Progress made by my mom and dad

So some of these pictures were taken in the dark... dang you day light savings time. I knew this about my mom but it has become very evident that she likes to cut things and rake... she trimmed the bushes, wacked all the hostas out front, raked all the leaves in the front and helped my dad cut down an entire tree. Last time she was here the bushes were so overgrown that in the first 15 minutes of their arrival they had been to Ace Hardware and bought an electric hedge trimmer. Good thing we have had blessed weather --- sunny and in the 70s which is UNHEARD of for November in Iowa.

Here is the new sink and towel rack. Now the downstairs bathroom is offically done in its overhaul.

One side of our front yard

The other side of the front yard

Those bags contain what was a good size tree next to our driveway and here is our pile of leaves awaiting the town to suck them up hopefully before they all get blown back on the lawn.
Here is where the tree was.
My dad helped me make this cool star into a lamp that I am going to hang from the living room ceiling... let's be honest, the star will lay around until my dad comes out next time to help me hang it from the living room ceiling.
Here it is all lit up.

My folks leave tomorrow and here is what we have acquired during my dad's errands to the hardware store...

1. 'real' work gloves --apparently ours are for gardening wimps

2. a 'real' step stool/ladder -- apparently our two step stool is not tall enought

3. new light bulbs bought and installed

4. a channel lock wrench --because you can't not have a channel lock wrench in your toolbox

5. new hedge trimmer strong enough to cut down big limbs on a full grown tree

6. new bow saw blade -- which will come in handy when we cut down our xmas tree next month

7. telescoping faucet wrench --for all the other sink fixtures i plan to change

8. new mat for the porch

9. bird seed for the feeders

10. knee pads for working -- because my old volleyball knee pads didn't cut it -- my dad has a pair of these at each of his children's homes because he knows too well how much work his kids never do

11. multiple nuts/bolts/screws/sinkers/washers -- because if we needed just 6 my dad bought 20, you never know he'd say

He was tempted to buy a new drill set and power saw because next trip he is going to fix the porch railing but he resisted and will get those next time. my dad likes to buy stuff to make his kids comfortable... at least bill and i got to buy a few meals and even our own groceries.

Finished projects:

1. curtains in the living room

2. new sink fixture

3. new towel rack hung

4. tree down

5. lawn raked

6. hostas trimmed

7. hard drives removed from the old desk top which has been sitting in our upstairs hallway since November 2007 and the lap top which crashed... both computers were taken to Goodwill and my dad is taking the hard drives home to burn in the fireplace

Sentimental project in progress:

my folks are paying to have the rocking chair that my mom nursed me in re-upholstered and totally re-done so i can nurse my half pint in the same chair. pictures to come of the finished project.