As you can see the retreat area is just off the master bedroom and now where my computer desk is situated. The words “sleep dream inspire” on the archway were a rub on I bought at Lowe’s.

In the retreat area the window looks out to our narrow side yard. The yellow painted chest was my sister Dee’s as a child. I hand painted and left her signature written in red ink on the inside! The chair is a treasured keepsake; it was my grandmothers, handed down to my mom and then to me.

From the viewpoint of the bed you can see the vaulted ceilings in our bedroom. The patio door to the backyard is on the left, the master bath and hallway to the right. The area above the closets screams for a big screen TV. Let’s not get greedy!

Looking towards the master bathroom and down the hallway out towards the rest of the house.

As you enter the master bedroom from the hallway you see the patio doors leading out to the backyard.

The new and improved craft/guest room. We have a full sized-full height blow up mattress that we place in this room for guests. I made the scalloped toile curtains, the design is of children playing outdoors and one of my favorite pieces of fabric. The adorable face pillow is on loan from gf Beth and hard to give back to her! The beads on the wire silhouette frame are from Disneyland !!!!

The wicker seat is vintage and something I found at a garage sale for $20.00 It has a lot of room and currently stores blankets. And Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus and that is a christmas tree in the corner which holds all my Tinkerbell ornaments. Jason’s trophy from high school track sits beside the vintage dolls, not sure how he feels about that

A trip to Lowe’s to pick up more supplies for the next project, our master bathroom which will pretty much have the same products installed: porcelain tile, small sandalwood vanity, and marble sink. The smaller vanity gives us more foot space, which in these smaller bathrooms is so important. Thank you so much Joe and company! We are already thinking about what we want done next, when you have time in between your big remodel jobs!

Serves-Plenty
Cook Time-Weeks

This is the ultimate high-tech I love to have it all recipe. Start with good-natured stock, preferably young people who are committed to a lifetime of companionship. Allow time for all ingredients to mature and grow before adding too many complicated and expensive items as this may make the stock bitter and tough. Top this recipe off with a large dollop of humility, patience and love.

INGREDIENTS

1 one story 3 bedroom 2 bath, 2 car garage house,

with unfinished attic

1 happy to be empty nesters married couple, photo of your choice:

1 HP Desktop Computer: Dual Processor, 2GB memory, 300GB harddrive, just under 2 years old, still under warranty:

DIRECTIONS

Set aside 1 one story 3 bedroom 2 bath house and married couple for now.

To 1 HP desktop dual processor computer add:

1 22″ HP sleek adjustable Tinkerfied screened monitor

1 My Book terrabyte external hard drive

Set 1 HP Desktop Computer aside for now.

To attic in 1 one story 3 bedroom 2 bath, 2 car garage house add;

To 1 one story house with unfinished attic add appointment for inspection and cleaning of heating and cooling ducts.

Upon completion of noisy and dirty duct inspection and cleaning of heating and cooling ducts, wait.

(Recipe Note* As with any recipe posted on this site please note: With entry to crawl structure spaceways comes the risk of disturbances, which may result in unpleasant and smelly outcomes. We here at pitterpat can in no way be held responsible for any such outcome.) If such outcomes do occur when following this recipes guidelines please do the following:

To 1 one story 3 bedroom 2 bath, 2 car garage house with unfinished attic add one complete attic inspection:

Upon completion of the total attic inspection which may or may not have resulted in total personal emersion of unpleasant and smelly outcomes and which can in no way be the responsibility of pitterpat’s recipe or any affiliation of pitterpat or subsequent companies who may hold or join her in marriage, the following products are to be used only as a suggestion to the remedy of said outcomes.

After adding the above recommended products, stir often, then wait 3 to 4 days.

As often happens when adding odd and seemingly unconnected products to any intelligent and highly technical recipe multiple problems can occur all at once, resulting in unpleasant odors, unexplained coincidences, unmentionable expletives and multiple late nights. These incidences most often will happen without notice, after all monies are paid and in some but not all cases, stated warranties have run their course.

That said, this is what one of the multiple problems and unexplained coincidences can look like:

Upon inspection of this recipe ingredient it was determined the 1 My Book terrabyte external hard drive had an expired expiration date, or in other terms, was no longer working, after of course all monies were paid and stated warranties had run their course.

Additionally what may appear to be 1 failed portion of the recipe will sometimes present itself as a BOGO or two for one problem, with the 2nd failed portion shown here (click picture to enlarge):

To address this portion of the failed recipe it is recommended you bring in an expert Head Chef in the field, as allowing spouses…..errr……the Chef In Training to closely inspect the ingredients may result in further damage…..ummm….a failed recipe.

Finally, turn all cooking, stewing, cursing and mulling over to Head Chef.
Wait.
Taste for doneness.
Season as needed.

Serve if desired, or refer to Head Chef notes, seen below:

Head Chef Notes:

Pictures of discussed 1 happy to be empty nesters married couple follow this report.

New recipe ingredients ordered:

1 HP desktop dual processor computer return box
1 new Buffalo brand terrabyte external hard drive ordered

Recipe Diagnosis:

Head Chef – 1 diagnosis of flu – recommendations: bed rest, aspirin, patience
(Head Chef faking looking healthy for photographer AKA Chef In Training and owner of 1 HP Desktop Computer )

Chef In Training – recommendations: phone Dr – diagnosis – Bronchitis – RX medication needed
(Chef In Training not faking looking sick and missing terribly her 1 HP Desktop Computer!)

Head Chef Additional Notes:

HP states 1 HP Desktop Computer: Dual Processor, 2GB memory, 300GB harddrive still covered under warranty, upon receipt will access situation, repair, and return ASAP

French Vanilla Air Filter removed from return AC filter and thrown in garbage. No plans to purchase more in the future.
Odor Eliminator Charcoal remains in attic, no ill effects noted at this time.
Oust Clean Air candles used and found to be effective.

Unpleasant and smelly outcomes otherwise known as unfound deceased rodent in attic odor ceases to exist at present time.

Total attic inspection with cleaning of heating and cooling ducts appear to be effective in cutting down on dust and allergies (with exception to above mentioned deceased rodent episode) as well as significant improvement in air flow and reduced noise in ducts.

End of Head Chef notes.
Signed Out.
End.

This adorable chandelier hangs above the table and doesn’t really offer anything in the way of actual light yet it looks so sweet and was just what I wanted. Valerie, a dear friend, helped Jerry and I figure out how high to hang it. I think it finishes off the space very nicely.

I’m late posting photos, but as the saying goes, better late than never.

I had just gotten home after taking our houseguest Valerie to the airport (she went home to Illinois for the holidays) when I saw Jerry’s car in the driveway. I was so excited to see him home for lunch! I was sure he had come home to see me so I rushed in the front door to say “hi sweetie”. When he walked out of his study and I saw the look on his face I knew there was a different reason for him being home in the middle of the day. You know the rest of the story, another job lay off with the holidays right around the corner. This short story line leads up the photo of me with a very special person in my arms, baby Jack L. Hord. Carol’s daughter Teresa, husband Jeremy, and daugher Emily welcomed Jack into the world a few days after Thanksgiving this year. Jerry had gone back to work after telling me about the job lay off news, and I was on the phone with my girlfriend Pauline boo-hooing about it. I was in no mood to break away from my conversation with Pauline, despite Carol’s persistance. She called my cell several times, then the home phone. I finally gave in and took her call. She didn’t tell me that Teresa and Jack were with her, she didn’t know about Jerry’s recent job status. She just knew how much I loved her girls and T’s kids. I hung up with Pauline and waited for Carol to come over like she said she was going to do. When I answered the door I was so tickled. I also knew that I needed a baby’s love at that very moment to lift my heart. Thank you baby Jack, Teresa and Carol.

We started our festivities by having good friends Terry and Karen over to enjoy the Christmas vibe. Karen brought over hot chocolate and we enjoyed that while we opened our gifts.
It was Jerry’s year for all things Coke related. Maybe next year we’ll put up a small tree in his study to show off his Coke ornaments.It was the year of the fairy for me. I was blessed to receive Tink in many different forms this year and loved it. This was a Mary Cicely Barker calendar, another favorite artist of mine who illustrates exquisite fairies.

Terry’s gifts came in the form of Disney. Not too big of a surprise because that’s his mantra, his main thing, what makes his heart go thumpedy-thump. Karen and I went to an estate sale this last year that had a awesome amount of Disney items for sale. We found out as we were purchasing our items that the estate sale was due to a foreclosure which made it very sad. But in the end Terry got this shirt and a cool Disney blanket, so I was thankful for those gifts.

Next on our holiday festivities was spending Christmas eve with good friends the Bennets. Jill made everyone a wonderful mexican feast with delicious margarita’s, and Matt joined us for dinner that evening which was nice. In a festive mood Jill placed celebratory New Years eve crackers on each table setting which was a lot of fun.
Inside each cracker were crowns, a joke, and a prize. Each end of the cracker was tied up with twisty gold ball ties. Those ended up being the most entertaining, something akin to the box, not the contents. Patrick made “knuckle-cracking-beaters” out of his. Steve proudly shows off the paper crown. It seems to fit him just right, don’t you think? Jill bravely shows there is more than just 1 thing you can do with the New Years cracker ties thank you, while Matt tries not to notice that mom did not have her focus set right!

We had a nice treat this year with having both boys home for Christmas. Jason and his good friend Christina, better known as Chuck, made the long trek down from Arcata, Ca in his dependable blue Honda. Since it is about a 14 hour drive one way, they decided to stop over in San Fransico on their way down. It had been almost 2 years since we’d seen Jason last, so we were all very excited. Christmas morning was nice. We slept in a bit, and Matt drove down from Newport Beach to open gifts with us. Matt appreciated his gifts as did Jason, of course, yet the best part for Jerry and I was the fact that we had both the boys home for the holidays at the same time.
As part of our family tradition, we traveled down to San Diego for Christmas day dinner at Patty’s cousin’s house. Greg and Doreen make the best prime rib known to mankind and are the most gracious of hosts. Getting to see Greg’s parents, and Patty’s closest aunt Lou and uncle Jim who live a stone’s throw away, is another part of the wonderful tradition, as is seeing a whole host of other family members. It is time spent with great food and spirits, lots of wonderful stories around a long table, and best of all simply the best family a girl could ever wish for.

We always have a nice time when our youngest son Matt comes down from his place for a visit. Being the amateur photographer buff that I am (which doesn’t compare at all to the professional photographer that Matt is) I snapped a few pictures of him while we sat on the patio. He is most always quite patient with me while I take multiple photos of him from every possible angle and position. Someday I hope to be as good at photography as he is, for now I guess I just have to struggle with showing him the photos I take. You have no idea how humble that can make you. After brunch, Matt and I ran a few errands, TJ Max, car wash and Target. It’s always fun to shop together, listen to his music choices, I do like some of his pics, and chat while we are out and about. I am so very blessed to have such great sons!