Around here, my bathroom remodel is starting to near a conclusion. My cousin, who is doing the work, has done an amazing job and I’m getting excited to see the finished product. I’ll show you some pictures when it’s all done but the above picture is a sneak peek. I am especially fond of these vintage style faucets.

Around here, like the faucets, the weather has been hot and cold. I think we’ve had all four seasons this week and certainly in the last month. Daytime highs that swing from the nineties in April to forties in May, scorching sun, and torrential rain make for a bizarre transition into the new season.

The good news is that there’s some variety in the weather around here in spring and literally something for us all.

Around here, I’m looking at other projects that need attention around the house and trying to prioritize what needs done over the next few years versus what might be small enough to tackle now.

Around here, Scout seems to be back to his old rambunctious ways after a scary few days of illness. It’s hard when they can’t tell you what’s wrong or that there’s even a problem. Today he will stay busy overseeing the bathroom work and should sleep well tonight.

That means I’ll sleep well tonight too.

Around here, things are kind of messy. When an entire room is messy and things are piled up elsewhere because of it, it’s easy to let stuff go. It’s the broken window effect. I look forward to getting it all in order and plan to work on that today.

Around here, it’s Memorial Day weekend, a holiday meant to honor those who died in service to our country. That message is often lost as we also use it to remember all our dead and to get good deals at the big box stores. I hope you’ll take a moment to consider those who died in service to our country. Since the Revolutionary War, Americans have been dying for the ideals set forth by our forefathers and continue to serve and die honorably in the name of the United Stares of America today.

They deserve more than we can give them.

And while you’re at it, the American Legion says that more than 80,000 Americans remain missing in action. One of them, a 20 year old World War II soldier, was located and brought home to southern Ohio this weekend for burial.

Think what that must do to a family to live so long without answers.

Around here, we recognize that hot and cold is a force of nature. We know that planning and work are how we accomplish what needs done. We honor the significance of what lost and found means for people we will never meet but who deserve our gratitude.

Friends, wherever you are this holiday weekend, be safe and well.