Jammed finger, cut knuckle...

Jammed finger, cut knuckle, blister on fingertip, aching lower back and neck... Yes. I've been painting! It's been a lonnnnnggg weekend. At the time, power washing the house seemed like a good idea... until some of the paint came off. Then, overspray from staining the deck furniture got on the siding. So, the decision was made to paint the house.

Now, we're trying to beat the cold weather and winter. The house looks nice, but it's been a slow process playing hide and seek with either cold or rainy days.

Leaves are falling and the days are getting shorter. At the same time, the to-do list seems to be getting longer. Ah well, eventually it will be over and Mike and I will be able to enjoy the changing of the leaves' colors, biking on nearby trails and just breathing in the beautiful scenery and its kaleidoscope of colors and sounds. Bliss.

It's a Great Life! Counting my blessings...

Blessing One: New job for Mike. God is so good! Mike got hired last week. An answer to prayer. Not only does he have a new job but now he can get the time off to see the grandkids at Christmas which was iffy under his last employer. Yay! Just 3 more months until we see them!

Blessing Two: Painting almost done. The body of the house is painted and we are doing the last bit of trim. Just the garage to be done now. The weather has been perfect! It's been fun working with Mike and it has been great exercise as well. I have been sore several times from climbing up and down the ladder. A double blessing...new look for the house and great exercise.

Blessing three: Pumpkins found. I needed pumpkins for my fall display at work. I have been looking for weeks. Mike just "happened" to go by a place on his way home from his new job which was selling pumpkins. Now I just need to find corn shucks.

Blessing four: Communication improved. Mike and I went to Fireproof, a Christian drama about marriage. It was a good movie and has a discussion sheet to go with it. We went over it and had a good conversation. They had a recurring statement in the firefighter movie, "Never leave your partner." Great play on words. Plus, they pointed out that nothing is fireproof and to be alert. Mike and I celebrated our 28th anniversary this month. We've come a long way and I expect it to get even better.

Blessing five: Good fellowship this weekend. We went to see our church's "Over 30, Under 30" football game. Over 30 lost but Mike and I had fun visiting with church friends and playing with a baby (got our grandparent's fix). The weather was wonderful and it was great talking with everyone.

Lots of blessings and I didn't even share them all. It was a great week!