Dear Kids,
          When you step into our house, you smell freshly-cut wood. That’s because Scott True has been framing our basement. In fact, he’s nearly done. He would have finished on Friday, but he ran out of wood. Which was a good thing. I realized we needed to cut into at least one of the heat trunks and run out a heat duct before he framed around it. So Dad and I got going on that yesterday morning. Like all projects, it grew. The one heat duct was so hard that I realized we’d better do all of them, while we could still get to them. It involved two trips to Home Depot, and many dollars (you know, HD stands for hundreds of dollars, or more likely, thousands) but by nighttime, we had finished all five lines coming out of the main trunk. That doesn’t mean they went all the way out to the end, but they’re out far enough that we can finish them pretty easily. I’m having all the heat vents on the outside walls, down at the floor, instead of how they’re usually done–close in, up on the ceiling. People have tried to convince me that the usual method is the best, but Dad and I slept in a basement bedroom for 25 years, and I know what works. It doesn’t cost that much more, and we’ve done the hard part already.
          Meanwhile, our office cabinets are sitting, waiting for countertops, which can’t be done until our trim pieces arrive. In our big bathroom, the new vanity is sitting, with no sink or faucet. All our office stuff and computer gear is crammed into the play room, and it even covers the door to the toy closet. But I don’t care. What better way to get through January than with big projects?
          What else is going on? Not much. Aubrey’s baptism will be coming up, and I’ll post the details when I get them. Otherwise, there isn’t much to look forward to. Except that, once more, a big snowstorm has been forecasted. It’s supposed to arrive tomorrow. Away with the brown dirt and rocks! Bring it on!
          Hope you’re all doin’ great and lovin’ it! Mom