Life In Color

Another Baby!

Remember this baby shower? Well Erin's baby is now 3 months old and my mom and I got to see her for the first time. This super new mom has her sleeping through the night and loves her so much, it's just so sweet to see.

Her grandma, Chris, is a very good friend of my mom's:

Caitlin's found her hands:

We think maybe she's going to be a redhead, it's hard to tell, she doesn't really have much hair at the moment. Anyway I spent the day hanging out with the girls, working on the (secret) bathroom, and hanging out with the Comcast guy. Now, just have to figure out how to set up the TiVo. What the heck is the point of cable with out it?

26 + 1 day old

Yesterday was my birthday and thanks to my wonderful family and friends I had a terrific day! My mom and I ran a bunch of errands in the morning, we got the whole basement primed, and partly painted, and then it was time for the real birthday fun. I came back to my mom's house and Bj was waiting for me with some awesome roses:

Sciarrino came upstairs just as I was reading an awesome comment on my blog (thanks Nancy you are so sweet! That made my day extra perfect!) and showed me this:

Ack! I was freaking out, so ultra cool. She went to the Gervis city wide garage sale a few weeks ago and said she got, "a few cool things." Lier! She got tons of cool stuff and goodies for me!! My mom was downstairs cooking my birthday dinner:

Super yum. Potato corn chowder, you say it's not a meal, I say, I don't care, it's my birthday! And I love it! After dinner I got to open my presents, and they rocked! My mom got me a new friend, her name is Luna:

ohhh isn't she pretty.  Then we realized that the special hardwood floor attachment came with the vacuum so I got to take one back and get the rug attachment, so I have five attachments now, watch out dust here I come!!! I got a sweet art game book from Bill, we might have a quiz later, and I'll see where you rate on art history. Bj's mom got me a little clutch, and the winner of the super cool present award went to Sciarrino.

She has been collecting this stuff for me since.... EASTER!!! And it's proof that she knows me just about as well as I know myself. Check the awesome basket (awesome and huge!), the cool wooden box I showed earlier, both were full of more gifts. Two cool vintage wool sweaters, a collection of ties (those pillows will happen people), aluminum knitting needles, even a set of size 1 in pea green (swoon), an old brown apron for the collection, cool buttons, vintage fold and seal stationary, awesome table cloth, little elephant bank, super long brocade zipper (ohh I think I see a hand knit coming on), and the topper, a small 1940s superman pin. Sciarrino we all bow down to your coolness. Plus I should let her do a guest thrifting spot on the blog to show you all the other cool stuff she's been finding this summer. And as if that wasn't enough her and Bj schemed on this ice cream cake:

Sweet! Then Bj gave me a wad of bills (in addition to the dishwasher and microwave he got me for the house already) so we could go have a blast at the fair. The annual treat was as much fun as ever, if not more so for the inclusion of my brother. We saw bunnies:

how cool are those eyes?

I think I might have to get me one of these in my new place, so fluffy! We ate gross fair food that seems good at the time:

Rested our feet after going through the animal barns:

Took the annual portraits:


and went on the swings:

now that's what I call a good birthday, love you guys!

An ode to my Electrician

Okay let me set up a little scenario for you. I've been working on Ribbon Jar all morning and have to run over to my house at two in order to meet with another guy about the waterproofing situation in the basement. I'm grumpy that everything seems to be going wrong, and leading the guy around showing him the whole basement. I go into the storage room where the light switch was accidentally put behind the door (the electrician installed it before the door was hung), and reach for the switch. But it's not there, it's right where it should be on the other side of the door. "oh," I say, "Rick's been here." (all my subs have keys). I finish up in with the waterproofing guy (temporary bid of $6,700 ouch) and head upstairs. I look over and notice a switch under the sink.

No, it can't be, I didn't even talk to Rick about this... See I had a broken garbage disposal, and I was just going to roll with it for a while, but at Home Depot they had one on clearance so I snapped it up and had my plumber install it. Well when I went to turn on the power for the kitchen after the install the disposal just ran and ran and ran. Turns out the kind I used to have took a kind of key. They stopper when turned would turn on the disposal, but the kind I bought took a switch, only I had no switch. So I had to keep the power off in my kitchen and run extension cords to the appliances. So frustrating. So when I saw this I almost cried I was so freaking happy. Not only that, but he gave me two new plugs in the kitchen, and set the time on my microwave (!!!!). I walk around looking for other things he's worked on. The garage also got an upgrade. Two plugs and a new overhead light. Then in the bathroom (which I can't go into too much detail about, because it's a surprise, remember) he had already installed a new fan, but he separated the fan and the light into two switched, so I don't have to run the fan all the time. I would find this too annoying, like if I was in the bath, and had to hear the fan the whole time. He also installed the light fixture in there. So ya. RICK RULES!!!!!  If you're in the Salem area he works for Keizer Electric.

Introducing Meg

I don't know how much she weighed, or how long she is, but she was born four days ago to my cousin Jenny and is cute, cute, cute. I don't think people really care about weight and length do they? It seems kinda unimportant to me, unless they are ridiculously huge or small. I also think people are lying a little bit when they say a newborn looks like someone. But I guess I was wrong about that because this baby totally looks like my cousin, I swear. Their eyes are exactly the same. I love her.

Hey, do you think the sweater I knit her stands out in her closet?

It's a pink paradise! Go go green sweater, oh ya!

The little monkies

So I spent the last five days chasing these munchkins around. They are as cute as ever, but busier, for sure. Five and almost two.

That vintage tub put to good use yesterday. Hogan stayed in this little thing for almost two hours. Totally content to beat the heat this way. I tried to get sissy into it too, but she was a little clingy:

I need a haircut/makeup/more sleep/to loose ten pounds/etc. But baby hugs? They are the best. I love that she can say my name it kinda comes out like Elmo, but I don't mind.

She also likes to get too close the camera:

But that's okay, her fair baby skin can take super close ups like the best airbrushed movie star. And her hands...

Her brother is just as cute, but a little harder to catch off guard with the camera, he prefers super funny poses and crazy faces.

I totally tweaked the colors, couldn't resist. We had a busy day today, spent the morning swimming in my mom's pool, then went to the garden to get flowers for the butterflies that just hatched (emerged, birthed themselves, don't know what is right here). There parents were a few hours later than expected. So...

Impromptu coloring! I had him color every inch of this life sized poster. Check it out here.

That about sums up my week. Well that plus diapers, whole milk, swim lessons, tummy flashing, boo boo kissing, backyard camping, wardrobe changes, early mornings, a muddy dog, flashlight book reading, binkies and night nights.

I'm really tired, but somehow I think if I had two ones  of my own that size/shape/age it would be easier. I don't know if this is true, but I always think that it would be. I guess I'm a long way off from knowing, but one things certain, I really got nothing done this weekend. I could have plopped them down in front of the telly, but I don't want to rob them (or let's be honest, me!) of summertime fun. Tomorrow I need to go back to the cottage and come up with a (revised) game plan. Looks like three more weeks of work. I have another quote for the basement tomorrow, so we'll see. Two steps forward.

One step back.

Cute kids cure anything

It's true, when you pick up two cute little kiddos from daycare, and one of them is still sleepy and lays her cute little head on your shoulder everything just feels better. Plus it's just plain fun to run around like you're five.

A little dark, but I can't find any software on this PC that will change exposure. This is one area that Macs just totally kick butt, iPhoto is standard people. And aperture, swoon. I digress. A photo by Hogan:

It's a little fuzzy, but so cute. I had the camera around my neck still and let him pull me around walking just in front of me. "Amber I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.... what button?"

House wise things are still heading on the good road. Actually something really awesome happened today. My sheetrock guy, Duane (guessing at the spelling) finished up today and while I was out spray painting the natural gas line he talked to my mom. He asked her if all my hard work was for show or if I was always busy like this. She said I always was and he told her he was so impressed by my work ethic that he isn't going to charge us for the work. I was so flattered when she told me what he had said. I am working my butt off here so it's nice for a real tradesman to take notice. The dishwasher also came in today; more about that tomorrow when it gets installed. Also the gas man comes tomorrow, the inspection from the city went great today, got my green tag, so dare I hope second time is a charm? Hot water here I come!!!

The Optimist

Even though I might be going slightly crazy:

I can still clean! Yes, that's a vacuum, not a weapon. Although it is a weapon of mass bug destruction. I put a door on saw horses today and when I came out to put the second coat of paint on it there was already a huge web on it, what is that about? Not cool God, not cool. If there is a message in spiders I'm NOT getting it. Anyway things are going better. After all that mirror is in my kitchen and out of the bathroom, which means the bathroom is starting to get worked on. I think I am going to leave the bathroom as a blog surprise. Remember it was the most disgusting part of the house and I had no idea what to do with it. Well things are happening. Also the fence is done:

Yeah, 2,812.40 dollars later. You do realize I only had one side done right? Now I really want to roll the side yard flat and put gravel and flowers and trees in planters there, but it will have to wait. Even Franklin looks pissed. I told the fence guy I had to take pictures of everything he's all, "ya, I noticed that..."

I have a pressure check for the gas tomorrow, then I have to paint the pipes, so I might have hot water very very soon. I am watching my little friends Karsen and Hogan for until Sunday noon, so I might not be able to update as much as I like.

Shit hits the fan

I wish I could say I have better news, but unfortunately that is NOT the case. Yesterday when I was down in the basement obsessing over all the cracks in the floor I noticed that one of the beams under the stairs had newer looking termite damage. I called my mom down to look at it, but she thought it was old. She said to clean it all up and then look at it again later. Well I did clean it all up, and looked at it this morning. It was all dusty again and one side was eaten up further. When I kicked the beam gross white little termites came out and started squirming around on the floor.

I have live termites. It's being treated on Thursday. At least $600 for that and a sugar ant treatment at the same time (I would like my house to be a pest free zone, thankyouverymuch).

The gas company won't turn my gas back on. They say my pipe outside the house is too rusty. They say I need a pressure check. I had to go the city today to get a permit for that. $41.83 and I still don't have hot water. No matter really since I don't have a bathroom sink...

I still can not find the bolts for the desk.

The house is messier than ever even though I spent all weekend cleaning up and washing the floors. Dust everywhere, Bugs everywhere, Spiderwebs, Dirt, Paint, Sheetrock, and a whole pile of crap in the driveway that is making me feel like a huge piece of white trash. If I saw someone walking outside adding a trash bag to the pile of wood/sheetrock/dishwasher/metal crap out front of their house in old painting capris with their socks pulled up and no leg showing, big clunky hiking shoes, an old shirt, hair full of paint, and Cheeto dust all over her face I would run. Unfortunately that person is me. And you can't run away from yourself.

Do you want the bad news first?

Or the good news? Well I'll give you the good news. I went to a few garage sales this weekend and had a really great find. Something I actually need (!) and have been looking for (!!)

Cool new dishes! These are Johnson Brothers Heritage Pattern ironstone dishes. I got 6 salad plates, 10 dinner plates, 14 dessert plates, 9 cereal bowls, 7 dessert bowls, 12 cups and 16 saucers. How you get 16 place settings and end up with only 6 salad plates I don't know, but I'm happy for the ones I got. All of that for $50, pretty sweet. Here's an up close of the pattern:

I'm using a thrifted letter tray as a temporary dish dryer, do you love how they spelled coming wrong?  Because I do. Anyway happy fun times continued through the evening and into Sunday. Matt's mom was driving into Salem so he got dropped off at my place. He, Bj and I went to my storage unit where I couldn't wait to find all my hidden treasures. Things have been in there for a freaking year. Things like this desk. Of course I couldn't find the bolts to put the thing together (and I have absolutely no idea where they are). But that's not the really bad news, read on...

So today we got to work. The big job was diamond grinding the cracks in my basement floor to make them bigger. Yes you have to open them up in order to fill them. Here's Bj hard at work:

And here is the problem:

Bj opened up this crack by the furnace and OH MY GOD water started coming up. We are talking about a summer day where it hasn't rained in weeks, and it's over 90 degrees outside. So ya, if water is coming up this time of the year, it's not looking good for winter. Commence freaking out.

Let me tell you what my neighbor Tracy had to do when water wouldn't stop coming out of her basement. She had to have a trench dug on the INSIDE around the whole perimeter of the basement. Then after they dug three feet down to the dirt they layered gravel and perforated pipe then more gravel then they re-poured the concrete and installed an industrial strength sump pump. Besides the huge inconvenience there is also the $5,000 fee. Oh, and who doesn't have $5,000 to spare, that would be me.

Shit.

It's Magic!

Not too much to report from thrifting today, a bunch of duds, I don't think mom and I were that into it really. And a couple of the houses just had so much stuff that it makes you feel like maybe you don't need to be a hoarder. Seriously this one was just too much, and a ton of craft stuff, but held on to for so long and in bad storage that it was all smelly and... Of course I still came home with a big tin tub (Mom: "What are you going to use it for?" Me: "Um... Drinks at my house warming party?" Mom: "Well as long as it has a purpose."), a few jars, and a metal basket. The estate sale I got this toy from was at this awesome huge old house less than a mile from my new place. Cool to go into just to look around at all the little rooms and nooks and crannies. This is all I took from there, and I love the directions. Some excerpts:

"Even thought the Magic Designer must be classified as a 'toy,' it has captured the interest of many 'grownups' and has provided pleasant hours not to mention novel results!"

"The results will many times surprise you and be most pleasing."

"Envelope of 100 paper discs 60c, plus 6c postage."

I wish! I might go back and get the other one that didn't have a box for the one dollar just to get some more discs. They are specially notched, and I don't think it would be easy work to make more. And if anyone knows of any really thin pens that would fit in here, let me know, because this bic pencil was the only thing I could get to fit in here, and not very well. Not even regular wooden pencils fit. And as the directions say:

"A good ball-point pen should be used for professional work."