Who needs a tub anyway?

After spending two hours (no joke) this afternoon comparing the various features of tubs in Menards, we realized that neither one of us has taken a tub bath in years and all we really needed was a shower stall. And shower stalls are cheaper and will leave more room in our small bathroom. So maybe it was two hours well spent.

Our one hesitation was bathing the kids, but we figured out that not having a tub wouldn't mean giving up much there, either. Sofia right now is bathing in her little portable kiddie tub, and she should fit in that for another year or so -- which uses a lot less water than filling up the big tub would anyway. Erik is now in his baby tub, and he'll be in that for some months yet. So the only thing we'd be losing is the couple of years when we could conceivably bathe them together in the big tub -- but, since they are a girl and a boy, we wouldn't want to do that for too long anyway. (And Sofia is already asking all sorts of questions I don't know the answers to -- no need to instigate any more of those than necessary.)

And we also have the farm's old-fashioned sauna right outside our door. It's heated once a week at least -- twice a week in the summer -- and for those of who might be uninitiated, Finns actually do bathe in the sauna.

So anyway, we decided a shower stall big enough for the kiddie bathtub to fit in is really all we need. We might have to adjust the plumbing that has already been done in the bathroom, but Dave thinks it should be fairly easy to do.

... I'll get some more pictures posted tomorrow. It rained all day today (which is why it was a good day to do some shopping).

... We stopped to see Dad in the hospital this afternoon, too. He's looking much better already. My sister, who visited Dad earlier, said his eyes have the sparkle back in them -- yesterday they seemed so heavy and dull. Dad said he wouldn't get home until Monday at the earliest, at which we all smiled a bit, since I'm sure he'll be there at least a week. In any case, he spent some time explaining to Dave how to start the finicky 1951 Ford tractor so Dave could work on mowing the ditches that Dad wasn't likely to get to in time -- they all need to be mowed by Oct. 1. ... Did I mention that Dad is 85? It's fairly impressive that he still feels the need to be the one mowing ditches!

Maybe a lifetime of sauna baths gives Finns their stamina.