Rest

We finished the inside of the last house on our list this week.

Bedrooms are all finished with new flooring, windows, painted doors and all updates to code.

Living room painted and floored. All the holes in the sheetrock filled and retextured. New trim and windows.

New bathroom floor, exhaust fan fixed, new vanity made by Matthew, new toilet and towel racks.

Kitchen has new lights, window, range, fridge, floor and cupboards painted with new pulls. This was the easiest fix we have had this year. The house was inspected and passed yesterday.

The new central Air went in this week. When they removed the furnace (down draft furnace so furnace had to be raised 2 feet) the tin under the furnace was rusted totally out. We wondered why it was so hot in the crawl space when we looked at the house before we bought it. That was where all the heat was going. We checked all the duct work and patched a couple of other holes and replaced the sump pump. Now all we have to do is finish the siding on one side of the house and paint it. Then new shingles and we are done. I am starting to feel like I am on vacation. Pressure is starting to get less.

 Last week I shared about the fishing camp Sharon and I stayed in one night.

That was only 1 night out of seven. We spent some time in some beautiful places. One resort is especially memorable.

I think they smoothed out the beaches every morning. There were never any tracks. and never a scrap of wastepaper or debris. It was a lovely place to watch the sun set over Florida Bay.

 

Sharon and I sat out on the fishing pier into the night as a gentle warm rain fell.

Ahead of us was the bay and behind us the lights of the resort.

We could have spent more time there just chilling out.

We ate breakfast a couple of mornings in this gazebo. It was a great way to start the day. Totally surrounded by greenery.

One evening I saw this little lizard and took its picture. No lizards in Iowa. 

Later in the day we ran into a couple of larger lizards. Not quite so friendly. This one was a three feet long and it was not the longest one that crossed our path.

Jesus told his disciples to come apart and rest awhile. I am not so good at resting when I think I have a lot to get done. 

I do think I have been pushing it a little to hard so far this year. It was great to have a week when I had nothing to do but enjoy time off. The entire week I had no contact from anyone that there was a problem or repair that needed done. I have never had that before, usually I am having to find a repairman to fix an emergency if I am out of the area. I think maybe God was telling me "you need some time off." 

As I look toward this fall I know I have about 2 weeks of work left and then life will slow down drastically unless we find a house to purchase.

I am not sure which I am wishing for.