Getting all of our STUFF

Wonder of wonders, we actually managed to purchase all of the materials that we need in order to re-roof and re-side the house. What perfect timing God has. We weren't sure that we would have the funds to do both, but then we got this little coupon in the mail that gave us 10% off of our entire purchase, so it made buying the shingles and underlayment just barely possible. Whoopee!

Now, we just have to find the time to actually do the job. It is getting very difficult to get anything done now that Tanner works. Plus, I threw my back out doing something, don't know what, so I've been unable to help him for the past week. I just hope my back doesn't hurt while we're flying to PDX this week.

We've definetly decided to take out some of the windows in this house. I think we'll end up reducing the number by at least four perhaps five. The house will be more energy efficient, and windows are expensive to replace whereas framing in a new wall only costs a few dollars. When Kate requested that we paint our house pink, Tanner explained to her that pink is a color that belongs on the inside of a house not the outside. She frowned and said, "but our house in Clackamas is pink..." Aaah! Revelation! We've decided, or perhaps I should say Kate has decided, to paint this house burgundy with dark brown trim that way according to her, Emma will be able to find our new house.

One of my student's dad is an avid reader, and I was commiserating with him about leaving books behind. He and his wife had left behind quite a number of books when they had moved to Thailand a couple of years ago. They had gone as computer science teachers for 2 years. I told him about having to get rid of about 80% of my books because we couldn't afford to ship them to Texas, and he in turn told me about this great little book store called Halfpriced Books.

Hehehe...I finally made it to the store just a couple of days ago. Oh, boy, it really is half price. It's similar to Powell's bookstore, just a little smaller, and it's only 2 blocks away. So much for the food budget, right? Who needs to eat when they can read?