Prayers" meme after the church shooting in November in Texas. I said "If only those people in Texas had prayed harder." One of my friends commented "REALLY!?!?!"  Social media has become an increasingly polarizing place. The anonymity of posting memes and arguing with friends and strangers online has taken out a human element of reasonable discourse. We say things on Facebook that we would rarely say to another person's face, let alone our friends. I have been trying to be better about doing this, and taking these conversations offline and out in public.

Here are some of the comments and suggestions I have seen along with my own "thoughts and prayers."

People need to do a better job raising their kids!

Some children live in one-parent households (for a multitude of reasons) and their parents are doing their best just to put food on the table. We don’t know their situation; maybe they shouldn’t have been parents or didn’t want to be a parent in the first place. Maybe they couldn’t afford birth control, or their partner left them after they got pregnant. Not everyone is cut out for parenthood and unfortunately some people only realize it after it’s too late. 

Let’s not forget the half million kids in foster care and their unique challenges. What do we do about those kids that get left behind? It is true that it "takes a village", and we all need to do our part to help out the kids that we see struggling. 

Some of these parents are doing everything they can to raise their kids right. Some children are born with antisocial personality disorder and don’t know the difference between right and wrong. There aren’t enough resources for the parents of these kids, and they also might have a hard time believing that there is something wrong with their child. Deinstitutionalization is another part of the problem, but that is a bag of worms for another day.

Teenagers can be insanely impulsive. As someone who was once a teenager, I can give quite a few personal anecdotes on this topic. According to researchers at the NIH, this is because teenage brains are in the process of maturing – their prefrontal cortexes are still maturing. The rational part of a teen's brain isn't fully developed and won't be until about age 25. As adults, we reason better, develop more control over impulses and make better judgments. This also makes me wonder why we are sending people to war without fully developed brains.

So while everyone is screaming mental illness, let’s be honest with ourselves – teenagers are impulsive and do stupid things. It's because they have developing brains.

If you see something say something! 

People do. Unfortunately, these systems fail as they did in Florida. Reports are now emerging that the latest shooter was reported to authorities multiple times. Also, not every incident is meticulously planned – some are impulsive teenage immature brain problems. There was also the 12 year old girl who brought a gun to school in her backpack. The backpack fell on the ground and discharged the gun, wounding 2 kids. That also puts to bed the "guns are inanimate objects" argument as well. They can misfire and accidents can happen. 

Video games and violent TV/movies/glorification of violence are the problem!
Study results have been inconsistent at best and have produced conflicting results at worst. Canada and Europe have many similar shows/movies/music, yet they don't have these problems. That said, those countries have some major differences: socialized medicine and strict gun laws. 

Mental Illness is the problem!

According to NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Health), approximately 1 in 5 adults in the US (43.8 million) experience mental illness in any given year. Certainly many of the mass shooters were suffering from mental health issues, but to say that anyone who has a mental illness will commit a violent crime is simply false. It creates even more stigma for those who suffer from these invisible illnesses. 

Our schools need more security!

There was an armed guard at Parkland High School. It is now reported that he froze in the situation and never went inside to confront the gunman. If this was a trained deputy, why should we expect better from armed teachers? Teachers are barely paid enough as it is for the work that they do. Most of them went into the profession to teach children, not defend them from armed maniacs. Assuming that the teachers would want to be armed, we would also have several officers carrying guns to protect each school entrance, of course we would also install metal detectors. 
Are we sending our kids to school or sending them to prison?

We already have gun laws / gun laws don’t work in Chicago/Baltimore/other place

While it is true that there are plenty of gun laws on the books, the inconsistency between state laws create a lot of problems. Due to lax gun laws in neighboring states, all it takes is an hour or less drive into a neighboring state to have someone make a straw purchase or even a legal purchase. 

On to facts.

Part of the reason that gun violence is difficult to study is because of the Dickey Amendment of 1996, which ties the hands of the CDC and prevents them from using Federal funds to “advocate or promote gun control.” The NRA pushed for this amendment at the time, after researchers had produced studies that suggested that having a gun in the house increased the risk of homicide and suicide (spoiler alert: it does). 

Since 1968, more than 1.5 million Americans have died in gun-related incidents, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By comparison, approximately 1.2 million service members have been killed in every war in U.S. history, according to estimates from the Department of Veterans Affairs and iCasualties.org, a website that maintains an ongoing database of casualties from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For the record, this number includes suicides. 

There were nearly twice as many suicides involving firearms in 2015 as there were murders involving guns, and the rate has been increasing in recent years. Suicide by firearm accounts for almost half of all suicides in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A 2016 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found there was a strong relationship between higher levels of gun ownership in a state and higher firearm suicide rates for both men and women.

More guns also means that more police officers are killed. Researchers looked at federal data for firearm ownership and homicides of police officers across the US over 15 years. They found that states with more gun ownership had more cops killed in homicides: Every 10 percent increase in firearm ownership correlated with 10 additional officers killed in homicides over the 15-year study period (American Journal of Public Health).

Here’s another data point: Although we hear a lot about AR-15s and “assault weapons” during mass shooting incidents, most murders caused by guns involve handguns (FBI). The nature of semi-automatic weapons like the AR-15 makes it easier for mass shooters to take out a large amount of targets in a short time frame, due to accuracy and lack of recoil. This said, the truth is that these types of weapons statistically cause fewer deaths than handguns.

Proposed Solutions

Store your weapons securely. Guns should be secured unloaded in a biometrically locked gun safe, with a trigger lock engaged. If not in a gun safe, all guns should have a trigger lock device installed at all times. There are now biometric trigger locking devices available. If all gun owners followed these procedures, it would reduce unintentional injuries and deaths. 

Repeal the Dickey Amendment to allow the CDC to study gun violence. It is truly a public health crisis. Let's study it and create solutions that are backed up with scientific data.

Congress should pass legislation requiring universal background checks. That would close federal loopholes on background checks at gun shows and other private sales. Additionally, anyone who would like to own a firearm should pass a skills test showing that they know how to properly use their weapons and that they have the knowledge necessary to be a safe gun owner. This would be similar to the training already required for those obtaining concealed carry permits. As a part of this, a firearm registry could be created so that gun sales can be tracked. The registry should be able to be accessed by mental health professionals, school counselors, police officers, and anyone else who would need the information in their professions to “red flag” someone as going to hurt themselves or others.

Congress could also limit the number of guns that can be purchased by one person in a period of time. They could also raise the age limit of all gun purchases. It would be nice to say 25, as per the earlier immature teenage brain, but at least increase the age to 21. Lawmakers could toughen penalties for straw purchases. Mass shooters often carried more than one weapon; one was found with 24. At least 167 weapons of mass shooters were obtained legally and 49 were obtained illegally. It’s unclear how 76 weapons were acquired.

Institute a gun buyback program. The cost is not too much. With each mass shooting, schools are renovated or torn down and rebuilt, costing tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. How much is a life saved worth? How much do you value your life? Your child’s life? Another loved one? Your neighbor? What about the people in your community?

Although I personally don’t believe that anyone needs semi-automatic weapons, I do recognize that some people really enjoy guns. I believe that certain weapons should require an increased level of scrutiny or “extreme vetting” if you will. The folks that want weapons like the AR-15 should face closer scrutiny than someone who is hunting deer with their bolt action rifle. Perhaps congress needs to specify classes of firearms with screening procedures for each.

I recognize that America is a unique country. I would love to say that America can simply enact the same kind of wildly successful gun regulations that Australia has: 28 day waiting periods, thorough background checks, and a requirement to present a “justifiable reason” to own a gun. Their gun buyback program meant about a million guns went back to the government and were destroyed. 

The problem is that in America we have a gun for every person. However, it is estimated that less than one third of Americans own a gun. So one third of Americans own an estimated 320 million guns. What do you do with that? It’s hard to shut the barn door after the horse has already left the stable. 

Even though the horse has already left the stable, we have to do something and we have to start somewhere. The number of guns in this country has roughly doubled in the past 50 years. Perhaps 50 years from now the changes that we make today will have made a meaningful impact. I hope that my grandchildren never have to fear being gunned down in the classroom or on the street.

I live in a rural area with a big gun culture. I know families here who rely on hunting to provide food. Guns are a way of life here. We need hunters to control our wildlife population. Trust me, you’d wish that Bambi had been killed before she ran in front of your car. 

What it really comes down to is do we value our guns more than we value the lives of children?

I am in awe of the kids from Parkland who have started this movement and discussion. It's sad to say that fear seems to be the only effective motivator for change, but it appears that it is. The NRA pushes fear based motivation all the time: "bad guys" are coming after you. The Democrats are coming for your guns. 

It is both terrible and inspiring that it has taken children to stand up and say that they are tired of being slaughtered in their classrooms for anyone to do more than send "thoughts and prayers." 

My thoughts and prayers: March for Our Lives will be the falling of small stones that will start an avalanche.

On this World

I wanted to rant on social media about this, but the blog is a much better outlet. I don't know whose mind I would change at any rate. But seeing people post awful things is breaking my heart. Closing borders? Really? So apparently they'd like us to be like North Korea? No disrespect there, DPRK and Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un, please don't show up on my doorstep.

I keep thinking of Sam and Frodo's exchange in Mordor from LOTR:

Sam: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?

Sam: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.

On to what I wanted to post on Facebook:

I have seen so much hatred, racism, and xenophobia on social media these last few days (years if I'm being honest). I'm not saying that I'm perfect or PC all the time: after all, I live with white privilege and was born in the USA. I don't have the same perspective as others.

I'm glad that we live in a country where we can question our government and each other without the fear of being imprisoned or stoned to death. So many of our fellow Citizens of Earth look with envy to our elections where leaders are changed regularly, without bloodshed. I'm glad that we all get a vote in that process, even if I don't agree with you. And if you don't vote, shame on you! 

Our fellow Citizens of Earth want what we all want - a chance at life and happiness.

Yes, there are those that wish us harm, but there are plenty of those people who were born here in the good old USA. It's true, like some psychopaths here, some of those "outsiders" have evil hearts (well, mental illness at least.) Others' hearts and minds have been twisted by promises that they or their families will be taken care of if they attack innocent people. If you can't afford to feed your family, what wouldn't you do for them?

Today, I choose hope over fear. I choose to live my life instead of fearing that which I don't know or understand. Why should I let terrorists steal my joy? Their entire purpose is to instill fear in our hearts. 

We can't let them.

Despite many people's beliefs that we are going in the wrong direction, I think future generations are going to do great things. I see evidence of it every day. The high school that I attended just crowned two Special Olympic Athletes to be their Homecoming King and Queen. These kids are inspiring. They are making this world better.

Make a decision to live and not exist. Help others where and how you can and remember that we are all part of the Human Race. 

Today I was feeling powerless to do anything other than speak up when I saw a social media post that I didn't agree with. I got home from work to find an aptly timed letter from VGIF looking for donations. I can't solve the world's problems, but I can write a small check that will actually have an impact on another person's life. Having been involved with their organization, I can attest that their funding truly does make a difference in recipients' lives. If you're feeling powerless, and can afford to donate time or money, I encourage you to donate to VGIF or a similar cause.

There, I feel better already.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. - Max Ehrmann, Desiderata

If you don’t have anything nice to say…

Don’t say anything at all.

That’s pretty much why I haven’t been posting lately. My goal to remain positive this year has been a challenge to say the least.

But I’ll at least start with the positives –

I’m on the launch committee for the Women’s Club of CarolineCounty. It has been a HUGE success! People are really excited about it and I’m happy to be a part of such a fabulous group of ladies. 

I am also on the committee for the Mardi Gras Masqued Ball. Last year I helped out with the event, but nowhere near the extent that I have this year. We’ve made a lot of changes to the event this year and if it’s continued, I’m thinking that we will probably make more changes next year. It has been a lot more work than I was anticipating. Hence the changes for next year!

I’ve been inspired by Kelly at Miss MP Blogs in her weight loss journey. I’m going on a diet next week. I had been good with exercising and tracking food, but between my stupid toe (more on that later), stress, having crap in the house and everything else... well, it hasn’t been good for my waistline. So I’ll use Lent as my excuse to diet. I haven’t decided if I’m doing South Beach or Atkins, but my plan is to go low/no carb for at least a month. This means no drinking, which will be a challenge for me. I love wine. We are also having a chocolate and wine tasting at the end of the month for Women’s Club. I haven’t decided if I’m going to cheat, but it is tempting.  

Things are moving along with our trip to Australia and New Zealand. I’ve been looking into all of the fun things I want to do in Australia. I can't wait to visit my Aunt Nancy first and foremost! Then cuddle a koala , visit the Whitsunday Islands, and snorkel the Great Barrier reef. Of course I would really love to dive with a huge crocodile, but getting to Darwin will require too much travel for our limited time.  In New Zealand, we're planning to visit Hobbiton , visit the Waitomo Caves, and simply walk into Mordor. We haven’t booked our flights yet, but are planning to do so soon.

Now on to the not so positive:

My stupid ingrown toenail. It keeps getting infected and has been the bane of my existence since mid-November. I’ve been on four different antibiotics (two simultaneously for the past week) and a revision where they went back in and dug out the crud. I haven’t been able to wear decent shoes in forever! The double antibiotics seem to finally be working. It appears to finally be healing!

My mother. Her issues are making me crazy. Suffice it to say that we do not have a normal relationship, but more like I am the parent and she is the child. She is looking for someone to rescue her and I am done with being her emotional and financial life raft.

My in-laws. They also have issues. They were staying with us because they were kicked out of their house (for good reason). We had to boot them out of ours last weekend because of something they were warned not to do. Certain behavior will not be tolerated nor enabled in our house. They slunk down to Florida (after we paid for them to get down there), where my father-in-law lied to his brother and said that they had to leave because of “difficulties with Lauren.” Um, yeah. You now DO have “difficulties” with me, jerk. They stayed with us for eleven days after saying they would only be here for a “day or two.” We bought them food and sheltered them and they repaid us with lies and deceit. Not making that mistake ever again.

Work. It has been busy and frustrating lately. One of my coworkers stirred up unnecessary drama which caused me to have a complete meltdown a few weeks ago. Our locums providers (essentially temp doctors) that are supposed to be helping us out are instead causing huge headaches with the schedule. And as usual, many people take out their frustrations on me.

Death. I'm sad to report that a wonderful person is gone from this world. Karisa died  a little over a month ago and left a big hole in our community. We thought that we would have more time with her. Spread the word about Karisafication. In honor of Karisa and Stacey, and for many others whose lives have been impacted by cancer, I am participating in a cancer prevention study.

And taxes. It turns out that DC didn't withhold enough taxes from Jay’s paycheck. If my calculations are correct, we are going to owe taxes. Possibly a substantial amount of taxes, which might mean a tax penalty in addition to what we owe. Jay is always telling me how much $$ all of his buddies at work get in tax refunds. I would LOVE to see their returns to crunch the real numbers. In all likelihood, they’re either claiming 0 on their W-4 or they’re tax cheats. Jay is always telling me about something new that we can write off. I really don’t see how we have enough tax deductible expenses to amount to the $11,900 standard deduction (for married filing jointly). Yes, we can write off our dry cleaning expenses for your uniforms… that’s what - $200 maximum a year? If that? Phone usage – even if you can prove it legally, that’s about $1644 a year. Honestly I do use my phone more for work and charitable reasons than pretty much anything else lately. And yes, we do make charitable contributions, but not anything too crazy. And I could technically write off my trip to NYC for my VGIF board meeting in October. However, back to the firefighter write-offs. The big problem for most tax professionals is the meal fund. Some firefighters will use the per diem meal rate as a deduction. In DC the amount is $71 a day and would amount to almost $6,500 a year. To me, it screams “PLEASE AUDIT ME!!”  Legally, you may be able to deduct some meal expenses, but not the $6,500 variety. If we had receipts for those meals, I would be more inclined to do it. But in reality, the amount ends up being $1,000 a year. Not worth the audit, IMO.

My girls. We are down two chickens and I have no idea what happened to them. One (Maeve) went missing a few weeks ago and the other (Lily) went missing this week. We’ve cased the neighborhood with no luck. So now we have seven hens and that jerk of a rooster, Mouse.

I also really suck at writing thank you notes. My cousin Emily  sent me a crafty and thoughtful Christmas gift and I have yet to send her a thank you card. And my girlfriend Angela gifted us the coolest freaking chicken print that I can’t wait to hang up. Once it’s in place I need to take a photo. And send a thank you card.

So there's your lengthy catch-up. Here's to hoping the next update is far more positive!!

25 Things

Since I sometimes have trouble coming up with things to blog about, I decided that making lists would be a good thing to do. Instead of writing about my entire Florida trip, I condensed it to 25 things I learned (or confirmed) on the trip. 

1. Business class makes flying much more enjoyable. The upgrade fee is definitely worth it.
2. The state of Florida has the worst drivers in the entire country.
3. Miami is not my kind of city. Too many designer labels, stilettos, overpriced drinks, and fake people. Give me a dive bar full of friendly locals wearing jeans and offering PBR specials any day.
4. Art Basel is an experience best enjoyed for a limited amount of time, wearing comfortable shoes, and having the freedom to roam many galleries. Hanging around the same place for hours on end is crazy boring.
5. You can throw globs of paint on a canvas and sell it for $50,000.
6. Chewing gum has a magnetic attraction to new flip flops.
7. Never walk long distances in aforementioned new flip flops.
8. I should sometimes consider my husband’s crazy ideas that involve putting on his socks and cutting out the toes to prevent additional blisters from new flops.
9. Always carry band-aids.
10. I'm getting too old to sleep on cheap air mattresses that are deflated by morning.
11. Coconut water and artisanal rum drinks are disgusting, but those who produce crappy $50,000 art love them.
12. Sometimes free drinks aren’t worth it.
13. Tu Tu Tango still has some of my favorite tapas dishes, although their sangria isn't as good as it was a few years ago.
14. Miami food trucks are awesome - try the chocolate-covered bacon at the Porkalicious food truck.
15. Bubble tea is weird, but I think I want to try it again.
16. Having a rental car and no set plans is a fun way to travel.
17. Jazzy’s Mainely Lobster in Cocoa Beach has some of the tastiest seafood that I’ve ever consumed.
18. Captain J’s in Cocoa Beach is dead in the off season or when there’s no cruise ship in port. There were two people in the entire restaurant (that holds 300+ people) at 8:30 on a Friday night.
19. Investigate all potential watering holes before deciding on one place to hang out. There could be something more fun with cheap drinks just a few blocks away.
20. According to the interwebs, the best way to cure brain freeze is by warming the palate of your mouth with your tongue.
21. Sometimes you have to make your own fun – all it takes is a 6 pack of beer and Yahtzee!
22. Don’t forget to take probiotics and use sunblock while taking antibiotics.
23. One piece bathing suits make going to the bathroom terribly challenging.
24. Having my own chickens has made me an egg snob. I don’t plan on ordering eggs over easy at a restaurant ever again.
25. While on a short vacation, make sure that you have some time to relax and don’t spend hours each day driving around.

Can't make eggs without a kitchen!

Our cabinets have been sitting on the porch for the past month, while the house was being sided. We also had to rip out the old tile, which was a DIY disaster that was installed last year. It turns out that you can't expect thinset to bond tile to plywood. Who knew? So our tiles kept popping up and breaking. We of course spent a large amount of money on said tiles (not to mention the time and back-breaking work). Sadly, our beautiful Canyon Slate tiles couldn't be reused. We had to buy all new tile for the kitchen.

This time, we used tile adhesive when installing the tile. Another problem that we came across was the quality of the tile. It turns out that our tile was on sale for a reason - they weren't perfectly square. Yes, it's an old house and there were imperfections in the floor and walls... however, we found while using the spacers that things weren't lining up quite right. We did the best we could, and the tile actually turned out pretty well this time around. The grout also seemed like it was in more firmly this time and we finished sealing the grout this week.

The tiling job took forever because we had to do it around mine and Jay's work schedule, as well as a friend's wedding. Had we had those 3 free days to work on the kitchen, it would've been done already.

Jay practicing safe swimming in Strasburg, VA

However, Jay did enjoy his time as a Groomsman, even though he was used and abused. One day I'd like to make a post about how NOT to treat your wedding party. Part of my problem - I'm still bitter since this friend was too busy making mojitos to come to our 30 minute rehearsal the day before our wedding. His wedding was of course a huge production; wedding party dance (in hope of becoming a viral YouTube hit) and everything. A short rant:  If you can afford two wedding coordinators and a white horsedrawn carriage to deliver you to the aisle, you should not treat your wedding party like slaves. They should not be hauling around hay bales and helping set up for 4 hours in the heat on the day of the wedding. Nor should their wives have to run errands for you like picking up beer kegs (and carrying them - I'm strong, but dear GOD those things are heavy!!!) the day before the wedding, or picking up ice and find trash cans and horse troughs to put the kegs in. Nor should you act like a total @ss the night before your wedding and nearly get your friends kicked out of their hotel room. After all of this, you should not give your Groomsman a tie with a giant stain on it as his gift. Another complaint - I was sitting in the dark on some hay bales nursing my migraine which developed during the rather unfortunate salty dinner, trying not to puke. They walked over, "Hey Lauren, we're trying to get a hold of the wedding coordinator to contact the shuttle buses, sorry you're not feeling well. Now, do you mind moving? We want a picture sitting here." In hindsight, I should have not suppressed my horrendous dinner. I should have decorated their wedding shoes. No, I just mumbled my congratulations and was helped over to some other hay bales by my husband.Your one special day is not worth your friends despising you - you're going to need them after you're married!

/rant

So anyway, we got back to working on the kitchen tile. It took us much longer than I would have liked, but it finally got done and Jay wired up the new outlet for the stove.

We could finally have our eggs! By this time, we had 3 eggs to eat, so at least we didn't have to split them.

These are the eggs compared to a regular large storebought egg. Each day the eggs get a little bit bigger. Ginger is still the only one laying, but our Black Stars should lay any day now... they will be 18 weeks old on Sunday. Time for them to step it up!

This is Ginger, the only one currently feeding us.

These are Ginger's beautiful eggs in the pan. We cooked them over-easy and had them on buttered toast. It tasted like sunshine. The yolks were so creamy and rich!

This is our entire flock... one other important update that I forgot:  it turns out that Dresdy is a ROOSTER. I was so mad!! I saw "her" trying to mount the hens and thought maybe she was gay or just confused about what she was supposed to do, but then I heard her crow. :(  I was pretty sure that Mouse was a Roo, and he started crowing a few weeks ago. I was fine with having one Rooster... but TWO? All after I nursed sweet little Dresdy back to health, thinking that eventually "she" would pay me back in eggs and maybe hatch me out some babies (I've heard that silkies get broody, so they're good for hatching eggs). 

So I was willing to give a Rooster a try, but I can't have two roos for 9 hens. Deciding which roo to give away was kind of tough, because Mouse was so friendly early on and Dresdy has always been a little standoffish... but then I also nursed Dresdy back to health and took care of him inside for two weeks. Ultimately, I decided that Mouse is the alpha and is the best protector of the flock, so I posted Dresdy on the Backyard Poultry site. I could probably give him away faster on Craigslist, but I want someone who needs a rooster for their flock, not someone who is going to eat him. Silkies are unfortunately an Asian delicacy, so I'm especially wary of someone who might want him for nefarious purposes. Yes, I know that it is hypocritical to say, since I eat chicken. However, Dresdy is my pet, so it's different!

We are starting to move the cabinets inside and arrange where we want them. Jay's aunt and uncle graciously gave us their kitchen cabinets, since they were remodeling their mansion. So we now will have "Airslie" cabinets. I think just having their cabinets in our house has to increase our home's value by a million dollars or so. Here is a photo of their home: http://www.unc.edu/~wrobel/CSHphotos/WineCSHL.html

There is a great butcher's block counter on one of the cabinets (which we're putting by the stove), however, that is the only existing counter at the moment. We are debating over what to do about the countertops. We are pricing countertops now and debating what to do. The least expensive route to go at the moment is to install tile counters ourselves. Then later on, we can upgrade everything to granite or something else nice. We will also be updating the current hardware on the cabinets, as the brass isn't quite our style. Eventually we may refinish the front of the cabinets, but that will be down the road when we have more time and after Jay builds his shed/work area/thing.

After the kitchen is done, we only have one room left to complete!! Hurray!!! :):)

I'm probably most excited that we've decided that once we're done, we're going to have a professional cleaning crew come through and do a thorough construction cleaning. I'm trying to convince Jay that it will be worth the money to pay someone to clean once or twice a month. It's a huge house and it takes a lot of work to keep clean. The cats certainly don't help - I wish I could shave them! No matter how many times I brush them, they still leave hair everywhere. :( 

Well that's it for now. We're off to another wedding this weekend (one we get to enjoy instead of participate in!)... it's in the Berkshires for Jay's cousin Keith. His parents are the ones who own Airslie. Should be a great time - I've never been to the Berkshires! 

After that, we have no plans outside the area for the foreseeable future and I am so glad. I want to be able to  actually enjoy our house that we've worked so hard on.