Kim's Couch

Little Layla and the couch.

How do you like Kim's couch Momma covered with the help of me and Scout and Kim? That's some bright and cheerful material. I think that couch will be remembered for a long time. 

Kim found the couch at an estate sale for ten dollars. It's very retro with the woodwork on the arms. I think it was probably bought in the 60's and decorated in a French style. I like the modern update. Don't you?

Scout and Kim sanded the wood and then we put several coats of polyurethane on it. Momma covered the couch and worked on the cushions. I helped her tear them back down. She finished everything up Saturday with Scout and Kim's assistance.

I didn't get to go up there this weekend and help them because I have some kind of bug and didn't want to chance being around them all and making them sick, especially Momma. She and Daddy have to watch their health. Momma had those blood clots the summer before last and had to go to the hospital. She doesn't need a chest cold.

I have a sneaking feeling that Colt made me sick. He has been coughing and spitting up for a while now. I figure he passed it on to me. We're always together because I get on the computer in his room and he watches TV in here. He thinks he probably got his cough from the neighbor's kids.

Justin and Sydnei have three little boys who are four and below. Colt said Zack coughed on him and he told the kid to cover his mouth. Zackary thought that was funny so he would run up to Colt and cough on him again and again.

Later on Sydnei said the boys had foot and mouth disease (not to be confused with hoof and mouth disease found in livestock). It's Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. It manifests in sores around and within the mouth or on the hands or feet of children.

Being the paranoid person I am, I think I have foot and mouth disease because Colt was exposed to the germy little rug rats. I doubt mankind will go out with a bang. We'll probably go out with a whimper as we succumb to some odious germ.

Maybe I should start carrying around a can of Lysol and spray for germs everywhere I go. Who am I kidding? They'd lock me if if I sprayed Lysol on kids. Kids are all just little walking petri dishes.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Seeing Double

I told you we were going to cover the other little rocker to match the first one I showed you. (See My Rocking Chair) Momma and I worked this week to tear it down and try to match the first one we covered before. It was challenging but I believe they passed muster. We worked on it Monday through Thursday and took Friday off for our family Thanksgiving dinner. I went back up there on Saturday and we worked until we got it finished. I loaded both rockers in the back of the pickup truck and brought them home.

Momma let me do a lot more work on the second rocker. I cut out fabric and made cording and sewed some. I even learned how to tie on buttons. Until then I had been dreading trying to tie buttons but it turned out to be pretty simple. 

Kim wanted to host Thanksgiving for our family so Momma and Daddy and Donny and I had dinner with them. Colt showed up with his friends, Sydney and Justin. We had plenty to eat. Kim is a great cook and hostess.  It was fun for us all to spend time with Scout and Kim and Layla. Thanks yall.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Back To School

It's that time of year again. Time for Colt to head back to school. This year is going to be a little different; Colt and his roommate, Bob, moved off-campus. 

We rounded up some furniture and helped Colt take it down to Marietta over the past couple of weeks. Bob's parents were there the first time helping him put his furniture together. Bob got the big bedroom since he got there first. He brought some nice tables and lamps for the living room. Colt's contribution was a dining room table, couch and big TV. We took his bed and chairs and the rest of his necessities last weekend. The apartment looks nice. 

Colt headed back to Marietta today to begin another semester at the university. He kept coming back. I would tell him 'bye' and then go inside. He made it out of the driveway and pulled back in the other one. He said he forgot something. Next time he got down the road a little piece before he turned around for something else. He finally got gone on the third try.

I bet Colt will be so happy to be away from me and in his own apartment for a while. I'm going to miss him so much even though he's hardly ever here. He hangs out with his buddy Justin, after work. He is the boy who thought Colt was a Jew. Although he's a knucklehead, Justin is a real good friend and a likable fellow.

Scout got Colt a job with him this summer. Scout works for Bob DeGraan. Bob owns Fencing Unlimited. Fencing must really be unlimited because Scout has had steady work all throughout this recession. They work all over north Georgia. Scout's even worked in Tennessee. 

Fencing has been a learning experience for Colt. Or maybe it has been an endurance experience because Colt has worked his tail off. He and Scout look like they've been rolling in the dust by the time they get home. Colt showed me scratches and regaled me with stories of wrestling huge rolls of barb wire; trying to unwind them among the brambles, and the bushes, sometimes dragging them uphill. Scout enjoyed working with Colt and showing him that he could outwork him. 

It's important that Colt learns manual labor if he is going to be in charge of construction management when he graduates. There is nothing worse than a boss who doesn't understand his employees because he has never worked. Book learning is good and important, but understanding every aspect of a job is invaluable. The best way to learn how something works is to learn to do the job. You can't learn everything in books. 

Donny complains about some designs the draftsmen give him because they don't work. Sometimes the blueprints are wrong and the draftsmen have to redraw them. He thinks, if they had to help build the machines, they would understand their designs better. Some designs won't work. If the blueprints are wrong they have to tear down whatever they just built and redo it. That's not easy when you have to cut metal with a blowtorch. 

I believe Colt will be a better boss and understand his job better if he learns good, honest, hard work. That's why I encourage Colt to work with Scout when he can.

We pick on Colt and give him a hard time but we are so proud of him. He's a fine young man and lots of fun to be around. That's why I'm going to miss him so much.

AS ALWAYS

PIO