Sold!

Bittersweet, but still happy to say: SOLD!
Our house of 4 years sat pretty stagnant on the market for 5 months. Suddenly received an offer after nearly a dozen showings. If everything goes well we will be homeowners no longer by the end of the month!

Yard Clean Up

Last weekend we realized that the pine needles have finished falling for the season and that we were grossly behind on cleaning them up. Instead of filling up over 100 garbage bags (we've come close in the past) Keith rented a UHaul. Our intention was to fill it up quickly, run it to our friend's burn pile, and return the trailer in a couple of hours. It turned into taking over two and a half hours to borrow a wheelbarrow and rent the stupid trailer...HUGE fiasco with UHaul...then 5+ hours to blow off the roof, rake the needles into enormous piles, chase kids, chat with neighbors, load the trailer, drink a Diet Coke, load some more, and repeat. The trailer was OVERFLOWING by the time we were done and we didn't even get close to finishing the flowerbeds. It is was dark by the time Keith finished and it took another hour and a half to dump the needles. My advice? Think twice before buying a home with over 30 trees in the yard.

The Dinner

Keith's annual work dinner went off without a hitch (with the exception of a love-less yet tasty apple pie.) Two days of cooking, which included a Turducken, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with a streusel topping, Lion House dinner rolls, peas with mushrooms, Jezebel sauce, clam dip, shrimp cocktail, Rolo turtles, New York cheesecake with blueberry sauce, apple pie, and cranberry punch. Keith did most of the cooking, while I cleaned, tended to Remi, and decorated. Everything was SO good and I'm glad I still have 1/4 cheesecake all to myself!

The table. I didn't use a holiday-themed table cloth because I found this one on clearance at TJ Maxx. It screams me, so I couldn't pass it up.
This Christmas tree was $0.99 at Goodwill and the big bells were about $1 each.
Our appetizer and dessert table:
Authentic New York CHEESECAKE
Keith's Shrimp Cocktail. He prepared the shrimp in a spicy boil. They were the first thing to go:

Recipe links for anyone interested:
Turducken
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Lion House Dinner Rolls
Jezebel Sauce
Clam Dip
Shrimp Cocktail
Rolo Turtles
New York Cheesecake
Blueberry Sauce
100-year old pie crust
Apple Pie

Invaders

At first I thought the wood trim around our north-facing front door was beginning to rot because of all the rain and humidity we have had. That, and it's always in the shade, so it never really dries out. Pretty reasonable assumption, right?
Well here is the reason our wood was magically disappearing:

At least two giant wood beetles have been feasting on the softened wood for who knows how long. They chewed up into the trim and got a good 4 inches into the inside of the door. Aggressive buggers, each pushing 2 1/2 inches long. After a solid day and a half of work and many dollars spent at Lowe's, Keith has reconstructed the eaten trim with "Veranda" vinyl and filled the door with wood stabilizers and two-part epoxy...a much better alternative to dropping $3500 on a new door and threshold!
Thank you, my glorious handyman! He's cute, strong, clever, and comes really cheap.
Gotta love the creatures of Texas...