Ohhh.... I miss Germany ....

I had the chance to talk to my mom today ... she mentioned that she saw a show that had Bitburg, Germany in it ... House Hunters International on HGTV ... So, I went to their website and found the show! Rittersdorf was right next to our village!! (same bus route) ... we used to paddle boat on the lake at Biersdorf!!! ... ahhh... memories .... I miss it!

http://www.hgtv.com/video/village-life-in-bitburg-video/index.html

(obviously, the guy will be teaching school at Spangdahlem base ...)

A Visitor!! :)

Labor Day weekend was a surprise for Spencer!

I made him go with me to Target ... on the way out, we ran into this kid!

Spencer's best buddy from Germany, Nolan!!!

Nolan lives in Louisiana now. A friend of their family were visiting family members in Converse (not far from here) ... they brought Nolan along to spend the weekend with us!

The two boys had no problem reconnecting ....

and spending quality (?) time together ...

At least they had fun! And I did make them take a break from the video games to swim in the pool a little ....

This house doesn't have the 5 floors and tons of room that the house in Utah had ... But, we still LOVE VISITORS!! and we'll make room for you!!! (hint, hint!)

Fun ladder decor ...

So ... remember I told you to notice the ladder on the front porch?

I bought the ladder in Utah, at The Quilted Bear. I also bought the decor kits for: 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas, Valentines, Spring, and Summer ....

I wasn't thrilled with the fall set (it had a scarecrow face I didn't like), at the time there was no Thanksgiving set, and no Birthday set, and of course, no Texas set! ;)

What better thing that the shape of Texas made from red Barn wood!!

(like the cowboy boots on the bottom?)

Now I have my OWN Thanksgiving AND Fall ....

Plus, a one of a kind Birthday!!

p.s. did I mention I got a scroll saw for Mother's Day? I wasn't allowed to take it out of the box before we moved ... it's out of the box now .... LOVE it!!!

What I've been doing since last July ....

Obviously, I'm not very good at keeping my blog current ...

But, I hope you enjoy the sporadic posts anyway ...

Front porch pictures ...

I enjoy decorating for fall ... (especially when it is still in the 80's!)

Note the ladder decor ... You'll see more soon!

View into the kitchen

This is the wall our builder put in for us. It was open at this spot (for a dinning room type area). There is a picture of the doors they put in lower in this post ... This is now Darren's office ...

Yep, still have a lot of my Rooster decor up ...

I had a little less cupboard space, so I have to use shelves... It's not too bad, it's even convenient sometimes!

Standing behind the island in the kitchen, this is the view of the living room...

I love having a gas fireplace! I like the no mess, and just flipping a switch to turn it on and off ... Note the TV cupboard below .... once upon a time, when I first bought it, it was blue ... Then for years it was cream, with wobbly legs ... Now it's brown!! with much sturdier legs! Still love it!

Living room view from front door area ...

Stairs are right inside the front door ....

On the left is the piano room (would be a dinning room), and on the right, the doors to Darren's office (one door shut, one open, in the picture)...

Devin got a new headboard!

I acquired some red barn wood in Utah. I had made a bookshelf from some of the wood (it is now in Devin's room) -- then, much to the dismay of the movers & my husband, I had the rest of the barn wood moved .... I'm glad I did!! I made this headboard, and the night stand below ... Still have plans for crafts & frames for the rest of the wood ...

New Home!!

http://www.tourfactory.com/765523

Go check it out!!

We are very happy & excited!

(only one change, enclosing the "formal living room" for an office with french doors)

A dumpster, landscape crew, painting crew, cleaning crew, carpet layers, pool guy, and LOTS of $$$ Later ...

So ... What did they take with them?

Ahh ... all done ... hopefully the new tenants will be better ....

Really!!? People live this way?

Our renters moved out ... We have a new Management Company to help us rent the house ... and luckily to help us find a Handyman company to help us get the house in order!! I got to Vegas about 5:30pm on June 1st and had until Wed. June 8th to get it ready for new renters coming on June 9th ....

The Pool that they had kept so nice for us ....

They had NO pets ... but alas, the Ferret poop in the corner ...

Pool basket ... what? it's not supposed to have a shoe, glove, food, cigarettes, trash in it?

Hmmm ... if we cleaned the filters would the dirt go away?

And this is the "Clean" toilet" in the Master Bedroom!! I used public restrooms!!

This grout was light tan ... once upon a time ...

"You knew we had a dog!"

Typical window sill ... my painter had many choice words for them when he walked through ....

Why wipe walls or light fixtures?

One of the bathrooms ... they were all similar ....

"We are out." Really? what did you take with you?

Did they cook, or just burn?

We had nice carpet ... I guess wiping feet and taking off shoes is out of vogue?

Master bathroom ....

One of the bedrooms ... did they sleep on couches?

The kitchen ... if only they would use all those cleaning products!!

Darren & I had got down to Vegas the first weekend in April. We did some yard work in the front, found the backyard trashed, and discovered the very large dog!! We met with a Management Company and decided to go with them ... So, when we got home, we emailed the tenants to let them know that we would be using a management company, and the management company wanted us to send them a certified letter to let them know of the change. The renters would have till the end of April to decide if they would sign a new contract, or give 30 days notice ... We received a scathing email back ... "After all we've done for you! You're kicking us to the curb with no options .." blah, blah, blah .... Then a few weeks later, "We are in escrow on a house we will be out by the end of the month" .... Supposedly, the paper work was not done by the end of the month, so they had to move into a rental ... but they are G-O-N-E !! yipee!!