This week in Blanding...

Mike and I have been here almost four weeks. During that four weeks, we've had project after project. We pretty much finished up the major projects this week. So, now, we'll just enjoy the family reunion next week, family in town, and the 4th of July celebration!

FREE LUMBER - Does anyone want it?

Took a load to the dump.

(Scot and Julene took the first load over. Thanks!!!)

Yes, we have weeds, but in the middle of the weeds is CORN!

Watering the garden. It is comin' along!

Mike took down the back porch door and sanded it and then repainted it.

It looks 100% better. So much of the paint was flaking off, etc.

In a sense, we have a new door!

This morning I went to the Monticello Temple to perform initiatories on a ward assignment. I just love these small temples! Next Friday Morning, we will be there for the Lyman Family Reunion. All 70+ of us. Granny and Grandpa Lyman will be so pleased to have so many of their family in the temple.

This evening Mike and I road our bikes for the first time. I made sure Mike and I went on a relatively flat route!

P.S. Annette Knight: I just want you to know that Blanding is not FLAT. There are a lot of hills! What was I thinking???

Our Week...

Monday: Remove everything from kitchen so that the floor could be replaced. What we thought was rotting subfloor turned out to be TERMITES!


Tuesday: Bedroom carpet is removed. The installer said that this carpet was probably 60 years old. I guess this is why I was wanting to wear shoes all the time!



Tuesday afternoon: New carpet is in and our bedroom is back 'together'.


Wednesday: New Flooring is completed.

Thursday: The back porch prior to painting

Friday Afternoon: The back porch is painted! There is still detail work to do, but frankly, Mike and I are tired. It has been a BIG week of projects.

P.S. My favorite spot in Blanding! You'll find me there daily at Noon.

Project, Project, Project...

This title sums up my life. We have been full of projects since arriving in Blanding. This week I
finished painting the window sills and then made curtains for the kitchen windows. They turned out darling.

New curtains!

I also had a pedicure. Mike's parents and sister Suzanne gave me a pedicure for my birthday. It has been a while since I had one and I had forgotten how nice it is to have my feet rubbed!

I also drove to Cortez on Thursday and visited the quilt shop and stopped by Walmart for several things. It was a nice little day trip, although I don't think I'll be going over anytime soon.

I also purchased fruit and vegetables Bountifulbaskets.org on Saturday. I couldn't believe how many other people in town were aware of the organization. One down side of Blanding is the produce department at the local grocery store. It isn't very good. This is a much better alternative for a much better price! I had a huge basket of fruit and vegetables for $15.00. (Thanks Emily for sharing this with me!)

I am still swimming at the pool on a fairly regular basis - 4-5 times a week. I enjoy every minute of it and have met several women via swimming. Next week, more projects. Soon, I'll be able to 'relax' and start quilting again!

Latest Quilt 'Loves Me... Loves Me Not'

It is 8:38pm and I have just finished this quilt. I think it turned out darling. The picture doesn't quite do it justice. I went to the Redd's Hardware Store today and purchased the yellow fabric for the yoyo's that I made (the heart button is sewn on top of the yoyo's.)

Yes. there is fabric in Blanding and yes, the fabric is located in the hardware store. Redd's actually has fabric from the Moda line so I have a few options!

Loves Me Not... Loves Me!

Close up of the quilt

I am going to hang this quilt as a wall hanging in our bedroom. I can't wait. I am also going to have it displayed at the Blanding Quilt Show over the 4th of July.

What Have We Been Doing?

Here's what we've been up to the past few days...

Cleaning out the Green Shed

Pile for the dump

'Keepers' Pile

Mike's brother Scot, planted a small garden for us!



In the green shed we found this assayors scale that belong to Grandpa Lyman

This morning, a package arrived for me...

Inside was this fabric that I am going to use to make valences for the kitchen.

The arrival of the package is the motivation I need to paint the window sills.

We are now in Blanding!

Well, we officially moved to Blanding on Monday, May 31st. I couldn't believe the cars on the road heading back to Salt Lake. I was so glad we were driving in the opposite direction!


Our fully loaded car. We even ended up leaving a few things that we'll pick up on August when we head to Oregon for vacation (date change). We are so glad Scot & Julene took a couple of loads down for us. Otherwise, I'm not sure what we would have done!

As promised, the view from our front porch.

Blanding City Swimming Pool.

I have already bought a pass.

Swimming each day is the number one item on my priority list.

We've only been here three days, but I have a lot of projects on the burner...

Kitchen Projects: fabric is ordered for the valances, the linolium is on order, new placemats are on the table, cabinets still need a little organization, but progress is being made.

Bedroom Projects: install a ceiling fan, new carpet is ordered, we are unpacked as much as possible given that the back porch isn't ready for us at all!

Back Porch: painting to happen next week - I hope! then I can move boxes into the closets, the sewing machine and computer in the room and even make room for a little couch so we can sit on it and watch tv. We'll see how all this turns out. I'm looking forward to having the project completed and a little r & r time!

Mike's Birthday

May 29th was Mike's birthday. Because I needed batteries, I couldn't load photos into the blog.

We are not big gift givers. A card is a must, gifts are a little corny.

Mike wanted hypoallergenic soap and a new puff (yes Mike uses a puff!).

I also purchased some dried squid, because he'd wanted to try it.

Mike's surprise 'meal' was sushi.

I bought a couple of different types and he enjoyed eating sushi for a couple of days.

Mike's last day as a security guard

Mike officially retired on his birthday after 4+ years with Peak Alarm and Security