Happy Fall, Yall

Bama football is doing good.  So far we are undefeated and have a bye week today.  Last weekend we played Ole Miss and they challenged us more than any other team.  Unfortunately, we had some injuries and two are season ending. 

We went to my high school's homecoming game last night.  Ugh.  When we left at the beginning of the fourth quarter it was 51-0.  So sad.  Maybe basketball will be better.

We had the pool cover put on last weekend and it looks so sad.  We really want to enjoy the pool more next summer.  We really had a few weeks this summer by the time the concrete yahoos finished.  We are now in the process of bringing in all the pool furniture and cleaning it.  We also need to find room in the basement for the supplies, furniture, and accessories.  We really hope to paint and complete the bathroom part of the basement this winter.  Within two years we want to have it completed with cabinets and such.

A few weeks ago we attended a required adoption "seminar" for domestic adoption.  Really glad that is done and we don't ever have to sit through that again.

The Niece has started kindergarten and absolutely loves it.  I am still amazed how much she loves it.  I am so glad.  She is learning to read and that thrills her.  She is making friends and enjoying the social aspect, too.

Gas prices have dropped to about $3.49.  Still scary.

We had the first presidential debate the other night.  Turns out the good guy won!!  Now he just needs to win the big contest in November.

 Well, time to get ready for a whole of of SEC football.  We are smoking two tenderloins on the Big Green Egg today.  Each marinated in totally different seasonings.  Can't wait to try them.

Happy Fall.
Tide Gal

Prep Work

The concrete guys are here right now.  Two guys are working on the coping and the other two are preparing the ground for concrete.  It looks like they are doing a good job.  I'm not sure when the head guy is returning, but so far I'm happy with their work so far.  I hope they are done by the end of the week.

The Niece got the game ball at her game last night.  She played third base and did very good.  She got out four runners by catching a grounder and tagging her base.  They lost again, but the coach told them if they had fun then they won.  So, they all think they won the game.  So far, they have lost every game, and actually only got close in one. 

We have not received a notice for a new fingerprint date yet.  I mailed in the form last week, so maybe we will hear something in a few days.
Gas prices are dropping a little at a time.  Yea!  But we will take it.

Tide Gal

Just Too Cold

Yesterday, The Niece came over to swim.  Boy, was the water cold.  She finally got in and stayed about an hour.  She had fun, but it was just too cold. 

Thursday night her preschool graduation was fun to watch.   She did well and got her diploma.

We are supposed to get rain for the next few days, so I'm not sure about the concrete time line.

Tide Gal

No Concrete, No Fingerprints

The concrete guys came on Monday.  However, the lead guy will be out of town for about a week due to his grandmother's illness.  He turned over the job to another guy and told me he would make sure the new guy knew and understood everything before they left for the day.  I relayed the information to Tide Guy.  Later, Tide Guy spoke with the owner and told him we would like to wait for the lead guy to return before completing the job.  The lead guy is amazing, understands what needs to be done, and runs a tight ship.  This is a one time deal for us.  Once things are done, they can't be redone.  So, we will wait for him.  They did return Tuesday to do some forming and used a bobcat to level some areas.  Unfortunately, Tide Guy realized last night that in the process of leveling, they pushed excess dirt and rock over a sump pump line. Not only did they bury the line, they pushed over the stake marking the pipe.  If we had gotten a lot of rain this pipe could have backed up into the basement and flooded it.  So, last night, Tide Guy had find the buried pipe and dig it out.  Tide Guy was not happy. We hope the lead guy will be back on Monday or early next week to get this job done.  We are ready to have concrete around the pool rather than gravel, dirt and mud.

Our fingerprint appointment was this morning.  Yesterday, Tide Guy mentioned how he wasn't sure how he would be able to break away from work for a few hours for the appointment.  After a few hours of research I was able to contact someone and was told I could mail in the form and get a new appointment at a later time.  It will probably be in a few weeks. 

The Niece graduates from preschool this evening.  She is so excited.  Mostly that she won't have to go there and do "rest time" anymore.  Rest time is putting heads on the table for 15 minutes during the day.  The only problem she ever had at preschool was this rest time.  Last year she got in trouble for not keeping her head down for the whole time or making noises during this time.  I finally got her to admit she was afraid during this time because the lights were off.  With that said, I don't know how she will handle "rest time" at kindergarten which is longer and on a mat on the floor.  She thinks she has it all figured out.  She will tell us she does not have to close her eyes and she can hold her head up.  I have a feeling this may end up with some funny and interesting stories.

Tide Gal

Let's Swim

Saturday afternoon I added all the salt to the pool and a few hours later the pool guy arrived to all the chemicals.  We were ready to swim the next day.  We did not swim as we were preparing for the concrete guys to come today and worked until after 7 pm.  We had to pull wires through conduit for the lights in the steps, clean under the deck, and various other tasks.  The concrete guys are to begin preparing the area underneath the deck.  Unfortunately we are supposed to get a lot of rain tomorrow and possibly today, so the work will stop for a day or so.

We go Thursday to have our fingerprints done for the last update until we travel to China.  We are doing our last free update just in case China changes and allows us to follow the same path we are now on.  If not, in 18 months we will be forced to change to the I-800.  Also on Thursday is The Niece's preschool graduation.

Gas prices are dropping a bit and at our local gas pump, the price is $3.55.

Tide Gal

Egg Hunting Party

The pool guys showed up late Easter Sunday morning and put in the plumbing for the pool. I didn't know they were coming, but they came while we were gone to church and lunch at Mom's. They will be back today to do more work.

The hardscape guy is here today to begin the retaining wall and the planter/seating wall around the hot tub deck.

Yesterday after church, we had lunch and then colored eggs. What fun The Niece had. She colored the eggs her own chicken and guinea laid. After evening services, we had an egg hunt at her house. I think there were well over 25 kids and about 20 adults. After the hunt we had burgers and hotdogs. It was a lot of fun, but The Niece had had a long day and was just worn out. In fact, she was just too tired to go to bed after I dried her hair so I scooped her up and put her in bed.

On with Spring!!

Tide Gal

Disney & Delayed

I just returned from Disney World yesterday with The Niece and company. We had so much fun. It is amazing how much we got done in the time we were there. We would walk to a show and only wait a short time. Fast passes were amazing time savers. Buses mostly arrived when we got to the bus stop. Our timing on activities was incredible and The Niece got to meet all the characters she loved and a few extras. I still am amazed at everything we did.

The pool guy was supposed to start digging today, but the backhoe guy is delayed on another job due to recent rain. It may be 5-6 days before they can begin. Which may be delayed longer if there is more rain. And, we have small chances of rain for about three days between now and then.

Well, I need to start washing clothes and doing a few jobs to prepare for the weekend tasks.

Tide Gal

All Lined Up.

Tide Guy came home yesterday around 1:00. And......we got all the rails up on the deck. We got the last one done around 6:00 and it was very cold and dark. We had to finish with a flashlight, but they are all done. It was so dark, Tide Guy couldn't even get the caps snapped onto the top. That will take a minute today. I also cleaned out the flower pots and some debris underneath the deck. We have to clear this out so the concrete can be poured there. It looks a lot better but there are a lot of leaves that will have to be blown out.

Tide Guy now plans to clean the deck and railings. We also need to take some boards and junk to the burn pit here. I've sent a message to the landscape guy that we need to touch base for planning purposes.

The culvert for the temporary drive arrived Thursday. We need to get dirt so that can be installed for the large trucks to cross into our lot.

The tree service is scheduled to come in about two weeks if the weather holds out. They will cut down 15 trees of various sizes, cut into smaller pieces, and haul off.

The pool guy is scheduled to begin digging the end of March when I return from Disney.

The Niece is very excited about the pool and has offered to help us dig. She is a hoot.

Happy New Year!

All of the Christmas decorations are gone and we are almost done watching bowl games. AND!! We leave tomorrow headed to New Orleans for the UA vs LSU National Championship game. So nervous. The media is very invested in this game, both locally and nationally. It will be crazy and the fans will be wild.

In March, I am going with The Niece to Disney World along with my brother, mom, and stepdad. Tide Guy may be able to make a last minute decision to go. We haven't told her about the trip, but it will start with a wild ride on an airplane. She will go nuts when she finds out about the plane ride and seeing Mickey and the gang. I cannot wait to see her face.

We have some sides up on the deck and are ready to put the rails back in those areas. But, we are waiting on some "spacers" from the rail company. When we receive those the rails will go up. I have painted all but one of the side boards. They take up a lot of space in The Shop so I can't paint them all at the same time. After they are up Tide Guy fills the nail holes and seams with a silicone grout and sands to even out the surface. Then I put on the last coat of paint to cover the grout. I will be so glad when this is done!!

Yesterday we had to put The Stepdad's dog to sleep. Chance was 10 years old and had cancer. It was so sad. He was absolutely the best dog ever. So mild mannered. The Niece could sit on him, try to ride him, pull his tail, give him lots and lots of love, and lay on him. Chance would just look at us like "please get this kid off of me". He would walk with people as they went around the block. All the kids and grandkids of the neighborhood loved him. Everyone fed him. One older man would let him on his enclosed porch and another let him in his house. Another neighbor would buy him bones to chew on as he sat on his front porch like he owned the house.

Okay. I need to finish up packing for the big trip. I hope the next post says we have another National Championship to add to our other 13!!

Roll Tide,
Tide Gal

Crimson Tidings....

Christmas is over and what a great one it was. The house looked lovely and was decorated with ornaments and items from our travels. We had a 10 foot tree in the family room that was just gorgeous. I made some gorgeous bows for the top and added a lot of extra sparkles. With all the fluff on top, it looked to be about 13 feet tall. In the office was a 6 foot tree with ornaments from our travels. We buy ornaments when we travel and that has turned into a beautiful, unique tree. I did a 9 foot Bama tree in the media room that was decorated with black, crimson, and white everything. We had ribbons, bows, elephant ornaments, and UA ornaments. The topper was a Bear Bryant hounds tooth hat with lots of "umph" on top. We also added shakers, a car tag, ball caps, and flags. Of course there was a hounds tooth tree skirt. It was amazing.

My mom got me a large metal cow that is painted in great colors, I'm going to put it in the basement when we get it ready this spring/summer. In addition to other things, I got a North Face jacket and a new laptop, which was necessary as my other one was about to crash. Tide Guy got a pellet gun and some UGG house shoes. He also got a propane standing heater that will be great around the pool. We both got some cash and some other goodies. We got tickets to see Celtic Women. Oh, and we got tickets to the National Championship Game!!! YES!!! We are going to THE game Santa left the tickets in our hounds tooth stockings in the media room.

The Niece had a great Christmas. She finally got it this year. Meaning, she knew she would get more than one gift. In years past, she would open one gift and want to play with that item without opening any more. No longer. The paper was flying. She racked up, too. She got an iPad, iPod, New Balance shoes like her dad's, Justin Bieber items, John Deere tractor items, tons of Ken (of Barbie and Ken) items, the Barbie camper and accessories, a BB gun (and "bullets", or as we call them "BBs"), a Wii game, a DS game, and some outside toys. She had a blast and it was such a joy to watch her.

I painted four of the side boards for the deck and we got those up yesterday. It was freezing, but we got that done. Now, I've to paint more so we can get those up and get the railing back up.

Well, today is another busy day. The Niece is having a friend over to spend the night and I'm going to help by spending the night, too. I will probably be exhausted tomorrow.

Have a great one!
Tide Gal