High Five Friday for Forget-Me-Not's

High five Friday for beautiful tiny flowers and blue Myosotis Forget-Me-Not's.  Hope you are enjoying your summer and have plans for a wonderful weekend ahead.  We are headed out and about for some sightseeing Alaska adventures.  See you in a week.

Kitchen Remodel ~ Step 3, 4 & 5 etc.

Last we left off in the kitchen remodel saga was the fact that we had the top cabinets off the walls and had the façade ceiling torn down. We have progressed through the remodel steps to three, four, and five etc.

Step three was to put up new sheetrock, mud, tape, texture, and paint. This is the phase of work in construction and remodels that I have grown to enjoy the least as it just takes so darn long to get everything looking good.

Step four was to refurbish the window and the window trim, to include new screen in the window screen frame.

Step five was to take out all the base cabinets so we could install new subfloor sheeting. This left us without a kitchen sink for 10 days. Woof! Glad that’s over.

Step six was to install the new cabinetry, crown molding, and put the appliances in place again. This would include the kitchen sink, and I guess all the plumbing work that had to be completed could be its own step but you get the picture on the amount of work we have put into this project.

So as it stands now the kitchen is usable and functioning, but not completed. The countertops are still a week out (maybe less if the remodel fairies are looking out of us) and the flooring is not installed. But the Sureply floor will do for now and we have made temporary countertops so cooking supper again is not so much of a chore as it has been the last three weeks.

Up next will be installing the flooring, installing the wine rack above the refrigerator, and planning out the tiles that will be part of the backslash and walls. Oh and the rest of the cabinet handles and pulls.

Until our next remodel update, keep sweeping the floors, as that always helps.

Life is Better with Oreo's

Life is better with Oreo's!  Happy Father's Day!

Lessons I've Learned

Lessons I've learned from a Grandmother who didn't start out as my own.

• Wisdom comes in many shapes and sizes. 

• Routine is a must in every step of our life, keeping us balanced, keeping us centered. 

• Understanding goes hand-in-hand with compassion. 

• Sometimes joy comes from just being in each other's company, enjoying a simple luncheon, and a simple dessert. 

• Marriage is about having a playmate for life, one that you trust wholeheartedly.

We are truly blessed to have Grandma G. visiting us for the next week, and we will enjoy every moment of sharing the joy with her, and learning from her wisdom.

Guest Room ~ For Real This Time

Our guest room is ready for occupation, again, for real this time.  No take backs. No filling this room with supplies for remodel projects. It is now and forever more just a bedroom that welcomes guests into our home for a cozy nights sleep.

And none to soon as Grandma is on her way to Alaska for a visit.

When will we be hosting you for a night or two or three?  Hope to see you soon!

Less is More Upgrade

My less is more conversation got an upgrade when I by chance came across this web site: BuyMeOnce.com. They share my long standing ideas and belief that we need to change the way we purchase, consume, acquire, and discard all the items that surround our daily living.

They have it right, in my mind, when they say “let's throw away our throwaway culture.” I particularly liked their article “Things I Don’t Need…” which of course you can approach it from the other side and make a list of things that you do need. Either way, by making one of these two lists, you will be on the winning side of less is more, plus add the longevity value of your items for the goal & win!

What are a few of the things that you don’t need?

Empowerment

Having a sense of realism can give you true empowerment.

The difference between knowing when you should do something and knowing when you shouldn't can also lead to a sense of empowerment.

Is this what they mean when they say keep it real?

Keep your life real. Keep your life simple and share the love!

Wash Your Hands Roger

When I was very young, young enough that I only remember snippets of memories, I can see a scene of me in a kitchen dining area of a white painted Iowa farm house. This house was your typical farm house surrounded by a few trees edged by fields of corn. There were people all around in the house. My parents were there, I can see the faces of my aunt, uncle, and my cousins, all the while there was laughter in this crowed space as the smell of a well cooked meal filled the air. But what stands out most in my memory is my aunt yelling to her oldest son, the oldest of us Winkelman grandchildren, "Roger, wash your hands Roger! It's time for supper."

The remarkable part of this long ago glance into my childhood memories is that to this day, when it is supper time, I will yell to my son's and my husband, "wash your hands Roger, it's supper time", even when none of them are really named Roger.

Happy Thursday everyone, and remember to wash your hands before supper time!

High Five Friday for Wild Flowers

The woods are blooming with wild flowers, and the bees are out and about doing a fine job of visiting these beauties.

My goal today is to share with you the joy of the small things in life such as a walk in the woods and seeing nature flourishing.

High five Friday for wild flowers, joy, and summer!

Lincoln Memorial

Photo from the Library of Congress - The Lincoln Memorial and reflecting pool, photographed one year after its dedication, on May 2, 1923

This week I received an email from the Littleton Coin Company with the below history on the Lincoln Memorial and I thought it was worth sharing.

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Ninety-four years ago this week, on May 30, 1922, the Lincoln Memorial at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. was dedicated. Seated on a colossal chair inside the memorial, the 19-foot statue of Lincoln captures the 16th president's strength and resolve used to preserve our nation. Perhaps this is why the Lincoln Memorial is situated near the Potomac River, which served as a boundary between North and South during the Civil War and runs adjacent to the National Mall.

As early as 1867, Congress established an association to create a national memorial that would honor our 16th president, but bickering slowed the progress down. It was not until 1902, when the Senate Park Commission decided Lincoln's memorial should be at the end of the National Mall near the river, that planning got underway. Senators Cullom and Cannon, who knew Lincoln in Illinois, sponsored the Lincoln Memorial bill and President Taft signed it.

Construction on the building began in 1914. The memorial resembled a Greek temple and was designed by Henry Bacon. The 36 Doric columns represented the number of states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. When the memorial was completed, 12 more states had joined the Union and their names are carved about the columns on the outside.

Photo from the Library of Congress

Prominent American artist Daniel Chester French sculpted the large figure of Lincoln that dominates the inside. French studied photos of the president, read accounts that described him and looked at a life mask of his face to create his masterpiece. Twenty-eight pieces of marble were used for the 19-foot statue that is the centerpiece of the memorial.

Fifty-seven years after Lincoln's death, the nation's memorial to our 16th president was dedicated. His son, Robert Todd Lincoln attended the ceremony, along with other famous dignitaries and the U.S. president at the time, Warren G. Harding, who gave the dedication speech. Eye-catching and bold, the Lincoln Memorial is one of America's most iconic buildings and can be found on the reverse of Lincoln Memorial cents from 1959 to 2008.