WHEW!

Have I used this title before?  Well, it deserves to be used again, then.  2011 was one helluva year and I'm, quite frankly, glad it's over.  2012 should shape up to be a fabulous year.  Our son turns 18, graduates and heads to college (that part is bittersweet).  Our daughter goes to France for a week and Tim and I just want to enjoy our limited time with both of them. 

Some updates on the house, since that's what this blog is supposed to be about, right?  The mailbox... fell.  I knew that the piece of wood that came with it just wasn't going to be sturdy enough.   My dad and I did a temporary fix on it to get it through the winter.  When the spring comes, I'll find a piece of 4x4 and make that thing solid.  Other than that, it has made finding our house much easier and just looks so much better.

Tim has been out of commission again with his recurring foot problem.  He spent most of November and December without the ability to put his weight on his foot at all.  He worked at home.  Since I'm home all day, we were obviously around each other a lot and... well... it ends up that we still like each other!  That's good to know as we head into empty-nesting.

Once Tim's foot was better, he got back to work on the bathroom that he's been working on forever.  He ripped out the wall behind where the sink is going to go and installed a 2x4 between the studs so that he can securely attach the sink top to it.  He re-patched the wall, repainted and is now ready to install the sink... probably this weekend.   I will be so glad when this bathroom is done.  So glad.

I've been looking up ways to get the old cast-iron tub in that bathroom clean.  With everything else shiny, bright and new, the tub looks pretty dingy (and it's a creme color).  I'm okay with the tub not matching everything else and replacing it would be foolish... a good cast-iron tub in good shape is not something to throw away willy-nilly!  What I've found is that it will need a lot of elbow grease, no matter what I do.

I'll get pictures of the sink install this weekend.

So the new year is off and running.  I'm really hoping for a much more productive 2012 than 2011!  Here's wishing you all a happy, healthy and joyful 2012 (and productive)!!