Don't read if you have a weak stomach!

Today I worked at making our third floor smell better. Over the decades this house has been standing, various critters, mostly squirrels and raccoons, have managed to work their way into the eaves and knee walls areas to set up house. They must have found it very comfortable as evidenced by the amount of bedding and thickness of the layer of manure. I thought about taking a picture of the work I was doing but it was pretty dark where I was and I figured it wouldn't show very well. Besides, you probably don't want to see it. First we have to scoop out the bedding which has included raggedy tee shirts, socks, and other unrecognizable "soft" materials. There have also been nut shells and I even found a steak bone. EEEUUU! (Is that how you spell it?) Then we have to scrape the hardened layer of manure with a spackle knife. Last of all, I brought up buckets of bleach water, which had to be emptied fairly often and refreshed, and a scrub brush. I scraped the black sludge along, cleaning in up with paper towels. Interesting stuff, huh? Afterward I took a long, soapy bath. It was a dirty job but somebody had to do it and now the upstairs is smelling better. I think I will only have to do that one more time to finish all of the areas to be done. Have I mentioned that if anyone is interested in a "working" vacation, you're welcome here! We'll provide instructions, tools, meals, and a bed- not in the eaves. I wonder if this work would work on a resume for employment at a zoo? That's the bulk of what you do when you work at a zoo or animal reserve. Put it in one end and clean up what comes out the other.................

Before and after....and after

For my birthday, Angela took me to get my hair done. I have never experienced the application of aluminum foil to my head to achieve a "natural" color to my hair. Fortunately for you, I don't have a picture of the process. Here is a picture of me on Sunday when we had our family get-together then a picture of me after getting my hair done. It's supposed to have taken years off my appearance. What do you think?

This other picture is of the front room on the third floor. I thought we had taken a "before" picture but, alas, I can't find one. But you can appreciate how nice it looks with the walls done, a set of new windows and carpeting (not exactly authentic to the 1920's but we have to make some concessions to comfort and modern improvements!). This room will be the place for our grandkids to be able to just play, relax, watch movies, and whatever. The view from up there is pretty cool, too.

Happy Birthday to us!!

Sunday we had Angela's family (except Scott who is away for a week or so), Ammon's family, and John's family here for a dinner celebration of Russ and Mary's birthdays. One picture is taken from the living room toward the dining room, the other is vice-versa. Our house becomes more of a home with every pleasant occasion such as this. We are still working but not feeling as harried and not having so many doubts about the outcome. We shall endure and succeed!

Dear old friends

One of the greatest blessings in life is friends. New friends can be exciting but old friends warm our hearts with their never-ending love. Since we joined the LDS Church in 1974 we have acquired some really wonderful friends. Recently we were fortunate enough to be invited to the wedding reception for Melissa Randall and her new husband. We only had to go as far as Columbus, a mere hour away, to see Vance and Krissy Randall. Our daughter Angela and her husband Scott accompanied us. We are so happy to be able to include our children as some of our very best friends, too. We are now living within a very short distance of Angela, Ammon, and even our "adopted son" John and their families. Spending time with them is the highlight of our life. We miss Lisa and James and their families. What an awesome age we live in that allows us to regularly communicate with loved ones no matter how far away they are!
Melissa looked beautiful and we couldn't be happier for her. We pray for her eternal happiness.

Life in a city

There is no picture with this blog because I'm going to write about something that is gone. When we first moved here to Dayton, we were warned repeatedly that this is part of a city and we should be wary of the possibility of theft that is fairly common in cities. We were quite concerned for the first several months but nothing happened so we relaxed a little. We still lock our doors and try to be careful, but we let our guard down a little. Yesterday Russ went outside to climb up on the roof to work on the chimney and found the ladder we recently purchased for that purpose was gone. The value of the ladder is enough to be upset about losing but not enough for an insurance claim and certainly not enough to trouble the police who have much bigger concerns around here. Besides, since it was fairly new and had no identification on it, there would be no way we could positively identify it as ours. I guess the best we can learn from this is to be less relaxed about our belongings and grateful it wasn't anything even more valuable.

She's here!

Brooklyn Celeste Fellows arrived officially at 11:18 am on October 4. She weighed a tiny 5 lb 1 oz but was 19 onches long. Here are her two big brothers proudly holding her merely hours after her birth. We are hoping Victoria's recovery goes well but we know it will take awhile. Grandma and Grandpa are happy to spend time with Jeremy and Kadon while Mom and Dad are at the hospital for a few days getting to know Brooklyn.

Needle and Thread rather than Hammer and Nail

I need to get back to working on the house and pictures of our progress on it. But for right now, I want to report on what I have been doing to help prepare for the arrival of our most recent grandchildren. Lisa purchased a more feminine nursery set, shown in these pictures. The rocker and ottoman were ones she already had with blue covers with some stains. To make them newer and more coordinated, I used some lavendar cotton and applied pieces of a valance she didn't need for the window and made covers for the seat, back, arms, and ottoman. Also, the car seat they got for Elliette had a cover that wasnt' particularly "cozy" so Lisa picked out a red/black print to coordinate with the seat and stroller combination and I made a cover with a newborn baby head support that's removable.(Seen here in the picture on the hospital bed next to proud big brother, Aaron.) I have also been making covers for nursing pillows for Lisa and Victoria as well as covers for the cushion of the changing table for Victoria's baby. All I have left to do is the blessing dress for Brooklyn and since she won't even be born until the day after tomorrow, I think I have time to get that done!