And so, the marathon begins...

Dad has a week off from work.

Of course, "off from work" is completely relative. In this case, it means the place where he works won't be seeing him for the said amount of time, but we will. That's about as off as you can get, right?

Actually, the challenge for this week is to redo the kitchen ceiling. And finish staining our back deck. And clean off the moss that has grown on our roof.

That's just Dad's list. Mom is working hard to finish painting around all our windows, outside. She enlisted my help today to repair the glaze around the glass panes.

Besides helping Mom and Dad, my own list of goals for this week include completing at least one sewing project (which I need by Friday!), teaching a sewing lesson tomorrow, and finishing the wood project that my brother Curtis and I have been working on since the beginning of June. It's a piece of kitchen furniture, originally planned as a surprise for Mom, but since her birthday was the second day in July...

...We've told her about it.

I'd really like to have it finished in time for it to take its place in the new kitchen.

We've taken lots of great pictures this week and last. But I haven't had time to load them onto the computer. Can you use your imagination to picture our house right now?

The kitchen has no ceiling. From that room, voices, and poundings, and crashes, and occasional "slams" testify to the fact that the last bits of drywall are finding the floor. A fine chalky dust covers everything in the kitchen.

The living room is packed to the bursting point with everything that was in the kitchen. Our chairs are outside on the deck, but all the small appliances and tables are squeezed into the living room. Everything that was on the kitchen counters is now covering every bit of available seating area in the living room, except for two chairs. As for floor space...you can make it from the front door to the kitchen, if you can fit through a 2-foot walk space.

This morning I had to do laundry so I would have some work clothes to wear; it seems I've been wearing nothing else for four or five days. Everyone is in dirty denim or cotton clothing...except for my older sister, who I think would look and smell clean in the middle of a tar pit. :)

My little siblings' bare feet were splotched with red stain, last time I saw them, but right now they're all wearing work shoes that are covered with gray dust.Work clothes are the wardrobe of the week. I'm reminded of that verse in Nehemiah; "so neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that everyone put them off for washing." *grin* Can't you picture the dirty crew?

The slow cooker is cooking away merrily in a bedroom, making our supper. Lunch was quite...interesting. Thankfully the outdoors is lovely right now; sunny, about 60*, with a slight breeze. If only it would rain! Our grass is dead. But God knows best. I guess we really don't need mud on top of drywall dust. I'm thankful for the balmy weather.

I've been thinking that lately I've been using my hands for fruit in ways that's aren't normally pictured as very "feminine." Tossing trash into dumpsters, sanding wood projects, handling screw drivers and saws, climbing ladders, and such have been parts of my life in the past week. And I don't mind. Hard work is fun. I'm still a girl. I'm not really very tomboyish; I've also found time to bake four loaves of bread, clean my bedroom, and work on a sewing project. But I like to be able to do all sorts of things. I've always been a Daddy's girl; I like to help him with projects. And I'm glad he lets me.

So, this week should be pretty fun.

...And dirty. :)