"With a little help from my friends!"

Here is the music background link for ya!

Our little house fixing-upping experiment has just jumped to a higher energy level. The Outlaws have arrived yesterday with a truck full of gardening and electrical tools. Today, assisted by all others, my father Out-law had cleaned all of our gutters, weed-whacked a severely overgrown part of the back yard, and DE-constructed our dryer to locate the burnt heating element that needs replacing. We have collectedly taken apart the kitchen filtering system and a mighty ugly kitchen light. Then, we have all spent a jolly day cleaning the yard, and some of us (my Mom) - ironing the content of my closet. Cooking Goddesses (Mom and Nona) kept us fed and well hydrated while Little Man made sure everybody knew where everybody else was - and the tools they were using last.

Today confirmed something I have suspected since we moved in: the previous owner of our house lived here, but he didn't love it. The systems were barely operating. Enough for the house to be structurally and mechanically sound (sans the bathroom drain), but not enough to thrive. We will change that. In a little while, our house will glow from within.

I am very grateful for my family and their participation in our adventure called "first time house ownership".

I took a double dose of Ibuprofen, as I expect I won't be able to move tomorrow.