Pears, Poplar and Paper

Ann here.  It is entirely my fault that there hasn't been a post in a week. My hubby told me he was waiting for me to do another one before he writes again. It's not that I don't have anything to say, it's more of an editing issue in my brain, like, 'do people really want to hear about this, that or the other?' I've decided not to worry about it. Take what you want and leave the rest.  ;-)

A little update on the kitchen ceiling. In an earlier post, we thought we had discovered wood on the ceiling but alas, it is really just two layers of drywall. We saw the seams and thought it was the same planking that is on the walls. Oh well. We'll let you know what we decide to do with it -- patch up the drywall we poked through, or something else.

A wonderful surprise: We have a pear tree, people!

 

They are tiny and cute right now, but later this summer they will be fantastic! When I told Bonnie that pears are one of my favorite fruits she said, "Me too, Mama, me too!" It was so sweet, my eyes welled up.

Poplar and Paper

We finally finished ripping off the old flooring in the kitchen to reveal the original yellow poplar and I nearly broke my back pulling the nails out of the floor yesterday:

There must have been 300 at least. It felt like 1,000. The nail bar and I are good buddies now.

You may recall there was linoleum, particle board, two more layers of linoleum, and a Congoleum 'rug.' Next to the floor were the 1925 newspapers -- all local with the exception of an occasional one from Indianapolis. I saved quite a few but still ended up with this:

a mountain of old newspaper. I just realized this is still in progress. I've got another one that shows the mountain that I will post later if I remember.

I don't know if I have posted 'before' pics of the kitchen, so without further ado....

After we finish ripping down the remainder of the drywall from the walls, I will post those pics.


Last but not least.....


The other big, huge, stupendous news is that we had a septic expert come out and look at the septic tank. He believes it is ok, and we should go ahead and try it, which we will once we get the bathroom in. Well, we were concerned that the county health department would not let us even try to use it because they have no record of it. Long story short - Kevin went and spoke with the county gentleman, explained the situation and guess what? The guy said, "OK!"  This is the VERY thing that derailed the deal last fall. Thank you God. That's all I can say about that.

I was telling a friend that I'm usually speechless when I think about all of the many, many blessings that keep coming our way with our home. It's not like me to not have anything to say. (I can hear you laughing -- you know who you are.)  I'm speechless because this has been such an emotional journey that has required every bit of faith and every bit of trust that this is where we are supposed to be. Over and over again, I see clearly that it is.