Fly Boy's Fire Fight

It can really mess up your whole day to get a call from your soldier boy who tells you that he's fine, but just wanted to let me know he was in a huge fire fight earlier in the day, getting shot at by insurgents with AK 47s, RPGs and some kind of other weapon with tracers. 

This apparently happened a little north of Baghdad, when some insurgents detonated a car bomb in or at an Iraqi Army base and Fly Boy and another chopper were called in for air support.  He said he used his 50 caliber machine gun and also fired some rockets during the incident, in which there were Iraqi casualties.  This was the first time he was directly fired upon, he said, but neither his helicopter or the other one was hit.  Thank God. 

I asked him how he felt about what he had just experienced, and he said he wasn't quite sure yet.  He was still running on adreniline, even though the incident had occured over 8 hours before he called.   

I know how I feel about it.  I want it over and my son and the others home, safe and sound, SOON!   Be safe my son!  I love you!

Work is once again in progress on my "Winchester Mansion" as my handyman calls this place. Today, Steve got the wood laminate flooring installed in the TV room and it's beautiful.  I don't believe you'd know that this wasn't a real oak floor, due to the grain and plank look.  This stuff is called STEPS Floor, by Uniclic and it has a fantastic, 15 year guarantee, at $1.49 a foot, plus the special padding for underneath!  It's said to be wear, stain, impact, scratch, fade and chemical resistant.  The great part is, that if it does get damaged in any way, that section can be popped out and replaced.  And...it's so easy to clean.  Steve put it in his house, so he's pretty experienced with it now.  I am glad I wasn't the guinea pig! 

This flooring will be put throughout the kitchen and dining room, which is connected to the TV room.  Then it will go in the hallway and laundry room which are off the kitchen.  After all that's in, the living room will be recarpeted and the entry way will be receiving new 12 inch ceramic tile.  This project will take Steve a couple of weekends to complete, but I am so excited to get rid of that old dirty, stained carpet, which was impossible to keep clean.   With the house in such disarray and all the activity, the kittens are a little freaked, but we'll all get through it and have a much nice place when it's all done. 

The carpet in Papa's room was replaced on Monday, so this weekend I shopped for a new sofa for that room, which will be our den/game room.  I found a buttery leather sectional with two recliners that I got for a great price, which will brighten up the area.  It will also be a very comfy place for me to sit and watch television or read with my post-operative ankle propped up in one of those recliners! 

Also, since a traditional coffee table wouldn't work because of the recliners on each end, I found a perfect glass-topped end table, that I am going to have Steve cut down the metal legs to make it the "cocktail" table.  I believe it's the perfect size and look to sit in the bend of the sectional.   All those decorating programs that I have been watching are payin' off!  

Oh, and speaking of the decorating, here's the bargain of the day....I found a beautiful, but scratched up footboard at that furniture store, in the clearance area, for 7 bucks!  Yeah, seven whole dollars!  What would I do with a lonely ol' footboard you ask?  Well, I will tell you.  This piece is metal and wood and the only damage is on the inside part where it would hook into a bed frame.  My idea is to turn it around, so the damage doesn't show, place it against the wall and it's a wonderful headboard!  For 7 bucks!  I will use it for the headboard for my temporary bed in Papa's room after my surgery.  When that is all together, I will post a picture for you to see how it all turned out.

In the meantime, I am off to finish reading the Sunday paper.  

Fly Boy....your mama loves you!  Goodnight sweetie!