My daughter's room

My daughter doesn't live at home, but there is a room in our house that we refer to as her room. 

My daughter lives on the east coast.  I live "somewhere in the middle" in Indiana.  From the very beginning, it was very important to me that we have a lovely guest room for my daughter when she comes to visit.  The guest room was Doug's son's room before I moved in.  It was white and stark and had old, yucky carpet in it.  Doug pulled up the carpet and revealed lovely pine flooring beneath.  He stripped it and put on four coats of polyurethane.  The paint in my bedroom, in the house I lived in two hours north, was called pine needle and was a soothing, dark pine.  Doug liked it a lot and so it was his choice that we use something very similar for the guest room.  The guest room is nice but still needs a few finishing touches.  I love having a guest room, ready and waiting and very often am inviting people to come and stay with us.  We have housed a lot of family and most of my friends from up north in the guest room. 

When I first moved here, after so many years of living alone, Doug's "quiet" was often too loud for me at night and I would retreat to the guest room.  On nights I am tossing and turning, I will go there to sleep so as not to bother Doug. I always know when I'm keeping him awake when he says "are you having trouble sleeping?"  The guest room is one of my favorite places for a Sunday afternoon nap.

  

 Items to the left once hung in my Grandma's house.
The child's rocker was mine and it will go to my first grand-child.

 The old bentwood rocker was what I rocked and nursed my babies in. 

 My daughter cut her teeth on this chair. 

 Note:  Milo in the window.

 Vanity drawer holds extra toothbrushes, soaps, lotions.

  I like to have treats for my guests and fun magazines to read.

Note:  "door-doggie" to the right. 

 I've had him as long as I can remember and that is what we called him.

Here on the farm our guests sleep well.  Crickets and cicadas sing a lullaby.  (My daughter said they don't hear bugs on the east coast, just cars.)  How sad.  Here, you might hear an owl or a coyote or the trill of a bird or frog.

Doug is the king of short-order breakfasts from "kitchen sink" omelets (with everything), pancakes or french toast.  You name it and he will whip it up in no time flat.  Or, if you prefer to eat breakfast out, we'll head into town and take in one of many of the wonderful local spots to get delicious breakfast fare.

This room has not only been my daughter's, but Kathy's, Lori's, Ivy's, Becky's, Donna's, Michele's (and Skye), we offered it to Laura and Isabelle, but they chose to sleep on the pull-out in front of the fire in the keeping room, on a cold New Year's eve.  I'm certain there have been others, that I'm not remembering right this moment.  Now that you've seen our guest room and heard all about it, I'm certain you want to join the list of those who have been our guests.  Just give me a head's up, o.k.?  The guest room is always clean, ready and waiting.  I can't always say that about the rest of the house.

**I tried to post on Monday evening (it had been a week since my last post) but Blogger gave me such a fit, I couldn't even upload my photos.  Usually, I am a late night person.  In the summer, I garden, walk, workout, I've been doing boot camp.  It has been busy.  But, I still want to post and stay in touch.  I've been so frustrated with Blogger.  I want to stay here on this site, but how long will this continue?

Gym rat

I am, once again, becoming a gym rat.  For most of my life, I've been an obsessive person.  Either I'm in the zone and exercising, or not. I'm in the zone right now. 
I remember when my children were young how they learned that when mommy was grouchy, she needed to go work out.  One night I came through the door after working out and my daughter said "do you want to go back to the Y, mommy?"
I started boot camp last Sunday.  Eight week program, weigh-in every other week.  On weigh-in day, we get a "cheat day."  On the off week that we don't weigh in, we get a "cheat meal."  This past weekend, we didn't get either. 
I'm eating my weight in vegetables. 
This is where I'm going.  I've never done a program that is as effective.  The class are tough.  Everyone works hard.  Adam is strict but affirmative.  We are his children.  He walks around saying "nice" and "good job."  I swear I work harder just hoping he will give me a little tid-bit of praise.  He has this big deep voice.  Like a drill sergeant he will say "all right, listen up." 
We have fun sayings like "chatter makes you fatter." Which means, if you are talking in class, you aren't working out hard enough. I have never worked out so hard, ever.  I am shocked that at my age, my body is responding.  I was in a class yesterday where we had partners and worked around stations in the room.  My partner told me that I was going to be stronger than I've ever been, before.
I wrote here about my first class experience with Next Generation.  That class was called "burn fusion."  One of my friends later told me that she thought I was talking about an art class.  I've been sore, the diet is strict, it isn't "fun," but it is amazing. 
My dad is a type 2 diabetic, age 70 and is in great shape.  I guess it has always been a fear of mine that one day I too would be a diabetic.  I know I was dealing with  a serious sugar addiction.  About 3.5 months ago, I went to the Dr. and weighed more than I have ever weighed.  I started doing self-imposed "no sugar, no flour," the very next day.  Now this.
O.k., enough about me, I'm off to the gym.

A TRAP!

Doug bought his 1989 Voyager van from our elderly neighbor.  All in all, it serves us well.  It is "Doug's world.  Doug is a slob messy person and I am immaculate.  So after a certain amount of time, we I decided that we would stay out of one another's vehicles.  Chelsea is the only other person in this family allowed in my car on a regular basis.  We use my '03 Honda Civic EX if we are going out somewhere and are dressed up.  We use Doug's van for camping, canoeing, hiking, trips to the northern end of the state, grocery.  Last weekend, Doug went into Taco Bell and I had to wait a long time, so I got bored inventive.  So, I set a trap for Doug.  What you cannot see is that at the end of the rope going out of the window, was his water bottle.  The rope also wrapped around the rear-view mirror.  It had a toggle hook on the end of that, so I hooked that to his key ring.

I could hear him laughing before he got to the van saying "what have you done, now?"

"I didn't do anything."
Nothin' at all.