In July of 2019 bob's childhood home went up for sale.

We decided to leave this. I think we'll discuss it further before closing.

Bob's grandkids on the front stairs of his mother's house. From top to bottom, left to right; Owen, Bridget, Emma, Abby, and Andrew.

These wrought iron railings aren't designed to take a lot of weight. The installation instructions specificaly state they are for "ornimental purposes only". However, people use them to pull themselves up the stairs and balance themselves when going down the stairs. Bob has reattached the railings several times. The most recent repair was in 2017. As part of that fix Bob added concrete footings to reinforce the attachment points. He then drilled 2" holes in the footings so he could extend the posts down into the concrete. The holes were then filled with anchor cement to hold the posts in place. Finally, the ornimental feet were bolted into place. It's 2019 and the fix has held up.

Bob built this walkway for mom in 2015. At the time she had lost a leg to diabetes and was using a wheel chair to get around but could still ambulate with a walker. The goal of the project was to even out the walkway, which was just dirt at the time, to provide a more stable path. Rocks and tree roots complicated the excavation and added several days to the effort. Over time the walkway deteriorated into what you see here. The crumbling stone in the forground is the result of adding a magnesium based ice melt product.

We had a last get together at the family home in March 2019. Pictured here from left to right, top to bottom, are Melissa's children; Bridget, Emma, and Owen with Jen's children Andrew and Abby. I should have bought the home. I've been struggling with a worsening depression since the sale.

I'm going to miss watching the cousins play together in mom's backyard. Here they are playing with Ray and Dianne's dogs. The dogs are great with the kids.