IKEA

Yup, IKEA was the answer. I had the idea for a while and last Monday we drove there. 82 or 86 miles (depending how you look it up) but how long it takes to drive is totally unpredictable ... because of the TRAFFIC around Fredericksburg. 

We were lucky going there. We found exactly what we were looking for, had Swedish meatballs for lunch and were very pleased to get the many items in the car including the 90" long one. That one weighed a ton. 

On the way.back we were not so lucky with the traffic and it took one hour longer then it should have. 

At home James contacted Robert, who had done our Portico addition (March 2015). He came soon for an estimate and called us a couple of days later that he could do it Friday because he was going to be rained out of another job. Lucky us. 

This is what needs attention. The pantry is so inefficient. Too much wasted space all around. A consultation/suggestion from the closet genie didn't give me what I needed and also was very expensive. 





Friday (yesterday)

As soon as Robert had arrived I emptied it. Didn't want to hold things up. 



We had put both cars outside and he had the run of the garage. 

Oh yeah. It will be fun (?) finding places for everything. 

The door with frame is gone. 



The cabinet is assembled. Enough for today. 





Saturday morning

Robert returned at 8 am and had planned how to proceed. The included little legs were not going to be used. The IKEA lady who had helped us also had not included a kick board in the list. 

Soon the opening was made wider and the box put in. 

Finished with trim and all. The hardware has to wait until the cabinets are painted and everything gets new hardware. 





Now begins the really hard part. Giving everything its place. And oh yes, need one more drawer and shelf. 

I am a happy girl. It turned out exactly as I had envisioned it. Robert confessed that he was very happy with the results too because he had thought in the beginning it sounded crazy. 

Birthday weekend

The 23rd is Sarah's birthday ... and she wasn't even scheduled to work that weekend. 

On Saturday they all came to lunch and then went to our community pool when it was children's hour. As it was a brutely hot day they all enjoyed it. 

Homemade mango ice cream for dessert. 

Caleb likes it as much as his cousin William. 

Sunday - THE day!

James and I arrived at 5 to play a little with the twins before their bedtime ... and may be help. 

Colin got blisters on both big toes from busily scooting around. 

After dinner it was time...

Caleb had talked about his "secret" all weekend. 

And then one game before bedtime. He started counting. 

Happy happy Birthday, Sarah!

(btw I have written two blogs on my "Love of Threads" blog ... in case you are interested)

Gone to Nashville

Our hearts went out to Ben when his mother Joy died while we were in Europe. A difficult and sad time for all, especially Ben and Helen. James and I had offered to come and help out for a week.

We had planned to drive on Friday July 14. Sarah said we could help them very much if we could drop off Caleb in Pulaski. He wanted to spend the weekend with his other grandparents. They live so close to the highway we travel on that it made a lot of sense. We picked him up on Thursday to spend the night. He was so excited. 

He is an early riser anyway so we were on the road in good time. He was a lot of entertainment for those first 3 1/2 hours. 





William was still on school break so was very happy to spend time with us. He spen tevery night with us until Thursday. 

Here just a collection of what we did ... including baking a cake for Auntie Kim's birthday we all were invited too. 

(Sushi making)



William begged Kim to wear her dinosaur costume. 



Kim is an expert selfie taker. 

It was too hot to go to playgrounds or botanical gardens. So Wednesday I took him to the children's museum in Murfreesboro. It was a big success. 

I wasn't very good taking photos this week. Too busy playing etc. 

Thursday before lunch Ben picked him up for father-son-time like fishing etc. Needless to say William had had a wonderful time with his dad. They and Helen came by in the evening to say good-bye. 

Friday July 21 we were on our way back to Virginia again. I had packed a picnic (leftovers). Not our best ever but perfectly ok. 



My sweet husband did a lot of the driving because I just didn't feel top-fit (caught up with some of the twins' virus). And he even asked whether I wanted to stop at any Row-by-Row shops along the way. 

So in Fairfield we did make a short stop. I love that old log cabin = former old post office. 

See the dark sky in the above photo? Because of the stop it caught up with us. But luckily it wasn't too bad. Home sweet home at 5 pm.