My New Bike!

Look! Isn’t it cool!

Can’t wait for a pretty day to ride it.
Steve and I have decided to add biking to our new fitness routines. We have several places here to ride on paved neighborhood trails. But I’ve also been looking into some of the greenways in the Nashville area that are for walking/biking/skating, and there appear to be several good places for us to check out.
I found this site that list them with the maps included.

http://www.nashville.gov/greenways/maps.htm

Maybe we’ll see you on the trails!

Hello again!

Thought it was time to update this blog, since I haven’t been on in forever.  We bought new bikes yesterday, and I had really hoped to get out and try mine out today.  But, of course it turned out to be another cold and rainy day here.  Guess I’ll have to wait a few days.

Check out our home improvement list on the page Home Front Adventures.  It’s a lonnnnnnng list, and I’m sure we’ll add to it.  I’m ready for spring weather so we can work on the outdoor projects.   I’d rather be outside any day than couped up in the house.  I’ve definately got cabin feaver.

Our List of TO-DO’s for the House and Yard.

• One of the biggest things we want to do is redo the kitchen. I hate it.  We all hate it.  It’s way too small. 
• Replace all carpet with wood flooring and tile.
• Replace sliding glass doors with french doors.
• Build an extension onto the living room for a library. I really want and need this.
• Landscape the entire backyard.  This is going to be a huge project.  We’re installing a Koi pond and waterfall this spring, adding a rock garden around it, building a screened house next to the pond (so we can enjoy the outdoors without the misquitoes), adding a zen garden next to it, and building a small bridge to go over the water from the waterfall.  Also wanting to build a small wooden deck off the back porch, and build a pergola for a bit of shade.
• Add a gravel turnaround to the driveway.
• Tear up the concrete walkway in front yard and lay an Italian style terrace in front of house.
• Tile the front porch.

I’ll post some before and after pics as we go along.

Me a Muppet?!

So, I took Nancy’s blog challenge quiz to see what Muppet character I am, and here are the results….

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know. You’re a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life’s problems. Don’t worry – everyone know’s it’s not easy being green. Just remember, time’s fun when you’re having flies!

Well, yeah, that pretty much sums me up.  LOL…KERMIT!

Foggy FALL in Tennessee

Wow! Was it ever foggy this morning!  A perfect scene to finish off last night’s Halloween festivities.

Passing the HUGS!

Saw this on a friends site and thought I just had to pass the love around.  Pass the Hugs on to someone you love, or someone you just think might need one. 

Home Remodel Checklist!

We’ve made real progress, finally, on the bathroom.  Got the tile down and now just have to grout it today, and replace the baseboards.

NEXT on the list….

Hoping today and tonight to finish ripping off the wallpaper in the kitchen and dining room, and get the walls ready for painting.  Still have a lot of sanding to do there, and filling in some places with plaster.  Then it’s PAINT time: kitchen, dining room, living room, and hallway.  I don’t mind that though.  Painting isn’t a horrible job, and it goes fairly quickly.

Oh, and we have a new chandelier for the dining room (taking down the yucky ceiling fan).  That’s something we might get done tonight if Hubby feels up to it.

After painting I have a plan for a large portrait display in the living room that I think will look really cool.  Can’t wait to work on that.

I need to start thinking about the mural that Olivia wants done in her room.  I’m hoping my son can find time to come down for a few days and help with that.  (If nothing else as an excuse to see him for a while.)

All in all, I think after we get the walls ready for painting it will all fall in place rather quickly and easily from there.  We’ve almost gotten all the hard/complicated things done, namely the tile and the wallpaper, so maybe the rest will run smoothly.  Later we hope to do more to the house, when money allows…new kitchen cabinets, wood laminate floors in the living room and possibly dining room, and tile in the kitchen and hallways.  But those things will come later after we’ve finished what we have started for now.

I do have a few decorative touches that I’m thinking on, but haven’t decided on for sure yet.  I’m thinking of painting a verse on the wall in the high dining room wall that seperates the kitchen.  And I have a large canvas that I’d like to paint something for the dining room.  I just can’t decide yet what I want to put on it.  I found a cool project of making a floor lamp out of old china (tea cups, plates, tea pots, saucers).  Thinking of going to Goodwill and seeing what I can find there and trying it.  If I don’t like it, I can always put it in the yardsale stuff….right?

We’re still keeping our eyes open for a few decorative touches, like something big to go over the fireplace mantle, and a large piece of artwork to go on the huge wall in the living room.  And we want to build a window seat with book storage underneathe and shelves going to the ceiling on each side of it.

Woooo!  We still have a lot to do.  But, I think we always will as long as we are home owners…:D

Updates to come.

Introducing the TERRITO FAMILY!

Just a little introduction of our little family.  This was our wedding pic on January 22, 2004.  My oldest kids and other family weren't able to be there in person, but they were there in thought.

In response to “Summer Reading List”

Ahhh, reading is a passion to me.  One I don't get enough of sometimes, but I love the moments when I get to relish in a good book.  I often read in bed at night, or when I'm home alone and can sit in the sunshine on the patio.

Some of my favorite reading materials are mysteries and crime novels.  I'm currently reading "In the Dark Room" by Peter Straub.  I first read "The Black House" co-authored by Peter Straub and Stephen King, and this is where I was turned on to Straub's work…though it was quite a lengthy read.  My intention is to next read "The Talisman", also co-authored by Straub and King, and a predecessor to "The Black House."

When I was a child in grade school I would always look for books that had maps in the covers.  I find today that if I spot a book with a map in it I tend to grab it up and take interest.  I suppose this is part of my liking adventure and mystery novels, and also a great love for historical fiction as well as histories; searching for new places to discover, delving into the mysteries of different cultures, learning historical facts about people and things.  I was amazed at reading "The Professor and the Madman".  Such a simple topic with intricate workings of ingenious in what some would think a boring topic of how the English Dictionary came to be comprised.

Although I wasn't able to finish my degree as an English Major after making it to the senior level, I value being able to make it that far and learn all that I did.  I also cherish the many people I met and became aquainted with, and from whom I was shown so many opportunities to enjoy in life.

One of my greatest memories as a student of English Literature was the opportunity to meet and interview a favorite author, Richard Marius, who granted my request with the familiar charm and graciousness of a true Southern gentleman.  I still hold his books dear to my heart and memory: "Bound for the Promised Land", "After the War", and "The Coming of Rain"…all historical fictions.

I'm sure there will be many more favorites as I am always looking at new upcoming authors, as well as the old favorite classics.