Nearing Pre-Drywall!

We took a trip to the house on Sunday to see the progress. All of the windows are in and they finsihed the brick work! On the way, we said hi to this groundhog on the side of the road :-)

In & Out....in AZ

Andy was in Phoenix, AZ last week for a big work conference. Although he spent most of his time at the resort working, he did make it to In & Out (the burgers are, indeed, awesome).

Waiting For the Machine

While B waits to get her new sewing machine, she got back to her oil painting! Once framed, these will go in the new living room :-)

Shingles and Windows!

It's been about two weeks since the last house picture update....the shingles are on and the windows/doors are being installed! It also looks like they are getting ready to start bricklaying.

They estimate the pre-drywall to be around end of September and closing the day after Thanksgiving.

The "Dirty" Store

I (B) spent part of Sunday doing one of my least favorite chores - grocery shopping. To fully understand the experience of the International Store, which is a love-hate relationship for me, you really need all five of your senses:

• Smell: To enjoy the lovely odor of fish


• Taste: To taste that lovely odor of fish


• Touch: To get your game-face on and gently "body-check" those who run you over


• Hear: To listen to "American Boy" play in the background.....in another language


• See: To watch out for the other carts that are about to run you down

I just wanted to take a minute to share a [cell] picture and a story from yesterday for those who haven't experienced the "Dirty" Store:

I was patiently waiting to get around a group of people (patients run very short there) when I looked over at a little Spanish boy in a cart. He picked up a lemon and began licking it like it was a delish lolipop. GROSS! It's hard to know the magnitude of grossness unless you've experienced a trip to the "Dirty" store. Here's a picture (unfortunately, not of the boy and lemon):

Light the Night

Every year a group of friends and family of Abigail Shanley gather to commemorate her and other patients who lost the battle to blood cancer, as well as thousands of patients currently undergoing the challenge. This year Beth is finally able to participate in the Light the Night walk on October 4th! If you'd like to donate to the cause, visit her donation page. You'll see that a little goes a long way. Stay tuned for pictures of the walk....

Labor Day in Derry

We spent Labor Day weekend in Derry, PA, visiting family and friends. It was a beautiful weekend, so we spent it with the top off of the Jeep. Here's a picture on one of our rides through the "country-side" at sunset. Beth forgot her camera, so this one's from the cell....

September House Update

Here's the latest.....

B in The Big Easy

Beth was in New Orleans this week for work. She had a great time with the HBI Safety Board, as always! In addition to working on safety stuff, we celebrated Safety Sam's retirement. Here are a few of her "take-aways":

• Mother's fried chicken is AMAZING (even though, to our dismay, we ate amidst Mother's mice....luckily that was on our last day)
• The bread pudding is also delish!
• I must have gained at least 2 or 3 lbs while in the Big Easy (obviously due to the fried chicken and bread pudding!)
• Bourbon Street is not her thing
• Watch where you step while on Bourbon Street...or wear closed-toe shoes!
• It was a ghost town on Thursday....people were evacuating in prep for Gustav....we hope they are spared this time around
• It's stinky there.....

Bourbon St:

Mother's infamous bread pudding:















The French Quarter:






































New Orleans skyline from hotel:

B's New Hobby

I finished my first sewing class last week! I learned the basics by making a tote and a pair of PJs. I loved the class and can't wait to make more stuff! Now I just need to buy a machine of my own :-)