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!

Meet Zella!

Today I went in to Springerville with a hardware store list and a grocery list and came home with a free puppy!  Jim and I had a plan to get a full grown, already trained shelter dog in perhaps another year after we had fewer projects at the lodge to undertake.  Plans can change in a moment.  Outside the grocery store were two kids yelling "free puppy!"  A pregnant mom was sitting on the ground holding this adorable black lab mix puppy.  The puppy had been given to her and she decided she couldn't handle both a new baby and a puppy, so she was hoping to find a home for her rather than take her to the shelter.  I tried calling Jim but it went straight to voicemail.  I was in a dilemma...go with my head and just walk away until discussing it with Jim, or go with my heart that was falling for this pup.  After shopping, I came out and they were still there...no takers...another attempt to contact Jim to avail.  So...as you can see I went with the heart and brought the puppy home (after going back in the store for a collar, leash and food).
Lauren and I named her Zella, a good German dog name, to go with our German surname.  We all went for a bounding puppy walk after supper and now Jim and Lauren are both on the living room floor with Zella, tuckered out from her adventures.
Sometimes it's good to go with the heart!

We had a fabulous Father's Day in Greer.  Nate and Kara drove up from Tucson with Watson and a childhood friend of Nate's from Hawaii.  Nate's friend, Erin, is in navy intelligence and has been deployed more days than he is stateside in his 8 years.  It was wonderful to have him with us to relax in this beautiful place and we are so grateful for his dedicated service to this country.
Since our move to Greer, we've seen more of Nate and Kara than when we lived in Phoenix. Hmmm...Phoenix at 110+ degrees or Greer in the 80's in June with lows in the 50's.  We have smart kids!

Name the Bear

Ever since my childhood trips to the mountains, I vowed that if I ever had a place in the mountains I would get a bear.  Not a real bear...they can kill you...but a chainsaw work of art.  This bear is friendly and cute.  I consulted a baby name book when the kids got a dog so it didn't end up as Spot or Rover.  So, I'm trying to name my bear and all I can think of is Boo Boo or Bob the Bear.  Here's where you come in.  I am having a contest to name the bear.  The winning name will be selected July 15th, 2015.  Winner will receive a 2 night stay Sun-Thur (holidays excluded) and must be used by end of 2015.

Worth the Wait

I waited all winter to see what this would be.  I thought it was going to be a lily.  I have no idea what this is, so I am calling it Rocket Fire plant.