Swanger "Housekapades"

House Update, May 2009

2009-05-21T17:03:00.006-04:00

It's been busy, busy, busy around the Swanger abode lately! While the weather continues to be nice, we have been focusing on outside projects but there have also been some pretty drastic changes to the house on the inside as well. For instance check out the before and after pictures of the great room in the back of the house:

Here are some "Before" pictures:

And here are some "After" pictures:

This is our new light fixture by the back door

This was what our house looked like in 2007 when you came down the street:

This is what our house looks like now when you drive down the street (some of the plants have exploded over the past 2-3 years):

Babies....again!

2009-05-21T16:55:00.004-04:00

I was outside taking some pictures of our lanscaping in the front yard, and this is what I found.....

I actually think we have already met...the other day on the sidewalk, but as long as he/she stays out of the back yard, everything will be okay!

Delayed Easter Pictures

2009-05-21T12:28:00.006-04:00

I had to share some of these pictures of my niece, Josie! She is 4 years old (as of Mother's Day) and ready to take on the world. She has started to become quite the "fashionista" and likes to dress up!

For her birthday she got lots of fun clothes (some from her fun Aunt Blythe and Aunt Melissa) and she got mad when someone tried to put them away for her to open the next gift.

She is a lot of fun and can talk your ear of these days!

Josie was caught enjoying one of Grandma's yummy homemade rolls! She even managed to help her Mom and Aunt Blythe make them earlier in the day and made some "Jojo rolls"!

Here she is showing of her wonderful spunk and smile!

Seeds of Hope Community Garden Blessing of the Seeds

2009-05-21T12:14:00.004-04:00

Last Saturday about 20 people gathered at the Seeds of Hope Community Garden for a Blessing of the Seeds. It was a nice way for the gardeners to meet each other and have a time of prayer and fellowship. Most of the plots have been planted and lots of things are starting to sprout and grow.

There are several beginners and several experienced gardeners in the mix. It has also been neat as one of the other local churches has a youth Sunday School class that would like to work on the Hot Meals plot. Everything grown in the plot will go towards serving people in the community. Having the help of these students will be great and my hope is that they learn a lot as well and it sparks their interest in gardening.

Scott and I have a plot as well and we put in a wide variety of fruits and veggies and most everything seems to be doing well! Here are some pictures!

Paul and his dog Kinsey working in their plot with help from Little Jay

Roxie & Chris's plot starting to bloom and grow!

Gotta love the Smokies!

2009-04-07T18:01:00.002-04:00

Not much new to report here at the homestead. Scott is still working on our great room getting it ready for primer. He hit a few hiccups with the first coat of primer so it has of course taken longer than originally planned.

I was supposed to be a garden group today but it was cancelled due to the weather so I decided instead to update my blog and add a picture that makes me happy any time I see it! I love this picture from our trip last year to the Smokies. Isn't it beautiful??

Hail, Hail to Old Purdue!

2009-04-02T09:06:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I spent April Fools Day driving to Purdue to attend a meeting for the Purdue Veterinary Alumni Association. I didn't realize that most of the schools have their own alumni association in addition to the Purdue Alumni Association.

Anyway, the drive there and back was uneventful and the meeting was great. The Veterinary Alumni Association want to ensure that Technicians graduating from Purdue feel like part of the Veterinary Alumni--not just for Veterinarians. They asked myself and several other Technician Alumni to sit on the board and help promote the association to Technicians.

The meeting was held in the Dauch Alumni building and I had never seen the building so that was neat too. It always amazes me how much the campus changes each time I visit!

Here is the inside of the Spurgeon Hall of Spirit. The Boilermaker Special is a complete replica of the engine that goes around campus on game day...right down to the rivets...those engineers!!

By the way, have you joined your Purdue Alumni Association lately??? See, on the job already!

Babies are cute in any species!

2009-03-30T22:01:00.009-04:00

When I came into work today I found out one of the surgeries today was a Labrador that needed a cesarean section. She was expecting 9-10 puppies and the breeder didn't want her to deliver without assistance. Surgery went really well and she delivered 10 healthy puppies (with some help from the BRAC crew). Mom and all of her babies went home as soon as mom could get up and move around. No rest for the weary huh? And we think it's rough to breast feed one baby and take care of it....imagine 9-10 mouths wanting food all the time! One of the boys weighed in at 1 pound, that is HUGE for a puppy.

Here are some pictures from today!

Seeds of Hope Community Garden

2009-03-28T16:49:00.002-04:00

For the past two years I have helped with the landscaping at my church here in Columbus. It has been a lot of fun and a great way to get to know some of the members of the church. It even inspired me to take the Master Gardening Program through the Purdue extension.

The leader of the landscape group asked me to take on another project for this summer. He wanted to build a community garden on a vacant lot that the Church owns. So for the past month or so we have been working together to get the ground and the information ready to begin the Seeds of Hope Community Garden.

To date, we have prepared the area for the 15 available garden plots and will till, add compost, and mulch as the plots are reserved. I have also worked on getting the Registration and Garden Information in written format.

The goal is to provide a place for people to have a garden when they might not be able otherwise and build community at the same time with our neighbors. There will also be at least 1 plot dedicated to growing produce for our Hot Meals Program at First United Methodist Church.

I will try to post pictures over the summer to document our progress!

Seattle Eggs

2009-03-28T16:37:00.001-04:00

I just had to share a picture from this morning of our breakfast. These are what I call "Seattle Eggs" as they were first made for me by my Aunt Jane and Uncle Scott who live in Seattle. I don't make them too often, especially when the weather is crummy as I don't want to stand outside at our grill (still remodeling and without a kitchen).

Well, this morning while it was a little chilly it wasn't too bad to stand outside and cook the eggs on the side burner. I love making them because they are super easy and they taste great! In the Bennington house they are called "Blythie Eggs" as I showed Laura and Jeremy how to make them!

They are super easy:

Scrambled Eggs (I used Egg Beaters with milk and they tasted the same)
Chopped Green onions (I used 3 today) added once the eggs have set up a little
Lite Cream Cheese (again, the "lite" and the amount are up to you, but I probably used 2-3 tbsp)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Toast

I wanted to add some Canadian bacon, but alas, we were out!

Try them and let me know what you think!

The joys of auto repair

2009-03-24T18:34:00.004-04:00

I must start this post by first thanking the Benningtons for letting me "hang" at their house along with providing lunch and a fun trip to the park today while my car was serviced in Greenwood, so thanks Jeremy, Laura, Tessa, Charley, Hayden, and Rosie for a great time while I waited! :)

Okay, now I have to share my recent experience at a dealership to be unamed, but if you know what kind of car I drive right now, you will be able to easily figure it out! So anyway, last Friday on my way home I stopped by said dealership to schedule an appointment for some "routine" maintenance that was now due. I also wanted to have the oil changed, tires rotated, and the sunroof checked as it has been giving me some trouble. So the estimate I received was high, but I figured it would be a pricey visit.

Today I arrived at the dealership and reviewed again the previous estimate and signed my life away. I must add that they did in fact get me a rental car and they are paying for the cost of the car while mine is being serviced, to this I give Kudos as the cost of the rental is a drop in the bucket compared to what I will be paying them later this week.

Well, a few hours later I got a phone call from the service assistant and after she rattled off another long list of recommended services (some were optional, some weren't--replace oil pan, fix a bracket on the engine,etc) my new estimate was more than double the original...in the $2000 range, oi vey!!! At this point I have her email a copy of the estimate to both Scott and I and then I call him on my cell phone to see what he thinks. There were several words not to be repeated in front of small children and he even called our service assistant to "discuss" the estimate.

Bottom line, my car is still in the shop, I still have a rental car and as much as we both hate to pay for the new oil pan (Scott figured out he can replace it for a fourth of the cost quoted today) I think we are going to have to have them do the work as Scott is probably going to be traveling starting tomorrow and I need wheels for work.

To be continued later this week...

Master Gardener Status

2009-03-21T21:30:00.003-04:00

It is official--I have completed all of my volunteer hours and am now officially considered a Master Gardener. I have heard there will be some kind of ceremony at some point where I will get my name tag. I am going to try to continue accruing hours to work on my Advanced Master Gardener status...in the midst of everything else!

Saturdays

2009-03-21T20:38:00.004-04:00

Since I have worked at my job I have never routinely had Saturday's as a day off. I have been so used to getting up early and heading into work while most of the population gets to sleep in and enjoy a cup of coffee and the newspaper for as long as they wanted.

Well, for the past couple of months I have had most Saturday's off and while they still manage to be busy with errands, family events, and various activities, I decided to take today off! Scott and I both slept in and enjoyed our coffee, newspaper, and Norm (PBS home improvement guy). It was great! I managed to take a nap this afternoon as well while Scott worked on texturing the ceiling in the great room. I will post pictures later when it isn't so messy and wet back there.

Chloe, Molly, and Bear even got in on the relaxation!

Scott and I were joking that Chloe looks like she has been sleeping all night in a park with only the latest news to keep her warm! She even managed to get onto her back with all four feet in the air covered up with her newspaper. It was pretty cute!

Sad day in Columbus.....

2008-06-09T23:28:00.005-04:00

Well, we had a sad day today....Molly's toy (green and white stuffed dog bone) suffered a major injury in that about half of the stuffing is now gone and her toy is now in serious intensive care. I am sure that within the next few days, the toy will officially have to be laid to rest as no major life saving feats can realistically be made.

I know that this will greatly sadden Hayden and Rosie, Molly's former house mates, but alas, another toy will be in the picture soon I am sure. Besides, Hayden and Rosie now have a totally cool toy called Tessa, the Oneder child as she just turned 1 and is a pez dispenser for dogs! HA! Sorry, it's kinda late for me and I am a bit tired!

Well, I have some pictures to share of the recent injury....

She really always has this sad, yet satisfied look on her face when she does this to a toy!
Seemed to be a pretty good team effort between Chloe and Molly, huh?

Not to undermine the seriousness of what is facing everyone affected by the flooding in Indiana, but hopefully this brings a smile to your face! Good night!

Okay in Columbus

2008-06-08T12:26:00.003-04:00

We just wanted to let our faithful few know that we are okay in Columbus. We were not in the areas affected by the flooding, close, but no problems here. We did loose power last night about 9:30ish and it came on about 4am. I ended up sleeping part of the night outside in our hammock and Scott made a makeshift bed on the deck and had some company with the dogs.

We have power today (Sunday) but no cable and we are being cautious about using water and just doing the bottled water thing.

We got out very briefly yesterday and we are pretty much an "island in Columbus" as we are trapped by all of the closed roads and flooded areas at this point.

Please keep neighbors, friends, and those further south in your thoughts and prayers as it sounds like the worse for them is yet to come.

Weather excitement

2008-06-06T17:44:00.003-04:00

I hope that everyone has made it through all of the storms this past week! We are okay here in Columbus, no damage to our home, just a few limbs out of our trees.

I worked last Saturday and the damage from the storms last Friday night was very evident as I drove north on Meridian. There were a lot of down trees and limbs, stop lights not working, and part of Meridian Street was completely flooded. As I drove I just continued praying that my car didn't stall out!

Camp Attebury was hit hard by the tornado that touched down on Tuesday and we lost power at the house on Wednesday night.

I have some pictures from our local paper of the damages. Hope you all are doing well, and I will try to post more exciting topics later!

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T08:58:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of the veterans past and currently serving our country for everything they have done and continue to do to ensure that we can live in a free country!

Thank you

Birthdays!

2008-05-26T08:46:00.003-04:00

Not only have I stayed busy with gardening, there have also been a couple of birthdays celebrated since I last wrote.

Scott's dad, Steve, turned 60 this year and to celebrate his birthday we tried to suprise him with a party Morton's Pub and Grub. Scott's sister and brother-in-law (Stacy & Ty) own the restaurant and wanted to host the party there. While the attempt was sincere, Steve is really hard to suprise and he knew something was up. A good time was had by all and it was nice to be able to spend time with family.

Scott, Steve (Scott's dad), and Stacy (Scott's sister)

Not only did Scott's dad celebrate a birthday, my niece, Josie, turned 3 this year and she had a Princess party (complete with crown cake, princess shoes, and tons of cloths & toys). This party in particular was super memorable as some of the party participants witnessed an amazing crash as a car flew off US 31 and into someone's home. Now, in a small town (Edinburgh, IN--I know, you've never heard of it) you would think this would make news in one of the local papers, but alas, it didn't! My theory is that if someone had been injured, it would have...so sad to think that the only time news gets made is when someone is injured! It was quite the site though to see this grand prix hanging half in and half out of a house. When it first happened, we thought that the car had gone into the living room area of the home, but once we drove by, we realized that thankfully the car had gone into the garage area of the home. Anyway, here is a picture of Scott, Josie, and I from her princess party!

Long time, no see....

2008-05-26T08:28:00.002-04:00

I feel that I first must apologize to my fan base (all 2 of my readers) for my lack of posting since February! I guess I haven't really had much to post about that I felt was interesting but I promise to try and be better about posting!

Anyway, too much has happened to share everything, but let me just say life is good and life is busy! Although I know everyone already knows those things as well!

I started with the Gardening group at the church in April and the grounds are looking great. I will take some pictures and post them so you can see what our group has been up too the past month or so....

I also finished my Master Gardening class and I am now considered a Master Gardening Intern until I complete my volunteer hours. I decided to make my project landscaping the parsonage house for our church. Scott and I have become friends with Brian and Rachel in the past 18 months that we have been attending First United Methodist Church so it has been nice to be able to do something like this for them. I have included some before pictures and once we get a few more things done, I will post some after pictures!

Hope you are having a great day!

The Champion of Dogs

2008-02-13T10:08:00.003-05:00

Just in case you missed the news this morning, the Westminster Dog Show was last night and the winner of the Best in Show was a 3 year-old male beagle named Uno. This was the first time since 1939 that a beagle won. How cool, huh? His is very cute and made an apperance on the CBS morning show today.

Check him out!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/02/12/dog.show.beagle.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest

Gardening class

2008-02-13T10:03:00.002-05:00

I just decided to do a quick post today! I have been sick with a sinus infection and haven't felt like doing too much....it has been a long time since I posted.

Anyway, the end of January I started the Purdue Master Gardener Program that is being offered through Bartholomew & Brown Counties this spring. So far we have had 2 classes and it is really interesting. We have learned all about soil and how to adjust it so the pH is good for the plants.

Last week we learned all about roots, stems, parts of flowers, and the functions of each. Did you know that a potato is both a stem and a root???

Anyway, check out the website if you are interested in learning more about the program!

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/mg/

Have a good day and enjoy the ice and snow!

Facebook....boy is it addicting!

2008-01-25T17:21:00.000-05:00

Well, I must admit...I have become addicted to Facebook today. I am not sure how many out there have been initiated to the world of Facebook, but it really is a cool way to connect with people and catch up with classmates from high school and college.

I have spent a rather large chunk of time super poking, inviting others to facebook, taking silly quizzes, and writing on other people's walls! If you haven't tried this new way to connect on the web, super poking and writing on walls isn't really gonna make sense!

Anyway, check it out and see what you think! It's pretty cool.

Later!

Blythe :)

The missing reindeer....

2008-01-11T18:59:00.000-05:00

This is a pretty cute clip. My mom sent this to me today and I found it entertaining. We have a dog, Chloe, who reminds me of the dog in the clip. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sUL0KCIc48

Much anticipated wedding photos!

2007-11-04T15:24:00.000-05:00

Well, I have finally gotten all of the pictures from our wedding. It really was a great day and we had such a fun time with our families. I am sure there are more pictures that we have not see yet, but we hope you enjoy these!

I have had several requests to see the pictures, so here are some of our favorites!

This was just after the ceremony, at Abbey Inn Wedding Gazebo in Nashville, Indiana

This was the start of the ceremony. You can see Josie, my 2 1/2 yr old niece in the front...she was the "great wonderer" during the entire ceremony! She was in the mulch, on the step, you get the idea.

This is our wedding party.

We wanted a picture of all of our guests! We got just about everyone in this shot.

We had several photos taken in Brown County State Park after the wedding and prior to the reception. It really is a beautiful park!

Josie and I decided to dance a bit and catch up! She was a very cute flower girl, as was my cousin, Elise.

Our very yummy cake!

The Rest of the Story

2007-10-29T20:48:00.001-04:00

Methodist Church, Cades Cove

To finish up from the last post....

After crashing and burning Wednesday night from our Chimney Tops hike, We woke up Thursday morning and spent a bit of time recuperating in our wonderful hot tub as we enjoyed the mountains and nice fall weather. We both decided that we could easily get used to having a hot tub and even discussed having one here in Indiana.

Thursday afternoon we headed back out to the Smokey Mountain National Forest and meandered back to Cades Cove. We stopped and had lunch at one of the picnic sites and watched for bears. Much to Scott's dismay, they were all hidden away! Anyway, after lunch, we started on the 11 mile drive through Cades Cove. Many of the original buildings have been maintained, most close to their original locations. We were on a very narrow, one-way road and most of the time we crawled at a max of 20mph.

I have posted some of the pictures as we winded our way through the Cove!

Scott and our traveling companion, Bart, in Cades Cove

Blythe and Bart in Cades Cove

We continued on our drive through the Cove only to get stopped by traffic as they were all taking pictures of the White tailed deer that make their home in the National Park. The only annoying thing was the blatant dismissal of the posted signs stating "Do not Stop". We had about 3 cars in front of us stop each and every time they saw a deer, open the door, get out, and take several pictures! We were very grateful to reach the exit!!

We then headed back towards the entrance to the National Forest and stopped at the Laurel Falls trail and did a quick, "easy" hike. It wasn't bad, this was what we saw at the falls!

Well, needless to say, as of Friday, my left foot was out of commission, so Friday and Saturday, we were unable to do any hiking. We instead toured the craft community and downtown of Gatlinburg. Saturday we left the cabin and then headed thru the National Forest into Cherokee, North Carolina. We did an educational tour of the Cherokee Indians. It was really interesting and informative. After that, we had lunch at a place that we will never, ever speak of again. We then headed on "scenic" tour of North Carolina, back into Tennessee. We ended up staying Saturday in Knoxville and then headed home Sunday!

It was a great week and we are really, really looking forward to go back. We just have to make sure to keep hiking so no one injures themselves!

Honeymooning in Tennessee

2007-10-23T17:04:00.000-04:00

In my last post I promised to give more information on the wedding and honeymoon. Since I do not yet have the photo cd from the wedding, I will instead fill you in on what we did last week on our honeymoon...

We left Monday after the wedding about 2 p.m. to start the journey to Pigeon Forge, TN where we had rented a cabin for the week. We made it into Kentucky and stopped to check the tire pressure (and for a bathroom break) and Scott noticed something in one of the front tires. It seemed to hold pressure well, so we decided to continue on our journey and have it repaired on Tuesday. Well, you were probably wondering what happened....We did make it all the way to our cabin (about 8pm) without any tire issues.

Now for those of you who have been to Pigeon Forge, you probably already know this, but let me tell you that there is a ton of JUNK there! There are also a variety of shows to take in, if that is your kinda thing. For Scott and I, this wasn't really something we wanted to see. I must say, that as we were driving through Severville and into Pigeon Forge, I was completely overwehelmed and had sensory overload from all of the lighted signs, go-cart tracks, and shops of anything and everything. I thought you might find this amusing:

We actually saw about 4 or 5 of these stores where you could purchase anything that is on a TV infomercial. We never did go into one of these stores, but we were very curious and have added that to our list of things to do the next time we are in Tennessee.

Now I mentioned earlier that we made it to our cabin safely. what I did not tell you is that we were staying on top of a mountain in Pigeon Forge! Literally!!! Each time we decided to go to the cabin, Scott had to put the truck in the lowest gears in order to climb the mountain. He also became very adept at driving the twists and curves up the mountain without any damage to the truck! There were a few really tight turns that we both gave thanks each time we made it safely through.

Anyway, I digress...Now on Tuesday, we woke up and since we didn't have anything for breakfast, we decided to dine at a local establishment (Flapjacks) that we learned was a small chain in the Pigeon Forge-Gatlinburg area.

After breakfast, we decided that the tire needed some attention so we found a local tire store and while they were working on the truck, we wandered over to the outlet mall and did some shopping. Scott found some great deals at the Hagger store and I got a few new pairs of shoes.

Once we had the truck back, we headed out to Gatlinburg to shop a bit more. We wandered in and out of several of the stores, but again we were overwhelmed by all of the "junk" that you could purchase. There were t-shirts, mugs, purses, etc. Most anything you might want, and all of it made in China. We did stop into one of the Old Time shops and had our picture taken. Neither one of us had ever done that, so it was fun!

We ended up doing some shopping at Wal-Mart to have groceries for the week so we didn't have to spend so much money or get up super early! We then headed back up the mountain to our cabin and enjoyed some time alternating between the hot tub and sauna.

Wednesday we spent the afternoon hiking the Chimney Tops Trail. This is one of the more difficult trails in the Smokey Mountains, and we soon found out why. A large portion of the hike you are going up pretty steep inclines and for those of us who were slightly out of shape, it was a challenge. I remember stopping several times to "look at that cool rock" to have a break and catch my breath. We did make it to the top and here are some of the magnificent views:

Let me just say, that it was all we could do to make dinner and eat before we both died for the night. I fell asleep right after dinner and then woke up and Scott was asleep! We both then climbed gingerly into bed and slept very, very hard!

I will post more about our vacation later!

Blythe

What a great time!

2007-10-22T14:32:00.000-04:00

Scott and I just got back from our honeymoon in the BEAUTIFUL Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. But I will fill you in more on that in another post...

Thursday before the wedding, my family from Seattle came to town and my cousin, Elise, came with me and we got our fingernails and toenails painted for the big event!

Elise's fancy toe nails. She had a very pretty flower on each big toe!

The Friday before the wedding, we were up and going pretty early in the day to get everything done. We had to take the kids (Chloe, Molly, & Bear) to the kennel for the wedding and honeymoon. We use a place called Four Paws Palace in Edinburgh, IN. They do a nice job and the dogs are always worn out when they come home. They have done nothing but sleep today!!!

Anyway, Friday we had decided to have a cook-out and hayride in Brown County State Park. We loaded up our vehicles, along with Steve's car (Scott's dad) and headed out for the weekend. We had lots of great helpers to get everything set up for the evening. Steve and several of my uncles mastered the grills for the evening and the food was great! We even made smores in the evening with one of the campfires. They were yummy! After dinner we went on a hayride through the park. It was really nice to see so may stars. It was great to have family and friends to a great party for the night and even though it got a bit chilly, I think that everyone had a pretty good time!

Scott had a really good idea to carve pumpkins to put on some of the tables for center pieces. So, we spent some time Thursday night carving about 8 pumpkins and then we had some help with the remaining pumpkins Friday as we set up for the evening. They turned out really well and I posted a few of my faves!

This is one of the Doggie pumpkins we carved, cute, huh?

This is Hippo Lovie, it was carved in honor of Elise's hippo by her dad, Scott Stouffer!

We followed a smiley face pattern for this one...it's amazing what they have to help you carve a fun pumpkin!

This is Blue's Clues, for all of the fans out there! Enjoy!

Anyway, I have tons more to share, but I need to get the photos from the wedding and reception before I can share too much more! I promise more posts will follow. I hope you all are doing well!

Blythe :)

In the home stretch...

2007-10-05T15:08:00.000-04:00

I knew all along that this time would come and it eventually hit me this week that in about a week I will be a married lady. Now I know you are saying, "well, duh Blythe" but I guess with the planning and everything you forget about what is really going to happen until God smacks you in the face with a reality check!

My reality check came on Monday as I was driving to work and thinking about everything that needed to get done in this week and next. All of the sudden, it was "wow....I am going to be married pretty soon..." Sorry if it wasn't more insightful, but it just kinda blew me away. Even today when I was out running some errands and I said that I was getting married in about a week, it was kinda odd, but in a good way.

I am getting really excited and I can't wait to see everyone and spend the weekend with family and friends. I promise to post pictures after as well!

Off to accomplish a bit more!

Blythe :)

One month and counting!

2007-09-15T11:50:00.000-04:00

Molly and Chloe just wanted to say Hey! Can you see the white around Molly's eyes....blame it all on Chloe. She doesn't really let Molly rest much.

I can't believe that in about a month, we will be enjoying time with family and friends in Brown County for our wedding. I really seems like the time has flown!

Scott has been working feverishly to get as much done on the house as possible. I have been helping when able, but plumbing and electrical work are not only NOT my forte, but really they are one-man jobs. I can only imagine that if I was doing the electrical, it would take 10 times as long and be wrong!!!

Anyway, most everything is done for October, we just have the last minute things to finish. I am actually heading to Indy today for a shower that my sister, Anna, and a family friend are hosting. It should be a nice afternoon (a little cool) and it will be fun to see family and friends.

Talk to you soon and I will surely have some fun pictures to post!

Blythe

2007-08-26T17:16:00.000-04:00

Well, another very busy weekend has just flown!

Friday I spent some time with my mom in Indianapolis at a "Speaking on Women's Health" Conference. We had a good time and I learned belly dancing and even fooled someone at the mall. Apparently, I still look like I am 20 yrs old!!!

Yesterday we spent moving my sister and her family from their home in Columbus to a new home in Edinburgh. It was nice weather to be moving and we were able to get quite a few boxes unpacked.

Today we went to church and then spent the afternoon enjoying a local lunch spot and some putt putt golf with some of the youth of our church. We had a good time!

As promised, I have included some inside pictures of what we have gotten done on the house. Enjoy!

Blythe :)

This was our bathroom about Decemberish....The round thing on the floor is the toilet flang.

This is another view from the back wall of the bathroom. On the left will be an inclosed shower stall. You will see it in one of the other pictures.

This view looks into the 2nd bedroom, currently still in progress...

This is our bathroom now, all we need now is the door, We can add that once the floor is laid in the hallway.

This is another view (from the doorway) of the new bathroom. It is so nice to have working facilities in the house!!!

As soon as we have more done, I will send out more pictures.

Pictures of the House

2007-08-13T17:45:00.001-04:00

I know it has been a bit since I last wrote. Things have been pretty busy here! Scott has been working on the plumbing in the laundry/bathroom in the back of the house. I have been working on keeping the outside as nice as I can with the heat and humidity as of late.

Here are some pictures of what we have done so far inside and out! Enjoy!

This is the front yard, small, but certainly enough to keep me busy most of the year!

This is our back yard. Our oldest, Bear, is standing guard on the deck. He is really a big sissy and spends most of his time there when he is outside! Finally we have been able to enjoy some time outside the last few days as it hasn't been as warm.

Last summer I spent a LOT of time right here. This summer has kept me a bit busier and the weather has prohibited some of my hammock time. I can't wait for cooler weather to be able to enjoy some quality time in the hammock.

I also have some pictures of the bathroom that is mostly finished. We have had a functional bathroom since February and it is wonderful!!!! I will include those in my next post!

Have a great day!

Blythe :)

What a Week...and it's only Thursday!

2007-08-02T09:48:00.000-04:00

Wow! I cannot believe that it is already Thursday. It seems like it was just Sunday. We have been super busy this week. I worked Monday and Wednesday and I am heading in about 11:30 today as well.

Tuesday I spent most of the day at home baby sitting the "kids", making some calls for wedding stuff, and waiting for my car to be finished at the Volkswagon dealer in Speedway, IN. I had to have several things done and was kinda sweating it because it was 4 and I still hadn't heard if they were finished and I needed to pick-up my car before they closed at 6p.m.

Not only did we drive to Speedway, we actually headed up to Muncie to see Scott's Gradma Rector. She has been in a nursing home for several years and had some medical problems Tuesday morning and we just felt the need to visit and see her. As far as I know, she is doing okay. Scott's mom, Sandy, has been taking care of her since she has been in the home and was there Tuesday night as well. She had spent most of Tuesday with her mom.

Scott and I were both pretty tired by the time we got home Tuesday night and it was straight to bed for both as we had early mornings.

Anyway, it has been kinda busy around here, hope all is well with you! I am going to try to take some pictures this weekend of the house, yard, etc so you have something more exciting to look at!

Blythe :)

We finished!

2007-07-27T18:15:00.000-04:00

As of late Wednesday night both of us officially finished Harry Potter. I must admit that I was having a very, very hard time putting it down. I was also having moments where I wanted to bite my nails due to the anticipation of what might happen next. I won't give any of the story away, but I will say that if you haven't read it, you are in for the ride of your life. You should also probably plan to take a weekend and read it because it will grab a hold and you won't be able to put it down.

Outside of the Harry Potter craze, our house is starting to normalize again and we are getting back on track with work, the house, etc. Scott has been working on getting in some of the last duct lines for the heating and cooling system. He has been spending a lot of time under the house in the crawl space the last week or so.

Next step is working on some of the plumbing for the back of the house where we will have a half bath/laundry room.

Well, I will chat some more updates later! I will be at work while Scott is under the house tomorrow!

Have a good night,

Blythe

The Adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione...

2007-07-24T20:50:00.000-04:00

Wow! I must admit that I have been glued to the latest craze, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for most of today. I decided to hole myself up at the house as much as possible today so that I could continue the adventures of Harry and his friends, Hermione and Ron.

I started this morning about 9am and didn't stop really until about 3pm, except to grab a bite here and there. I then had to go over to our church to help with the landscaping group that I have joined this summer. We were hard at work fertilizing, watering, and pruning around the building. I got home about 6pm and started again as soon as possible. It is really, really good!

Scott has finished the book...last night about midnight....and he thought it was really good. He has stayed up several nights in a row reading feverishly into the early morning hours. He was bound and determined to finish the book before me. I think he going to start over at book 1 and read them all over again.

Blythe

Anyway, I just wanted to take a quick break, but back to Harry and the gang!

Missed it!

2007-07-21T08:48:00.000-04:00

In case you all were wondering, we both missed the midnight adventure to our local Wal-Mart to purchase HP and the Deathly Hallows. We both fell asleep and decided we could wait until today. I am sure by noon we will have at lease 1 copy of the book.

I worked Friday from 8-6:30, and didn't get home until about 7:30 or so. By the time dinner was made and we had eaten, I was wiped out! I think I fell asleep shortly after 10pm. I do remember waking up around 12:30 to see if Scott wanted to go get the book. I got a muffled response of "mmmpfh, too tired...will get tomorrow."

Now, normally on a Saturday when I don't have to drag myself into work at the crack of dawn, I do enjoy sleeping in. I have found though, that usually means until Molly and Chloe wake up. 2 of our 3 dogs are on a definite schedule and they won't let us sleep in at all! I was up, promptly at 6:30 to let them out and then by 7 they were pestering me for breakfast. Consequently, they are both fast asleep for the first of many naps today! What a life to be a dog, huh?

Have a great day!

Can't Hardly Wait

2007-07-19T20:22:00.000-04:00

Well, the time is almost here...

Harry Potter Book 7!!!!

In the Swanger household one of us is very eagerly anticipating the arrival of the last book in the famed series of Harry Potter. Our Friday night will actually be spent waiting to purchase the book at our local Wal-Mart. Hopefully we can remain patient with the Columbus locals. We shall see...If I start calling asking for bail money for Scott, you all know why!

Over the past week or so, it has been all about Harry....watching the current movie in the theater twice, watching the other movies, reading books predicting what MIGHT happen in the last novel, etc.

I will admit, the books are great! I love reading each one and discovering a world unlike the one we currently live but the main themes are very relevant to our world today. Things like friendship, love, loyalty, fighting for what is right, are all great lessons for kids and adults alike. I will admit, I can't remember Harry's birthday (October 31st) or some of the other details, but I will tell you that I think this is a great series to share.

Anyway, I can imagine that Scott will be feverishly reading away, so I may have to read when he is working so he can't spoil the ending or tease me endlessly about knowing what is happening.

Have a great night!

Blythe & Scott

Welcome to our home!

2007-07-17T09:56:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! I decided after getting so engrossed in everyone's blogs to start one of my own.

I will keep you updated on what has been done on the house, our dogs, and our upcoming wedding in October.

Hope you enjoy!

Blythe