the house

The past two days have been really nice; 6 weeks and lots of work is coming to a close. For the first time since we have moved into the house, it feels like a home. There is no roof caving in or massive amounts of work we need to do on the project. It is a blessing and we are simply grateful for God's help finishing it all before Christmas.

I decided to post some pre-remodel pictures...it is completely different.The picture of the den from the kitchen. Got to love the 4 by 4 and bucket catching the water...the reason this project began.
The picture of the room pre-remodel from the corner by the fireplace.
Picture of the den from the new hallway by the kitchen.
The view of the den from the fireplace corner.
The working fireplace...thanks Leland!
Before the ornaments went on the tree.
Leland's creative picture.

update

On Monday, we flew out to Disney World. Leland had a conference and I tagged along. While we left the work continued at the house.
We have walls that look like walls now. It amazes me that the den is physically smaller than before but it looks bigger. They have been prepared to paint and we will start painting next week.
Now our hallway actually looks like a hallway...it has been a crazy to watch the transformation over the past couple of weeks.
Now we also have a big mess inside as well as out.

the house

Two weeks ago our house started a major project. The major problem was discovered over a year ago and we have been working on getting it fixed. Here are just a couple of pictures to show the work that has been done.
This is one of the before pictures. We said goodbye to all of the wood paneling.
The next thing we said goodbye to was the roof. The only way to fix the problem was to take all of the roof off and rebuild the structure. This was a good reminder for me that sometimes the pathway to something being right means it needs to be broken. I also learned that the kitchen is incredibly bright without a roof in the den.
They worked hard on Saturday to rebuild the roof structure.


On Sunday they worded to roof the house and frame up the rooms. They also took a lot of debris away.
We are splitting the den into two rooms. It will add a bedroom to our house and two closets! (Closet space is very exciting) We will use the extra bedroom as a train room/office.

This past week was full of the plumbers, electricians, and heat & air people. The work will continue next week...more to come.

the living room

This weekend the living room got a little bit of a face lift. We moved the faithful futon into the den and couches into the living room. We drove to Shreveport with a trailer to pick them up and got the couches in typical Weiss fashion. We faced many obstacles throughout the day but at the end of the day, we watched the Hawkeyes win and the first half of the Coug game...or Jenni slept through the Coug game (I never realized how spoiled I was watching football in the pacific time zone...but that is an entirely different blog).


My favorite part of the new layout is that now the pretty rug is visible...no coffee table on top of it.

There are some pictures of the new couches and our long living room.

everyone collects something

One of the things Leland and I enjoy doing is visiting antique stores. Most of the time we walk around and admire old things. I just appreciate things that have been used and imagining what life they had before. In some antique stores you are just guessing what the thing may have been used for. We both enjoy older things, so this is fun.

Frequently when we walk through the stores I wonder why some things are there. Leland always tells me that there is someone who collects them and everyone collects something. Then he looks at me and says, "but I don't know what you collect." Since I left my parents house I generally moved at least once a year, which taught me to get rid of things you don't use (they are just boxes to carry).

During the last two visits to the stores we have recognized that I am drawn to dishes. I really enjoy them and think they are beautiful. Normally it is easy to resist buying them because so much work is needed to make the collection. Two weeks ago we found a set in a store that was incredibly full, only missing 3 dinner plates and a sugar bowl). We decided against buying it and the next weekend Leland decided we should see if it is still there and make an offer on it.

It was at the store and now it is in our house. I have officially become a collector. I don't mind collecting dishes because amount you can purchase is limited to the space. I think it is a waste to have dishes you can't use but fun to use a wide collection of them.I am still amazed at how much we got. We now have an abundant amount of serving bowls and platters, we are ready for a feast and company. Luckily the new dishes also match our wedding dishes, so things can be used interchangeably.

They are a set from the 50s, so we have gone a little retro.

new horsey

Yesterday we got a new addition to our family. We have been discussing what to do with cars for months now. The Honda's miles were building up quickly and it was becoming a wonderful second car...but we needed it to be the primary vehicle. We drove through Alexandria, LA earlier this week and test drove a Pontiac Vibe.
We decided to put an offer on the Vibe and were surprised when they accepted it, so we started to drive through a thunder storm to pick it up. We are glad to add Poncho to our family but I was sad to see the Honda leave. The Honda and I had many good memories together.

We named the car Poncho, short from Pontiota (Pontiac & Toyota combined, Leland's creation). The Vibe is the exact same car as the Toyata Matrix.

I am happy that the complicated search for a wagon is over, I can wait a long time before looking for another car.

LA to WA highlights

Last week we drove from Louisiana to Washington. It was definitely a long trip and a lot of miles were covered but we had fun. Here are some pictures of the stops we made along the way.

We took a brief break in Chamberlain, SD along the way. It is an old Milwaukee Railroad town. Incase you don't already know, Leland enjoys railroads and the Milwaukee line is his favorite. It was a fun stop and a much needed stretch break.

It was pretty amazing to think about the details and care put into carving Mount Rushmore. It is definitely worth seeing.

Here is a picture of the back side of Mt. Rushmore. I found the overlook of South Dakota just as breath taking as the National Memorial.

We stopped in Deer Lodge, MT to see the newly repainted Little Joe. It was an engine named after Joseph Stalin. They were originally made for Russia and then the Cold War hit and the engine could no longer go to Russia, which is how it got its name Little Joe. The Milwaukee Railroad ran an electric line in the west and this was one of their powerful engines. It is the last one painted in Milwaukee colors.

Outside of Deer Lodge, MT we stopped at a national park which was an old ranch. Previously I had visited it and they had a wonderful chair that turned into a step ladder. We stopped so I could by the blue print of the chair. Not only did we get the blue print we got a special surprise. On the ranch property there was Milwaukee rail. The Milwaukee is an abandoned railroad and there very little track west of Terry, MT. So this was an unexpected surprise.

Sunday morning breakfast

Breakfast every morning must begin with the morning tea. This morning I had a classic black tea purchased in Iowa City...it was a great start to the morning.

I decided it was time to make aebleskivers again. Aebleskivers are a Danish pancake ball. Last year Leland bought be the pan for my birthday, our first attempted was pretty challenging but after we learned the technique it became a staple in our house. It is a fun change to traditional pancake.

Turning the aebleskivers with a shish kabob stick.
Waiting to turn them again. It takes one quarter turn...and then later on another quarter of turn.
Waiting in the pan to be eatten. It was a great breakfast. Aebleskivers with homemade strawberry jam, yummy Sunday morning breakfast.

our first southern wedding

This past weekend we went to our first wedding in the south and we had a good time. It was more like weddings in the north than different. The mission was the same, to have Courtney and Stephen married at the end of it.

They are two students involved in Chi Alpha. This past year I have had the joy of mentoring Courtney, she has a great heart and an amazing capacity to love others. It was great to watch them go through the process and be there as they begin their life married.

Here are some pictures from the event.

the reception site.

pretty flowers

The invitation made me laugh. Neither one of us like to be called by our titles but when I see them together it makes me smile...we are not normal.

us

life around the house

The quarter is over and the pace of life has changed dramatically.  I have slowed down because Chi Alpha wrapped everything up last week.  Unfortunately, Leland's schedule has picked up; he is in the middle proposals and paper deadlines.  We are still working hard at making sure we have time to see each other, the challenges just look different.

Lately I have been spending a lot of time around the house.  The past week I have been recovering from an outpatient surgery/scope.  I am doing pretty good and working through everything (I never knew the gas could be so bad).  Hopefully in the next couple of weeks my pain will be gone and everything will be worth it.   

Another thing the surgery has done is make me fall in love with dresses, they never rub against the surgical wounds.  I have been on a mission to find inexpensive and comfortable dresses.  I also feel like I am connecting to my childhood; I really enjoyed wearing dresses as a little girl.

Here is a couple of pictures taken around the house.

I was trying to take a picture of kitty and me; we were hanging out on the futon watching NCIS.  Unfortunately I did not have much success and only got her leg.

Kitty knows what she likes: army blanket, remote, and not being woken up.

yeah for two years

Yesterday Leland and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary.  I know two years won't win us any awards but I am still grateful every day for our marriage.  Here are some pictures from our simple adventure yesterday.

Yes we went to Dairy Queen.  My Grandma thought it was silly but it was a wonderful place to go together.  Even though Dairy Queen is a national chain sometimes it feels like we left it in Pullman.  We attempted to go in Iowa City on Leland's birthday but it was closed.  We also attempted on a trip back from Dallas but the ice cream machine was broken.  So the last time we had DQ was in Pullman with our good friend Hamzah.

We have many happy memories of DQ in Pullman with each other and our friends.  So a road trip to a DQ is what we decided to do.  Hopefully it won't take as long for our next trip to DQ, it was about 40 miles away...just not a town we visit often. 

Random picture:

When I was downloading the pictures I accidentally found this picture.  This chain was one we made to count down to our wedding.  It is fun looking back at all the excitement.

latest addition to the house

This weekend we purchased our first piece of furniture together.

leland's handy work

When we bought our house we were blessed to have a built in BBQ. Unfortunately it was rusted over and popular nesting place for red wasps. The first plan of attack was digging out the BBQ but the pole was deep.The next step of the plan was using the Suburban to pull out the BBQ, it had some success but it also needed to be sawed off the rod.But at the end of the day, the rusted BBQ left the yard and it is much prettier.

good old days

Last night Leland and I were looking through pictures on my computer. We ran across these picture from before we were interested in each other and they made us smile. It is amazing to watch how thing change and develop over time...and yes, things even change for those still in Pullman.

Christina (my old roommate) and I had the idea of a night of taking silly group pictures. We started the night by picking up Leland in his office and wandered throughout Pullman.

I just realized that entire crew was in the bridal party. We love and miss all of them.

Christmas in Ruston

The holidays this year was different for both of us than any other year. We made the decision to stay in Ruston for Christmas and we missed our families. It was good for us to celebrate Christmas together. It was nice to do things at our own pace and try to remember Jesus in the midst of the day. Here are some pictures of our adventures of Christmas without snow.

On Christmas Eve we walked to one of the churches in Ruston and after church we made a pizza. We had a quiet evening in our Christmas pajamas (a Madden tradition).

On Christmas morning we opened up our stockings and then made breakfast (blackberry scones and omelet). We opened up some gifts, went on a walk, and then went to have lunch with some friends. The day was peaceful and we just took the events as they happened.

What would Christmas pictures be without kitty playing in the fabric? An accurate picture would also include Kabuki chewing on ribbons and the tree...but the fabric pictures is a happier memory.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas celebration.