Fall in New York

This post is for the family members and friends who live in California, Colorado, Florida, Africa, and other places that don't have the fall colors of New York. No narrative is needed, just enjoy the photos. Most of them are better if you click on them and view them full size. These were all taken on our road and around our house.

One Teen Left

Wednesday was Erika's 20th birthday. We have gone from the years of having 3 teens to now only having one teen left. Because of everyone's crazy schedules, we didn't end up having her party till about 10 p.m.! Her friend from church, Kelly, came over.

This is Erika's gift from Alesha. Inside was fingernail polish and perfume.

Here is Erika opening another gift. She got an alarm clock, CD/DVD set of Third Day (a Christian music group), a ring, earrings, and a pennywhistle.

And no birthday blog would be complete without a picture of the birthday cake.

Happy 20th birthday, Erika!

Shopping Spreeeee!

Where can you buy an entire winter wardrobe in one afternoon and not break the bank? Well, at my favorite boutique of course! Salvation Army! Last week Erika and I did some serious shopping. Now one can't hurry through Salvation Army if you expect to find any treasures. I think we were there at least 3 hours. And treasures we did find!

Erika found a dress that she thought was very pretty. I looked at it and said, "That's a vintage dress!" She decided to buy it as it fit her perfectly and looked very nice on her. When we got home I did quite a bit of internet research but didn't have much success finding other items by the same manufacturer. The one I did find that was very similar in style but not nearly as elegant was dated in the 1940s and was selling for about $70.00. You can be sure Erika didn't pay that for her dress! We were shopping half price tags, too! She also got a pretty "Joseph's" corduroy coat (multi-colored) for fall, a pair of dress boots, and a beautiful leather pair of high heels.

I was just shopping for outfits to wear to work. This is my haul. I guess the picture is too dark to see much. On the end is a wool maroon skirt. The white blouse with it was brand new-still had the tag on it. Next in is a brown wool pleated skirt, and a tannish colored light-weight sweater. Above that is a blue/green plaid pants and suit jacket (wool) with a navy blue turtle neck. And to the far right is a red/black plaid skirt with a white blouse and red knit vest.

Here is the other half of my haul. You can see the rest of the red and black outfit. Next to that is blue cordoroy pants and a lighter blue sweater. Above it is light grey wool pants and a multicolored sweater. And to the right is a pair of maroonish/tan/plaidish pants and a sweater to match, and a pair of faux suede turquoise pants and a turquoise sweater. Not bad huh?

And finally, this fall jumper (the print is apples and green leaves), which I wore to work today.

Anyone out there need a personal shopper?

P.S. This post is mainly for my sister who wanted to see what I wear to work since I wore uniforms to my last 2 jobs!

Garage Roof and end of the roofing job!

Before the garage could be re-roofed, the cupola had to come down. Jeremiah wanted to be the one to pull it down with the tractor.

The inside of the cupola was full of wasp's nests. We've had quite a problem with wasps behind the shutters and siding, and in the roofing process getting into the house (mostly the living room and Jeremiah's room).

Here is the faithful crew working on the final roof! Duane, Jeremiah, and Den have worked so hard on this job. I even helped Duane on the first several runs of shingles on the garage roof--the ones we could do from the scaffolding without getting up on the roof.

Sunday afternoon another man from church came over to help us finish the job. Billy has his own contracting business and came fully equipped with tools and a lot of experience. Boy could he move fast on a roofing job! He and Jeremiah started on the back side of the roof while Den and Duane finished up the front side.

Here are Billy and Jeremiah on the back side of the garage roof.

Putting the cap on the very last roof. On the last day of September the roofing job was done. A big thanks to each person who helped! There's still a lot more to be done to finish the roof and the house, but having the roof done is a huge project out of the way! Hallelujah! A cool thing is that our best friends have also been building a porch and roofing there house, and they were hoping to finish their roof on Sunday as well. Not only that, turns out we both picked the same color of shingles.

The grand finale was having the pesticide company come and take care of the wasps/spiders/ladybugs/cluster flies and whatever other creatures have taken up habitation in our house! In a few days we should be rid of the wasps, he says. You can see several wasps around his head in this photo.

Porch and Roof--Other wing

The porch roof has some very difficult angles and Duane has done a wonderful job figuring it all out.

Here is Duane in the corner again. No, he wasn't a bad boy! Is Den holding the ladder or shaking the ladder?












And another view of the center porch and a bit of the bedroom wing section.

















Our pastor came over one of the afternoons and helped on the roof. We're thankful for him taking time out of his very busy schedule. Here he is with Den. I don't know how we could have done this job without Den. He has come over nearly every single afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday, leaving at 6 p.m. to work a night shift. This job would not be done any time soon without his help. We really appreciate him.











The roof is finally done on the bedroom wing.






























Resting? Thinking? Planning? Sliding off the roof?























This is our pastor. He is a wonderful shepherd, and a man of many talents and abilities. He really loves the Lord and loves to help the members of his flock.
















Here are the porch roofs all finished.

All the roofs are done here except for the garage, and in the bottom left corner of the photo, you can see the guys half way up the front of the garage.