Sabbatical project

What's better to do on sabbatical than major household renovation?!

We (Bo) are (is) replacing the flooring in the house, removing the wood stove and (finally) finishing that corner, painting the bathroom and various other areas.

More cool floor for the dogs to lay on!

The laundry room. We are thinking about this color for the guest bath and the kitchen. We know it's dark and it might make the rooms seem smaller but it's so rich. It's really beautiful. If whoever buys our place doesn't like it then they can replace it!

Pictures

Here are the pictures from this summer so far...
My petunias, thought I killed them, but they came back!

HEY! Who did that?!
Ben and Grandpa Leslie at the Space Museum in Alamogordo.
Benjaman and Grandma Leslie at the Space Museum in Alamogordo.
Benjaman at the Space Museum in Alamogordo.
Kissy face Bo! lol
Ben feeding the bunnies at the Leslie farm.
Ben milking the goat at Leslie farm.
Red sun, the first day of the Las Conchas fire. This picture really doesn't do it justice. The sun looked like Mars.
Isotopes baseball game. No, I was not irritating that poor child! lol And he loved it!
Ben...pensive....
Ben, working....building the new "spot" for the washing machine water so our septic system would quit over flowing and I could do more than 2 loads of laundry a day. Wait a minute...who wants to do more than 2 loads of laundry a day! Oh well, get it all done in one day in my motto. Good thing I'm not God! There would be NO Sabbath! lolMe, freezing my arse at the crest. It was 100 degrees at home!
My morning glory vines. Hopefully they'll start blooming soon.
My spinach, I think. Is it? Is it ready to pick? Did I let it go too long? Why didn't I research this first?
Kawliga's wooden indian maid, from Denver's Museum of Natural History.
My hollyhocks finally hocked!

What sign? No beer? Well, we're outside the fence so it doesn't count.
My hollyhocks.

This is to remind you that it will cool off eventually and we'll be complaining then too!

Perspective

I can be depressed or

I can be thankful for...the roof over my head, electricity that almost never goes out, air conditioning, heating, pantry & freezers full of food, good friends, loving family, a good, loving, kind husband and a moral, upright, teenage boy (and that's the biggest miracle because it's a thing of the distant past)...I could go on, but these are the most important.

I hate....

I hate that Jeremy died. I hate depression. I hate alienation. I hate what my life has become. I hate the pain of those around me. I don't want to see how God will use for good. I just want to go back.