July 12, 2016

Greetings My Friend, Junior has slowed down on his renovating the kitchen and I am okay with it. I have a working kitchen which allows me to go to town cooking and putting up food for winter. He has started getting rid of a lot of things that take up too much space in our home and on our property. Each week on trash day he spends a few hours throwing out things and after the trash pick up he loads either the truck or the van with more things that can be donated or given away. After his nap we head off in search of where to take our unwanted items. Right now Junior has been working on the enclosed porch and 3 season room he built. In order to put down floors in the kitchen he has to have these areas available to move the furniture and appliances to. I had the front porch cleared off for a few weeks before he started dragging furniture and other odds and ends out on it which troubled me. Then we learned we need to keep the 3 dogs we allowed to roam in our yard.Junior wanted to enclose the front porch more so. He is just about done with this project and then all the dogs will be able to go out back or to the front porch. The front yard will be fenced at some point but for now the dogs can hang out on the porch. Next to our lot is an empty field and the owner is fencing this in. He would love for our dogs to roam around on the property so his things will be protected. Eventually we will be able to afford the fencing project and then our dogs will have nearly 2 acres between our open field and his open field. Now that the lattice is just about up and the gates to the openings are set in place the porch is getting clear again for me to move around. Junior needs to put some beams under the kitchen where the porch was so the thought is he will do this during the heat of summer. Come fall he wants to build a 2nd car port so both the truck and van will be under cover. My guess is the kitchen floor is more of a winter project. We have already used the opened up kitchen and found how we would like it to flow so he is also ready to begin building the cabinets and such. I am thankful for the process of renovating. When we first moved here we had hoped to hire the work done. When we could not find anyone willing to take our project on Junior decided to teach himself how and began the long process of renovating. It is this process that has helped me to get my mind working again. I wanted him to move quicker than he could and I wanted to get on with our retirement living of traveling and being involved within the community. I was also chronically tired and sick. As I started to get answers to some of my health issues I found myself grateful for the process because it was helping me redefine my routines. I had to let go of how I always did things and find ways to work differently, eat differently. I was still trying to cook foods I made when I had a family and our aging bodies could not tolerate anymore. The minute the kitchen was usable I found myself researching the internet for recipes and slowly our diet is changing. I sit as much as I can these days while I mix ingredients, cut up food etc. I am finding places to park the walker so it is not in the way as I move about the kitchen since I can hold onto things as I move about. What was an aggravation in the beginning is now a blessing. I have learned to understand Junior's crazy work style and I even have adopted some of his ways. Today I see how he needs to move between projects doing a few at the same time. He is able to work better with his back problems. His example helps me learn how to manage my own struggles with walking and tiring out. At the end of the day I see God's total understanding of what is best for us and I am truly amazed. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet