A SEMBLANCE OF NORMALCY?

Little by little, Mom and Dad are getting the house in order. They moved in about two months before I was born. Just enough time to deal with the whole asbestos debacle. And then, as you can imagine, once I was born ... well, working on the house wasn't as much of a priority as taking care of me.

Well, they are back at it now! As many of you have already heard, the shrubs around the front of the house were HORRENDOUSLY OVERGROWN! Seriously, these folks hadn't trimmed the shrubs or trees for YEARS! And it showed! Mom and Dad had them all removed right before we left for Buffalo. See below for the "before and after" pictures. Pretty amazing. As soon as weather permits, the stucco is being redone as well. Then, the final outdoor projects are going to be getting the steps fixed, a new landing, a retaining wall and the driveway replaced. Whew! Mom is in charge of managing those outdoor projects (which also includes her pet project - the stripping and painting of the garage - she's mostly excited for the opportunity to use the romantic gift that Dad got her - the power washer!)

In the meantime, poor Dad continues to slave away on the upstairs in his oh so little little little free time that he has between work and spending quality daddy time with me.

Though the second floor is still a work in progress, the first floor is slowly taking shape. FINALLY ... the couch that Mom and Dad ordered long before I was born arrived today! Hoorah! That means, no more bed in the living room!!!! Thank goodness! It was always so awkward for me to find the UPS guy peering in the big old window in the front door knowing that he could see me just laying in the bed watching True Hollywood Story in the middle of the day! Mom let me test out the couch first (see below). Though it is a little big for me, I am already enjoying it thoroughly. That corner that I am photographed in is my new book reading spot. I love it.

Can you find me on the couch?

The old front of the house. Can you even see the house behind all those bushes?

Yeah! The bright new sunny front of the house. Wait til the stucco work is done.

It's gonna look fabulous!

Old dark and dreary back of the house ...

Tree guy working on that ginormous tree in the back. Good thing he was wearing that helmet --- I saw him bonk himself in the head with a big swinging branch a few times!

New bright sunny backyard. Now we can plant back there - not to mention the fact that there will be sun for me to run around in! Of course, next step - garage, new fence, and grass.

Sigh. The work is never done!