Greetings from Oregon

CONTENTS

TN LIFE

CRAFTS

BOOK REVIEW

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TENNESSEE LIFE:
Nope, we're not in Oregon. But we might as well be with the weather here in Tennessee. We have only had two days of sunshine in the past couple of weeks it seems. Rain, dreary, overcast, more rain. Muddy floors, chill that I can't get rid of.

My mood is definitely being controlled by the weather. I'm blah. I need a nice, soft, comfy, warm bathrobe to wrap around me. That is another item I purged for the RV lifestyle. A bulky bathrobe took up too much room in the closet. I sure miss it now. One of these days, I'll go into the larger town to a higher quality store than Walmart and get a thick bathrobe.

With faceplate

Our heat pump is running all the time, yet I'm still chilled. We have a large fireplace that we've been enjoying many fires, but it is definitely an energy waster. We had a roaring fire the other night, but the room didn't go above 71°. We are going back and forth about a wood stove. Do we sacrifice the beauty of a roaring fire for the efficiency of a wood stove? Wood stoves have come a long way and have more glass area for a better view of the fire. The wood stove, accessories, and installation will run between $4000. - $5000. Ugh! It will take us about 5 years to start seeing the savings. But the house will be toasty in the Winter. Is it cold enough here for a wood stove? We rarely get below freezing here so far.

Rustic without faceplate

Another question...should Scott install the chimney tube part? I just assumed we would pay for installation. I am at a stage in my life, that I'd rather just pay someone to do it for us. Scott still considers it a doable challenge that will give him a sense of satisfaction. My thoughts are we're dealing with fire, high temps, etc. I don't want our house burning down or being smoked out. Leave it to the pros.

Opinions please: Do you prefer the wood stove with a faceplate above or more rustic on the left. I THINK I like the more rustic.

Christmas as with really all holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. is a non-event for us. We stopped exchanging gifts and now even cards years ago. I don't feel cheated. I don't feel unloved. I don't feel unappreciated. We both feel relieved to not have the pressure of having to buy gifts. Again, we are at that point in our lives where if we want something, we just go get it. What can we give each other for Christmas, etc? Love is enough.  If anyone feels bad for us, then just pretend that the bedroom chests I bought were a gift to Scott.

Another mail order purchase. We love our 2 chest of drawers, made from cedar. These items were purchase from JHE's Log Furniture Place.

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CRAFTS:
With all the free wood on our land, I'm hoping to be creative. I've got a scroll saw. I just purchased wood carving tools and a "draw blade". A draw blade is a blade that you pull along the raw tree to remove the bark. I don't plan on doing large projects, just small branches, small creative pieces. We'll see. Right now with the blah weather, I barely get off the couch!

I did make a simple set of bedroom end tables. My goal this time around living in a house is to keep the dust, dirt, clutter under control. That means a lot of vacuuming. Vacuuming means a lot of moving items around. So the less items on the floor the better.

What do you think of my idea? It may not be the best wood working, but it'll do and fulfills it's purpose. We have end tables, without dust collecting behind them or having to move them to vacuum. I am very happy with them.

I took 2 12" x 10' boards, screwed them together, curved the corners, sanded and stained. Slip these under the mattress. The mattress holds the boards and the ends stick out for the table. I hope to add a 2nd tier to the table, but for now, it'll do nicely.
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BOOK REVIEW:
Always With You by Andrea  Hurst
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

You get involved with who you shouldn't, the heartache is your own fault. Nip it in the bud.
On and on, sneaking little secret touches, on and on about this is the love of my life, but I can't have him/her.
A romance book and I actually skipped over much of the romance. I was more interested in the workings of the little cafe and what new creations would be served to the customers.