Finally a place to sit and eat

We bought our house in September 2006. The closing was just a couple of weeks after my mother’s funeral. In our excitement of being new home owners and a need to smooth out some of our grief, we invited the entire family up for Thanksgiving. Then we realized that we did not have a table big enough for everyone. We had a corner unit similar to the one below.

Definitely not big enough for the 10-12 people we were expecting so we went and bought a bigger table similar to this:

It was 5’ long without the 18” leaf and we purchased 2 extra chairs.

With this monstrosity fully extended, a folding table off to the side and a few extra chairs, we could accommodate everyone. Oh yeah, the dining room is only 9’ x11’. We bought new white dishes for the occasion. We bought new furniture for the sitting area which is at the end of the dining area. We were set and ready to go.

21 people showed up on Thanksgiving day, not 12. Thankfully it was in the upper 60’s outside, a miracle for Colorado in November, so we hauled a 6’ folding table out to the deck and half of us ate inside and the other half ate outside. There weren’t enough of the new dishes for everyone so we broke out the paper plates. It was the best holiday I had had in years.

So for the next 4 years, Evelyn and I pushed the table up against the wall so we could get around it and into the kitchen. We pulled it out when we had company.

About 8 months ago, Evelyn got tired of having to walk around the behemoth so she posted it and the matching side board for sale on Craigslist. Over the years, she had slowly gotten rid of the furniture in the sitting area as well so when the table was gone we had zero furniture in the upstairs area.

Since then we have used a 4’ folding table and canvas camping chairs that I brought in from the garage.

Think this:

 

and this:

 

By the way, I did warn her this could happen if she got rid of the furniture before she had replacements lined up. My redneck survival skills had kicked in.

It was a war of wills. We have had no dinner guests in months because Evelyn was embarrassed by our dining setup. I can’t figure out why? It was a perfectly functional arrangement. Portable too.

Well about 2 weeks ago, she caved in (Yes! I Won!) and today we found a new dining set.

I pick it up on Wednesday. Starting next week, we are taking dinner reservations from any family and friends.

Small groups only, please.

 

 

While writing this, I was listening to "The Big Light" from "The Legend [Columbia] Disc 2" by Johnny Cash

One of Our Thursdays Is Missing: A Novel by Jasper Fforde

  A Thursday is missing but which one? Is the written one the real Thursday? No ones sure. Not even the real Thursday’s husband. War between Racy Novel and Women’s Fiction is imminent and the real Thursday is supposed to mediate the peace talks. A novel from Vanity on its way to being published has disintegrated over the book world and the written Thursday has been dispatched to investigate it. But there is more going on than meets the eye. The book has been sabotaged and it is related to Thursday’s disappearance. There is a possible cover-up by the Council of Genres and the Men In Plaid have been dispatched to enforce it.  This is book #6 of the series and probably one of the best. As usual there are so many twist, turns, puns and satire it can be daunting to keep track of the storyline but at the  same time it is near impossible to put the book down.

 

 

While writing this, I was listening to "Good to Go" from "Jason Aldean" by Jason Aldean

New header photo added

Check out the picture at the top of the page. It is one of my all time favorites taken in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO.

 

While writing this, I was listening to "Love Will Find a Way" from "20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Pablo Cruise" by Pablo Cruise

A Piggly Wiggly Wedding by Robert Dalby

Laurie and Powell are married. Mr. Choppy is the new mayor. There are new characters and new Nitwitts. A wedding in the works and the Second Creek mystic continues to grow. The 3rd book of the Piggly Wiggly series picks up where “Kissing Babies” left off and keeps the story going strong. This series of books probably will not win a lot of awards (no offense to the author Intended) but they are a great series to read if you want to sit back and relax while you enjoy a light hearted story about a group of eccentrics from the Delta town of Second Creek, Mississippi. I have been entertained and have enjoyed all 3 books so far. I’m starting the 4th one next week.

 

 

While writing this, I was listening to "Heavenly (Good Feeling)" from "Seal IV" by Seal

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow

“No matter how bad things are, you can always make things worse. At the same time, it is often within your power to make them better. “ – Randy Pausch

What an awesome book! I expected a sad and defeated story of the author’s last days. Instead, it’s an uplifting story of how to live your life to the fullest regardless of the circumstances in your life. Yeah, there are parts of the book that will make you cry but overall it is a feel good story of a man’s love and devotion to his wife and children and his desire to leave a legacy for his kids.

 

 

While writing this, I was listening to "Now Would Be the Time" from "Trick Pony" by Trick Pony

Wow! That’s a poor choice.

 

You got to love those auto-generated ads. I saw this on www.gazette.com, our local daily paper’s website last week. Maybe they should adjust their auto-filters.