Ice, Paint and Appropriate Gloomy Weather!

We were supposed to have a really bad ice storm. It began raining while we were at the house and it was only a matter of minutes before we had the ice on the eaves of the roof line.

It was an appropriate day of rainy, gloomy weather as I had to take my mom, and her cat, Nicole to the vet where we had to put Nicole to sleep. Nicole was 17-1/2 years old and had been in declining health for the past month or two. She had stopped eating, was having trouble walking (her legs would just go out from her almost like she was ice skating) and she was alternating between having accidents and not going to the bathroom at all. It's the hardest decision we sometimes have to make, but in the end...isn't it one of the greatest gifts we can give our pets? These little balls of fur make a big difference in our lives, and all they ask in return is to feed them and love them. Their passing sure leaves a great big hole in our heart! Even though it's only been a few days...it still seems weird not to have her sleeping on the bed or coming out to get a treat when I go to my mom's. It was at this same time last year that I lost Maggie. Maggie had an aggressive tumor on his leg and it had finally gotten to the point that he was having trouble walking and was in pain. I knew that I couldn't let him continue on. That would have been selfish of me. I still miss him a lot! Once we get into the house, I will get another cat. It won't replace Maggie, but will be another fur baby to love!

The really bad ice storm we were supposed to have never really materialized. We had rain and we had cold temperatures, but nothing too severe. The second picture you see is the ice at the bottom of the mirror on the motorhome. This was pretty early on and before it got dark! I think it was really too warm to freeze much more than this!

Friday the painters were finishing up the trim and painting cabinets. On Saturday we went to the house and nothing had changed and there were no painters. Imagine our surprise when we stopped by on Sunday and painters were there...priming the rooms! They had the hallway, both guest bedrooms, game room, breakfast room, entryway (wasn't supposed to be primed yet), and my craft/utility room done! It's just primer and the color isn't quite what it will be once it's done. In the pictures it looks kind of "orangey" but it's not really! The painters are going to be back tomorrow and Angelfish (the faux painters) will be there as well!

From Earthquake Country to Tornado Alley!

Being native born Southern Californian's Don and I are "used" to earthquakes. We aren't used to tornados though! Last year in Florida we had a tornado that hit about 15 miles north of us. This year, in Shirley, AR we once again had one that was way too close and hit far too close to "home". The tornado started off in Atkins, about 130 miles south of us. It never left the ground creating damage all along it's path. It hit Clinton which driving, is about 15 miles away. It's actually much closer as the crow flies. It didn't stop there though but continued it's path stopping just short of the Missouri border.

Last week I headed to Clinton to go to Wal-Mart. It's the closest one around and I didn't even think about what I might encounter. Remember I said it's a 15 mile drive? Well it took over an hour to get there! That wasn't even to Wal-Mart! I couldn't believe the damage and destruction. The pictures you see on t.v. and in newspapers just doesn't really convey the scene before you. Seeing entire trees pulled up, houses with their roofs completely gone and places where a house once stood covered in debris instead of the house are amazing! We have lots of trees in Arkansas and there was a huge area of trees that were all snapped off. What's even more amazing is the neighborhoods where all but one house is gone.

We consider ourselves lucky. Lucky that it didn't hit us. This will affect the building around here but shoudn't bother us since we are past that stage. The house is coming along just very slowly and much slower than we would like. Now that you can see it becoming a real house it makes you want it to be completed even faster! The painters are in there now and have been for several weeks. We were told on Friday that they will probably be there for about 2 more! Why does it take professionals a month to paint the interior of a house? :-) Oh well, it will be worth it when it's done!

On Valentine's Day, being the true romantics that we are...Don and I brought home (to the motorhome) a pizza from Pizza Hut and watched Survivor and Celebrity Apprentice! Couldn't miss those! :-)

A lot of our motorhoming friends are now in Lancaster, CA attending the Monaco pre-rally. This is the first rally we've missed in several years but hope to be at the next one which is in July in Michigan! :-)

I put out some bird seed a few days ago to see if I could get some pictures of the local birds. Here's one that I was able to get. I'm going to have to work on getting a little closer but it was too cold on this day to be outside for very long!

There is a website that shows some of the damage around Clinton. It's amazing! It's http://www.clintonark.com/. If you'd like to see the progress of the house, it's at www.picasaweb.google.com/vickileith look under the Emerald Isle, Greers Ferry, I think I'm now on part 8!