Hello, friends! I've never been a terribly consistent blogger but it's even unlike me to go nearly an entire month without a peep. This last three weeks has been a bit rough, so blogging has been the last thing on my mind. The Mister has been out of town for a long time and will be gone for a little while yet. His stepping on an airplane seems to be my house's cue to fall apart, and in the first week he was gone we had both a leaky toilet and a leaky washing machine. Thankfully, I have kind friends willing to lend handy husbands and my dad came for a quick visit so we managed to get all the water mopped up. I'm crossing all my fingers and toes that nothing else springs a leak or bursts into flames before The Mister comes home!
An update on my laundry room situation: it's still not done. Seriously. We've gone beyond ridiculous and have approached Ludicrous Speed (name that movie). The last time I posted, my vinyl flooring was supposed to be installed that day but was delayed a week because
somebody failed to get it ordered. Well, they did finally show up the following Monday and the installer did both my bathroom (not related to the laundry room disaster) and the laundry room. It's a long story, but the gist of it is that the floor in the laundry room looks TERRIBLE. Completely unacceptable. From there, it was a fight between the contractor and the insurance. Today I finally got a call back from the contractor that they will start work on this next Monday and then hopefully in just a few days it will be ALL OVER. I'm so, so very ready for it to be finished. The good news is that I have had my washer and dryer back in service even though the floor was crap, so I have been able to wash my own undies in my own house, a welcome occurrence after more than a month and a half without that convenience.
The most difficult part of the last three weeks has been undoubtedly the unexpected passing of my dear grandfather. He passed away last Wednesday. I supposed when you're 87, death is not exactly a completely unexpected occurrence but we were all very unprepared for it and it was very difficult, especially without The Mister to lean on. It was hard for him to be so far away and he was not able to come back for the funeral service, but I know he supported me the best he could from across the country and I am thankful for that.
My grandpa was a great, great man. The finest man I've yet known, in fact. Here's a
link to his obituary, if you're so inclined. I had the honor and privilege of giving the eulogy at his funeral service. He was a man of integrity and honor. He was a hard worker who also knew how to have fun. He was devoted to his family and always put them first. He was extremely generous to his family and many people and organizations in his community. I have him to thank that I was able to go to college, go on my Study Abroad to London, and graduate without any student loans. He was the kind of man I'd be proud to have my son grow up to emulate. I will miss him terribly and hope that I can honor his legacy to be the kind of person that he was.
Now, I'm scrambling to get ready for Maren's birthday party on Saturday. Last year I had everything planned and organized and all ready to go. This year, I'm throwing it together at the last minute. I'm still not entirely sure what we're even going to do besides eat cake, open presents and whack a pinata. Thankfully the girls are old enough now that I don't have to have every single second planned out--they're happy to play and talk with each other and their attention spans are longer. Unfortunately the weather forecast is for 29 degrees and 4-8" of snow, so I can't just send them outside to run around. I'm not exactly thrilled that we'll be doing a pinata inside the living room, but there just isn't another option. I'm sure I'll get it all pulled together and I know it will be fun, but I sure wish I had about two more days to get things prepared!
