On the Threshold of a New Year...

My favorite author Tennyson one wrote:

"Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come,

whispering "It will be happier..."

Last year at this time I was writing about my hopes and dreams for the upcoming year and thinking about my resolutions;  those I accomplished, those I didn't accomplish, and those I would set forth for the next year.  I wrote about career, travel and family.  I looked forward to a new dog, continuing work on our new home, and darn if that cheetah didn't elude me again.

But, all I have to do to remember the excitement and joy that this last year brought is to look at the over 3500 photos I took this year.  Albeit, about 1500 are probably devoted to just the dogs.  Within a year, we went from a 3 cat household to a three cat, two dog, two goat, two guinea, 13 chicken household.  And, that alone came with it's own share of joys and sadness.

We traveled:  from Tucson, Arizona to Mendocino, California.  Trips to Laughlin, San Francisco, Sacramento.  Disneyland for my birthday!  Camping during the summer to Lakeview, Oregon and down to Hat Creek following the fly boys.  Back to Medford and then down to my home town to get my mother who spent time at our home this year on two separate occasions.

The house got a new look from the outside as work continued.  And, we are so close to finally finishing one room.  Doesn't sound like much, but when you've got a massive home improvement project, it's one room at a time.

Career wise, I started doing shifts at the larger hospital in the area.  I continued as the pre-hospital coordinator and on the county emergency medical committee.  And, I've taken on several projects both in EMS and at my hospital which will continue to add to my leadership roles.  I'm still on several committees with my national organization, and continue to teach and lecture within my group.

As for next year...
 - to run a 5K.  One of my friends at work has challenged me to get back into running.  I've got new shoes.  I've got the Couch to 5K app on my iPhone.  I think I'm set.
 - to get more organized.  For some reason, I used to be the most organized OCD person ever, and that's been sorely lacking in a lot of areas.  I need to find my focus and get coordinated once again.
 - to finish a short story.  I've got so many ideas and partially started projects going that I know I need to stop and focus and finish one... that will lead to two... then three... wash, rinse, repeat
 - to continue to increase the presence of God in my life.  Not that I need any more projects, but to contribute more of my time to the Church.  If anything, to get back into the habit of daily prayer and meditation.
 - to eke out every last bit of joy and fun in the things I do.  We've got several trips planned, and I intend to make next year's photo count even bigger... which might mean I need a new MacBook... darn!
 - and to just lay the foundations for a healthier, happier me... I think that will do the most to change the way I live my life during the upcoming year...

Happy New Years, and may you achieve all your hopes and dreams!!

Welcome 2013!

Cooking With Momma...

So, I've enjoyed having my mother here over the holidays.

And, one of the things we've been doing together is cooking!

On my free days, it's been a pleasure to recreate my favorite recipes

from when I was growing up...

Like potato salad.  Mom's potato salad was the staple at every family gathering

because she made the best.

Mine was pretty close,

and she made suggestions on improvement.

Then there's taquitos, aka rolled tacos...

I love them... so we made them,

inspired by the avocados that my uncle sent me.

Delicious, yes they were...

Then we got a little more complicated and made pozole

which is a pork and hominy soup.

You create a salad topping

with fresh cabbage and radishes...

It was everything a comfort food should be...

Then, the Final Exam... Mole

Mole (mol-eh) is a sauce which varies

depending on which region in Mexico you're from.

My grandmother was from central Mexico near Guadalajara,

and I have never tasted a mole similar to hers.

Today, mom and I tried to recreate it.

I didn't realize how much work went into it...

Just the right amount and balance of chilis,

and mom adding in the special blend of spices

and super secret touches...

This mole came pretty darn close to what I remember from childhood...

We're not complaining... it's delicious!

En Francais, it would be bon apetit...

In Spanish, it's buen provecho!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! 

Cheers to hoping you're spending it

next to those you hold dear....!

How Long Has It Been...?

 Wow, after a feverish month of blogging daily, I have gotten lazy, haven't I...?

Let's wrap up:

On the 30th we had, what's becoming, our annual Wine and Mushroom party.

It was wet, sloppy weather and the chanterelles were a bit waterlogged,

but I made a fantastic sangria, plus opened several other special bottles I had

laying around the house, and we had a lot more people show up than last year.

All in all, a LOT of fun, and it really highlighted my lack of seating

since everyone chose to sit around the kitchen table and eat appetizers

instead of milling around.

That weekend I started my decorating for the holidays.

Here's the trim for the fence at the end of the driveway.

I love those big ornaments, but somehow 2 have disappeared, 

and I can't account for how that happened.

I have a thing for silver reindeer, and I added a couple more to the collection.

The slender deer in the middle of the picture is one of the new ones.

He's looking very handsome and is a nice addition to the herd.

We have green eggs!  

This means that at least one of our latest 2 hens are starting to lay.

As you can see, there are 4 different colored eggs, so at least 4 of the 13

(well actually 10 since 3 are roosters) chickens are laying now.

This will be great and I won't have to buy as many eggs when I start

my massive holiday baking projects.

I tried my hand at Southern Fried Pie.  Here are two attempts next to my final

all American apple pie.  My husband performed the taste test.

Not quite like his aunt used to make, but still deemed yummy.

Having done this, now I know what I need to do for the next trial.

But, first we've got to dry some more apples...

Our county is one of the "pilot" counties in the state for the California Medical Foundation "Walk With a Doc" program.  I led last weekend's walk in my town, and despite the rain and 38 degree weather, almost a dozen people showed up to walk the almost 2 mile route I had planned.  I brought the dogs which helped keep us at a brisk pace.  All in all pretty successful, and if anything it got me out of the house to exercise.... and, so should you!

Speaking of the dogs, they really do travel well.  We went on a 12 hour car ride to pick up my mother for the holidays.  The dogs slept most of the time.  They behaved well during our pit stops.  And, they didn't get annoying during those "drive thru" meal stops.

 

Then twelve hours back on the road, which leads us to the present.  

Momma's here to spend the holidays with us, and Dillon just loves his Gramma.  

Cheers to you and hoping you're able to spend time with loved ones

during this holiday season!

NaBloPoMo Day 30 - The End

Well, I made it through the entire month and posted a blog every day.  They say writing is like any other exercise.... you need to keep practicing to get good at your art.  Getting into the habit of writing every day is a lesson in self-discipline.  Sure, some days I just got my post in under the wire, but overall, I'd have to say, once again, it was a good experience.

Hopefully, I can keep the flow going during the rest of the year... I hope you hang along with me for the ride...!  And, I can assure you that during the next 12 months, we're going to long in a LOT of miles.... ;-)

Thank you for reading, and good night!

maybe next year I'll try for the NaNoWriMo... hmmm....

NaBloPoMo Day 30 - Dixie

What else could I do except wish my beautiful dog a Happy Birthday!!

and to share her birthday video....

Cheers to many more years together...!

NaBloPoMo Day 28 - Rainy Days

It's the start of the rainy season and the dogs are already bored.  It's funny because a year ago we didn't even have one dog and now we have two.  One dog is hard enough to keep track of, but two... wow, are they terrors when they get together... especially these two.  They are too smart for their own good, and being cooped up in the house all day makes for some frustrated dogs.

Which kind of made me start thinking about grade school.  We used to love rainy days.  Recess was held inside.  We could draw on the blackboards.  Gym was held in the parish hall, and when they had just polished the floors you could take your shoes off and slide all over the place.  Or we did folk dancing.  I honestly think I can remember the steps to some of those dances... for some reason, the song "Never on a Sunday" is coming to my head... weird.

We played games like Duck, Duck Goose and Heads Up, Seven Up!

I wonder if any of my classmates ever cheated and looked down at the shoes when you were supposed to keep your eyes closed.  It was so hard though, waiting, with that thumb stuck up in the air, wondering if you were going to get picked.  Or standing in the front of the room, wondering if that cute boy would realize it was you... tapping his finger... letting him know you were thinking about him...

Yeah, grade school memories...

Although, I think I could still hold my own in Duck, Duck, Goose... 

not sure my knees can though...

NaBloPoMo Day 27 - Pink Elephants

Yesterday I wrote about dreams, and today I am writing about hallucinations. 

Now, I can honestly say, I have never been so drunk as to hallucinate.  In fact, the only people I have known to see things while intoxicated also used some other substances.  Although, I did have a friend who imagined she was "flying over the sand dunes" during a trip to San Felipe while in college.  But I don't think that's the same thing.

As a kid, I always imagined being drunk like that scene in "Dumbo" where he and Timothy get drunk and he sees pink elephants.  This leads to that awesome visual sequence involving the song "Pink Elephants on Parade."  I imagined being drunk would be fun, kinda like that... then I went to college and learned about the reality of hangovers.

We get a lot of patients who are under the influence of various sundry substances.  Some of them are still seeing things when they get to the ED, which can be interesting or not, depending on their flavor of hallucination.  Then there's the ever-popular formication which is the medical term for the sensation of "bugs crawling under the skin."  I have had patients actually try to show me "where the worms are" and "can't you see it there?"  Um, no, I can't but ok.

Enjoy the fun kind of drunk:

NaBloPoMo Day 26 - Collective Unconscious

We all share common dreams.
I'm not talking about goals and ideals, I am talking about the stuff that happens when you're asleep.

We all seem to have similar dreams.
Like being back in school, realizing it's the end of the semester and you're missing xyz that you need to graduate;  some class that you're enrolled in but never went to and never turned in the required papers for.  You know you've already graduated so it doesn't make sense.  I've had that dream about every stage of my education.  I remember a dream where I was back in grade school making up a class so I could graduate from medical school.  My DH has related his "back to school" dreams.  His usually have to do with some certification that he forgot to finish.

Another common dream is the flying one.  I used to be able to fly on command, but I haven't had the focus I used to have to consciously realize I was dreaming and allow myself to fly.  Now that's a weird sensation.  I've had a lot of friends talk about how they used to do it all the time.

Friends have also talked about their superhero dreams, their traveling dreams, and their wish fulfillment dreams.  I'm including erotic dreams in there too.  Somehow, we all share similar themes.

And what about when you're learning a foreign language?  I remember living in Mexico City and dreaming in Spanish.

I've always wondered what my dogs and cats are dreaming about... do they chase rabbits around?  Are they running and playing?  When they whine and cry are they looking for a treat or in distress?

I studied about dreams in college, and I remember reading a theory that they are our brains "dumping grounds."  We encounter so much stimulation that our brains would be overwhelmed processing it all so it selects the sounds it chooses to hear, the sensations it chooses to focus on, and the sights and smells it filters out from the cacophony of impulses around us.  Then when we sleep, all the extraneous data gets dumped.  Talk about making treasures out of trash...

NaBloPoMo Day 25 - Doc in the Box

We have a process in our ED called Rapid Assessment and Discharge.

Basically you examine the patient and decide:

a.) this patient can be discharged with just a script

b.) this patient can be discharged after some simple intervention, lab or x-ray

c.) this patient just needs some labs or x-ray and then might need something else

d.) this patient is going to need a LOT of work

Today, I was the Doc in the Box making the decisions.

I actually enjoy working in triage.

You have to think fast on your feet.  Make decisions with a small amount of information.

You then order what you think is necessary so someone else can come along and complete the workup, or the disposition (deciding if a patient is admitted or discharged to home.)

Sometimes the problem is obvious;  like poison oak rash, or medication refill.

You write up the chart and discharge the patient.

Other times, you have to figure out not what is wrong with the patient, but what their true intent was in coming to the emergency department.  One of my residency instructors used to say that everyone coming to the ED had an agenda.  My challenge was to find out what it was.  For some, unfortunately, it comes down to seeking pain medication.  For others, they just need someone who will listen to their problems and reassure them that everything will be ok.  Some, I will never figure out...

But, there's the true challenge... to keep trying... or just write a prescription for Vicodin... 

NaBloPoMo Day 24 - A New Year

It's amazing to think that it's been a year since we started living in our home.  We bought the home in April of 2011.  The prior owners rented from us until July 31st, and then we gained the house that night.

We didn't actually spend the first night in the house until after Thanksgiving last year.  Before then, the contractor actually lived in the house while he was building the dormer and did some of the preliminary work.  So now, it's been about a year since we started sleeping in the house... officially, we didn't move in until around April of this year, but I still consider our anniversary in the house when we started sleeping there for the first time...

NaBloPoMo Day 23 - On Writing...

I often tell my hubby not to bother me while I am writing.  It's hard work getting in the right mood.  And, then, once you get in the right frame of mind and start the flow, if you get interrupted, you can lose it, just like that!  Think Coleridge and the "Kubla Khan." 

Written in a frenzy after awakening from an opium high, Coleridge wrote freely until he was interrupted.  When he went back to his work, he had lost his flow and rhythm and the poem was never finished.  Just imagine what might have happened.

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.

So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round:
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery."

 - Samuel Coleridge

If anything, this past month has been challenging.  One is finding the time to actually post, and then there's finding inspiration.  One week to go... wow!  This month is flying by...

NaBloPoMo Day 22 - Giving Thanks

Here's wishing you and yours a

Wonderful and Blessed Thanksgiving...!

Dear, Lord. We thank you for the many blessings You have bestowed on us. We especially thank You for the gifts of love and family. In Your name we pray... Amen

NaBloPoMo Day 21 - Morning Person

I love mornings... 

I am, and have always been, a morning person.

You know, that annoying being that bounces out of bed

and is ready to go! go! go!

I think that's why I did so well in surgery...

Get up at 0430 to be at the hospital by 0530

so that pre-rounds could be done by 0630

so that rounds could be done by 0730

so that surgeries could start at 0800...

yeah, man...!

Oh, and, uh, I only sleep about 5 and a half hours...

Which is why sometimes I can get photos like this...

Don't you just love sunrises..?

They hold so much promise...

NaBloPoMo Day 20 - Seeing Things

I look at a LOT of films.

After a while, you start to see things in them that aren't there.

Like this chest x-ray, anyone else see a parrot here?

No...?

Maybe it's the fact I worked a 15 hour overnight shift...

Maybe....

NaBloPoMo Day 19 - Comfort Food

I think I've written about this before, 

but there are some places you just like to go to when you're traveling.

Like the Black Bear Diner.

This is probably one of my husband's favorite travel restaurants.

Their pancakes are big and yummy...

And, they seem to specialize in homey comfort food.

There's a scene from "Memphis Belle" where one of the characters

is describing his dream of opening a chain of restaurants

which would all have a common menu.

The girl he is trying to impress makes the comment that

"won't that be boring to have the same food everywhere?"

and, he answers, "No, it's comforting."

And, it kind of is...

NaBloPoMo Day 18 - Cooking Shows

I love watching cooking shows.  "Chopped," "Sweet Genius," "Iron Chef," etc.   And, to be honest, I never used to watch them until a friend came over for dinner and started talking about "Chopped."  I was intrigued, so I started watching, and now DH and I are hooked.

I love to cook, and I have learned a lot about cooking and using different ingredients just by watching the show.  Like, I have learned to heat up my oil with the garlic in it instead of tossing the garlic into the hot oil.  And, some nights staring into the abyss that our refrigerator can be at times I feel like I am on an episode of "Chopped."  Let's see... how do I combine an overripe tomato, a can of mushroom soup and some leftover pizza into a meal...?  Hmm...

Anyway, DH and I have a lot of fun trying to guess which contestant is going to be cut, or discussing which dish we would never eat, or trying to figure out how to remake a dish we've seen on the show at home.  We make fun of the contestants, and add "and you suck" when Chef Ron Ben-Israel pushes a dish back that he has just tasted.  Not nice, yes, but a fun bonding experience nonetheless.

Hmm... wonder if I can make that pumpkin souffle I saw on "Iron Chef America" Thanksgiving edition... where can I find me some of them ramekins...?  Yeah, I said it, ramekin.   That's Chef Talk, you know....

NaBloPoMo Day 17 - I'm an ED Doc

For those of you that at this point still don't know what I do, let me tell you...

I'm an ED doc... not ER, we're not an emergency Room any more, we are an

Emergency Department.  We handle emergencies.  Mhmm... remember that...

I have to admit, I did "grow up" watching, 

"M*A*S*H," "Emergency," "ER" and "Rescue 911."

I was in medical school when "Scrubs" got started.

I was a surgical resident when "Grey's Anatomy" and "House" started.

Very often, I have been asked if it's all like it is on TV.  

And, except for the really good looking people that seem to be everywhere, it kinda is.

Ok, yes, there are some good looking doctors out there, come on... 

but not to the extent that there are on TV...

And, I've never climbed up on a patient and ridden on the gurney with them down the hallway...

Although, I have run down the hallway with a patient, or two, or several...

I've seen the gamut from birth to death.

I've seen the inane and the insane.

And, yes, sometimes we need to take time out for ourselves and do a quick dance...

It beat crying in the stairwell feeling sorry for ourselves...

and, yes, I've done that too...

So, my blog is about my life, most of the time from outside the ED doors,

although most anyone will tell you they want to hear what happens

inside the ED doors... like my photo... about percocets and a candy bar...

hey, it's all about "customer" satisfaction these days...

NaBloPoMo Day 16 - Road Dogs

Dillon and Dixie

We're on the road for the weekend, and the dogs are with us... as always.  Praise the Lord, they travel well.  Pretty much toss them in their kennel and they sleep the whole way.  Kind of like space travel.  You're put into a state of suspended animation, and when you awaken, bam!, you're in a new place with no idea how you got there.  But, still happy to be there.  Cause you're a dog, and you're happy to be anywhere.

I thought I had done the ultimate training when I taught Dixie to pee on command.  Dillon is not too far behind.  We still don't trust him in the hotel room like we do Dixie, but I am sure that will come in time.  We make scheduled stops to let the dogs stretch out their legs and heed the call of nature.  They get fed on time.  It's just like having kids.

Except hotels don't generally charge you a "cleaning fee" for children... Although, maybe they should... have you seen some of those kids checking in...?

NaBloPoMo Day 15 - Medical Dramas

Still have a cold, so will be brief.

I love watching medical dramas, but some of the "inexactness" drives me crazy.

Like guts.

Guts are long and round and tubular with mesentery hanging off of them.

They are NOT little pink garden hoses just popping out of the stomach.

Let's make them more lifelike shall we...?

NaBloPoMo Day 14 - Heal Thyself

I have a cold so this will be a short post.  The first day sucks the most... then it generally gets better.

NaBloPoMo Day 13 - On Trauma

I work in a small community hospital.  Most of my day to day patients are what could have been seen in a primary care provider's office if only we had enough primary care providers.  They're the coughs and colds and bladder infections.  The fevers, chills, and hangovers.  Then there's the acutely drunk, the acutely high, the acutely should have passed out quietly at home but friends/family/the police freaked out and brought them to the ED for us to deal with.  .

Occasionally I see a real sick person:  heart attack, pneumonia, appendicitis.  And, occasionally we get a trauma.  Inevitably, I will be asked, "don't you miss it?"  I usually answer, "Not really, trauma is easy."  I trained at a Level 1 trauma center, and we saw a LOT of trauma:  blunt force, penetrating, etc.  We saw it all.  People would ask, "gee, your weekends must be busy."  I would answer, "Not really, we once had three GSW's on a Tuesday morning.  Trauma in the inner city doesn't wait for the weekend."

But, there is something about trauma.  It's a high level excitement event.  Life and death decisions need to be made on the fly.  But, not really.  Trauma is so protocolized that it becomes a matter of checking all the right boxes, stabilizing the patient, and sending them to the appropriate location.  Sometimes an immediate procedure needs to be performed, but almost 75% of the time, nothing more than an IV, some fluids, pain meds and an x-ray need to be done.

Do I miss running down the hallway with my gloved hand in a hole on some patient's chest holding back the blood that was just moments ago spurting out of it as we make our way into the OR?  Do I miss seeing a CT scan like the one above and reaching for the phone to tell my attending I'm calling in the OR team, starting antibiotics and reserving a room in the SICU?  I have to be honest, sometimes I do.  Especially when the 5th pedi with fever checks in and joins the growing chorus in the din that is the E.D. 

It's then that my mind drifts to putting in bilateral trauma chest tubes, placing ICP monitors, and packing a wound during salvage surgery then "getting the heck out of Dodge."  Is that the police monitor I hear...? Another combatitive EtOHer coming in...?  Sigh....

NaBloPoMo Day 12 - Having Kids

Third of the way through... woohoo...!!

I don't often write about child abuse and my thoughts on population control (like a manditory "Depo-Provera vaccination" for all teen girls), but some shifts just get you more than others.  There's a quote I think of often when shifts like this happen.  It's from the movie "Parenthood" with Steve Martin and Keanu Reeves.  Keanu's character is a soon-to-be young father, and he says, "You know, Mrs. Buckman, you need a license to buy a dog, to drive a car - hell, you even need a license to catch a fish.  But they'll let any butt-reaming asshole be a father."

Last night was about parents, who under the influence of various substances, probably weren't as attentive to their children as they should be, and the children are the ones who suffered... head injuries... intracranial bleeds... etc.  There's a lot of people recently calling for drug testing of welfare recipients.  Last night should have been about the drug testing as a qualification for parenthood.

I don't know that I've ever written about this before, but when I went to adopt my cat Winston I had to go through a long and lengthy process.  I adopted him from the Chicago AntiCruelty Society.  I had a rather lengthy application to fill out which included my needing to list my place of employment, provide a pay stub, present proof from my landlord allowing me to have pets in my apartment, etc.  I also had to have an interview which discussed everything from my work schedule, prior pet owning experiences, disciplinary tactics, and only then was I allowed to look at the kittens.  Much different from prior experiences of "pick one out of the box and let's go."

While doing my residency in Buffalo, we'd get a lot of patient with multiple children.  Sure, each one was that much more state support entering the household.  While I don't agree with the selective abortions and infanticide heard from China, their One Child Policy that encourages single children and punishes multiple births might be a consideration.  Along with mandatory drug testing, because seriously, how can you enjoy your child when your mind is clouded with methamphetamines... pot... methadone... alcohol... a combination of all or any of the above....?  I find it to be the ultimate in selfishness... which is the exact opposite of what you should be when you decide to bring another life into the world.

NaBloPoMo Day 11 - Beach Stroll

I love the ocean. 

Since we've moved to Northern California, at least once a month I've gone down to the beach.  Now with the dogs I go more frequently because there's nothing better than letting the dogs run, chase birds, chase each other, and splash around in the waves.  While they play, I walk with my head down looking for treasures.

There's nothing like walking along the beach after a storm.  Lots of things wash up on the shore.  Shells, rocks, seaweed... It's the start of sport crabbing season, so we're finding a lot of crab shells washed up on shore as well.  We also find crab traps, rope, bouys, etc.  It's really random.

I also look for rocks.  White rocks.  White polished rocks.  The purer white the better.  I have a collection of them in a basket just near my front entry way.  I actually convinced my husband once to carry a two pound rock back for me.  But it was white... well, nearly white... just a single streak of grey running through it... it's not my fault the rock was so big and hadn't yet broken down into multiple smaller rocks.

I thought I would share one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite poets from one of his poems... the one that starts, "My life is like a stroll upon the beach..."

The Fisher’s Boy    by Henry David Thoreau

My life is like a stroll upon the beach,
   As near the ocean’s edge as I can go;
My tardy steps its waves sometimes o’erreach,
   Sometimes I stay to let them overflow.

Today's Beach Walk 11/11/12

My sole employment is, and scrupulous care,
   To place my gains beyond the reach of tides, —
Each smoother pebble, and each shell more rare,
   Which Ocean kindly to my hand confides.

I have but few companions on the shore:
   They scorn the strand who sail upon the sea;
Yet oft I think the ocean they’ve sailed o’er
   Is deeper known upon the strand to me.

The middle sea contains no crimson dulse,
   Its deeper waves cast up no pearls to view;
Along the shore my hand is on its pulse,
   And I converse with many a shipwrecked crew.

NaBloPoMo Day 10 - Our House

I haven't written about our house in a while so I thought I would do so tonight.

The house was built in 1980 by a gentleman who was the landscaper at the local community college.

We found out students from the college actually built the house...

this explains a lot!

The house was then bought 17 years ago by the people we later bought it from.

They really didn't do too much to the house or the landscaping,

so we've (read my husband) been doing a lot of work on the house

and clearing the land of 17 years of overgrowth.

From the time we got the house, I knew that it needed a more contemporary look.

Our architect gave us a design and we started working on it last summer.

We like to call it the "Five Year Plan."

This is a little wrap up of Year One.

Step one... build a dormer to make more room for the master bedroom and bath.

Our carpenter got to work and BAM!

suddenly there was a hole on the side of the house...

A little framing and soon there's a new bathroom!

 

Here a frame...

A little covering...

A little siding, some new windows, and the start of a whole new look...

Cheers to the changes that will come in Year Two...!