Weather Delay

My drive to church today.  I do not miss Phoenix traffic and the scenery is way better.  After church I drove home behind a snow plow.  Roads were fine.  I think he was headed to the Rendevouz Diner for lunch.  It's always busy!

I had planned to start planting flowers this afternoon, but I think it will have to wait for another day!

He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. Psalm 147:16

Saturday Project

When the box arrived, Jim and I wondered how they got a table and two chairs in it. It was impressively packed!  And everything was bubble wrapped.  I just love popping that stuff!
Thankfully, the people packing the parts knew more screws were needed than the parts list indicated.  I wonder how many more hours it would have taken me WITHOUT the instructions? I would not be qualified for an assembly job.  Too slow.



Woolala!  Isn't it adorable?  My new little bistro set for outdoors.  And I did it myself...well, almost.  I had to ask Jim to help me get a few screws tighter, so the end caps would fit right.
Ready to enjoy sitting in the sun with our lovely 60's spring temperatures!

Lessons From a Power Sander: Practical and Profound

Sanding wooden posts for most of the day taught me a lot of both practical and profound lessons.
First the practical:

• Hold on tight.  It may be little, but it's powerful.
• Try to keep the sawdust exhaust pointed away from your face unless you like the powdered bronzer look
• Blink a lot 
• Keep your mouth closed unless you want to increase your natural fiber intake
• Don't drop it in the dirt.  The dust devil effect is kind of cool but all the dirt and rocks hitting you at the speed of a tornado hurts.
• If you wear layers, you can strip off the completely dust caked outer one before going inside
• HOT SHOWER

The Profound:

• Stripping off layers of the old leaves the newly exposed layer vulnerable unless soon coated with a protective layer.  Just as I will put a layer of stain over all the newly sanded wood to protect it from the elements destroying it, we must have the protection of the Holy Spirit, the covering of Christ to keep us from being destroyed by the devil and this world.
• If wood could talk, it would not be happy about being sanded, but afterwards it's ready to be nourished with new oil, soaking into the grain and revealing inner beauty.  Being shaped into a man or woman of God is often painful, but the process and the result yields great beauty.
• It's rewarding and pleasurable to look at the finished product of your labor.  God is at work in each of us and He takes great pleasure as we become more like Christ.  
• If I can have joy looking at newly sanded and stained wood, can you fathom the joy in heaven when all His children are perfected?  It's gonna be so beautiful. 

Training Paid Off!

When I was little my mom would give me a paintbrush and a pail of water and I would go outside and paint everything.  It really made things look renewed, especially the red box housing the fire hose.  Now that we've taken over a lodge with all things wood outside, I find myself grabbing a brush and a can of stain or paint, because absolutely everything needs renewing (after sanding).  So far I've renewed the double bench swing, a couple of porch chairs and uncovered a table that had been covered over the years with three layers of cloth and vinyl.  Underneath was beautiful wood, so I sanded and stained it!  We ordered some new cedar log patio furniture and a swing that needed staining and it's almost finished.  Next will be all the log rails/posts on the patios and then the entire lodge siding.  It may take me all summer or longer, but that's ok because I like to paint.  Thanks Mom!

Great Work and Play Weekend

A delightful weekend with our kids, Nate and Kara and their friends Hannah and Jonathon up from Tucson.  They were a huge help Saturday morning sanding our double wood swing and refinishing a patio table and chairs.  Jim took them up his workout hill and to a secluded area to see lots of elk and deer and they explored my favorite trail, Sheep's Crossing.  We laughed a lot, played games, and made smores in the fireplace.