Update on Jenny Lane

It was a funny week. We started out with a big day on Monday with the guys coming and doing a huge job with putting the trim on the new windows in the “Office” and the “Sun Room” on the outside. It looks wonderful. You would not know that the upper row of windows is made up of two single windows on either side of a three panel window. It appears as one window with the trim on it. We love the look. At some point John is going to get the shingles for the outside of the addition which will certainly change the look again. In the meantime we are getting used to the red and the green exterior.

We painted the bonus room with the same soft gray as the front hall and are very pleased at how it all works together. We don’t have any furniture for the room yet except for a table and a t.v. which we unfortunately broke when carrying it downstairs. Well, we cracked the screen, but the t.v. still works you just have to ignore the cracks across the top. The LCD t.v.’s are so sensitive. We moved that television all the way up from South Carolina last spring without any trouble at all. Then when we wanted to move it downstairs to the bonus room we gripped the corner too hard and cracked the glass. Boy did I feel really stupid. Along with this, at the time, catastrophe, we got a call from the gas fireplace person, Sean, who told us that the gas fireplace we had chosen could not be installed in a chimney. I then told him about the television issue and we both ended up laughing as he said “I bet you were beginning to think this project was never going to happen.” That is exactly how I felt. We have had so few bleeps in this project it was a bit unnerving to have two things happen in two days. However, it is all going to be fine. It appears the television is actually too big for the spot where we had planned to put it and the substitute gas fireplace, while a bit more expensive, is coming with lots more bells and whistles. Sean felt so badly about giving us the wrong information he gave us a huge discount on the upgrade version of the fireplace. You just have to roll with it.

Walking This Week

Katie and I finished our week by participating in a Virtual Fun Run sponsored by LL Bean. We entered at the beginning of the month and decided that Saturday was the day. I have not done a race since February of 2019 when I did one in Sarasota Florida. Honestly do not know where the time went. That race was my best time for a 10k ever. I did it in 1:35:33. Pace was 15:25. I was a tad slower but absolutely right on. This is after recovering from my foot issue and not being able to train the way I did before the February walk. Katie beat me of course. You might note I came in 82 out of 88 – everyone else was running!!!! It was such fun to be back out there again. Now we wait for the bling. As Katie said, it’s all about the bling.

The dogs and I had several good hikes along the rail trail. One day we went in the rain because we had been cooped up for a couple of days and couldn’t stand to be indoors another day. The trees are still gorgeous but the dogs are not as interested in swimming as they used to be. This path is magical under the canopy of yellow and orange.

Animal Week

Bean is very proud of herself for treeing this bear that was in our backyard. This was his second visit of the week and she had had enough. He stole the bird feeder two days before. Said bird feeder now goes in at night as well as now hanging on a long pole up a story from the ground. He hasn’t been back so we will see if her tactic worked. We found a woodpecker in our new sun room who had somehow sneaked in around the plastic covering the door. John gently removed him where he promptly flew off and joined a friend in the tree next to the house. On our walk today we ran into a flock of turkeys – too many to count. So lots of wildlife for variation.

Healthy Food and a Recipe

John made a new batch of his Maple Granola this week and I am one happy person. It had been awhile. My favorite breakfast is 1/2 cup of his granola, plain yogurt and blueberries. I am so happy to be eating our own blueberries that we picked this summer. Lovely start to the day. No wonder I did so well in the race:)

John’s Famous Granola

Mix in a large bowl:

3 cups Rolled Oats
Generous portion of Sliced Almonds
1/4 cup Chia Seeds
1/4 cup Flax Seeds
1/4 cup Sesame Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Pumpkin Seeds
3/4 cup Maple Syrup
1/4 cup Coconuet Oil

Stir all together and then bake for about an hour at 250, scrape and stir and then another hour at 250 and then add

1/2 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Craisins
1 to 2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon

Store in an airtight container for a couple of weeks if you can make it last that long.  

A fun note: My nickname is Lulu and has been since I was a child. Now my grandchildren call me by that name. Every day I get an email with a Word of the Day in it. Guess what today’s was? Yes, Lulu. Nuff said!!!!