D.I.Y. Update

So far, so good. The old carpet is a distant, albeit stinky memory and the front bedroom in my house is looking much better than it did seven days ago. I was down on my knees like an English housemaid for three days, knocking the tack strips up and then scrubbing off the remnants of the old padding. The wood is finally starting to take on a slight glow.

My two creative daughters already have great ideas for the room. We are going to pow wow on Father's Day to put our thoughts together in a pot, stir it up, and see what kind of stew we can make! Sarah is a whiz with color, art and textures, while Rachel's specialties are homey touches, like bedding, lamps and rugs. Let them loose in Pier 1, and thirty minutes later you have a room worthy of an Architectural Digest cover.

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I went to the dentist last week. Just a teeth cleaning, nothing major. I started thinking about how long I have been going to Dr. Alan Marcotte's office in Winfield (15 years), and how much I love spending time with Joanne Ging, my hygienist. Joanne is more than a great tooth cleaner, she's my friend. We laugh and cry and talk about kids and husbands and church and how good God is to us.

Of course, when I talk in the dentist's chair, it kind of sounds like "graggle-groggle-grooggle." Joanne seems to have a sixth sense about what I'm saying, though. I wonder if they cover that in hygienist school? Dr. Marcotte's office is unique because they play Christian praise music over the loudspeaker. It's very relaxing to me.

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Have you ever had to fire a doctor? It's kind of hard to do. The Hubster and I did that last week. We are now conducting interviews to fill the vacant position. I like having the shoe on the other foot. Power to the People!

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My writing mentor gave me an assignment this month, write a simple, humorous short story and show it to at least five people. Oh, and he wanted two of the people to be "scary." I think by that he meant people I would normally be afraid to show my work. The piece started out as just a short story, and now with input from others, it has reworked into something kind of nice.

It sure did take a lot of work, sweat and hours of rumination. I have scraps of paper with notes in my purse, on my desk, in my Bible, even in the book I'm reading. I have a little bit of bulldog in me; I can't let things go. After reworking it about 30 times, I think it may never be done!

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Workout update: I did two workouts with the new aerobic video last week, four hand-weight calisthenic sets and three days on my hands and knees, ripping out carpet and pulling up tack strips. My back is aching and my knees are bruised!