how do i love thee . . .

I am in love . . . with our new sink.

So in love, in fact, that I did a whole photo shoot.

Lucky for you -I only posted 2 of the 19 photos on my camera. I am not sure I love it because it is the most awesome color ever - "vapour orange", the name even sounds awesome, doesn't it? You can't tell from the photo, but the wall is a deep beautiful blue so it increases the awesomeness of the sink color. Or could it be because we bought it on a special order which we have NEVER done before because we've always been kind of cheap. Or it might be that I love it so very, very much because we ordered it on April 28th, and it just got shipped to our house this week!!!!!!!! It took 149 days for a sink to get from Wisconsin to Arizona. I suppose they had to mine the iron, mold it and cast it after we placed the order. Or I might love it because it got delivered on a day that the cabinet guys were here in our house with all their specialty saws and tools and offered to rebuild the cabinet to be a perfect fit for the sink. Lucky day.
We took out our old sink when we tore up the floor of our bathroom. We have been sinkless because it was supposed to be delivered oh so long ago. It's been kind of embarrassing when guests ask to use the bathroom and I have to say yes, but you'll have to wash your hands in the bathtub.

Oh, and I love this guy too. Maybe even more than I love the sink. (yes, it's Dave under there. Not a random plumber.)

Dave, the random repair guy

Dave left early this morning to do some service for a member of our church. A single woman we will call Sister "Johnson" had some shingles blow off her roof in that huge storm we had a couple weeks ago. He picked up a couple packages of roofing shingles, grabbed his tool belt, loaded up a ladder and headed down the road. He drove up to her house, easily saw the damage from the street, hopped up on the roof and repaired about 20 shingles.
Then he got down, rang the doorbell and a man answered the door. Obviously confused at who was answering the door, he asked:
"Is this the Johnson's house?"
"No."
"Oh, sorry."
And he walked away.

Good deed for the day -- $50
Surprise for the man on the next block -- Priceless

chillaxin'

Dave claims to be so busy. Always something driving him. Never time to relax. Work, work, work.
Well I actually followed him around and evaluated his activities this weekend. His so-called work just seemed like one big party after another to me.
Friday afternoon I found him driving this big-boy toy tractor around. It works just like those toys on the playground in the park, except this bad machine has a plush vinyl seat and a real loud engine. He just sits back and pushes and pulls all the levers. An afternoon of pure joy for a boy at heart.

Then we sat down and ate a birthday cake with Brady. (I forgot my camera to document this event, but Dave, you know you were partying all night.)

Saturday morning, he was to meet a friend to repair a neighbor's roof. When he arrived at the crack of dawn, no friend, no supplies, no tools. The repair had to be rescheduled. But he got to see a lovely sunrise. Is that good fortune or what?

Later in the morning as I was crawling out of bed, I found him adhering our backsplash in the kitchen. It's just like arts and crafts! Let the creative juices flow. Next week's craft project -- "Fun with Grout".

Then back outside for more playtime. He is practicing for the state fair this year. See the similarities?

Then he caught up with his chorus for a performance rehearsal. Singing? Is that hard? I call it soothing and relaxing. Just chilling out with his friends. Let's call it "chillaxing".

Next, he spent a couple of hours smoothing out our yard/driveway project from earlier today. We've got a real "party" showing up at our house tonight and we don't want our friends to have to hurdle over the death-defying crevice we have at the end of the driveway. So shoveling dirt around? Is that much different than playing in the sandbox? I say no.

Next he hosted a party in our home with a group of friends from church. He did this alone because I was celebrating with my nephew in Mesa. (It was his Eagle Court of Honor. YAY Niels!) Anyway, about Dave. He hosted this party alone because, well, we can't be two places at once. Dave is definitely a partier -- life of the party, host of all hosts, friend of all festivities, manager of multitudes, an entertainer of everybody. Well, you get the picture. Sunday morning, he starts his day with a 7:30 am church meeting. Well, compared to yesterday, that's a leisurely "sleeping in" kind of morning!

Sunday night, another party. (Happy Birthday to me).

Here he ends his day, relaxing on the recliner. He is such a social butterfly.

All in all, I say it was a delightful weekend, don't you think?

quirks

Katie played the "I have a whole lot of weird quirks" game and tagged Lauri , Mike , Rachel and I'm hoping Jeff will list his too. I'm thinking this was a ploy to see how unstable our family really is. (If we are giving points out on this one, I say Rachel and Mike win. haha)

Here are mine:

1. I need ice in everything I drink. Every day I fill a half cup of water and put it in the freezer, so I can pour some water in it when I'm thirsty and have a cold drink that stays cold for hours with a big chunk of ice in it. I even put ice in milk, which my kids think is gross. Ice makes my milk icy cold, but I have to drink it right away because it has to be cold, not diluted.

2. This probably just comes from living in the desert, but I love to have air movement around me. There are ceiling fans everywhere in our house. I feel kind of claustraphobic when I sleep in someone's home and there is no air conditioning, no fan, no open windows, no breeze.

3. I think about dying more than I think I should - and not in a 'looking forward to it' kind of way. And I am nervous about other people dying. I think it is on my mind more than it ought to be.

4. I'm scared of not hearing my alarm clock. I set my cell phone alarm too. Currently they are set about 2 minutes apart. All this week I have actually fallen back asleep in those two minutes.

5. I can't get my mind to clear at night unless I read a book. Poor Dave has had to fall asleep with the light on for years. Fortunately for him, he is usually asleep before he even hits the horizontal position or gets his head to the pillow.

6. On a related note but completely on the opposite end of the spectrum - I can fall asleep at a moment's notice when I sit on a plane, in a car, on a bus, or quite often on the couch. Why does my mind shut down so easily in the middle of the day, but not at night when it's time to go to sleep?

Anyone else want to play?