Updating the list

- finish installing chain link fencing on north side of yard
- buy some annuals and put them in the big pots out front
- finish installing patio blocks
- pull out dying arbor vitae in front; replace with a new, healthy plant
- install a gate between house and garage (this may have to wait until next year because I want an arched gate to match our arbor)
- paint window of garage (because Rob replaced the window and left it white...)
- make curtain and 2 valances for our bedroom (how long has THAT been on the list? I know, I know...)
- find rods for living/dining room and make curtains (I think I found some online at IKEA)
- make slipcover for chair in scrap room (started)
- make table skirts for scrap room
- empty genealogy closet; catalog, organize, enter data into computer
- purchase new genealogy software (I know what I want, but that $59 is not a NEED, so I keep putting it off)
- get chimney fixed (got an estimate yesterday: TWELVE. HUNDRED. DOLLARS. Whatever.)
- paint hallway
- get photos for hallway border; get laminated. (again, since it's not a NEED, it just keeps getting put off)
- have Rob cut the molding we bought to frame the bathroom mirror; paint and install
- fill screw holes and paint rubber stamp shelf

(Bold is finished; updated 12/19/08.)

More organization

Rob just put up this lovely ladder shelf for me. It is behind the door, literally the only place in the room that had space. LOL I don't have a lot of rubber stamps but I wanted to get them and some of the foam ones out of the drawer they were in to make room for my clear acrylic stamps.

The shelf is made of wood Rob had lying around in the basement work room -- 2x2's, 2x4's (ripped in half) and some little trim pieces. I sanded it, primed and painted using the black that I had for the kitchen redo in 1997 (remember the holstein cow spots on the soffit?).

It is looking great, has some room to add stuff to, and all I have to do is putty the screw holes and paint over them. Nice.

I think I will do a 360 degree photo montage of this room sometime. It is completely fab and I am so lucky it is mine!

Entertaining

I LOVE having people over. Last night we had a blast, drinking this really wonderful Sauvignon Blanc that was all citrus-y and full of the bright grapefruit flavor that just danced in your mouth. We listened to Springsteen, talked about a performance of King Lear that my friend Tracy saw (starring Ian McKellan, no less) and much to my surprise, I beat Tracy at bowling on the Wii.

The kids played, the food was good, Tracy's fall dessert was rich and perfect for the kind of day it was yesterday -- clear blue skies, crisp temperatures, and a hint of a breeze. It definitely felt like fall.

Today, though, I am glad to be sitting here in my scrap room (the desk and scrap shelf are CLEAN, by the way). My kids are watching TV and working on a craft project. I was up last night from 2 to 5 with insomnia so I stayed home while everyone else went to church and caught up on my sleep. I am still in my jammies (flannel pants and shirt, light blue, with Grumpy and Dopey all over them). Rob left for the hardware store at 11. It is almost 1 and no sign of him. LOL I think he is procrastinating on the homework. Poor guy hasn't had any time to just relax in forever. There is a stock pot on the stove, simmering a chicken carcass, a host of vegetables, and a lot of spices. In a bit I will strain it all and we'll have soup one night this week.

Yeah, I do love to spend time with friends in my home. But today, it is clean, it is quiet, and I am simply enjoying being in a cozy, comfortable house while the rain falls outside and the world moves one step closer to winter.

Everybody say YEAH!

Here's the crown molding -- I am so glad it's done, and Rob did a great job.




I scored this cute little thing at the rummage sale at church today -- it's missing some mirrors but I can fix that with mirror tiles and double-sided tape. It is sparkly, shiny, bejeweled and completely fab. The perfect girly accessory for my scrap room.



And in other news, I haven't said much about the "friends" that I used to have here that sort of blew me off when I moved back. I don't know if it was intentional or that I was not liked by a newer member of the group, but I was pretty hurt by it, frankly. I just never understood what exactly it was that I did to deserve being treated like shit.

But today I got an email that one of those "friends" has had a terrible accident in her family. When I heard, I knew I should call. It's just that, well, I am still hurt. And this person and I are both very strong personalities and we have had some clashes. But when Rob's dad died that group of friends rallied for us. They helped us through a very difficult time. And I took a deep breath and called. I offered rides, meals, whatever they need. And I meant it. And, honestly? I just hope now that my sincere effort to be a decent human being will not come back to bite me in the ass.

Cross your fingers. And if you're the praying type, that family could use some right now.

Whew

We seem to have made it through the icky fever thing that Evan and Spencer had. Of course I got it too and it manifested itself as a killer headache but it seems okay now.

Rob will be home shortly to discover that I have cleaned his "work room." Honestly, my scrap room (aka crap room) doesn't deserve the crap name after all. My husband saves *everything*. He has tiny pieces of wood scraps that are good for nothing, tons of miscellaneous sized pieces of scrap wood, and lots of them are next to the furnace. Ummmm, honey? You won't let me have an electric blanket because of the fire hazard but you will store wood and turpentine next to the furnace? Seriously, I am going to buy an electric blanket and you are gonna shut the hell up about it.

I vacuumed his room, moved stuff around, cleaned some things out (to be fair, some of the stuff was mine), and mopped the floor. There was sawdust all over, so that is gone, and he can now access his tools, including the compound miter saw and the new band saw. I also got the vacuum hose into the cabinet the laundry chute drops into and cleared out the dust and dirt from there. We will be finishing the crown molding in the living/dining room this week before Wednesday. Of course now I want crown molding in my bedroom, too. LOL

I now have 4 coats of magnetic paint on the back of my scrap shelf, with another 2 to go before it is "sticky" enough, and I have a coat of paint drying on the interior side of the back door. It was just plain primer ivory but I wanted paint on it and it looks so nice now.

This week I will get Uncle Henry in the mail, along with some family history files that the cemetery will place in the records for me, and I will mail the request for his free headstone to the Veterans' Administration. My sweet grandma sent me money to cover my mailing expenses for Henry and the phone calls I've made ... and some money for some archival products for storing some of my large family photos. PLUS she included money "just because." I am stashing it so I can buy a Silhouette or a Wishblade.

And as a happy little side note, 60 Minutes on CBS features an interview with Bruce Springsteen tomorrow night at 7 PM Eastern and Pacific, 6 PM Central time.

Home decor

I haven't posted any home decor changes lately, but we have some *big* (to us, anyway) changes planned for this fall and winter. I am excited about them.

And in the meantime, I picked up these b/w postcards at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and got this frame on sale. Behold, the latest addition to the "crap room" -- it's right above the desk so I can glance up and see it whenever I'm on the computer.




Aaaaaaahhhhhhh.

Labor day weekend

The house is clean enough; company will arrive in a few hours and the rest of the family who lives nearby will descend upon our home to eat soft-shelled chicken tacos with all the fix'ns. I have purchased disposable plates and cups so I won't have to do dishes but the guilt of that crap taking up space in a landfill could kill me, too. Oh well.

My "crap room" is pretty good, too -- the floor is mostly cleared of the boxes and bins of my great Uncle Henry's life. Now it is all shoved in the closet and with a little luck this winter I can organize, label, file, and toss. I will make sure I have people here when I open the closet, though, because it is entirely probable the contents will spill out and crush me.

I am contemplating a few home improvement projects -- from a small painting task to removing tile and replacing it with vinyl to a larger painting project to (finally!) living and dining room window treatments. I just have to be sure that whatever I take on I can do alone since Rob is stunned by the amount of homework involved in this Executive MBA thing. LOL

Some big genealogy stuff in the works, too -- paperwork to send off to people, Uncle Henry to ship to Wisconsin (I know it's horrible but I still am very amused by this. Currently he is in the gardening cabinet in the garage next to the fertilizers. Ha ha), and a substantial application for a genealogy group that will require quite a bit of documentation that must be obtained and sent off by Sept. 15.

So what am I going to do when I log off? Get some thank you notes addressed and stamped, put my leg up, and let my husband do all the chopping and food prep for dinner tonight.

Have a great labor Day weekend, all, and don't work too hard.

Almost back to school

Last night was the back-to-school picnic. It was fun to see all the kids and parents but they have this thing in the gym first where you get your folder with all the paperwork, calendar, rules, etc. and then go from table to table getting info on extracurricular activities, volunteer opportunities, etc. I HATE that part. In the not-so-genteel vernacular of the Army, it is a cluster fuck. Argh.

Garrett and Evan both have the same teachers as last year -- each of them has just moved up to the upper grade in their combined classroom. I really like both teachers and enjoyed volunteering last year so I will definitely do that again.

Spencer knows his teacher and she is very nice. I have heard tales of notes coming home regularly full of spelling mistakes and one friend of mine actually sent all of them back with corrections in red ink. I am nervous about that, because I'm a stickler for spelling, especially if you are a teacher. So far, so good, though, and I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

We got there shortly after 3 (we were late, which totally stressed me out) and got through the classrooms and escaped to the playground, where it was a good 15 degrees cooler. We moved a picnic table into the shade and I got in line for the food. By the time we ate, chatted with a few people, and the kids played with all their friends, I was exhausted. We were home at 5:30 and I slept for just over an hour. Guess I'm still not fully recovered.

I am off to get some things accomplished in my "crap" room. We are having company for the weekend and I want it to be a little neater (as opposed to looking like a bomb went off in it ....). It's cool outside, the windows are open, the cicadas are buzzing, and the sun is shining. Have a great day!