Oh So Close but Yet So Far Away

A refrain from an old song I'm singing today.  The installers came to put in place the last piece of the kitchen remodel, the granite counter tops.  This afternoon I was going to clean my new kitchen and start unpacking boxes and finally find a place for kitchenware. All was going well until after they cut the hole for the sink and put the sink in on top instead of mounted underneath the granite as we had requested.  A few phone calls later, they were uninstalling a gorgeous piece of granite that was now cut wrong and take it back to the shop to see what needs to be done:  is it salvageable, will they need to order a new slab from Phoenix, when will they be able to re-install?  Oh, it was so close, but yet so far away.

Zella the Hunter

Zella in the shrubbery.

Pounce position.

Zella is stealing the show with all the guests at the lodge and she makes me laugh every day.  She is having fun stalking birds and perfecting her pounce position.  Lucky for the birds she's on a leash. After her morning walk she likes to hunt in the shrubbery.  She is now 10 weeks old and she has probably doubled in size since we got her!  I always thought Jim ate too fast, but he wouldn't stand a chance against Zella.  She's like a vacuum cleaner...her meal is sucked down in about a minute.

Friends and Family

Lyn and Priscilla enjoying a rain storm on the patio. 

Jim and the Van Dam boys ready for backpacking and fishing.

It's been a fun and full month of friends and family here at the lodge.  We've enjoyed having our kids and their friends here.  My parents made it up for the first time. And finally, other than meeting and greeting our guests at the lodge, we had our first "old friends" as guests.  Chet and Veronica Fuller, who we knew from our kids being at the same school, came up and enjoyed hiking and exploring. Our dear friends, the Van Dams are here now.  Jim and Mark and his boys and nephew are off on a backpacking adventure while Priscilla and I are enjoying girl time.  Coming soon are friends we went to church with, before we were married couples, to celebrate their 26th anniversary.  We love hosting people in this wonderful lodge, but it sure is extra fun when we can share this place with family and friends.
Progress report on the kitchen.  The tile floor is all finished and the counter tops should be installed within the week.  It will have been 7 months without a full kitchen to use and everything either in unpacked boxes or open boxes in our living area to rumble around in to use for meal prep and storage.  I am so excited to get in after everyone is finally finished, to clean my new kitchen, unpack and organize all my kitchen stuff, and get ready for the launch of the breakfast part of the b & b!