Every shower curtain has a silver lining

Sombody had too much time on their hands...and an indellible marker.


For most of the day, I did not want to unravel the mystery of the three empty shampoo bottles in the bathtub, lying in a pool of their former contents, accompanied by a gravy ladle. (The broken plastic fan parts, also in the tub, were a side issue probably unrelated.)

We are really busy with the kitchen remodel, slated for this weekend. This will include demolition, wall and possibly floor repairs, assembling base cabinets, moving hookups for the sink and stove. We have been planning and considering for months, and all agreed that doing it during a time when a portion of non-essential workers could be out of the house would be best.



The Rhinelander youth meetings are coming up this weekend, and we decided this is our opening. With the graciousnes of the Jones' lending us their mini-van, and the gracious hospitalogical invitation of the Whittakers, I (Debbie) will take half of the children up north, while the remaining half stays to do the work. The workers are consoled with extra time with Daddy, and the prospect of consuming lots of sandwitches and generic Lucky Charms. The work team includes: Zak, Ben, Solomon, Hannah, Joanna, and Noah. Daddy felt Noah needs more grooming for work as an assistant, and he is excited. Hannah and Joanna, in addition to whatever work on the kitchen they can help with, are in charge of meals and laundry for the team. They are excited about that.

Today, everyone has been rushing to do all the wood finishing for the cabinets. Zak and Hannah have been staining and varnishing. Susanna has helped with sanding between coats. We have been stretched to find safe places to let the varnish dry, where floating cottonwood seeds and mosquitos would not be able to adhere to the finish. Since we're not using the bus this weekend, we are using the space in back, as well as Ben's birthday screened-in canopy, and other makeshift rigs.





Zak is also trying to finish up some cassette/CD audio transfers between coats. Abi and Sarah are helping to pack everyone for the trip. Since one of the featured speakers is a young lady, we wanted them to be able to attend. We should be able to get recordings of the talks.

Anyway, we did not get the bathroom cleaned this morning, and in our flurry of extra tasks, I do believe Giddy had some free time, hence the hair product spill in the tub.

We have learned our kids will always be busy doing something, and we'd much prefer it was helpful and beneficial, rather than "keeping them entertained". Strangers often comment, after noticing we have a flock, "at least they entertain themselves." And they do, but we haven't found that too useful in most cases! (Of course, we are thankful they know how to have fun, and are never bored!)

Anyway, we are in a small house, so timing is crucial. In order to make room for the kitchen stuff that was in the cabinets, we need to move stuff from our dining/living room up to the attic. In order to do that, we need to move stuff from the attic into the unfinished attic storage area. In order to do that, Sarah will have to do some boxing and moving before we leave this afternoon, Lord willing. We could just leave tomorrow morning if need be.

So, it has been pretty busy day, and after taking a nap with Sammy and Giddy on my lap, I awoke with a warm feeling which soon turned to a cold, wet feeling. Giddy leaked. So I got someone to get him changed and went to take a bath. That's when I discovered that our shower curtain had a silver lining....I found an undiscovered, full bottle of hair conditioner behind the shower curtain!