November 11, 2018

So, it has been a while since my last post.  A long while.  So much has happened this summer and fall.  Here is some of it.  The construction or destruction of the house is still ongoing.  But, the end is in sight.  I had to rent a u-haul storage container to store the furniture from the living room and den.  Every room in the house is packed with stuff from the kitchen and breakfast room.  I was sitting outside with Max and one of the workers came up to me and said, "they are destroying your house", so I go in to see ceiling beams, floor joists, and wall studs.  Almost 3/4 of the downstairs was demolished.  The old dining room is gone along with the bay window that was there.  Sections of some walls were removed.  Plumbers had to move existing plumbing so the wall could be opened up.  Electrician had to come and rewire everything.  We had to use the kitchen in the camper for all our meals, which worked our pretty good.  It was like we were camping at our own house.  Max had to be on a leash most of the time going to and from the camper.  He really wanted to help the workers, but mainly just sat and watched.  At one point I thought it would never get done.  But, looking at the finished product it was well worth it.  We now have a great looking kitchen/breakfast room/living room area.  Here are a few pictures.

These are now.

The clutter is because we have started moving things back into the kitchen.  We still have some painting to be done.  Painters would have finished but we decided to have them do some additional painting in the hall ways downstairs and upstairs.  The contractor still has to complete the stair rails and finish some work on the outside.  The electrician will come back to install the island hood that can be seen on the floor in one of the pictures above.  

     We just took a couple of weeks off for a Viking River Cruise on the Rhine.  We flew out of Birmingham to Chicago to Munich, Germany to Basel, Switzerland where we boarded a ship for the cruise.  We stopped at ports in France, Germany, and the Netherlands.  Places we stopped were Breisach (Germany), Strasbourg (France), Heidelberg, Rudesheim, Koblenz, Cologne (Germany), Kinderdijk, and Amsterdam (Netherlands).  We went with our good friends Chuck and Mary Jane Wood and had a great time.  There were included tours at each port, and our guides did a great job.  We stayed an extra day in Amsterdam before the long flight back.  Perhaps the most memorable tour was Colmar, where we stopped at the World War II Museum, then to Mt. Sigolsheim to pay homage to the soldiers who died to free France, then to Ostheim, the first village liberated, then to the Audie Murphy Memorial to see where he made his heroic stand.  Our guide did a fantastic job as he brought the battle grounds to life for us.  Needless to say I was super impressed.

     We have already planned our next big trip.  This will be a Viking ocean cruise to the West Indes in January, 2020.  Prior to that we have several small trips coming up.  Camping at DeSota State Park, then Chantilly, Va. for Thanksgiving.  Then a trip to the Biltmore Estate and Ashville, NC. Then a possible camping trip to Yargo State Park, GA.  All before the kids come here for Christmas.  I'll post again soon with more pictures.