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To make the story of our weekend adventure short, let me just say that Joe ALMOST won a brand-new pickup truck. We had to drive 8 hours, to near Flint, MI, on Friday to find out if Joe's key would start the truck or not. Like many others before and after us, we came home with a pair of Rolex-style watches (that means 100% China made in a very nice box). It was certainly an interesting experience. But our drive wasn't a total waste. We drove an extra hour to visit Joe's sister Anne who recently moved down there for a job. We had good beer and burgers at Hamlin Pub. 
Anne was making us monkey bread for an evening snack.
We put our pj's on and had a movie night in her living room. No pillow fight this time.... Note: our air bed (right) took up more space than Anne's entire belongings and furniture (Wait, there is no furniture, Anne!!) This was funny.Next morning we had breakfast at nearby Village Cafe and took a little stroll, checking out a neighbor Mexican grocery store, a butcher, and a farmers market. It was fun to help Anne explore her new town a bit.
As always, it was great to be home, though. Yesterday, Sunday, I got up at 5 a.m. with Joe to sit in his deer blind from dawn till dusk. I slept, and slept. I'd say I slept 80% of the time I was in the blind. I ended up lying down on the ground with a blanket. Luckily it was not too cold out. But it must have been too warm for deer with winter coats to be active during the day. Joe only heard, but didn't see any deer. Hopefully the temperature drops like a normal deer season soon.
Today, the second day of deer season, was my brother's birthday. My sweet brother usually bakes a cake for my birthday and e-mails me a picture of the cake that I can't taste. I baked a tiny cheesecake for him. We made sure to light a candle for the photo shoot. We blew out the candle and made a wish for my brother.... Wished he could have tasted the cheesecake....
Joe came home yesterday and today, saying "Didn't see anything that couldn't fly or climb a tree." That excludes deer. He's enjoying himself though. This year he only needs to work 4 days out of the 15 days of the entire season. Patience, patience....
It is the first day of deer season. Joe was up at 5 a.m. and out the door by 5:40, I think.... He won't be home till dark, probably after 6. It's also my day off, yet I couldn't sleep in, thinking all the things I wanted to do today. Mainly cleaning and organizing around the house. Here's a picture of what I've already done this morning. Look! I have a clear desk top AND a clear work table surface! I had to take this picture and post PRONTO, because I wasn't sure how long my studio will stay this way. 
Oh, and the wall to cover the sewer pipe is up again. Joe fought a little (only a little) and got everything back in place last night. Now I just need to touch up a little with paint.Well, enough break and blog. Back to my day, on this sunny Sunday.
Our cracked sewer pipe was puttied and bandaged right away (deacon Don, a real plumber, approved), so we only had to avoid using the upstairs bathroom for a day. Although the wall hasn't been put back up, because we both got a little share of that wonderful cold. Yesterday we both were home sick, slightly feverish, achy, with mild headache and soar throat. We just received an instant streaming disc for Joe's PS3 from Netflix, which can retrieve movies online right onto our TV screen. Very cool. Our sick day was saved by Netflix movies. A combo of being a couple of couch potatoes all day and eating my homemade chicken noodle soup did a trick. We felt much better this morning. 
And I've been trying to ORGANIZE my studio stuff. I have stuff in boxes, scattered between my studio area and the basement. I just can't get inspired enough to create. I know, excuse, excuse..... I also admit I'm not the most organized person either. So, I had Joe's help putting up these basic wall shelves as a starter. 
Now my organization skills will be put to test.
By now, with our old house, we have a pertty good understanding that anything can go wrong at anytime. And we know to expect the worse, always. Still, when something really does go wrong, you realize you'll never be a pro to deal with it. Guess what? It's always something different and new that gives you grief. I came home from work this evening and found Joe on the dining room floor near the kitchen. Soon I saw he was ripping out the wall. He had found a leak from the sewer pipe from upstairs, but hadn't figured where exactly it was leaking, except it wasn't visible from the top or bottom joints. Of course. So he had to rip the wall to uncover the sewer pipe until he could see where the leak was. 
Underneath our painted pannels were plaster and lath, assumingly from the '20s. And behind that we could see some original plaster with horse hair, from the turn of the century! Pretty cool. We don't remember if we mentioned that our house used to stand about 10 blocks away in the old mining location. The previous owner bought this house and got it moved to the current location in 1964 or 5. Since they had modernized to that wonderful late '60s, '70s decor... and that was basically the condition in which we bought the house! We joke that our funky paint color choice must shock the spirit of the previous owner, ol' Bill Taylor. This house definitely has looong history.
Joe was almost convinced that the leak was from one of the joints. Again, there's always a surprise. There was a CRACK in the cast iron sewer pipe!! A biiiiggg crack, about a foot and a half, yes, you read it right, THRU THE CAST IRON PIPE. We were simply amazed.
We're fortunate to have another bathroom w/shower downstairs, to let the crack dry a bit before Joe can seal it. And I am very lucky to have married Mr. He-Can-Fix-Anything. Thank you, Joe!!!
It's my day off, and it's the 5th. We're going out for dinner tonight celebrating our 3 and a half years!! So I have a whole day to myself, except for finishing up laundry. I think I'll wrap up my brother's birthday present and mail out. I'll probably walk to the post office, too. My thing on my day off is not to drive. Our town is pretty small, so most things are within a walking distance. And why not enjoy a walk when I can. Soon we'll be buried under snow.When I was making those pumpkin leaves for Halloween, I also made these fall leaves. Maple and oak leaves. 
Because I wanted to put out these mini pumpkin salt/pepper shakers as decorations, but I didn't have anything to put on. Ta-daaa.... Happy Autumn (though it's really winter for us)!
Yes, I was decorating our tree (a potted Norfolk Island pine that we've had for three years now).
Even put up our Christmas stockings. (You know it's Joe's house. Bullets in all sizes can be found throughout the house.)
Look, our Christmas cactus has a couple of buds, too. Tomorrow is the last day of rifle deer season, the end of November... already! 
