Life In Color

Amber Style

I'm still unpacking boxes of all the little stuff. I even have some more things left at my mom's. Not a whole lot, mostly scrapbooking stuff (so hard to move), and older things, like childhood toys. I had some company this week. Little Violet and her mom.

She is getting even cuter, funnier, and way longer. Unfortunately Michele and I are such good buds that we just chatted it up from 10-4:30 and I only snapped a few pictures. And Michele brought wardrobe changes for Violet and everything! I had so much fun holding her and dangling things in front of her, and talking to her. I just love her to pieces. Since this was Michele's first time seeing the place in real life I wanted it to look extra cute. So I stayed up the night before cleaning, organizing, and styling. I now have some really cute areas:

I think I still want to paper the back of the shelves with maps, but I like how this is coming together so far. I had the electrician (the awesome Rick - who came by yesterday on his day off to fix my dryer plug) wire the phone jack upstairs into the cupboard, well on the first shelf. This is really centrally located with I think will be so nice. I'm still waiting for my baby blue princess phone that will be my house phone, but the red phone came yesterday. I had Rick do double jacks so I can have both phones upstairs and downstairs, because I don't want to kill myself running back and forth, and since the stairs have a tread like seven inches wide that is entirely possible. I also finally found a retractable phone cord. I had no idea how hard this thing would be to find. I went to four different places, and I even checked Lowe's because I had a return. When I got to the phone section that had lots of sinage saying "telephone accessories" the whole thing was empty. Not even one shelf. I was laughing inside. Well I finally found the thing at Target so I can now move my long calls over to the couch all retro-phone-call-style. I also got the kitchen all cute:

Some stems in vintage jar, an "A" I got earlier this year thrifting. The cool Casabella sponge is being held in one of the containers from the enamel ware set I scored at my grandma's church sale. And that picture is one my mom took of me as a baby eating. I came across it while unpacking and couldn't resist. Also Brent came over to help me install the rest of the cabinet doors and this Rack Sack thing:

I looked everywhere for a garbage can that would fit here, but the only ones that would were like for under the bathroom sink and way too tiny for a kitchen. So I decided to give this thing a try after seeing it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. So far two thumbs up,easy instillation, fits the space perfectly, and the bags even deodorize. It's not that big (5 gallons), so if you generate a ton of kitchen waste it might not work, but since I like to empty after cleaning a chicken or gross stuff like that anyway it's perfect! More unpacking of little things today, and I'm going to get the jar part of Ribbon Jar all organized so I can so you guys pictures of my super cute basement.

Egress

Boy is it time for a catch up on my life. Basically I've been moving, and chances are you've moved before so you know why I haven't posted, nothing looks pretty when you're moving. But let me start further back. So on Thursday I had my first night in the house (well, I've sleep here three times before, but really just because I was working late then, I didn't live here). Bj came down to be with me since I was being a bit of a scardy cat, I've actually never lived alone before. I was very domestic and made him a crock pot dinner and everything. Then basically I just organized and cleaned Friday, and went over to my mom's to pack all the boxes. Saturday my new neighbor, Tracey, and I went to the Oregon Flock and Fiber festival.

It totally rocked! Tracey observes the cutie cute sheep. We're thinking I should have one in my back yard, she said she would baby-sit when I was gone. I mean aren't they so cute?

Besides the actual animals there was dyed fleece, tops, yarn, raw fleece:

I had one little bag of stuff left to spin before this. Continue reading and you'll see my newly organized storage area with many bins of fleece. Tracey and I went nuts. We even bought a whole alpaca fleece to share! Then we came home and my dryer was delivered. I was all, um, is this going to fit down there?

But the talented delivery guys figured it out (while I freaked it was going to fall over:

So after all that why is this in my backyard?

Because the plug is weird. I mean even though it's a gas dryer and only runs on 120 or whatever for the blower it still has a weird plug, so I have to have the electrician come back. But still they look pretty cool down there:

Okay so the basement water-proofing is all done. And those pipes back there is the result. A huge sump pump with a battery back up system and everything. The leather chair is a hand me down from my dad. And the green color, I totally love it. I mean it's called high strung for goodness sake, what's not to love. I can't paint the whole floor yet because it has to breath and cure. The middle section I should be able to do in a month, but the outer edges that were re poured after they tore it all up will take about 6 months to cure enough to paint. The whole basement is looking pretty awesome. My friend Matt came down to help me move. We moved some stuff Saturday, then went to a movie and hung out, and Sunday we went to a job of my dad's to score some leftovers. Check out my new shelving unit:

I'll make some kind of curtain to cover it up, but it's awesome right now for organizing all my tools, paint, safety stuff, and everything. Here's a few cool views of the basement from the outside:

Those two cabinets are also from my dad's job. They are going to hold all my jars. Another view, of the future Ribbon Jar area (being moved tomorrow!!!):

These views are made possible because the windows were out while I was sanding, painting, and priming the frames. I primed and painted the new windows and my dad put them in temporarily tonight. Tomorrow we'll chisel out for the hinges. Also cleaned and organized:

I need to go get more of those bins, I think I want to keep my fabric down here too. The OCD in me loves this. I'm a Virgo, what can I say? The garage however, has seen better days:

I need to wrestle that big art cabinet in there but that requires minor demolition and unpacking a few of those boxes. I better hurry before the weather turns again. The kitchen is looking good:

All of the bottom cupboards will have doors, but I still have to get the handles on those and stuff. I so love my matching dishes, ah heaven. Other side:

And the built-ins are all done, save the ones in the dining room, which I need to work on still:

What's behind that door? The bathroom, but it's still not quite ready for it's reveal. It doesn't have a handle for one thing! So what do you think?

The Answer Is...

Oh my gosh, I so loved reading the questions! And here are the answers:

Nancy: If you could spend a weekend any place in the world, doing whatever makes you feel the most happy, what would that look like?

Hmmm, no money limit you say Nancy? Well I think I would go with my mom to a Parisian flea market, then we would take the tunnel over to England and go to an auction, what do you say mom?

Dale Anne: How does a person go about getting more people to visit their blog? How many feeds are out there?

I'm not sure how you all found my blog, but I find blogs by reading the comments and then clicking on the person to check them out. I usually do that a few times before I "commit" to daily reading their blog. There was this little article in Time about how to have a successful blog, and I didn't do any of the things it said, example: "stick to one topic." Oops. Oh plus links from other blogs, and hey I just linked you! And I don't know what feeds are!

Sue asks: Can I go thrifting with you?

Um, yes! Sue, we should so go out in the country by where you live, dude farm sales are the best! And I have a question for you Sue: When are we reorganizing your scrap space?

Julie (aka mom):  Are you going to miss living at your Mom's? Who's going to do your laundry?

I miss living at your house already. That second question is a bit troubling, you mean you're not going to do it any more? That's not cool man.

Teresa is a lurker outed, yes! And her question is:  if you were a character in any book who would it be? Now, don't be offended but I have you down as one of my favourites, 'Tigger' from Whinnie the Pooh - am I close?

Actually I've been called Piglet more than once, but I definitely feel more like Tigger. I think though I would be Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. I tend to be a bit strong willed and I love that love story. Too bad Bj won't let me dress him up like Darcy. hehehehe.

Kay has a slew of questions:
1. When are you coming to see me?
Dude, as soon as possible (Kay lives in England and is super awesome, plus I know she'll take me car booting).
2. Have you made any very attractive roses out of doilies yet? No? 70's outfits?
No doilies or 70s outfits... yet. Just wait the winter is long my friend.
3. What is the (soccer) offside rule?
WHAT?!?!
4. What do you think it was that Meatloaf wouldn't do for love?
I don't know but his duet with Celine Dion was one of the funniest things I've ever seen, I really thought it was a joke.
5. If you had to choose, would it be singing or dancing?
Dancing, all the way.

Erika wants to know: how do you change all your electric sockets/switches to white? I have all shades of "almond" here in my house, but I'm afraid I'll electrocute myself. (of course I could just do a google search to find this answer, but it would be more fun for you to answer.) :)

First things first, TURN OFF THE POWER! And I mean all of it. Because if your house is at all old, or weird then you might have the craziest combo of sockets on one breaker like me (bathroom connected to the living room?!?!). So both the switches and sockets are actually easy. First go around and count how many you need, then have some one else count because you're sure to get it wrong, and that's annoying, then you might have to go to the store at 10 at night and do the last one by flashlight, which sucks, I would know. Anyway... after taking off the faceplate unscrew the socket/switch from the wall so it's sort of dangling. Then grab your new one and look how the wires are connected. There is a white wire and a black one, the black one (or black striped or, in my case, different colored fabric wrapped) is the "hot" one. This has to be on the correct side of the plug/switch so that it doesn't fry your electronics and the current flows the right way. But since they are already on right on your fugly ones you can just look at those and have some one keep the wires straight while you switch out. Basically the switch is easy, there are like screw things on each side that the bare wires wrap around, and you tighten those down. You might have to do something extra for "three-way" sockets, I don't know, I don't have those. Oh, and the replacements are cheap, like a buck, so go do it!

Natilie writes: I must admit, I don't comment very much (but I have commented before). Your blog is one of my FAVORITES! I love watching you remodel your house. I also do tons of furniture refinishing projects, but I'm still learning. Most of the projects I have done involved stripping, sanding and painting. But, I have some pieces that are solid wood, and I would like to strip them and then refinish them and not paint them...how would you go about this task???

Ugh, Natilie, so funny you should ask, I am attempting this very thing right now. For some reason certain finishes are a real nuisance to get off. Like this desk I am attempting right now:

I went for the standard Zip Stripe/sanding combo, and failed! I could not get the old finish off the fronts, instead of gelling up the stripe hardened and turned into a plastic, that has never happened to me. So I had to go the sanding route. Something I've learned from this is that you should test the stripper on the base before you put it everywhere. A lot of times the top is something nicer so you get lulled into a false sense of success:

and the you try the base and it's crap. Anyways I thought you could just kinda "rough up" the old finish, but this doesn't work. I just did it two nights ago, and the new stain doesn't take right. Not having a true success on my hands, but know what not to do, I would say sand all the way to bare wood. Then pre-treat with a wood conditioner. Then do one coat of stain (or a stain/polyurethane mix) and after letting it dry completely sand lightly with 220 grit paper. Dust very well and either re stain (for a darker, richer color) or just polyurethane if you want to protect. Put on properly (read very thin layers) polyurethane does not have to turn out shiny. Take a look:

I'm so in love with my drafting table. Can't wait to set up my craft room!
p.s. make some one else do this while you are still preggo!

Daria says: I see you have loads of fun thrifting and picking up all manner of odds and ends...but, do you sometimes look at all the loot you've amassed and have second thoughts about having bought some of it? Is there an ideal number of $1 chairs you're shooting for? ;) Have you ever wished you'd just bought *insert item* new? Do you think, even after fully moving in, you'll still keep your storage unit to hold all the makings of future projects and whatnot that you want to hang onto? Can it be assumed that you'll be holding a mega garage/yard in the near future?

You might think I'm lying, but no, I've never regretted a thrifting purchase. I have regretted NOT getting something, which sucks, because then it's always the thing you talk about on thrifting days, "remember when we saw such and such for a three dollars and didn't get it?" And since the things are so cheap I really don't have any trouble sending them off to other homes if they don't work for me. My mom and I always have a grocery bag out in the laundry room for Goodwill. About the chairs... I have this awesome idea for them, and it's going to take like 15 more to fulfill that, so no end in sight there. I am not keeping the storage unit, I do have a storage room just for personal use in the basement. But my mom and I were thinking that we would have a combo trunk show (for Ribbon Jar) and finds sale in the spring. We're going to pair down our collections before next summer so we can keep hunting. I'll let you know when that happens! Oh and I never wish I would have bought something new, but I do wish I would have bought *insert piece of crap new thing* used, like cheapo knock offs of vintage cool things.

Ohh Dawn good one: "What's in your purse?"

Okay first off I love my handbag, Kate Spade, got it after a fight Bj and I had, better than flowers I say...
Two check books with custom covers, one for me, one for Ribbon Jar
Vintage hankie, always have the hankie
Moleskin address book
Kiss me Philosophy lip gloss
Covergirl Wetslicks in Patently Pink (Ceara got me hooked on this)
Prada ittsy bitsy Shielding Balm (omg and they don't make this any more and I only have like five left, and I don't know what I am going to do when I run out)
Receipts from Bed Bath and Beyond, Post Office (Ribbon Jar), The Home Depot (actually 2 - shocker!)
Invoice from the window guy
Stub for check from the last shred of dignity, had to cash some stocks (please god do not let me get sick I can not afford it)
Orbit gum, and one stick of Wrigley's for emergencies
A roll of 24 cent stamps for Ribbon Jar
A 1 1/4 inch glass knob from Restoration Hardware (attempting to find matching washers)
iPod with iTrip (note, not in the cute protective sock I have for it, that is floating around separately)
Booth and Bruce prescription sunglasses, actual glasses mysteriously missing
Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve
16 foot tape measure
Juice CS4 Leatherman
Calculator
Trish McEvoy lipstick thinigie with mini brush
Bag of bolts and pieces of house I'm looking for replacements for
Super cute Coach dots wristlet, sold to me by my sister for $20 bucks. That contains:
Target receipt
Eight dollars
Frequent shopper cards
Little store rewards cards on a hoop
Umbra card case with all my cards in it
Ticket stubs from Gridiron (which sucked)
The last thing in the purse is a handmade zipped pouch which contains:
Combo codes for the storage unit
Visine
Eyeglass Cleaner
Soap Leaves (I bring my own soap, I hate antibacterial)
Lottery ticket worth $1
List of Knitting Needles I have
Coupons
Little Twin Stars bandaid
Wet Ones
List of stuff I'm currently thrifting for
Empty pill case
Empty tampon case

Dude I have a lot of shit in my purse! And my phones not even in there right now!

Grace wonders: Hey there! I'm a daily reader down here in Alabama, and I'm finally commenting for the first time. Good idea to get us shy ones out there! I'm really living vicariously through you and the whole house fix-up project. I would love to do the same, but I haven't found the braveness yet! Here's my question (or questions!): what has been the most fun/most difficult/most rewarding things so far during your house make-over??

The most fun? Demo day, hands down, it's quick, it's messy and there are instant results. The most rewarding has to have been replacing the thermostat, maybe that sounds dumb, but I see it everyday and I love it. The most difficult has been going over budget and getting the little things done I thought would be easy. Like the bathroom cabinets. We can't figure out how to hang them right, so they are just leaning up there, and I thought that would be so easy to do.

Dianne (who lives nearby) says: I call this "candle weather" 'cause it makes me want to go and light candles in every room. So here's my questions:

1. What candle "smell" (or smells) is your favorite?
I love that lemon verbena smell. My favorite smell in the world is this Energy lotion that I only have like three drops left of and can't find anywhere, ugh!

2. Do you read my blog? (shameless self promotion there)
Every time anyone comments I go over to their blog if they have one. But I haven't been reading any blogs regularly this summer, I'm going to get back into it soon!

Sciarrino has a bunch of questions:
1. If we were stranded on an island together what would be the subject we talk about most.
I think we would talk about the hotness of certain guys, and art, and hot art guys (you know who I'm talking about)
2. In the Lifetime original movie of your life, who would play Sciarrino?
Alison Mack (Chloe from Smallville)
2a. Wait a sec… who would play you Jillian Anderson or Veronica Mars!
Ohhh I don't know! Probably Kristin Bell (Veronica)
3. Would you rather go about life without candy or Diet Coke?
Dude Sciarrino, just kill me know, what the hell. Ahhhh I guess, no no I can't choose, that question is just WRONG!
4. Where would you drive on your last tank of gas (all the gas stations—around the world—are out)?
I would go down that canyon in Utah where Bj and I off roaded (accidentally) and camp out down there.

Awesome questions guys! I have big updates on the house later, last night I started living here, like sleeping here and everything! I'm so excited!

Go Ahead, ask me.

Okay so I don't know if it's because its gotten a little chilly and wet outside, and thus I've been using noxious chemicals without proper ventilation, but I feel a little down. More of the same, nothing that interesting to blog about, save refinishing furniture, which isn't really that interesting: strip, sand, curse, sand, burn self somehow, go to the Home Depot, smell up the house...

So I was thinking, you should ask me questions. See I've seen this on other blogs and I find it so interesting. Plus, I have a low percentage of commentors to readers and I'm wondering what all the others of you are thinking about. So you can ask me about crafty things, home repair things (which I think I've got a great handle on right now), ribbon things, thrifiting things, personal things, my sign (I think that's pretty clear, but you know), anything. What do you say? I'll wait till I have a big bunch of questions and then answer them. Sounds fun? Well have at it then.

Weekend Recap

Saturday morning I got up early while the kids were still sleeping and headed out with Sciarrino to a few sales. We were talking about how cool it is that even though we are low on funds we can still shop by going to sales. Case and point? $28.25 total for everything I got Saturday, including: old school chair, hanging plug light, Scrupples game (love this game!), a hose holder, some office supplies, a Christmas tree stand, Christmas bulbs, and little Christmas candle holders (I can't wait to decorate my own place for Christmas!), tiny stool, some tins, size 15 knitting needles, the world's biggest towel (I'm thinking this will be pillows soon), aluminum buckets, and a photo enlarger. Dude, five bucks for that one. Can you say dark room in the basement? Oh ya. And I also got a cool tall wire produce basket that you can see here.
     I went back to the kids and Bj came down, we worked on a bunch of smaller things on the house: knobs, networking, bathroom hardware, stripping stuff, etc. Lacey came and saw my place and dropped off Nick, then I went and got a huge amount of Chinese food and the three of us ate with Sciarrino, Brent, and his friend Whitney while watching The Office (Bj got the severance package, hehehe). Bj, Nick and I then went to Gridiron Gang. It was so long, ugh.
     Yesterday was the wedding. It was so strange, I feel like I only got to see Ceara for like a minute, and she's already back in Vermont. I saw a bunch of other people that I never see. The bride, Caity, was on dance team with me in high school, so my favorite big sister person, Shannon was there. She lived across the street from me in high school and drove me to practice everyday. It was so fun hanging out with her. She's up at Microsoft now, so next time I go up there with Bj we're going to hang out. I also Ceara's nephew Zavian:

So different from the wee little thing he was last year, and so cute! That's him with his proud grandma. Of course Ceara and I chatted it up:

She got to see my place and she loved it! She said it looks bigger in real life. And in case you were wondering the main floor is 1180 square feet. The basement is about 900 square feet. So I feel like it's pretty big. I mean I'm probably like only what, 9 square feet? So there's lots of room for other stuff. She had to leave around 7:30 so I cried of course. It was just too short of a visit. I brought Nick and I Mexican food and then spent the night chatting with Lacey. The kids went off to school this morning, and their parent's come back this afternoon so I'm back on house only duty. On that front some things are sucking, like the sink situation, leaking from the faucet and the pipes underneath. Ah so annoying. I just hope I can get the plummer who did it to come back and fix it.

Backtracking

Good things happen, then bad things happen, then mistakes happen, then it rains. You know, but you live with it. And actually I'm very happy about things today, despite the chill in the air. The basement is done, I mean all the water proofing is done. I got a bit of shock when they said I should let the floor breath for a month before I painted it. Then he said I could paint little sections, so that's what I'm going to do. Tape off the newly poured edge, and clean. Then seal and paint the area under the desk, washer, dryer, and big storage thingie. I can move all the other things around. So now I'm too the painting part. Besides the floor bit I still need to finish the walls down there, take off old windows and rework the frames (when it's not raining), and then paint the new windows. Plus the stairwell and the stairs, I'm still cooking up the perfect color for those. I picked out colors today for the fireplace, because I liked Erika's idea to do the things that bugged me first most, plus my mom's of getting one room done. I think that's the living room for me. The first one people see. I'd like it to be all cozy and done. And with this cold coming in I want to light a fire so badly!

I also stripped (three coats) and sanded my drafting table top so I can start to get my craft room set up. And I hung a picture, the picture, the outsider art, if you will:

It seriously has a bit of every color of my house in it. I love it. And with Sciarrino sitting there typing it nearly looks like a real home, right? Oh ya, the doors, hmm, that's not high on the list I gotta tell you. I'd rather move in and set up my sewing machine so I can have some curtains, that IS bugging me.

I'm actually just killing time right now while I wait for a 15 year olds phone call to pick him up from an after game dance. Yup, I'm watching Nick and Lacey again this weekend, love those guys. Ceara also just came into town today, after delays. Miss her like crazy, and haven't even had a chance to see her because she's in a wedding and off doing wedding things. Hopefully tomorrow night I can get her thoughts on my house. I've got butterflies in my stomach waiting to hear what she thinks of everything. Scairrino and I are hitting a big sale tomorrow, then more work, then a waterpolo game for Lacey. Sunday is the wedding, I doubt I'll update, but you never know!

Take a deep breath... and GO

Whoa, talk about a tiring and crazy last 72 hours, I am beat, and so wanting to take a break and watch those last two Veronica Mars episodes I've been saving. First things first, so who won right? Well my brother was unavailable at the moment I needed some one to draw, so I had my mom do it, and... SHE CHOSE HERSELF! But we decided that was unfair since currently she sleeps mere yards from the Ribbon Jar. So she chose again and came up with Andrea! Yea Andrea! Andrea my personal computer is currently in the midst of renovating chaos, so if you want the jar shipped to you any time soon email me with your address! So you didn't win (all the rest of you I mean), don't be down. Check out all these new beauties:

I have been staying up late working with the Ribbon Jar for three nights. I have a ton of new product up as well as a bunch of jars, including the lovely blue September limited edition set. Some of my favorite new products? Um, double faced velvet, it pretty much feels like a blankie, I love the texture of this mosaic stuff, the heavy weight double faced satin is so strong, I think it would make cool handles for something. One of my favorite ribbons in a new color, oh and a new color for the diamonds, lime and chocolate, yum! Plus double faced satin in a matte finish and a chenille lace. Ya, I'm already to move into the new big Ribbon jar land, can you tell? And speaking of Ribbon Jar land, check this out:

The current state of the basement, if you turn the other direction you can see the utility sink, water heater, and old sump pump disconnected and pushed to the middle. This view doesn't even show how wet it is, this is probably the driest area, back by were I first saw the moisture in the crack, it was mud. And this is at the driest time of the year, so ya, I'm glad I'm doing this. And the guy that I am working with, the project manager on this job, he is so great. Just a hard working awesome guy. Okay I hate Nascar (sorry racing fans), but this guy loves it, and he's worn a Nascar shirt every time I've seen him. My Dad was with me when I got my quote and told him that he was going to a race down in Arizona, the guy was like, "oh I'd do anything to be able to go to a race." And if I had the money I would so buy him a ticket, despite my feelings about it, that's how cool this guy is. He calls himself a jack of all trades, and is even learning a new one, plumbing. In fact he's applied to get into an apprenticeship, I think that's so cool. He's got to be at least 40, but he's still learning, and loving what he does. And upstairs...

The sleek Bocsh dishwasher Bj got me as a housewarming present is installed! Now that is a thing of beauty. Of course I can't use it, because they had to pull out my water heater, but you know, I still call this progress. God, it's so pretty. Then my mom got this look and we had to rearrange the living room:

Of course it looks bigger and better instantly, how do you do that mom?

Oh and in totally unrelated, but really cute news, I went to Goodwill today and found this neat clip thing (still in it's package) for turning anything into a bib. It's a Kipiis, and on Amazon they are 12 bucks, I paid 99 cents.  And listen, please don't tell me I don't need to be buying baby stuff, I hear that enough from my mother (but I still love you mom).

One more Happy Thing

Oh man, how cute is this? Amber's little girl Georgia in the hat I made her when she was itty bitty. It is completely ridiculous of course with the novelty yarn, but I love it.

Like an Elephant

I bet you think I forgot, but I didn't. Super Cool Swap prize goodness will be drawn tonight!

So rub your lucky rabbit's foot, kiss you troll doll, or blink 17 times, what ever works to make you lucky. My impartial brother will be drawing from the eligible names written on exactly the same size papers. If you are not so lucky as to win this jar, there will be a large bunch up tonight, as well as the September jars early because baby the basement is getting jack hammered tomorrow!!! Oh ya. Other things making me happy:

1. All your lovely comments on my last post.
2. My brother came over yesterday and helped me hang the upper cabinets.
3. A clean garage.
4. A drafting table put together.
5. Great friends.
6. My mom doing my laundry.
7. My mom doing my laundry (hey she does my whites and colors).
8. Boxes of new ribbon on my doorstep.
9. A button maker at my feet, oh the possibilities.
10. My dishwasher is being installed tomorrow.
11. Packages from friends.
12. Zinc canning jar lids in mint condition, so sick.
13. Veronica Mars, I stayed up until 3am watching season two. Seriously this show could not be any better, the witty banter I love it. "Veronica, you're like kryptonite to rich white boys."
14. Ceara will be here in T minus four days and counting.
15. Checking things off my to do list.
16. Running everywhere in the house instead of walking (try this, it's so fun).
17. I think I'll be all moved in in two weeks...
18. And I'm serious this time!

18 happy things right off the top of my head, not so bad. One sad one? Apparently Keene has a drug problem and canceled the North American tour. Currently planning and even better and cooler birthday gig for Sciarrino (sha-reno - that's for you Kay). So my blogging buddies peace out and happiness to you all!

Halfway?

I find that it's very easy with a blog to show nice pictures of nice things. Who wants to see how bad it can get right? We all want the pretty, the daydream of how things will stay. My friends things are out of control at my cottage and I'm not afraid to say it. I look around and it really seems like every single thing is half done. And when I say half done, I mean the easy half. It's easy to put up the first cupboard door, but harder to get the second one to match (trust me, Bj and I worked on this exact issue for an hour yesterday, damn spring hinges). It's easy to pay someone to come do something, but it's hard to get them to come back and fix a mistake. This is why right now I can't use my bathroom sink. So let's check in on the progress...

No real curtains in any of the windows. The room is half organized, and the lamps are in a state of upheaval. Bed linens are not even coordinated, which is more than I can really take, but the quilt for the bed is only just cut out, so I can't buy new sheets until I have something to match them too...

My clothes are half moved in, and only half those pants fit me, so you do the math on that one. The bookcase is half organized...

I wouldn't even call the studio half done, but the main thing that was holding me back there was the lack of drafting table bolts. My mom found those this morning (right in a basket I had looked at, but not too deeply). Yes Ceara, those are your old pajama pants, I haven't forgot about them, that project is half done too...

Another not even half done project. Need to have the soapstone cut, get the old tiles up, paint the fireplace surround, and the little niche above it, but I can't decide on colors...

The living room isn't much better. Tools and TV trays surround turn of the century rose couches (that incidentally I would like to get recovered). The one saving grace in here is that we spent two hours last nigh setting up our TiVos for the new fall programs. Like I'll ever have time to watch them...

The dining room is a mess of half projects. Have the table, but it needs to be painted, the built in are half done, but the doors not finished painting. A half opened package from Kay, that I will get to this afternoon so I can take some pictures of the sweet birthday goodies she sent me. The kitchen cupboard doors would have had all the handles on, but my sweet Bj had a little "lapse in judgment" which requires more drilling and hole filling and repainting. On the deck you can see a half painted bathroom door, which I really would like to rehang, but upon taking out the old doorknob I realized they had drilled a bigger hole so now the old glass knob will not go back on so easily...

In the kitchen, I have half a spice cabinet finished, half a chair cleaned, and half the doors on. I have a dishwasher halfway installed, and a backsplash half painted. Plus I still need to figure out a way to scrap the linoleum clean of paint on the edge. The window is half painted in here as well. I hung the door back on the hinges, but it only half closes...

The garage is half tidied up, and I hate that the weird piece of MDF is half painted pink. I got rid of half the cans of old paint left here, but half are still half full so now I have to find a special disposal place.

And the basement, oh my god is it giving me grief. I mean all I want to do is make you pretty basement, work with me here!!! We went to rent a sander last night to get the old paint off. It didn't work, it wasn't the right thing. So the floor is still half done, and it needs to be all the way done before they come jack hammer up the edges next week. We tried this eco stripper, and it only halfway worked, which won't cut it. The lights are halfway hung, and the whole basement is only halfway painted.

But did I mention I found the bolts? I think I better get back to work and finish some of these projects. Too bad I only have half the strength of a normal human in my upper body, and I think maybe half a brain right now too. The other half? it's going crazy! Oh and I can only work half time on this, because I'm working full time on Ribbon Jar.