Where do I start with this? Snow, snow and more snow. I don’t think we’ve ever looked forward to spring as much as we have this year. Oh sure…we’ve heard stories about harsh winters that drag on and on. Never in our lives has winter felt like it lasted for so long. We are definitely looking forward to a “Green Christmas“ this year.

Now, I don’t want anyone to think that we sat around the Inn, looking at each other, wondering what to do with our days (after we finished shoveling the snow, of course). That’s not it at all. Somehow, we manage to keep busy and find things to occupy our time…and sometimes, things happen to find us. That’s how the music portion of our lives happened. One day, you’re talking to someone about music and the next week your invited to sing a few songs at a practice. The next thing you know, your fingers are calloused, your voice is hoarse and you’re singing songs over and over while you’re trying to get some sleep.

So…there we were, trying to pull up words and music to songs for the band and we happened upon a 70’s music website and began listening to some of  the songs. Cathy, who knew all of the words to the songs of the 70‘s, looked at me and said, “You know what we need? We need to have a little party.” Well, who am I to argue when the word “party” is involved? It’s about letting your hair down (so to speak) and having a good time. After a couple of phone calls to friends that wanted to do something fun just as much as we did, “That 70’s Party” started to evolve. Seeing Cathy in a Farrah-Fawcett wig, blue eye shadow, pumps and some huge pink sunglasses brought tears to my eyes…over and over. All our friends showed up in funky 70‘s outfits ranging from Hawkeye and Hotlips to John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. After the trivia quiz and prizes for the best costume and plenty of 1970‘s foods (like canned cheese)…we did a little karaoke competition. What a riot! The talent in the room was absolutely amazing. The evening ended with an “I Will Survive” dance-off.

After that bit of fun and frivolity was over, it was time to become focused on those home repairs that always start out small and escalate into a huge project that requires an electrician or a plumber. This time, it was an electrician. After repainting the kitchen and the dining room, we decided that the outlets in the kitchen should be updated. We’re not sure who did the wiring in this house previously, but they must have been rationing wire at the time. To hook up the outlets and light switch, we needed a little wiggle room…and there was absolutely no room to wiggle.

Once that little bit of excitement was over and the power could be turned on again, Cathy decided to fix one of the walls in the parlor. It seemed simple enough. Until she found out that the only thing holding up the “painted wallpaper” was the caulk on the sides of the window frame and door frame. Down came the entire piece in one fell swoop. That’s when the wall repair patch kit and joint compound came out. Then came the sanding, and all that dust followed by the paint.

Each day we worked inside, we could see the mounds of snow melting away outside until one day, like some crazy sort of miracle, the piles were completely gone. Since we were finally done with our inside repairs…it was time to work outside, digging around in the dirt. And wouldn’t you know that the first thing we had to do was rake the leaves…again! We raked our hearts out in the fall and ended up with another 40 (yes…I said 40) bags of leaves this spring. All the oak leaves that we end up with in our yard amaze us. We don’t even have an oak tree, for crying out loud, and haven’t seen one in the immediate area. Go figure! Eventually, however, the gardens and yard were cleaned up and it was time to move on to something new and exciting…like the side porch.

At the moment, we are working on the side porch…scraping and sanding…trying to remove the “alligator paint”. A friend offered us the use of a heat gun, but let us know that she almost set her house on fire using it. The way our luck is with projects…I think we’ll pass.

Until next time…take care and stay out of trouble!