Without Power

The storm has left a wake of gorgeous damage. I will post some of my pictures when we can. We are all safe. Our trees have fallen all over our property, as have most of the trees and powerlines in our area. Our powerlines have been torn down, and power is out throughout most of the area as far as I am aware. I haven't been able to get the news or check online to see what is happening, but we heard on the radio in the truck that it could be two weeks before we have power again. I am borrowing Crystal's (not married to Nathan) internet to post this and then I am taking a shower before we head back to our house. I will check back in when I can, but know that we are all safe in the meantime! Cold, but safe... lol

Change of Plans

We were supposed to be leaving for St. Jude tomorrow. It appears the weather has finally made a firm decision about whether it should be warm or cold, and cold has won. We are in the middle of an ice storm, along with several of the mid-southern states, and our area is projected to receive half an inch to an inch of ice. Therefore, in the interest of preserving our lives and not sliding off a mountaintop on our trek towards Tennessee, I called the doctor today and we rescheduled.

Now we are hunkered down at home. I went to the store today and got some essentials like batteries and Diet Pepsi. School let out early today, and has already been cancelled for tomorrow. The news said we can expect to start hearing trees cracking within the hour, so I am keeping an ear out for that, although they generally talk about the weather in actual cities and not what is happening in these little one-horse, two million chickens towns. None of our limbs are actually falling off yet, but you can literally hear the trees freezing and the ice cracking as the wind moves the limbs around. The big oak tree in our little orchard is the one I showed above. It is stunningly beautiful, but incredibly difficult to photograph with my stubborn camera.

If things go well, I will be snuggled at home with my wee bairns tomorrow, drinking hot cocoa and dining on soup. I will brave the cold outside long enough to take some pictures of ice trees in the daylight to share. I hope all of you under this ice umbrella are safe and warm!

Meow

This is our version of gargoyles.

This is why our gargoyles prefer to hang out on the roof.

Beagle is forever chasing cats up trees. I must say, though, that she smells a lot better after chasing gargloyles then she does after chasing skunks.

See how cute she thinks she is? She even has a little doggy-pageant wave going on with her paw. It is all a facade, though. Trust me, she isn't cute at 2am when she is barking her head off because she saw a frog in a tree, or she is howling with the coyotes. Not cute at all!

Why Faith Can't Wear Make-Up

When I was about 13 I really started begging my mom to let me wear make-up in public. She thought I was still too young, and resisted my incessant pleading.

At that same time we were living in a house my mom rented from my grandparents. I desperately wanted a kitten, but my gramma did not like cats and told me "no" repeatedly.

Months went by with me pleading, my mom saying no, me pleading, my gramma saying no. I was outnumbered. My cries fell on deaf ears. The dejection was appalling. I was turning 14 and doomed to face each day with a bare face and devoid of feline companionship.

Then one day my gramma wanted to put lipstick on me for something, probably a Job's Daughters event. My mom resisted. My gramma said if my mom would let me wear make-up, she would let me have a kitten. I don't know how the cosmos lined up in my favor for that one, because never again has a compromise between two other people given me everything I wanted at a particular point in time. I just know I walked away dazed and slightly confused, but didn't waste any time learning how to apply make-up while cuddling my kitten.

I took some pictures of Faith today with her guitar. Our awesome friend Kevin has been teaching her to play. She wants to go on in life to sing and perform. She wants to play guitar, piano, and the flute. She wants to be a rock star. And she wants to wear make-up.
I won't let her out in public with make-up, but she likes to steal mine and put it on at home. Sometimes Jessica would doll her up too. My pretty little girl becomes absolutely stunning with make-up applied properly. So I have laid down a rule... she can't wear make-up in public until she is 50.

Today I let her put a little lipstick on for these pictures. Seeing them just reinforces to me that this rule is sound.

There isn't much she can do about it. Beyond the fact that she really is still too young to wear full make-up, she has no leverage power. Her gramma loves cats and Faith already has several of her own.

And I think she is pretty enough without it.

She rocks.

Beth-isms of late

There are machinations of the childhood mind that both mystify and amuse me. My kids always keep me laughing, finding new ways of being funny as they explore their world. Here are some recent Beth stories and quotes.

The Leg Warmer Sleeves:

I told the girls to dress warmly for church. They needed to wear tights and long sleeves. Beth wanted to wear a sundress. I told her she had to wear a long-sleeves and her knit tights with it. I saw her a few minutes later with her white sundress, her brightly colored striped tights, and a green sweater she received for Christmas. We bundled up in coats and went to church.

When we got to church, Courtney asked if Beth could sit with her. I sat in our regular pew, and Little Stinker sat with Courtney three rows behind me. At some point she shed the green sweater. The music worship time was over, and the kids were called forward for time with the pastor. My little girl marched by me with her brightly colored striped legs, her white sundress with narrow straps, and hot pink leg warmers on her arms. Apparently she had put them on under her sweater, finding an inventive way to follow my directions to "wear long sleeves". I guess I should have clarified that the sleeves should have a shirt attached. There was much chuckling to be heard amongst the congregation.

A Foreign Voice:

"Mommy," Beth said when she got home from preschool a few weeks ago, " I want to change my voice to panish." (Spanish)

No Need for S:

A tired little voice called out to me in the truck on the way home the other night, "My tomach i tarving."

Time for a change

I like having red hair, but after a while it starts to get brassy. And the grey grows out. And I start feeling restless. Then it is time to go darker, closer to my natural shade for a while. Today I went back to basics. Clairol and I had a meeting, wherein I entered her office a greying redhead and came back out a shiny brunette. However, the dye really soaked into my dry hair, and instead of dark brown it looks nearly black. The kids are having a heydey with it.

So Jack took some pictures of me for me to update my avatars and such with. This one is his favorite.
My camera is not a point and shoot. I don't have a remote for my camera. Jack doesn't like adjusting controls on it. Therefore, when he takes my picture he really tries to get it focused and clear, but I usually end up with "soft" shots like this one. Even worse, this one really shows the bags under my eyes. Jack really tries, though.


Matt likes to take pictures too. He tries really hard as well. Unfortunately, my viewfinder is small and he can't see in it with his glasses on.

So he takes them off and uses his naked eye to focus.
And well, you can see how well that works. If you have a nearly blind son, you may not want to give him a camera set on manual mode to take your avatar photos.
Unless, of course, you don't mind looking blurry. After all, it does hide those bags under the eyes pretty well!

50 Things in 2009

I don't make resolutions, but every once in a while I don't mind making a list of things I would like to do. I saw lists of 100 things people wanted to do this year on other blogs and thought I would make one myself . One of the things I want to do is clear more time in my life to keep up with everything. However, time is really tight right now so I am making a list of 50 things. In no particular order, except for the first one, here is my Top 50.

1. Hear the words "Chet is cured."

2. Have more free time.

3. Go on the mission trip with Matt and Chet.

4. Finish remodeling the house.

5. Have friends over more often.

6. Read one book a week. (I am already three books behind on that one.)

7. Finish a Project 365 album.

8. Get a new camera.

9. Get awesome lenses for the new camera.

10. Significantly increase my digi designing goals.

11. Get red and blond streaks in my hair.

12. Put pictures in all my frames.

13. Love on Jesse and Sam's baby.

14. Take the kids out somewhere fun once a month.

15. Did I mention get Chet cured?

16. Build a platform for my blogs to live together on.

17. Finish building my 4th Day blog and post on it regularly.

18. Work at an Emmaus Walk or Chrysalis Flight. Or both.

19. Grow a really good garden.

20. Add once-a-month cooking to my routine again.

21. Teach the kids at church some of the hymns.

22. Leave this depression behind me for good.

23. Build Chet a large garden chessboard.

24. Get my 2008 Christmas cards mailed out before June.

25. Attend the digi-scrap gathering.

26. Go line-dancing.

27. Lose at least 50 pounds.

28. Workout at least three times a week and walk at least a mile the other days.

29. Go out with Jack regularly.

30. Have more Girls' Night Out nights.

31. Go away for a weekend for fun, not for medical tests.

32. Make jewelry again.

33. Try not to sob like a baby on Beth's first day of school.

34. Try not to cry anymore this year for any reason.

35. Unless Chet gets cured.

36. Then you all better cry with me.

37. Laugh everyday.

38. Get Matt driving.

39. Get all dance recitals, school events, performances, and funny family game night things on video.

40. Keep track of all the funny things the kids do so they can read about it later.

41. Get my wisdom teeth removed in a painless and convenient way. I am sure that exists somehow.

42. Travel somewhere, anywhere again and see the local sights.

43. Have a "Chet is Cured" party.

44. Raise money for St. Jude.

45. Figure out how to make Chili's Southwest Eggrolls at home.

46. Do not allow myself to indulge in too many of the Southwest Eggrolls at once.

47. Get a Kindle.

48. Load the Kindle with all kinds of literary goodness.

49. Read all the literary goodness on the Kindle.

50. Enter the hoto pcontest in the fair.

There are at least 50 more I would add, but I do have to go. There is a really big, delicioso Hispanic meal being prepared at the church that we cannot miss. If you are the in area, come join us!

How Could They???

I had a feeling this would happen. I tried to prepare myself for it, but some things just have to be endured.

Chris Daughtry brought Bon Jovi to the American Idol stage a couple of years ago.I was a fan of his from his initial audition, but this performance sealed the deal for me. Chris is awesome.


He has been my favorite Idol to come out of that show ever since. I am not the only one who was impressed, because Bon Jovi has toured with him and he sings with them onstage. What I wouldn't have given to go to that concert. I just have to pause here and think of the musical bliss a BonJovi/Daughtry concert would be for me. {Sigh}

Then Bon Jovi came on the show with "Wanna Make a Memory" and for one night Idol was perfect. All the contestants sang Bon Jovi songs. Bon Jovi sang. I drooled. It was perfect.


Next, David Cook carried the momentum forward and auditioned with "Livin' on a Prayer." I was his fan from that point on, although he never quite hit the rock god status with me that Daughtry achieved.



So I suppose it was inevitable that the idol audition fools would latch onto my beloved Bon Jovi songs and crank them out with their own particular brand of musical ineptitude. The first episode of this year's Idol included a Bon Jovi montage of some of the horrendous "Dead or Alive" moments. Shudder. It was horrible. One hundred million Bon Jovi fans may not be wrong (and we're not) , but this.... THIS is so very wrong!

Photo(s) of the Day(s)

I didn't get to post last night due to the fact that my eyelids wouldn't stay open. What a nuisance.

There is a stunningly beautiful spiderweb outside of Faith's bedroom window. I am hoping to be up literally at the crack of dawn (uuugggghhhhh) to try to get some shots of it with that soft morning light shining through it.

Yesterday's picture ended up being a project Faith has been working on this week. Jesse and Sam sent the kids a box of glow in the dark puzzles last year, and Faith has been working on putting them together. This is her favorite so far.
Beth started running a fever last night, and this morning neither she nor Todd were feeling up to speed. Todd spent the day in my chair while Beth snuggled in the pink chair. As the day went on she gathered up more and more static, and by the time I got home her hair was standing on end. Her hair does this more than anybody's, probably because it is still so fine. It reminds me of a dandelion.
The kids and I are going to finish watching the American Idol gag-ditions, and then they are heading off to the Land of Nod while I huddle under a blanket as the "arctic plunge" (weathercaster's words, not mine, but chillingly accurate) leaves me shivering from the inside out. Hopefully the shivering will burn off a calorie or two I may have missed at my Curves workout today.

A Junque Nest

Jack brought me a present yesterday. He and Josh were out in the field planning a fence line for a special new boarder who will be arriving in a couple of weeks. (More on that later.) He saw this little nest which had apparently fallen out of a tree, and correctly thought I might enjoy it.

I do admire the tenacity and dedication it takes the tiny fowls to create a cozy home for their offspring. This nest is only about 4 inches wide, which tells me it is a smaller species of bird who built it. I love the little details they so carefully build in; the tightly woven bottom, the pieces of plastic, the sticks, , the leaf sticking out the side, and the yellow wrapper carefully interlocked to make a safe haven. But my favorite part is the page from the dictionary.
Any bird who builds reading material into its walls is a right fine speciman in my book. To see how the dictionary page is crumpled and junqued up so lovingly really made my day. I hope this creative little soul will find her way back this spring to build another junque nest. I hope she brings all her feathered friends, too. I wonder if I leave a whole dictionary and some stamped images out there if they would build me a junque nest village to enjoy next winter.

God really is in the details, isn't He?

Dinner and a Movie Game

I am not a movie buff. I go to the movies about twice a year, if that often. I recognize faces, but I rarely can tell you which actors were in which movie. I do know lots of strange trivia just because I read voraciously. For instance, I can't tell you all of the movies Haley Joel Osmond was in, but I do know his sister is "Lily" on Hannah Montana. I don't get much more out of watching movies at home on DVD because I have a habit of reading while watching a movie. It works for me, but drives Jack crazy.

Matt, on the other hand, is a major movie buff. He can tell you who was in what movie, when movies are being released, who directed them, what their plot is about etc. In fact, we finally had to make a rule that he and Bob couldn't discuss movies or video games at the dinner table because they would take over the conversation with it. So for Christmas we got him a Scene It game. (Seriously... you have to check out all the Amazon deals at Christmas time.)

Josh and Mystery came over this evening with food, which I cooked. I also made Matt the pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting he has been wanting, and then we sat down to play Scene It while the younger kids were watching a movie.

My favorite parts were the pictograms. I almost have a chance of getting the answer right whether I have seen the movie or not. Matt was really good at the "fill in the quote" things. He and Josh usually had the answers before the blanks were even on the screen. Braggarts.

Faith and Mystery and I were paired up against Matt, Chet, Jack and Josh. The girls lost, but not toooo badly since Mystery has seen more movies than I have.

Then we discovered the Party Play feature and went with that. It was fun. Not once did I come up with the right answer at the right time. On some of the clues you see the character's clothing and props, without a body in the clothes. I knew it was Harrison Ford, but the question was to name the movie, in this case The Fugitive. Then if I needed to name an actor/character, I couldn't think of it but could come up with the movie title. I suck at this game.
It is a fun group game, though. And if it ever has Young Guns or Fried Green Tomatoes questions I will blow my competition away, even if my competition does have freakishly long toes.

Things That Make My Heart Race

In a land far, far away, (my very own hometown, Las Vegas) the world's largest collection of techno goodies and computer thingabobs are gathered together for a weekend of oohing and drooling. CES has come and brought with it all the wonders of the world that make computer geeks and computer geek wannabes sweat. Things that make grown men whimper and say "I want that. I really want that." And I am not talking about the porn convention that runs concurrently with it in the next hall over every year either.

I am not a man, but I want this. I really want this. A graphic design-friendly laptop with dual monitors and a built-in wacom tablet? Doesn't that send shivers up your spine too??? Oh, be still my heart!


A girl can dream, right?

Why Did the Guineas Cross the Road?

Because Old Man Winter and Mother Nature can't make up their minds. One day it is in the 60's. The next it is in the 30's. Wednesday morning it snowed, for two minutes. An hour later the sun was shining. Today the wild guineas were out looking for ticks to eat, and if the weather has the birds confused, it may just have the ticks confused as well. Trust me, ticks, nobody wants you to come out of hibernation yet. Except for the guineas. Ignore them, please.

Matt's Birthday

Matt wanted to be able to eat sushi for his birthday. He also wanted to go to Game Stop to get some xbox 360 headphones. He wanted to get his driver's permit. And he wanted to be able to spend the day with me. We did the best wecould to make it all happen.

To be able to get his permit, the state of Arkansas requires a document from the school stating he has a C average. The grade average isn't a problem. He makes A's and B's. However, the school won't have the papers until next week. We will have to try then for the permit.

But he did get to spend the morning at work with me anyway, and then Jack and I, and Beth and Faith (who had stayed home because of a headache that began the night before) took him to a Chinese restaraunt in Harrison that also happens to serve sushi. In a couple of weeks when we make a run to Branson I will take him with me to eat at Wasabi.

Sushi is one of his favorite foods.
We took him to the Game Stop in Harrison, which had about 15 game items and shelves and shelves of discount make-up, scrapbook stickers from 12years ago (no kidding), old lotions, etc. It looks like they are opening a discount bent and dent type of place. He left disappointed, so we took him to Walmart to try to find theheadphones. No luck there either. However, after we dropped Chet off at pottery that evening, I ran him over to the Berryville Walmart where he found the headphones. Whew.

After we got home again he disappeared into his room with his headphones, and wasn't heard from again until this morning. Apparently he really liked his gift!

He wants a homemade pumpkin cake, which we will bake tomorrow - after I go back to the store and buy cream cheese for the frosting.

Seventeen.....

I can't believe that Matt is 17 today. He is growing up in so many ways. This year has seen him mature in several areas. I am so proud of this kid. He has goals that he is working towards. Good goals. He has values he lives by. He has a huge heart is very empathetic to kids who are struggling. He deals with his share of teen angst issues, but overall he is a great person. We love you, Matt! Happy birthday! I know you want me to get your sushi pics up, and I will do it tomorrow when I get home!

Weak in the Knees

I can honestly say that working out at Curves three times a week has been physically easier than I expected. I haven't experienced any extreme aches and pains, even though I have noticed some muscles in odd places. The stretch exercises after the workout are exquisite. If I could, I would buy one of those stretch jungle gyms for my home and treat myself to the luxury of being stretched one muscle at a time daily. Maybe even twice daily.

Today I went with Debbie and Crystal, and we decided to go through the circuit three times. I am still not feeling pain from it, but my legs are weak and wobbly. I feel my calf muscles in a good way, but they don't want to work. If I had to stand on my tippy toes at the moment I would probably tip over. It wouldn'tbe a pretty sight, yet. Give me six months of regular workouts and it might be a more graceful tumble.

After youth tonight, I came home and realized I hadn't even thought about what picture I would take for today's challenge. It is pitch black outside, and my current lighting isn't much better, so my options were limited. Then I saw this stack of books in my room and realized I had found a good subject. These are from the shelves that were in the blue room. As soon as the flooring is installed we can get the shelves into place and put all the books in their proper places.

These books are from our homeschooling days. I have held onto them because I have a weakness for books, and I knew the kids would still benefit greatly from having them. After I took the pictures, Chet really noticed the stack. I told him he would probably like Gulliver's Travels, and that he didn't have to wait until they were back on the shelves to start reading any he is interested in. I left him to his browsing, and he just walked by with ten and told me, "This will be good for now." My knees may be weak, but my spirit is soaring. I love seeing him love to read.

I thought about using Faith as my photo of the day, but all her photos all came out like this.
In real life her left eye isn't almond shaped. It must be some other strange recessive gene from Jack. I love that goofy grin, so I had to share the photo with you.

Now I have to go be domestic and change the laundry. Tomorrow is Matt's birthday, and I am taking him to take his driver's test. Wish him luck. Wish me fortitude if he passes because he will want to drive home!

Cardboard and scrapping

I was re-organizing paper goods during the Tuesday Night Dinner, and asked if anybody wanted the empty box.Todd immediately claimed it and made it a home, a car, a dance club, and several other structural identities. It was the cheapest fun he has had this year! (and I am pretty good about finding cheap or free fun!)

I have been participating in a couple of challenges since the new year. One of them is working out three times a week at Curves. Trust me, NOBODY wants to see pictures of that. So this is my photo today for the Photo a Day Challenge I am part of. That silly box rode home with us and is set up in my pretty blue room. It wasn't the decor style I was going for.
And this was for a template challenge I am enjoying. I have developed an incredible love of digi scrapping with blank templates. I loved these pics of Todd rocking out the ukelele.
The big challenge I am part of is the amazing digi race with two challenges a week. This was my layout for the first one. I am so impressed that I am done with mine a full 4 nights before it is due. I am not known for doing things before the last minute. I had to black out the depressing journaling because my blog isn't about the aches and pains of life. I try hard to keep it happy and upbeat even when I'm not! :0)


The crop I was going to go to the other night was cancelled, but has been rescheduled for next month. I stopped by Johanna's store the other day and armed myself with a black ink pad. When the crop gets here I will be ready to create some sloppy junque pages. Of course, knowing me, I won't print the photos or gather the papers until about an hour before I have to leave for it. After all, I was the one they parodied in the "If it weren't for the last minute I wouldn't get anything done" quote.

Here kitty, kitty!

I have mentioned before that the Ozarks is home to bald eagles. I have been dying to take pictures of them, but my lenses never really reach them well, and I haven't had time to just go park near one of the canyons they really like to hang out in.

But this guy has been visiting our "neighborhood" this week. I have seen him on the Mennonites' property, and flying overhead. Today he roosted in the empty tree in the pasture across the street and sat there for hours staring in our direction. We thought it was cool. I wish I had a better lens for these kinds of shots, and my camera is still giving me a hard time, but despite those issues we managed to get a couple of not-as-blurry shots. Isn't he just regally impressive? He really was a massive bird, too. He ruffled his feathers everytime we got too close to the fenceline in an effort to try to get a little closer for a shot, and since my eagle-battle skills are non-existant, I chose to keep a respective distance.

So why was he staring so stealthily in our direction? Well, I don't think the fact that we cleaned up our yard on Saturday had much to do with it. I don't think he was nearly as impressed with us as we were with him. And I don't think he was admiring the view across our property. No, I think he found a point of intense interest in the form of 5 furry felines. Midnight was the only one who stayed put in his own tree. The others came slinking out of their trees and pots, and have since disappeared to the safety of the garage.

Stay safe, Midnight, cause if he comes after you I will be running for cover.

Happy Birthday, Happy Boy!

Today Kyle reached the halfway mark to adulthood. Nine is always a slightly sad birthday for me since it is the last single digit birthday, and I never want to leave the childhood stage with my kids. Leaving behind babyhood has always been hard enough.

Yet, birthdays are cause for celebration, so Kyle invited some friends over and we set them all up with pizza, cake, and icecream. I don't know why he looks like a chipmunk in this picture. It must be a recessive gene from Jack's side of the family.
He loved opening presents. The kid is pretty rich now!
Here he is with two of his best friends who came over today.

It was a beautiful day today, so we have spent the afternoon outside. I am posting this from my front porch. The pastor and his sons and grandsons came over for target shooting, and right now all of the kids are running around the house shooting each other with their nerf guns as the adults are shooting off a really loud gun (527??)

It's been a fun day. Happy birthday,Kyle! We love you!

BlogTag

My friend Susan tagged. I am tagging Crystal, Sarah, and Rachel since you all have different first letters! :0)

Scattegories
It's harder than it looks! Erase my answers, enter yours, sent it on to whoever you want including the one that sent this to you. Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real places, names and things...nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN NOT use your name for the boy/girl name question. Send it on to 3 other people for them to put in their blog. Tag you're it!

What's your name? Jenn
Four 4 letter words? junk, jail, jump, jolt
Vehicle? Jeep
TV Show? Jag
City? Jacksonville
Boy Name? Jack
Girl Name? Joy
Occupation? jockey
Something you wear? jewelry
Food? jello
Something found in a bathroom? jar
Song title? Just Dance
Sports team? Jaguars

A Fresh Coat

Over the last couple of weeks we have been re-arranging rooms and getting things ready to do an overhaul on our house. We are working one room at a time; painting, replacing floors where necessary, creating adequate storage places, etc.

Today we started with the Blue Room. When we moved in this house I painted this room a blue that I thought would be a pretty robin's egg blue shade. Instead, it was hideously aqua. I am proud to report that it is now a truly lovely shade of light robin's egg blue. The girls' room is going to be the same shade.

The girls had a great time helping us paint. We had them get the corners and trim started.


This picture doesn't do justice to how aqua the original blue was, or how lovely the new shade is after three coats. In fact, after the first coat I was extremely worried that I had gone too light and the walls would look white with a blue-ish tint, which would make for ghastly photos.
This is the closest I have to a "before" shot. The bookshelves are out of there now, the walls are that lovely blue, all of the window trim, doors, and stairway railings are Country White, and after three coats the blue is just perfect. I will take new photos tomorrow when there is light again.

This is going to end up being an upstairs den/library. In two weeks we will be installing wood flooring (I hate carpet, so we pulled all of it out of the house.)We are lining the long wall with shelves, anchoring them to the walls, and putting the baseboards around them for the built-in look. The piano is staying up here, we are replacing the dangerously low and ugly brown and brass fan with a light fixture, and finding a loveseat which will fit better than a couch in this room. All mylife I have wanted a true library/reading room, and I cannot wait to see it done.
Actually, I can't wait to see the whole house done.

Because as soon as the interior rooms are done, we are enclosing the front porch and expanding our kitchen and living room. I can't tell you how great it is to have a handy hubby, great friends who are willing to come help out and have the know-how to get it done, and girls who don't mind getting some paint under their nails! (and in their hair, and on their clothes, and on the floor)

So if you are ever really bored on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon over the next few months, swing on by and we will put a hammer or paintbrush in your hand and set you to work!