The Cleanup Continues....

Kim arrived here promptly at 10:00 a.m. yesterday, to continue the task of organizing my studio. I actually wasn't sure she would come back again after being up to her eyeballs in clutter last Friday! It really is starting to take shape. Kim is soooo organized! While she's in one area organizing my tools, I'm off in another area unearthing stuff I forgot I even had. Geez, I can't believe how much I've accumulated! We cleaned out a portion of the studio so we would, (to quote Kim), "have a virgin area to work in." I had to chuckle at that one, thinking to myself I don't think there's anything virgin down here! We carried boxes and boxes of 'stuff' and put them in a clean area by the stairway. So now when I need to do my wash, I've got to straddle through a narrow path to get to the laundryroom. And it's even more difficult to get to the studio area, because both ways to get to it are barracaded by mounds of 'who knows what'. Kim suggested that I take a picture of the progress we made on Friday before tackling the mess again, so I did take a few shots. I'd post them today, but Kim organized the table where I had put the camera, so now I can't find it!!!

Happy Father's Day

(My Sister, dad, and me on dad's 91st birthday last month)

" One of the greatest gifts I ever had,

Came from God Above - I call him Dad."

- Anon.

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, loving family. I can't believe my dad is 91 years old! He still drives, and his mind is sharp. He is such a character!! No matter where he is, everyone seems to know him. He's outgoing and has such a dry sense of humor! Even at my sister's and my ages, we still seem to always look for his approval. All he has to do is give us 'the look', and we both seem to cower. In fact, before Mike and I purchased the home we're now living in, I needed to have dad look it over and 'get his ok' before I could ever even think of moving. Several years ago, Mike and I started 'half-looking' at places...not really seriously, but just sort of seeing what was on the market. If we would find a place that was maybe a possiblity, I'd say something about it to dad. He would never go and see the place...he would say, "hmm.........I'd never drive all that way to visit." - (mind you...we're not talking about thousands of miles here....more like around 10 miles from his home.) Well, that's all I needed to hear. End of story on that house.

When we stumbled upon the house we are now living in, Mike and I knew immediately that this home was the home for us. It was perfect. The setting was perfect. Everything about it was perfect. But would dad approve of it??? I told dad about the place, and asked him to come and look at it. Surprisingly, this time he DID want to see it. As he sat in the kitchen, looking out over the river, he told me that when he was a little boy, he and his friends used to iceskate on that river. They'd even go through this very stretch of it. When I asked him what he thought of the place, I knew I received his blessing when his response to me was, "Well....you could make an offer on it." That was all I needed to hear! So, I guess the rest is history. We have been living here for 2 years.

I am so glad to have such a wonderful dad! I cannot imagine not having him around...and don't even want to think about it. So on this Father's Day, I wish to say "thank you" to my dad, for being the best dad I could ever ask for.