Weathering Life’s Storms
It’s been almost a year to the day since I’ve written in my Blog ~ not sure why I’ve procrastinated, I really do enjoy giving updates and I love sharing and writing! So here goes with the updates; Starting with the Great room and kitchen area: we finally found a trestle table for the banquette area, at our go to store, Habitat for Humanity. It looks like it was maybe used in a conference room many years ago, it’s a darker brown with lighter wood inlay and rollers on the feet. It has a removable leaf to accommodate big or small groups.

The seating area still needs to be upholstered, I have changed my mind on the color no less than 10 times! I’ve decided on a gorgeous green, it’s bold and a little out of my comfort zone, but hey, we live in a clubhouse situated on the (former) 9th green, it seems appropriate! I did find new barstools and framed my Grandmothers Botanical prints, we hung them above the banquette area, they will blend beautifully with the green banquette, Here’s a sample of the green color.

We have small finish items to work on; trimming out the pantry countertops, finish up the coffee bar (we just picked up the sink tonight, so we can start designing and laying out the cabinets for that area, and free up some garage space). We have tile to install in the small water closet in the Master Bath. I would also like to place trim mounding on the stairway wall and upstairs in the long hallway.
Outside projects are underway, including grading much of our 3 acres, new grass seed, and a new concrete front walk. We also painted and installed new concrete siding on the sides of the porch, painted the soffits, hung gutters, and painted trim.

Outside plans are dependent on Oklahoma’s volatile weather! Several months ago we planted 15 lbs of grass seed, only to watch it be washed away in a torrential downpour! Recently we (Greg) hand spread seven yards of mulch to keep the rain from washing the seed away, and Mother Nature cooperated with just the right amount of rain, success! The grass is nice and green, although it doesn’t look very green in this pic!

Greg also designed and built heavy duty working shutters made of cement board, each weighing around 100 lbs., to help protect against our extreme wind conditions.

I’m sure they would have helped in our most recent storm had I not been at work when the storm began…
The golf ball size hail was coming down as I drove the five miles home from work, I made a beeline into our garage. I thought I would wait until the hail let up to close the shutters. Instead of letting up, it increased to softball size hail!

Shortly after, we began receiving Tornado warnings, I wasn’t about to go outside to close the shutters, so I listened to them as they banged open and closed as a tornado began forming outside.

Greg was on a business trip so I “weathered” the storm alone. Well, not really alone as I texted my sisters, and talked with Greg on the phone, but not for long because our power was out, and I prayed! We have multiple Tornado warnings during storm season, but this one hit close to home. Our house is mostly stone and I felt fairly confident I would make it through. Unfortunately, the tornado touched down a few miles away and many people lost all their belongings and several people lost their lives. When something tragic like this happens, you truly realize everything we have is just that, things. What really matters is life, people. We have been researching storm shelters and thankfully there are many options available, and our neighbors have offered their shelter if necessary. Another outside project that Greg has promised the Grandkids is a treehouse, they are visiting next week so let the planning begin! It probably won’t be a 3-story treehouse with plumbing and electricity, but a zip line is a possibility! Speaking of Grandkids, we welcomed a new one this past December, Sadie Quinn, 9 lbs. 14 ounces of pure joy and a smile that will melt your heart.

During this busy weather season, we also made several trips out of state, one to California to babysit our adorable Sadie, a trip to Arizona to help my Mom care for my Dad after surgery, and a trip to Oregon to be with Greg’s Dad who was recently put on Hospice.

Whatever season of life you find yourself in, planting, growing, harvesting, or storm season, I pray you weather life’s ups and downs with those you love, and faith to get through it all!