Fences

It seems that no matter how good the fences are there is always a way to get out.   Or at least my cows are finding that to be true.  When we bought this place we knew it was a fixer-upper and it is proving to be true.  So all our fences need re-built.  Currently we have a bull who is totally out in the desert looking for some cows.  Our cows climb out of the fences on a regular day for no good reason except that the grass is greener on the other side even though it looks exactly the same to me.  A couple of our cows might go down the road all the way to the market just because they crawl fences.   It has been said many times and many ways that the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence.  This often seems to be true.   My cows think so and I think we do sometimes too. In our lives it seems that life would be better if . . .  Or if I only had . . . If I had made  . . . . this choice or not made this choice . . . . If I only lived . . . . . or if I didn't have . . . Or if this had not happened.  Sometimes it is easy to look back at life and wonder if it was better.  Or was it just different?  What is Normal?  Normal life is something that seems to be non existent.  Many of my friends wonder what "NORMAL" is.  I wonder what it is. I have decided it I a setting on a washer!  What is normal for one is maybe not for someone else.  I feel like there is a new normal to life.  Would it be normal on the other side of some fence?  And would I really want that normal to be mine?  I think we are all in process of figuring out what our new normal is.  Today we hit one year since my Dad passed away.  Crazy.  I look back and wish I still had him.  So many things I have wanted to talk with him about this last year.  But now that part of my life is past.  I can't just pick up the phone and chat with him.  That is the reality.  Painful but true.  I can't replace that with anything.  I can just keep going down this path.  In this fence.  The grass really would not be any better on the other side of any fence.  Even if my cows continue to think that!

A year ? . . .?? . . . really?

I am kind of in shock that it is April again already.  Tax Day is next week.  I know I don't feel like it has been a year since I made my big heavenly deposit when my Dad passed away.  Some days it seems he has been gone for a long time, other days I almost start dialing the phone to ask him a question or tell him something funny.  I still feel my heart is pretty raw.  The wound is still very sore.  The missing is still very close to the surface and it doesn't take much to bring it on.  I think my empathy and understanding of life and people and the struggles, choices, wrongs, and rights of life have gone up in this year though.  I have learned that stress and grief and lack of sleep can really put you through the ringer.  Sometimes being an ostrich has a very big appeal.  Either sticking your head in the sand and pretending everything is fine, or taking off in a fast run to  . . . somewhere.  But also that sticking with it and keeping going is good too.  I still find myself wondering what the next shoe will be that drops in my lap will be though.  I saw a great sign the other day though that felt so true.  It read "Due to recent cutbacks - the light at the end of the tunnel has been shut off!"  As I have felt this way many times this last year  - or wondered if the light was the next train barreling towards me -  I thought this was a great sign.  But all at the same time this last year has had good things too.  I know we built a house - lots of fun but also lots of work.  Met lots of new people.  Moved to a great community.  Are almost through 4th grade!  I still can't quite believe that!  I think that this last year has made me think more too.  Taken serious thinking to a deeper level.  A friend and I were talking about life and choices the other day and it really was interesting a point she brought up.  Like we are all wheels with spokes going out and touching the lives of others.  If something happens in our lives it affects those spokes, those relationships and all those lives.  My choices matter.  It is like the ripples of water on a calm pond.  They keep going out.  Affecting other water.  Other lives.  So what choices am I going to make? I can affect others in a way that brings them closer to healing, closer to Christ.  I can bring friendship and caring.  I can bring love.  I can bring questions and concern for others.  Those are the ripples that I want to give off.  For those I meet to know that I genuinely care about who they are.  Simply because God had crossed our paths so that I could be a blessing to them.  It goes back to my favorite verse.  Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, Plans to Prosper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you a future and a HOPE!" God has a plan in mind.  I can't see it.  I can't see the end of the road. I have questioned the plan.  But I have clung to the HOPE!  Even when I was thinking that maybe my plans would be better, I could not let go of that Hope!  Even when it felt there was more harm coming the Hope is too strong.  The hope is sustaining.  That eternal Hope that now my Dad is enjoying!  The hope he shared with so many.  The ripples on the spokes of so many lives. 

Pencil Marks

As we were building this house, we did a lot of drawing on the walls.  Finding and marking studs, drawing straight level lines, writing measurements to cut trim, marking more studs, writing more numbers . . . you get the drift.  As a kid, I don't remember ever writing on walls, but we sure did in this house.  It still had the feel of a bit of a construction project.  One of my friends came over yesterday and we went around with small sponge brushes and erased pencil marks and scuffs and smudges with paint.  It is amazing the effect this has.  Instead of looking like a guy and his elf had gone pencil happy with a pencil, level and stud-finder it looks like a home.  There are no longer pencil marks telling us how high to hang the already in place stair railing.  No marks on the walls under existing towel hooks or cabinets.  It is so nice.  My walls look so clean.  So neat.  So nice!  It has been kind of funny and I have laughed at myself as I have been dragging my feet at hanging pictures on my beautiful walls.  I think I worked so hard to make them look so good that I truly am having a hard time figuring out where to hang them.  And I don't want to mess up my walls!  So I finally just put all my pictures in my guest room closet and will sort and decide from there where and if I want the pictures up.  I guess part of it too is that where pictures go up matters in this house more than it has in others.  This is not a rental.  It is not - I hope - a short term house.  I plan to be here for a long time.  And it matters.  The other thing is that some of my pictures are from my Dads office and house, kind of weird to hang them in mine.  Others are some my Grandma painted and now I have them to enjoy, but also weird for the same reason.  I know it sounds funny, but processing pictures is also worth a thousand words.  Some thoughts and sometimes tears.  But good ones.  It is just part of the process of  sorting through life.

Another First

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Happy Birthday to Dustin.   We hosted our first official gathering of friends at our house last night to celebrate Dustin's Birthday.  It was a fun event.  Potluck dinner with 4 families.  Lots of boys with lots of energy having lots of fun!  Ice cream cake.  Presents.  Yummy food.  Good fun visiting.  Some "old man" jokes.  A fun first hosting party!

Total Blindside

I have always known that smells and scents are powerful memory triggers, but this was brought home to me this last Friday.  My son is in 4-H and we were doing a community event.  As a group we were to meet at the local Assisted living facility and we were going to decorate a St. Patrick's Day cake.  Sounds fun!  Innocent! No big deal!  My son had been there before and knew where we were going which was good.  We walked in the front door to the reception desk and I was fine.  She pointed us off in the right direction and we headed that way.  As soon as we turned the corner, the smells of a care facility hit me.  They were not bad smells as it is a very well run facility, but just smells that exist in a place where people need care.  I had a hard time breathing, but from an emotional response to the hit of the odors.  I kept following my son and practiced my breathing as we went forward to the creativity activity room.  I had so not been prepared for the reality and memories the moments and the emotions that came with walking into an assisted living center that I almost couldn't cope.  I was shocked by my own reaction.  My good friend - a nurse - was not.  And we talked about it.  Once we were out of the hallway and in the activity room, I was fine.  We  had a fun time decorating cakes and visiting with the residents.  I did however  go out a different door!  

Chapters

Yesterday felt like a conclusion of a chapter.  And the opening of a new one.  Dustin began farming our land for the first time.  Getting things ready to plant and preparing the soil of our farm to be seeded to alfalfa soon.  That is an exciting and a little scary of a new chapter.  Venturing out and doing something on our own.  We have been so blessed by so many good neighbors who are willing to help, give advice and instruction.

putting up loft floor joist hangers

O how I love ladders.  And power tools. 

The conclusion - not really totally - but the feeling of - was on the house.  Due to a schedule change at work, I got my two elves yesterday and we worked hard all day to finish the BIG items on the never ending list of house projects.  This week we put our front and back steps on the deck, so we can get to our front door!  I even put out the Welcome mat.  Then we framed, sheeted, sided and trimmed the carport out so that it is now enclosed on 3 sides.  Lastly we put a loft in one of the 8 foot wide truss bays to make a storage spot in the garage.   My cousin - a landscaper - came over and we talked about the yard, fences, and ideas.  We strung our phone system cord up through the attic - finally! So now I don't have the Coaxial cable decoration thru my dining room!  Our house really looks like a home, and a completed project.  We are hosting our first official function this Saturday evening and having a few friends over for Dustin's Birthday - which is Sunday.  It was kind of a bittersweet day though.  This house project has consumed a lot of time and energy, but it has also been a lot of fun.  We have enjoyed the process and it was a little odd to realize that my list now consisted of mostly stuff that I am capable of doing on my own. 

Cute

So . . . this picture takes me back a few years.  I was not quite two.  At my Great Grandparents home for a funeral.  I don't remember the details.  I do remember catching turtles and it has been a family joke as to how big those turtles were.  I remember carrying them up the VERY long drive way from the small stream on the ranch and just how my fingers could barely touch and thumbs barely loop over the edges of the shell.  But my hands were small.  Now when I show how big the turtles were in my memory, they have grown along with my hands.  But still, my earliest memories is these turtles and carrying them up the driveway to the house.  My Mom sent this picture and thinking I was so cute sitting there with my big brother and my big turtles I thought it was too cute to pass up.

Leviticus

 

This year I have been reading through the chronological Bible. It has been interesting. Right now I am in Leviticus which while not my favorite book has had some really interesting things to say that have struck me at this point in my life. As I come up to and hit anniversary days and time frames for life over the last year it has been interesting to me to see how I respond to them. I know I am going thru the normal steps and bumps and falls that accompany grief but it is still not fun. I think as we moved and are now settling in at the same time as these anniversaries are hitting it is like a double whammy. Of life. I have had some of the most random thoughts thru my head. Some good. Some crazy. Some totally against every thing I stand for. But God is always right by me. no matter what I do. No matter what choice I make. Some choices may hurt me. Some may hurt Him. Some will bless both. But in Leviticus this morning I was reading about redemption. It was interesting how no matter what or why the person had to sell or give up their land it could always be redeemed. It just really struck me that God can always redeem us. He wants us to have all the riches of his kingdom. Sometimes I do something foolish and forget that for a while but He is always there waiting to help me redeem ME. He has extended so much GRACE.  He wants me to want HIM.  But he also knows that we are His creation.  He knows that we are dust and are totally going to fail Him sometimes.  But he loves us anyway. 

My Mom has been sending out notes to all of us kids over the last few months and it is always interesting to read them.  To see a bit of our corporate grief.  To see where we are at in life and know that we are not alone and that we are all OK.  To know that we are all different.  To know that we will all have good days and bad days.  Make good choices and bad choices.  But always be willing to extend a hand of love and of help and of grace and mercy to all who are around us. 

Settling in . . . Part 2

It continues to be an adventure as we settle into our new house.  We love it!  Still have not realy found anything that we really wish we had done differently.  It really has been so wonderful.  I love all the windows. I love watching the sun come creeping down all the ridges around us as it coms over the butte by our house.  When there is a full moon it is almost bright in the house.  I have been slowly unpacking and sorting.  I put all the boxes into our guest room and so from there the contents either gets put in its home or goes away.  So nice!  It has been a major undertaking but has been refreshing too.  Only holding onto stuff that I actually want.
I have not got to too much decorating yet.  I have put up pictues in the cowboy bathroom which is right off the mud room.  That is really the only decorations finished rooom.  But that is OK!  I put together our school room which has been so nice!    Of course I used my new drills and not the slow process of a screwdriver to put all that furniture together.  It is so nice having a smaller school space that totally meets all of our needs. 
This weekend my friend and contractor came out and the two of us wrapped up the items on our "final inspection" checklist.  This was fun.  We have had a fun time working together on this project and getting to know each other.  And each others families.  Its been fun.  It is interesting to see who comes along in our lives at different points.  Sometimes wonder how these paths have crossed with so many people and what the big picture of the tapestry of life really looks like.  Am I doing what I can to encourage and help?  Am I being encouraged and helped?  It seems this last year has thrown a lot of curve balls at my life.  Some I have caught and some have knocked me on my rear and some have just hit me square in the face.  But it is interesting to continue walking in the light so that even when we fall down or are knocked down by life knowing we can alway get up and keep going.
We passed final inspection today.  We now can get our occupancy permit so we can actually occupy our house!  Since we have been for the last month . . . I guess that is a good thing. 

Settling in

My Word wall

living Room

Bar area from living room

School Room w/ reading chair

Cowboy Bathroom

Camo Bathroom

Still Construction-ing. And Unpacking

So . . . I was kind of chuckling to myself this morning.  In moving in before our house was totally done, we are living with a few things we normally wouldnt have.  But it is fun and fine just funny.  We still have various contractors wandering in and out.  Inspectors as well.  We have a pile of drills, nails, screws, light bulbs, and various other tool type items on one part of my kitchen counter.  I still am using my levels and stud finder as I put up towel hooks, and various other finishing touch type things.  It has been fine and funny. 
I have a huge stack of boxes now out of the container which are in my guest room that I am slowly going thru.  My purging has been pretty brutal so far and will continue to be.  I have no intention of storing stuff I dont need.  It is kind of a nice feeling to be sorting.  The things you find when unpacking is always interesting though and you wonder "why??"  Yesterday, I opened a box up which I must have gotten from my Mom in May.  Logical that I had  it but weird.  It was a box of my Dad's trip memorobila from visiting Mongolia.  I so wanted to call him up and chat about the stuff in there.  These stab wounds of greif are interesting to process. 

MOVING!!!

This is a monumental morning post.  I am sitting in the living room at my new house!  Granted there is currently only one chair in here, but hey, I am here.  Yesterday we finished packing up the shipping container that has been in our yard at our other house and moved it over here.  We didn't get much unloaded out of it last night, but enough to camp in our new house.  Somehow the sheets for our bed were thrown farther up in the container and so we slept in sleeping bags on our mattresses.  Got my sons bed put together and made up - I had his sheets.  We had inspections called in for finals this week and the inspectors hadn't shown up by the end of the week and we decided we were moving anyway.  So we did.  We have some help coming today and so should be able to get the container unloaded and furniture put in the correct locations.  It should be a busy day.  I am planning to unpack into the guest room and sort from there.  I am kind of in the purging mode and so plan to take anything I don't need or want to the dump / thrift store / garage sale / etc.  It is so nice to be moving into our very own house. 
We hadn't really realized how much we have felt like we were camping and in temporary mode for the last few years.  Really about since we moved back.  We did a ton of fixing up on the house and ranch, but it was not really ours alone and so while we took ownership of it, we knew it wasn't ours and that we would be moving.  Our temporary stay there lasted so much longer than we thought it would and so kept us in the "camping" stage.  As we were unloading some stuff yesterday it just felt so different.  Like this is OUR house, OUR home.  We love to host people and here we have the ability to do that and God has blessed us with a beautiful home and location to do it in.  We are thrilled!  It has been a lot of fun, and a lot of work getting to this stage but we are finally here.  I am sure it will continue to be an adventure as we pioneer our place, but we are definitely excited to be here.  Living off the grid should be interesting especially in the snow.  Yesterday it was cloudy and the solar panels were snow covered and so we had to turn the generator on right off the bat.  But our house is warm.  We have insulation!  What a novel idea.  And this wood stove puts out a lot of heat.  We really wanted to get moved in before the weekend as the highs for the next several days are only in the 20's. 
I will try to post some pictures once we have some furniture in the living room - where the chop saw was not too long ago.  :)  Our cell phones don't work all that well here - though we do get messages kind of.  But the Internet is up and running. 

Countertops

My two elves showed up again today.  What a fun treat.  We all worked hard all day and got all the laminate on the tops of all the kitchen cupboards and island.  It looks so good!  We were quite impressed with ourselves.  The glue was pretty stinky and so we were all a bit off, but we all had fun and enjoyed working together.  These two guys have been a huge blessing and joy to have around and working on this project.  The time spent has been fun.  Cris and I have done a lot of the finish work ourselves.  Well truly, he has done the work and I have been his little elf, and go-fer,  but we have enjoyed the time working with them both.  It is fun to work with someone who knows so well what they are doing.  Watching Crispin build is like watching an artist paint, skilled and creative. 

Merry Christmas

This is my first Christmas without my Dad.  It has been such a long and interesting and challenging year.  It is odd to think that just last year at this time we were beginning the roller coaster we have been on and we all have survived.  It is interesting to continue through this process of grief and figuring out what our new "normal" for life is.  And the things that continue to ambush us as we go through life.  Like at our new house the other day as I was cleaning the floors and just about was crying to know how much I was missing my Dad and the things I missed talking to him about.  How much  he would love my new house and how excited he would be to be a part of it.  He would love to have taken my son and gone traipsing up through the rocks hunting fossils and gold or cool rocks and cougars.  But we have plans for a Merry Christmas although he isn't here.  I wonder how they celebrate Christmas in Heaven?

Gaining Ground

Laying Carpet

 We have been busy, busy this last few weeks but have made huge progress.  It is funny to think that 3 weeks ago, I had no sheet rock.  Just insulation.  Now I have sheet rock and paint.  We finished trimming the windows and doors last week and they look beautiful!  Used Alder wood for all the casings as I found it on a really good deal as door casings.  We had to rip them down to size but they are so pretty.  I didn't realize what a good deal I had gotten on them at 50 cents a food until we went to get some wider pieces for our window sills.  These were $50 for a 10 foot stick in Alder.  WOW!  We went with Cedar as it is much cheaper.  It looks just fine at about 1/4 the cost.

The carpet guy came on Tuesday and successfully put carpet down in all appropriate places.  It looks perfect.  Totally matches my paint and trim is a good fit.  Then we set all our kitchen cabinets and started on the bathroom and laundry and other cabinet locations as well.  We have been putting in long days, but it has been fun as well.  Especially to be able to know we are almost done.  Appliances arrived this week as well and we got them all set in place.  The big excitement for the week thou was turning on the lights!  The solar guys finally finished and we had power.  The batteries were not all charged up so it only worked for a while but it was so nice to turn on the lights. 

Staging area for trim

 Crispin was able to come back a couple days this week as well and we got a lot done.  We put
cabinets up and we started on the resilient flooring downstairs.  It looked so good with our carpet and trim and everything is tying together so well!  The floor is a bit darker than I had pictured but it really does look like old barn wood.  The darkness of it really is making the knots in my Alder trim stand out and it is beautiful.  We used the chop saw and rip saw for cutting it instead of the Utility knife recommended in the directions and it worked well.  Again I was getting my workout running up and down the stairs.  But it was fun.  Then Cris and Nick came one day that they knew I wasn't going to be there and quite surprised me by getting the whole upstairs flooring completely finished.  They had to have been flying!   

The Crews

 We have been BUSY this last few weeks.  The other day I counted 11 different vehicles at our place working on various things.  Yesterday we had the Solar guys there, and the electricians, and the well pump setter as well as my A team one man and his "elf" crew.  I am the elf.  We were putting up trim.  The basement is done.  All the doors in the house are hung.  They look so good.  We are ripping Alder 1x6's and using them for the trim.  It is beautiful!  The doors are Alder as well and the effect when finished is stunning!  We are planning to finish up the trim today and then hopefully set cabinets this evening.  So that should be fun.  I am at this point seriously not expecting to be in by Christmas, but we are sure giving this project a good shot. 

We have laughed and found annoying or interesting many parts of this project.  We have found that there are various levels of competency of subcontractors.  We had a crew come build our shed and they did a fine job, but I wouldn't have wanted them to build my house.  The electricians can put up lights faster than I could get the box open.  The solar guys are taking longer than I thought possible to get stuff done.  Cris can give me measurements to cut trim faster than I can think and cut with the chop saw.  We have been having a lot of fun though.  It is starting to look like a real house and that is exciting.  I think we are all ready to be done with the project and moved in.  I am having fun learning how to use and become somewhat profficient with all these power tools!

Decking. . . Sheetrock. . . Paint. . . Doors

Our deck is done.  It is huge and beautiful and took FOREVER to screw on, but now it is finally done!  We were waiting for the sheet rock guy and so we hired a friend to help us on our deck.  He came and knew what he was doing and had fun building our deck.  I helped him a lot.  I was the go-for elf.  I got to use the new cordless 18V drills and really liked them.  We had a lot of fun working together and got a lot done at the same time.  I  would do school and then come over and work on the deck with him.  Dustin was working on water lines.

This last week we finally got the sheet rock and mudding, taping and texture done at our house.  Today, we painted and hung doors.  Things are really moving along although it seems like forever but really it isn't.  I don't have inside pictures of the paint because it was quite dark and I was quite white by the time we were done.  But we had fun and we got it done. 

No more walking thru walls!

 Sheetrock arrived this week and was installed! Cant walk thru the walls any more at the house.   Now am waiting on another inspection - a sheet rock one before I can mud, tape and textures. But it will get done this week.  I hope to have a painted interior with doors hanging by the end of the week.  Will see if that happens or not.  :)  The porch roof arrived finally this week as well so that side of the house is finally almost done now.  That should finish up the exterior.  Will be great.  We worked on the water lines getting them buried and glued together and everything this week.  That has been a project and the rain is actually not helping.  Though it is very muddy now.  All that dust in the summer has officially turned to muddy mud. 
 Sticky muddy mud.  Fun for little boys though.  Our friend

who came over today brought his son and our two boys played all day!  They had a ball.  The weather was not too cold and so they wandered all over the hills, rocks, pastures, explored forts and just had a ton of fun.  Dustin worked on the water lines and Cris and I worked on the deck.  We got about 1/3 of the way done and had a good rhythm going.  I also cleaned up a bunch of sheet rock dust.  I am not trying to do a really great cleaning job as the next job is mudding - which just sounds dirty!  But I was at least cleaning next to the walls.  I think I will have to finish that tomorrow though.  Am also planning to put down the tiles for our hearth pad and work on the deck.  Should be fun!

Thanksgiving!

Baloons bound for Heaven

We all celebrated Thanksgiving this week.  It was a fun week and a good holiday, but rather odd and interesting at the same time.  Went over to my Moms new house for the holiday.  Stayed in a hotel which was nice, but odd.  Emotions for all of us were right below the surface and we could all cry at the thought of a hat being dropped.  Missing my Dad intensly.  Seems as we are hitting these major landmarks it is just hard.  Last year at Thanksgiving we were all reeling in shock and were at our other parents for Thanksgiving because Christmas was already planned with my folks.  But by Christmas Dad was using a walker and now he has been gone for 7 months.  Seems so hard to beleive.  We sent him Christmas and Thanksgiving baloon notes.  Mom had liked our idea for Dads birthday.  This time there were more of us and more baloons.  We let them go at the park and I am sure they found thier way.  It is just such a hard reality that I cant see him again.  Or until I get to heaven.  I still find myself wanting to call or expecting him to drive up and then reality hits again.  Raw reality and Raw emotions.  But we saw a sign while at my Moms on a church billboard that was so good.  It said - "Get Rich Quick - Count Your BLESSINGS!"  It was so true.  Good reality check.  We really are so very blessed.  I have a family who is loving and supportive.  A Church family who are loving and supportive.  Friends.  A wonderful new place that has lots of work built into it, but lots of potential.  A God who loves me.  A warm house.  Three meals a day.  A car.  And a huge deposit in heaven that while I never would have made that deposit now, he is there and I know it.

New Pictures

 I realized that I have not updated picture for a while. Things have been changing rapidly.  We have sided and put the porches on.  There is not decking down yet, but we are working on that.  We have it there now.  So that is a good start.  All the siding on the sides except for the west is all on and mostly caulked as well.  We have the board and batten look.  It looks really good but it a lot of work for starters.  I have caulked a lot of seams.  But am using the BIG STRETCH caulk.  It is stretchy and interesting to work with, but goes on well.  A bit messy.  But O well.  All plumbing is roughed in.  We passed our electrical inspection on the first go around!  Yeah!  I guess we are pretty good electricians.  The HVAC guys finally got their stuff done and that was nice.  They did a good job and we should have

a nice warm house.  I am excited to have insulation in as well and we should be sheet rocking this week and mudding and taping and texture.  I hope to paint the inside this coming weekend.  The outside should be painted this week sometime and so that

 will look good as well.  I think the whole house will fit more when it is all painted.  We are
 painting it a color called "straw hat".  Kind of matches the dirt colors.  We have been very

blessed to have many people helping us on this big project.  Some with good advice and some with labor.   The other day my Mom told me to be sure to insulate my bathrooms.  This would keep the sounds down from inside and outside them to not feel like you were in a public restroom.  We thought this was great advice and took our extra bits of foam insulation and put them between all the studs around the bathroom.  I am sure we will like the effects of that wisdom for years to come.  We are actually starting to get excited about this house.  We are feeling like there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we will finish.  I am pushing for a pre- Christmas move in.  I am planning to set my tree up over there.  One of our framers, who used to be a custom home builder by trade has offered to take some days off from his company to come help us on our house.  He is a get it done guy and I am sure if we had him for a week, we would get a lot of stuff done! What a blessing!