Fire and ice

Less than a month ago we decided to move forward and fill the hole in our fireplace with gas logs.

At the time the post was written, we were fairly confident that our abilities would allow us to complete the installation ourselves. The company which ordered the panels was very efficient, but it still took two trips to get all of the boxes (they forgot to give us one of them).

Last Friday was the chosen day to install the replacement panels. I had to figure out how to punch a hole in one for the gas line. No lies, the whole job was not super easy and there might have been a bit of snipping going on as I wrestled with the heavy pieces. In the end, everything was in place and ready for the logs.

After looking through the direction guide, Hubs decided he was not in the business of setting up gas logs. One call to the store and a technician came work and installed them on his time. Friday night we had a nice, comforting fire in the fireplace!

As in most parts of the country, we are getting cold weather. It has gotten below freezing the past few nights and doesn't warm up much during the day. We have left the pool and all features turned on to prevent freezing and a few ice clumps have formed on the waterfall.

The water is 43 degrees. It was 54 degrees the day around New Year's when I accidentally fell into it. We were cleaning the baskets and scooping out leaves from the neighbor's trees when my foot slipped off the edge right there by the spa. FYS was over by the dolphins and must have flown to my side to fish me out. I was stunned by the cold which immediately took my breath away. FYS helped me out and then to the back door where big fluffy towels were already waiting. My legs were bruised from scraping the side on the way in and on the way out. I was like a rag doll as my son's adrenaline had obviously kicked in to save me. Needless to say, it was a day filled with excitement. The bruises have healed and I am much more careful when I work around the pool.

We also found a landscape company who didn't blink twice at the amount of work our yard needed. The owner gave us a very good price to tackle the gargantuan task and the result has made me very happy. Everything looks a little bare right now, but when it warms up and everything begins to blossom, it will be incredible.

How about a little knitting content?

Knitting is finished on the Christening gown and the baby was born last weekend. There is time this week to get it sewn together and to take photos. Some surprise knitting is happening, too and the progress is going very well. It will be a little time before photos can be posted.