28 June 2010, 2218

It has been almost three weeks since my last entry.  This is indicative of how busy we have been.  What is interesting is that as steady as our progress is, we have not reached a whole lot of the huge milestones that we were hoping to.  We have installed the oven, dishwasher, and vent hood.  The fluorescent lights in the bathrooms are replaced and the holes where they were have been dry-walled and painted.  I have purchased a door for the garage and we will now take down the garage door openers, put in the walk-through side door, and cut up the log left in the backyard from Hurricane Ike.  Like I said, we have a lot to do yet, but I have finished my last day of work so we are doing it like a job.  That’s exciting.  In my head, I am ranching.  I have control of my hours, work, and the way I do things.  Not going to work for someone else today was a milestone.  It’s not putting the house on the market, or getting the mobile home moved out to the ranch, but it is the change in lifestyle that we were hoping for.  I guess that’s why I insisted on writing tonight.  I still need to record the weather, etc. like a good rancher and I haven’t figured out whether or not to make that a separate document or not, but I’ll figure out the best way soon.

We did pay for the mobile home.  We own two houses now, and that is interesting.  We also have a pittance in an IRA, but we’ll get some back.  Let’s see, I also talked to Dad about me working at Books-a-Million, which I did get.  It doesn’t pay well at all, but it’ll help make ends meet until other things work out.

I will miss working with the kids.  I have a sense that there will be more of that in the future.  I would like to combine all of the different elements of my past into one amazing job/ministry.  A mounted LDC, or a youth reenacting group with an educational aspect.  Who knows.  The possibilities are limitless.  Especially when you consider who is behind all of it.

Hot today, but heavy cloud cover made it a lot more bearable.  There was a good rain at Lowe’s, but not at the house.  We arose a little later than normal, then loaded up the truck and car with boxes, saddles, a bookcase, and the dishwasher and went to storage.  After lunch, I went to Lowe’s and got more stuff for the cursed vent hood, a blank door, an electric drill, rollers for drawers, vertical blinds, and a baseboard.  When I got back, it was 1630, so I experimented with the vent hood and my brilliant wife reminded me that there is a non-ducted/filtered option for the darn thing.  Ahh, that was the answer I had been looking for.  The way it was I was going to have to cut holes in the ceiling and/or the cabinet and it was going to be a major project.  That was a no-brainer.  I duct-taped the hose coming from the attic, the hole, the vent hood, and the cabinet bottom and called it a day.  If anyone asks, I’ll tell them that it comes with an option to duct.

I made a point of cleaning the house up (at least the part we are living in) before cleaning up.  It made for a more enjoyable evening.  We also dropped by Scott and Chaundra’s to give back his tools.  Anna has known Chaundra since junior high and I knew Scott and Chaundra from my old singles group.  (It is through them that Anna and I met.  Scott was finishing Seminary when we got married so we got to have Scott perform the ceremony.)  We visited for a little bit.  They will be coming to the 4^th of July (on the 3^rd) so that will be fun.  Every year, the Saturday closest to July 4^th, the Crows have a family reunion.  It is a pretty big deal.