Foggy Commute and a mostly finished guestroom

I have been spoiled for far too long. My commute had been 7-10 minutes door to door for years and now with the move I've stretched that to 23-30 minutes depending on weather and @$$holes on the road.
The pictures below are what I was met with as I was about to leave the house one morning this past week. Luckily it was worse out my backdoor than it was by the time I got to the slab taking me into town.

GUESTROOM:

This is the progress I've made on the guestroom. The bookcase was to go in the entryway, but it just didn't fit, so it finds itself again in the guestroom and yet to be filled. A brand new quilt for the bed and a green lamp I have had since high school that just doesn't work in the master bedroom works perfectly in this room.

My daughter Emily's baby cradle will eventually have netting surrounding it. The framed dresses will be hung over the cedar chest. The blue crocheted dress was made for me by my grandmother and great aunt when I was a toddler. There is a picture in the frame of me wearing the dress. The yellow dress was made for me by my mother and inside the frame is a picture of me wearing it when I was 3 months old. My beaded wristband from the hospital when I was born with "Thompson" on it is also in the frame. Our son Colin will be our first guest and I hope he likes it.

Settling In

November 17, 2009. A day that we worked harder than we have in years. We moved all our things (or most all our things) from our home on Vermont St to the new house on Park Ave. The night before was a restless one and neither of us got much sleep. The movers were the absolute best and were patient and kind as we tried to stay a step ahead of them in the moving process. It was a rainy, ugly day which matched my mood, but the rains slowed as the furniture exited the house and had stopped by the time we got to the new house. Six hours later they were finished and we were again living in Box City, just in another location.

This is the scene of the family room with the leather furniture arranged in a hap hazard way for now.

My livingroom/diningroom is pretty much put together and is the most relaxing room in the house right now. I have to fill bookcases yet, but it was such a welcome surprise when I got to the new house and there on the porch was the new 8' x 10' rug we had ordered.

The master bedroom is far from finished, but the new shades are up and they look smashing.

Recognition

On November 6th, 2009 Carle Clinic recognized employees who celebrated at least a five year anniversary in five year increments. January 2009 marked my 15 years at Carle (however 14.5 of those years was spent in the Carle Foundation Hospital Medical Research/IRB Office). The celebration took place at the new Colonnades Club at the top of the newly renovated Memorial Stadium. The view of the field from up there was amazing.
The night was warm enough that we went outside and sat in the new seats to eat our dessert and enjoy the view.

I'm not sure how many this long narrow space holds, but it was crowded and there weren't enough chairs inside for everyone. The food was amazing unless you didn't like seafood. The desserts were even more amazing, but I didn't get a picture of them.








All the old greats from a gone by era were there.

THANKS CARLE CLINIC ASSOCIATION, it was an enjoyabable evening.