So, this has been happening

The "new" flooring was actually reclaimed wood milled
from old barn beams.  They created a new pattern with the
old and new floorboards.  Once it's sanded and refinished
there will be less of a contrast between the old and "new."

I've been aware of termite problems in the house for a couple years now.  We've had them treated but there was damage that needed to be repaired.  The dining room floor was damaged, many of the floor boards destroyed and all the joists underneath as well.  We finally found someone to do the work and when they took up the flooring they discovered that the foundation under that part of the house was pretty much gone as well.  New foundation, new joists, insulation, and eventually new and partially reclaimed flooring are now in place.  We decided to have the room painted as well and it's finally complete.  We've been living with all the stuff out of the dining room stuffed into other rooms in the house, so it will be nice to get things back in order.  This old house has a lot of deferred maintenance issues and we are going to continue to throw some money at them.  Next up, the chimney, which apparently was damaged in the earthquake a couple years ago.  And there's a lot more painting to be done, this place needs a fresh look after 14 years.  

The new mower is still in its "toy" phase and I've been mowing anything that dares to grow.  After the initial cut of the tall grass in the pasture, cutting out there is now as easy as mowing the lawn so I've been doing it a lot.  All the grass has been cut within the past few days at this point, shorter and more uniform than it's ever been because usually I mow discrete areas on the lawn and pasture on a rotating basis.  With this new mower it's possible to have it all cut at once.  I'll have ease up lest my own OCD begins to rival Max's, but for now it's fun.  The real benefit will be having time that I can do some outdoor yard projects other than mowing with the time that it saves me.

The garden grows and grows.  I think this may be the best it's ever looked.  After being "finished" several weeks ago, I found a new birdbath that I wanted and just last weekend I replaced the lotus flower that didn't make it through last winter.  Now I'm done, I swear, although I still need to see if one or more of my fountains can be fixed and used again.  

We are heading to New York on a pre-dawn flight Wednesday morning.  Our housesitter will be back to watch the dogs, and they will watch her.  There's always more that I could have done, but things are in pretty good shape for this trip.  It's always nice to get away for a few days and I'm looking forward to it.