Heading into the weekend

Happy Friday!  Finishing off the living room left a bit of a void in my life since we have been "all about painting" since March! I have been loving the feel of the living room, though.  I like to sit in there and just soak up all the pretty.

This weekend Jeff and Elizabeth are coming for a visit. She is going to test her cookie recipe for the exchange, and is wanting to hit a few craft sales.  I might go to one craft sale and possibly the scrapbook garage sale, but I am just not a big fan of crowds, so no matter what cool things are for sale I get antsy to get away from the masses and end up wanting to leave fairly soon. Ornery will probably be her escort as he tends to enjoy that sort of thing more than I do and he's just a good dad like that. :)

I am pretty sure Ornery will be making a little trip over to Woodcraft to buy some new scroll saw blades since he broke the last one while working on some oak last night. He burns through them fairly quickly on the harder woods.  If I can get a bit of energy, I will tackle a few things on my craft project list, otherwise I'll just hang out with Liberty and give belly scratches and ear rubs. :

Craft Day!

Today I spent the day at my friend Mickie's house.  We made faux mercury glass votives, hurricane lamps, and cake stands. She also made a vase, but I used my vase to play with some alcohol inks. By the time we were done, it was hot outside, and we moved our operation to her studio to make some tile coasters, embellished chipboard birds, and a book tree.

My RBTI test kit arrived today, and I hope to get our tests run in the morning and then do a consultation with someone I have been talking to on Facebook. It seems a little daunting, but I am sure we'll get it all figured out and be on the mend soon!

For now, I am off to bed. I have been up since about 3:30 and it was a long and exciting day. :)

Recipe shopping

Yesterday and today I have been in veg-mode. I asked Ornery's mom to come over yesterday and we worked a puzzle. I finished it this morning and then spent the rest of the day hunting for good recipes to include in my menu planning. I get in such a rut, and Ornery is even worse than I am about wanting the same things all the time.  Complicating things even further is the fact that there are only two of us, and while I enjoy cooking, I prefer to make enough for more than one meal at a time so I don't have to do it every single day.

One of the recommendations I saw on the RBTI group page was to include 100 different foods every week. The theory is that your body needs many different minerals and elements to produce all the enzymes it needs, so by giving it some of a wide variety it has more options to pull from if some of them are not available due to lack of absorption or whatever.  I am going to start a list of the foods we eat and see how close we can get to the 100 goal.

Today I printed recipes for

• Crispy Southwest Chicken wraps
• Parmesan Crumbed Asparagus
• Outback's Bushman Bread
• Chilled pasta with creamed avocado sauce
• cheesy cauliflower pancakes
• home made ranch dressing
• PF Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Broccoli Bites
• Acorn Squash with Cranberry-cornbread Stuffing
• Simply Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
• Peach Upside Down Cake
• Brown Sugar Cookies
• Whole grain pancakes with Blueberry Maple syrup
• Twice Baked Butternut squash

Unfortunately, I just found the recipes on Pinterest and printed them instead of pinning them, so I don't have the links. Many were from ask.com, Martha Stewart, and all recipes. Some came from other blogs, but if you are interested in one in particular, I am happy to email it.

Organizing

I sat on the couch last night trying to figure out what I wanted to do this week--or rather how to arrange my week to fit as much in as possible--and realized I didn't have anything prioritized at all.  It is all important but none of it was urgent, so this morning when I got up I decided to spend the day as a home maker! We had left quite a mess in the living room yesterday, so I cleaned things in there first.  I washed the living room windows, rearranged stuff and came up with a fairly pleasing start to softening the feel of the room.

Next I went to the guest closet, an area that had become the catch-all for anything I didn't know what to do with. The luggage and a pile of bags, extra blankets, the air mattress, all the pictures I haven't hung, misc. decorating items that I need from time to time but are not currently in use, and more stuff that just didn't have a good home yet had landed there.

First I emptied it all out onto the bed and floor next to the door. I made a pile of things to give away, and another of things that needed a new home.  Since the only things in the coat closet could be stored elsewhere to better benefit, I emptied it and moved all the luggage and bags in to it.

There were quite a few empty pants hangers in the guest closet, so I brought them all to the coat closet and used them to hang the bags on the coat bar. I put the suitcases on the floor, and the air bed on the top shelf. It filled up the unused closet and made lots of room available elsewhere!

Next I went to the linen closet where I tidied things and made room for a few things from the guest room, namely more sheets.

 I am always surprised at how fast this closet gets messy, but it is nice and neat now! Unfortunately, I didn't make enough room for the extra blankets there.

I was just getting ready to vacuum out the bottom of the closets when I heard Ornery drive up. It was too early for lunch, so I was surprised.  Apparently they are having some ventilation problems in the paint department at work and he came home for a while to wait while the air cleared.  He took down the blinds on the two living room windows that needed paint, put some of the red glass from the living room up on top of the kitchen cabinets, and changed the A/C filters. I asked him if he wanted to bring in the camping gear from the garage to make more space in his man cave-- the whole purpose for clearing out the guest closet.  He shuffled a few things to get the two large totes out and kindly set them in the closet for me. We had an early lunch and then he went back to work--carrying his respirator!

I took a couple of the quilts Ornery's grandma made for us and put them in the living room to add some softening touches, and moved the little clock table from the library to the end of the couch in front of the new lamp.

 My sister made the little quilted pillow from some of my old jeans when I was in high school. I have had it a long time, but I haven't really had a decorating scheme to use it until now. I hope to make a couple other pillows to put on here, but for now, it is at least something.

I also found a poster of pansies in the closet that goes beautifully above the mantle. I put it in a cheap frame I had on hand for now, but will need to get a bigger frame at some point. Then I hung the set of three Beaubien water color paintings we bought in Manitou Springs a few years ago next to the wall units.  The colors don't really "match" but I like them too well to relegate them to the stash of things awaiting the next decorating rendition.

My next task was to bag up all the stuff from the closet that I don't think I want to keep any more. It is always a quandary, but I am pretty sure I won't be needing these things, and I would rather someone else get some use from them. Then, despite the awful state of the kitchen that didn't get any attention yesterday, I painted the windows in the living room so that all the green is now complete.  I eventually got the dishes under control and am headed for the shower right now.

No telling what the evening holds, but I have had lots of energy all day and even if I don't accomplish anything else, I will have counted the day as quite productive!

Weekend in Review: Too much FUN!!

Saturday Mickie came and we were like two little girls making mud pies in the garden. We had most of my tools and a bunch of Ornery's tools out and in use before our project was finished, but OH!, we had fun!!  Here are some pictures I took with my phone when they were almost done.

This was the one I made

 Here are both of them side by side

This was Mickie's

We had to run to Lowe's for some orange paint (because I goofed up the stuff I had) and she helped me pick a color for the living room ceiling. On the way home we stopped by a garage sale and I scored a little table for between the rockers in the living room for $10.00, (sorry about the blurry photo!)

a lamp for next to the couch, and another birdcage. I am going to do a wild paint job on the table.  Can't wait for that!!

I helped Mickie set up a blog, downloaded the "Pin It" button on her browser and showed off all the things I had done in her absence. She hadn't been here since before we painted the dining room, so she had a lot to catch up on!  We also made several plans for our fall projects--what we want to do and when we would get together. Looks like there are some FUN days ahead!

Meanwhile, Jeff and Elizabeth wandered in and out, and Ornery (between stops to help us with parts of our project) made some jigs for his saws and cut out a set of bowls from the oak we bought a couple of weeks ago. He also got a little close to the blade on one cut--oops! No blood, but it carved a little nick in the skin. We both went to bed very tired that night!

Sunday we painted. I finished the last green wall and Ornery did the trim on it and painted 1/2 of the ceiling Orange Vermilion--a vibrant red/orange color. Painting required moving all the very heavy furniture on that wall, and then moving it back. Words simply cannot express my delight with how it looks!

The room is not finished, and I don't have things all put away yet, but I wanted to show our progress so far. The colors in the photos do not show clearly at all, but you can see the contrast between the ceiling and the walls.  Also, you can see the new light fixture that Ornery installed to replace the ugly white canister that was there before.

It looks like the room will be torn up for a few more days since he really needs to mow the lawn tomorrow evening and I can't reach the ceiling like he can, but in the meantime I have a lot of things I can work on for the room.

• I have selected a design I want to try to copy on my table but I need to sand and do a primer coat on it first
• The lamp shade on the small lamp between the recliners is awaiting replacement with an embellished new shade I have yet to make.  
• I have two large canvases to paint a picture on to hang behind the couch (the picture will be divided between the two canvases to fill the space better)
• I have a bunch of small frames to paint and fill with pictures of flowers and birds I have yet to print out.
• I have decided to begin a bird house collection for on top of the armoire and side book cases, and I think I may make one or two myself--or at least paint them
• I am going to buy and cut some mat board to fit inside the book cases behind the shelves to give a different background color to the items on the shelves
• I want to put a flower arrangement in the new bird cage I just bought (for 75 cents!) 
• The shades need to be cleaned and the windows washed (badly!)
• The pillows need to be recovered with some floral fun-ness--maybe even some embroidery?

The feel I am going for in the room is lively. The mantle will change around with seasons, as will the display/book cases on the sides of the armoire. Eventually we will buy an upholstered chair to put in front of one of the windows, and Ornery is planning to build a low plant shelf which I will do a tile mosaic on the top of for in front of one of the others. Even though there is so much to do, I am elated to say good bye to the last of the "Biltmore Buff" paint that was throughout the main living areas.

 I also have all those ornaments to make, and Mickie is already working on a project that I was going to try, making trees and other things out of old books, so I think I'll make some of those. Then there is the editing, cooking, cleaning, laundry and all the other things that just won't go away!  I think I am going to have to cut something out--sleep is over rated, I hear. :)

Change is in the air

I didn't get the memo, but from the looks of everything online, it is time to change things up! Facebook got a new face lift (making it incredibly obnoxious to navigate, IMO), Pinterest has changes planned for this coming week, and even my bank changed the looks of things on their online connection. Maybe when I get a minute I'll spruce up this Zoe Cottage blog, but I have bigger fish to fry right now!

So, if there really was a memo and in my haste to move forward with IRL updates around the house I missed it,  I will have to plead being busy as my excuse for not following the plan. The house is sure looking nice, though!

Rainy day

Thursday:
I awoke this morning (at 4:00) to the invigorating sound of a thunderstorm. The pyrotechnics only lasted a little while and it gently rained off and on throughout the morning making it ever so tempting to crawl back under the covers for a little extra shut-eye.  Instead I spent some time scrolling through a few Pinterest boards, and packing up an order from Miller Manor Designs etsy shop for two yardstick airplanes.  This is the order I made a special listing for last week but since I didn't hear back from her, I thought she had changed her mind.

The little guys are a challenge to mail, but I rummaged around in my craft closet and found a used box to wrap them in. I stuffed JC Penney's bags all around them for cushion. Hopefully the box is sturdy enough to keep them intact.  I was thrilled to discover that I had charged $7.00 for shipping and the postage including delivery confirmation was $6.90. Amazing!

I didn't waste the whole morning. I baked the last of the cookie dough I mixed up last week and painted some more in the living room.  I also fixed stuffed red peppers for lunch and then crashed HARD for about an hour. Waking up was slow, but I eventually got busy and finished my part of the painting, at least all I could do without Ornery's help moving furniture.  When he got home, we went to the post office to mail the etsy order and had a veggie pizza and salad bar out, then he did the cut work on the walls I had rolled.

Friday:
I'll probably crash this afternoon, but I woke up at about 2:30, did an hour of Heart Physics exercises, then decided to get up just before 4:00 when I noticed Ornery was already getting up and around. I put the living room back together and folded drop cloths, started laundry, fixed breakfast and enjoyed a visit over coffee/juice all before 6:00!  I have a hair appointment later this morning, but I need to get some more housework done before then. He has his last visit to Dr. G this morning. His finger is still a little flaky but overall looks so much better.

I think that the RBTI supplements and remineralizing our food will help more than anything we have done up until this point. They called yesterday to say my testing kit will be mailed out today, and that I will get it in about 10 days. I am learning a lot on the Facebook group page about the program, and getting an amazing amount of support. I continue to see little changes in me, and I am not even on the program fully yet!

We are ready for a weekend! Saturday Mickie is coming over to play in the studio with me and Jeff and Elizabeth will be in town. I haven't decided what I want to work on, but I have many options! Sunday we will "go" to church and finish the living room in the morning and do a little shopping in the afternoon; at least that is the plan right now.  We are taking things day by day; it is less stressful that way.

Bouncing Back

It was odd that at exactly 3:00 PM yesterday afternoon my blood seemed to start pumping again after several days of feeling lethargic. Glad to have some energy back, I started working on a project I had been putting off--the information packets for the cookie and ornament exchange. I used leftover invitation folders from Ryan and Ale's wedding and the whole thing is done in monochromatic brown. They are pretty cool looking, if I do say so myself.  Even Ornery agreed, although he said they were a little boring for my typical style.  He took them to the mail box for me today when he came home for lunch, so that is one chore marked off my to do list.

When I got up this morning, I discovered my son-in-law had sent me money via PayPal for an altered book/art journal he is commissioning me to do. He had mentioned it a few weeks ago, but I didn't know how serious he was about the project: apparently fairly so considering the size of the deposit.  I spent time ruminating throughout the morning and came up with some pretty wild ideas, then sat at my craft table with a pad and pencil and drew up a list of elements I might want to include.

I decided on a theme and have quite a few snippets of ideas for how I will carry it through the book.  I will use some of his deposit and haunt a used book store in town that has a bajillion books and all sorts of other cool stuff I might want to incorporate in my design.  I have never done one of these before, but if the juices keep pumping out the ideas like they did today, it ought to be awesome!

Ornery filled the holes in the living room walls to get them ready for me to start painting last night, so after lunch I shoved the couch and recliners away from the walls and slapped some Olive Marinade on them.  He did the brush work on both of them after work today. The couch wall is fine, the other one needs another coat tomorrow. Once that's done, I'll have him help me move the monstrous armoire and book cases. Our goal is to have that room finished before the weekend. Ornery says having me do the roller work makes the job much more tolerable--and it doesn't hurt on this project that we decided to wait on the ceiling until we decide on a color; the green throughout the whole main area of the house is enough without adding it to the ceiling. Sure wish I could decide on a color, but how do I decide when there are so MANY to choose from?!

Mickie had to postpone our crafting date again--so we are aiming for Saturday since none of the weekdays have panned out for us.  Ornery says he will be in the shop that day. :)  Elizabeth and Jeff are coming into town just for the day, so that is added incentive to get it done!

Ahhh-tumn

~~ It looks like we have finally left the dog days of summer behind and are set to enjoy some of the finest days of the year in Oklahoma--autumn! This morning it is a brisk 53 degrees, and the high is to get up in the low 80's. I can handle these temperatures!  Sadly, I don't have any energy to do anything with them! The past few days I have really been dragging, only able to accomplish a few things throughout the whole day. Somehow I have gotten meals on the table, but if it wasn't for the dishwasher, the kitchen would be in a constant state of turmoil.  I won't even mention the state of the rest of the house!

~~ Ornery patched all the holes in the living room walls last night--all he could reach, anyway. The patches need to be cleaned up a bit and then it will be ready for me to start painting in there. Maybe later today I can start that.

~~ I spoke with Mickie yesterday and she asked if we could craft on Thursday this week--yay!! I have sure missed our gab and art sessions!

~~ This morning I need to put together information packets for the cookie and ornament exchange participants.  It looks like there won't be that many cookies... and I am opting out of that part since I can't eat chocolate or nuts and I don't want to have to sample them that late at night. It will be hard enough to eat dinner that late. I am sure I could "fudge" and eat the cookies, but I don't want to set my healing back.  I think it will be much more fun if I am feeling good!

Weekend in Review: finishing and beginning

Saturday morning, we went to Ornery's mom's house at about 8:30 to finish the chores she needed done. Ornery installed two bathroom light fixtures for her and re-hung her front room valance using the sconce he repaired last weekend. We brought home one of the lights he took down to replace the fixture in our guest bathroom. The current model is the design that was popular back in the seventies and looks like a Hollywood dressing room light bar. We will install it when we get around to painting in there.

In the afternoon, we worked on finishing the guest room and getting the living room ready to paint next week. First I made the guest bed with the new sheets, then Ornery took one of the floating shelves down from the living room to show me what it would look like next to the bed. The wall is so misshapen (bowed) that the shelf wouldn't work at all there. I was disappointed, but not too badly since I didn't really like the shelves in the first place.  So he hung the bedside reading light and helped me switch out the direction of the frame hanger on an old poster frame so it would accommodate a new poster.

While he had his drill out, he took down the curtain rod and the mounting hardware for the shelves in the living room. We decided where to hang the mirror in the hall with the stud finder, then realized we needed to buy some heavy duty hooks and picture wire to make it work. It will be the first time since we have had that mirror that we didn't have to use molly-bolts to hang it. So we made a quick run to Lowe's--our first trip for the weekend!

We sat out on the rockers for a while in the evening, soaking up the beautiful fall weather and thinking about plans for the yard. I suppose once we get the inside finished, we will start working on the outside. Hopefully we enjoy a nice long autumn!

Sunday started really slow, and then tapered off! Ornery read, then helped me hang the mirror in the hall and baked some banana bread.  I cleaned the kitchen, gave Ornery a hair cut and ironed the scarf for the guest room window. Yup, that's it!  We did "go" to church in the afternoon, and if I have an energy boost later I plan to cook some more. It was really a day of rest for me.

Here are the pictures I took of the finished guest room:

 Here is the window treatment.  I really need someone with a good eye and more patience than I have to help fix that scarf, but it is up there now, and it serves the purpose I had intended it to--blocking the light on the sides of the window.

 The green walls with purple pictures including an iris that Elizabeth did with markers when she was in high school and a tile that my sister Mimi painted for me of a tulip. Love that I was able to find a good home for them!

These metal ornaments were above the front door at Miller Manor, and I had them in the living room here for a while, but I really like the way they look on the purple wall.  I turned on the lamp to show that it really works! :)  Other than the closet, this room is ready for visitors!

This week I am going to start working on painting the living room.  Ornery really appreciated only having to do the cut work in the guest room, and I liked getting it done quickly! I am also going to start on the next eBook and hopefully enjoy a craft day with Mickie. Hopefully this will be the last week of painting for a while!

Friday!

For not having any plans yesterday, I sure managed to fill the day!  Ornery left for work at 6:00 so I got an early start on the day--laundry and email/blogging--then I headed out to run some errands at 10:00. I spent a long time in Lowe's, where I found the exact cubicle organizer I was considering buying at Target for $8.00 less. I also got the lamp for the guest room, and paint and the light fixture for above the fireplace in the living room.  I made several other stops finding great deals on everything I was looking for, and arrived back home at about 3:20.  The crazy drivers were out in force, and there are still construction slow downs all over town.  I was really glad to get home!

While I was out, I got an email from etsy about a customer wanting to purchase two yardstick airplanes.  I finally got around to answering her after I got home. I can never remember my etsy password to sign in on my phone. :(  As of this morning, however, she still hadn't placed the order, so maybe she got tired of waiting on me?  Oh, well.

Ornery fished out the last of our three digital cameras--just happens to be the oldest one!--so I can take and post pictures again.  It will cost at least $200 to fix the Minolta, and while I haven't looked into getting my little Pentax repaired, it does still take pictures, I just can't download them to my computer--which is almost the same as not being able to take them!

After dinner he put together the new organizer I bought, although I am rethinking my decision to not put the flimsy cardboard panels on the back--I am going to cover them with printed papers and add some pizzazz to the piece! :)  I will use it to store things I don't need very often, including various things I collect to use in a project "someday."

Once I had moved into it (and gotten all the stuff off my table) I got out some new paper and made another stocking ornament. Ornery had been giving me a hard time about how wild all my paper choices were, so I decided to prove to him that I could make something without it screaming at him. I flipped this one from the direction all the previous ones were, and used three colors of brown alcohol inks on the back to stain it instead of painting it white. I also used tea stain ink on the lace and ruffle to give it more of an aged look. There are little clear snowflakes glued on various places as well.

 I also got out the very first thing he ever cut with his scroll saw and stained, backed and embellished it to hang in my little alcove gallery. I love how it turned out, especially the beaded hanger I made for it! There is a fine sparkly mist over both pieces that gives just a hint of glimmer without having big glittery globs on them. I am learning subtle, although I still like wild...

Today I plan to do a bit of cooking, finish the laundry and maybe a little housework. If I get back to doing any crafting, I will work on ornaments. I am going to experiment with some alcohol ink on clear glass balls...

We have a few little chores around here to do this weekend--

• install the lamp in the guest room 
• hang the floating shelf next to the guest bed
• finish the pumpkin porch ornament
• hang the mirror from the living room in the hall
• take down the curtain rod in the living room
• patch all the holes in the living room walls

Ornery also has to go to his mom's house to finish off a couple of projects for her. I am still looking for a couple of little accents for the guest room, but once I get the new sheets on the bed and dye the afghan I will be happy enough with it to take some pictures.  Hopefully by the end of the weekend...

Fall!

The skies are muddy gray today and cooler temperatures with rain is forecast for the next few days. Finally!

I am thinking about grabbing a blanket and riding my porch rocker for a while this morning. It is just the kind of lazy day that makes me want a cup of something hot and a companion to visit with while we listen to the rain fall on the roof and shiver with the delicious chill air blowing around us.  Elizabeth and I used to sit on the porch swing in the rain, huddled beneath a blanket, laughing and talking until our sides and tonsils hurt. We solved all the problems of the world and dreamed ideas bigger than we could ever accomplish: the memories of those times are some of my favorite.

Other than laundry, I have no plans for today or tomorrow. In fact, I have nothing planned until Monday, when I will begin on the next editing project.  I would like to get the ornaments for the exchange done by then, but I am not stressing over it. Mostly I am mostly just feeling fall-mellow and restful, sort of relieved the heat is over.

Studio Makeover

It doesn't seem that long ago that I shuffled things in the studio, but after working with it for a while, I decided I needed to make some more room somehow.  Since Ornery won't let me take out any walls (yet) I figured the best plan would be to rearrange the furniture. I used this cool website to do a scale drawing of the room and furniture, rearranged it several times on the screen (much easier on my back!) and then started moving things.

I began the project at 7:30 on Wednesday morning. First I emptied out a lot of the stuff into the hall, then emptied the armoire onto the table. (I heard it groan!!)  I tried to take pictures, but the camera didn't work. :(  Of course as I moved back in, I spent some time organizing things. It took me all morning, but by the time Ornery brought some Chinese food home for lunch, I had it done except for a few things that need new homes.

I took a couple pictures with my phone, so while they aren't very good, they will at least give an idea of what I did. First the "before" pictures.  Of course this was right after I set things up earlier, and before I had "lived" in it for a while.  I had trashed it pretty well... o_0

This side of the room is slightly smaller due to the doorway being slightly recessed into the room. Here was the "new and improved" version I put together shortly after Mickie started coming over to play on Wednesdays. It was hard to get in and out around her chair, and she didn't have much space to put her stuff.

 The armoire at an angle in the corner took up more of the room than I thought it did. By the time I started rearranging today, the top of it was piled high with plastic boxes, and the carts were blocking entrance to my table (along with a big pile of other "stuff" that had migrated into that little area... I was feeling a tad claustrophobic!

This is the old "office" arrangement. It worked okay, but I always had to move the chair to open the closet door.

 The "new" office arrangement puts the table and file cabinet perfectly between the window and the bathroom door frame.  Once we close off this door and the wall is smooth, I will move the whole operation down a few inches, but meanwhile, it is workable. I would prefer to have the two pieces switched, but the instructions said not to put the printer in direct sunlight, which might cause a problem next to that south-facing window...

My new crafting area. The two carts are in the corner between the bookcase and the armoire, and there is a space of almost four feet between the table and the closet wall for Mickie's chair--and some of her stuff.  :)  Huge improvements took place in and on the armoire as well as in the book case.

I still have some organizing/sorting to finish, but I am happy with the arrangement, and I found homes for all the piles of stuff that had accumulated here and there. The only thing I am parting with is some stamp mounting and identification materials and watermark supplies. There are a few new books on the shelves in the library, and I have a box of old books I intend to recycle into projects one of these days that needs a home, but I am thinking a bookcase on the other side of the table might be just the ticket! I'll have to be on the hunt.

Purple!

Monday, I got an early start since Ornery left for work pretty early, and by 9:30 I had two coats of Raisin paint on the headboard wall of the guest room. I deliberated a long time about whether to continue on with that color, or if I should use the Homestead Resort Parlor Sage I had purchased to go with it on the other three walls.  I conferred with Ornery and he suggested I "paint just a little area next to the purple with the green to see if I liked it."  I am not imaginative enough to figure out whether or not I would like it based on that, so I went ahead and painted it green--at least most of it.

When Ornery came home for lunch, he helped me move the last part of the bed, and I spent the afternoon doing as much cut work as I could and the last of the rolling. He surprised me by finishing it off after work, and we even got the bed moved back in and set up before bed!  There is still a lot of decorating to be done in there, but the hard part is over!

Since I finished the painting yesterday, and I had an appointment with Dr. G early this morning, I ran a bunch of errands then called Ornery's mom to find out what she wanted to do about some light fixtures that I was unable to replace the globes for.  She ended up joining us for lunch, then after Ornery left to go back to work, we went to Lowe's and bought some replacement fixtures, and stopped by Cherry Berry for some frozen yogurt. Too bad that is so close, it was mighty tasty!!

Ornery has invited one of his co-workers over this evening to see his clock (and I am sure the man-cave!) so I have a bit of tidying up to do, but I would much rather take a nap! I worked myself to an overtired state yesterday trying to finish that room. Even Dr. G mentioned that my adrenals were taxed--that I might be working too hard!

It is hot again today, but I hear it is the last day for a while with a chance for some rain tomorrow with highs in the 80's.  It is just under 100 right now.  I am so ready for fall!

Weekend in Review: Catching Up

Friday's list completed:

• house work and finish laundry
• paint frame for clock bowls
• rework Z in alcove by studio
• paint frame for greeting cards, frame three cards and hang
• paint alcove outside our room (until paint was gone)

 Here is the latest arrangement in the alcove with the re-worked Z (after I saw the A I decided my original creation was too boring!) and a shadow box I made a few years ago for Ornery.

Three of my favorite cards from my beloved. I had to cut the top one down a little bit to fit in the frame, but I put the sentiment and his note on the back so I could keep them together. Nothing was really lost. :) The bottom frame was the only one I didn't tamper with.  The other two I painted.

Saturday's list completed:

• remove dead grape vine from tomato cage
• cut work in alcoves, and around entry hall windows (Ornery)
• wash front storm door and sidelight windows
• line frame for plates w/ velvet, cut wooden disks to glue plates down with, assemble 
• start on ornaments for exchange
• second coat of spray paint on basket
• clean up painting messes
• sweep porches, put out flag (Patriot Day) and hang fall wreath on the front door

Here is the very sad grape vine. It died twice this summer, and is coming back again! However, this round, it is only coming up from the roots, not putting leaves back onto the vine.  I don't know if it will be any good since this is a hybrid plant, but we'll see.  I am actually watering it again. :)

This is after I wrestled it off the cage.  I plan to use it on the pumpkin decoration that Ornery and I are making.  It is cut from a landscape timber, and will look something like this. Instead of the wire, I'll use the vine, and my sign will say, "Joy-fall"  There weren't instructions, just a teaser for a craft night, so we are having to make up our own design. The landscape timber was much cheaper than the bigger post, so ours won't look quite as cute, but I am sure they will look fine.

The alcoves are both green now!  This one still lacks the ceiling paint, but we'll do it when we have the roller out in the living room in a couple of weeks.  Now the question is what to put up on the walls in there.  I am thinking maybe a mini-photo gallery of family pictures, but haven't decided for sure yet.

Sunday's List Completed:

• cook amaranth and store in fridge for the week
• make pasta salad (w/ leftover chicken instead of tuna)
• menu plans for the week
• paint around our bedroom window
• finish paint in kitchen (as far as the paint would go--still a little left behind the fridge, but no one can see it, so I am not worried.)
• clean out refrigerator
• finish clock plate display and hang next to back door in dining room

I was disappointed that some of the glue showed through the velvet and made it look white, but hopefully it isn't too noticeable and if it is, oh, well.  Those plates are glued on there and won't come off without a fight! Maybe Mickie can give me an idea for fixing it...  Anyway, the project began over two years ago when I bought the plates, and is finally finished!

The chores that we had already "done" are now "done-done" and we can move onto the next projects! Ornery is still sawing away on his bowls, and having a ball doing it. I am working on an order for Azure Standard and getting meals planned and ready for the week ahead.  Later this evening we will "go" to church and possibly give Ornery a hair cut. The weekend passed awfully fast, but I am ready for the new week to begin.

In store for me this week:

• Dr. Gomez visit
• paint guest room
• finish ornaments for exchange
• prepare information packets for exchange guests

I think I will also see if I can't figure out something to hang in that alcove by our room. I have quite a stockpile of stuff in the guest closet to choose from, and if I can't find anything in there, I suppose I could recycle and/or make something!

I only have this week left before I start back on the editing project.  I already have the next job, it is nine messages instead of ten like the last one. Hopefully I will get with the program and not wait until the end of the month to start!

Thursday productivity

Thursday was a very productive day for me!  I painted the alcove outside my studio and started on the one outside our bedroom.  Here are before and after photos of the one by my studio...

 I think this color is called cashmere or putty or something like that.  To Ornery and me it looked dead and desolate. Some people really like the neutral colors, but we aren't in that number.

Here is the same wall newly painted with a couple of my art projects on it.  I am planning to put a few of my favorite cards from Ornery in frames on the little side wall on the left in this photo.  I can see that wall from my table and keep thinking it needs some dressing up and it seems a shame to leave those cute cards stashed away out of sight!  I was pleased with the start I made, though.

I didn't work on painting exclusively, I also finished several ornaments --four or five I think-- and made this cute wall hanging for a niece who just moved into a new apartment.  I thought it might be fun to send her a little fall decor...

I bought the wooden letter at Hobby Lobby. I used Mod Podge to affix the paper, then put a coat over the top to give it some sheen.  I cut circles out of coordinating papers and crinkled them up.  I stacked them at odd angles and punched a hole to accommodate a brad, which holds the whole stack together.  Then I further distressed them with some ink and glued them down on top of some rubberized leaves. I put a coat of Mod Podge on them and added distress Stickles to the orange brads in the center.  A few feathers and a twine bow completed the project.

The most time consuming part was deciding what papers to use, but it took me about an hour from start to finish and cost hardly anything to make since the only thing I had to buy was the letter ($1.50 on sale)  The papers were in my scrap drawer and I had everything else from other projects.  It will cost more to send it than it is worth, but I will also send her Christmas ornament at the same time.

In the evening, Ornery covered some grass in the back yard with black plastic to prepare the area for our garden, then worked out in the man cave on the basket/bowls he started the night before. In all it was a really productive day!

Today I hope to finish the other alcove and take care of a few housekeeping chores. I took all the rugs out of the kitchen because they collected so much dirt, but now the floor is collecting it!  At least I don't have the rug lint to contend with as well.  I was worried it would get sucked in under the refrigerator and cause problems there. Happy Weekend!

Today: Paint!

I spent the morning yesterday making ornaments. I added names to the two I made Tuesday and crafted two more from scratch.  I also did some laundry, typed and sent off the table of contents for the eBook I forgot to include in my haste, and made pasta salad (previous post) which we ate in its entirety at lunch!

The afternoon was spent cruising around on Pinterest, discovering new blogs and ideas, and finishing off the last ornament for the special order. The request was a blue ornament for a little boy, and since it is my least favorite color I had a limited selection of paper to choose from.  I ended up with a dark turquoise base, dark blue faux alligator toe and heel and a deep royal suede-like flocked cuff with a pinked edge, a bit of glitter here and there, a shiny blue light and bead letters for the name. It is cute and all sorts of songs come to mind...

I put together hobo dinners and Ornery grilled them along with a couple chicken breasts. I have started making at least two meals when I fix hobos--it isn't any more work, and I have an extra meal already made that only needs reheating, which will come in handy today.  After dinner, Ornery worked on a new project. He is making nesting bowls that are not really bowls; they look more like baskets. The rings are cut out of a solid 1" board and stacked. He bought some oak to make them out of, but has decided to try it first on a piece of scrap pine. He is being very attentive to the directions, so this project will probably turn out well.

Once the rings are cut, he is giving them to me to stain. I think alcohol inks will work well on them, and I have such a wide variety of colors to choose from. Since this first set is just for learning on, I think I may experiment with some different colors.  Each bowl/basket in the set of three has about 5 rings (I think) and a solid bottom. The color combination possibilities are endless!

Today I need to put the blinders on and just paint, paint, paint!  I really want to get the alcove outside my studio painted so when I sit at my table and look up I don't see ugly dead color on the walls.  It distresses me every time!  I also need to get the studio table cleared off so I can work again. It doesn't take long for it to become unmanageable. Part of the mess is a pile of finished projects waiting for homes, leading me back to the need to paint!

Just one more day until the weekend; my goal is to finish off all the incomplete painting projects, including the two alcoves. Next week I hope to get the guest room painted during the week, and the living room done over the weekend. Then we can stamp PAID to the painting projects for a while! Ornery is starting to get antsy about putting together the raised beds for next year's garden since the weather is finally cooler, so I imagine we will also try to cover the grass in the areas we plan to put our boxes to kill it off.

It is hard to believe we have only been here a little over three months. We are finally starting to feel like the place has our stamp on it, and we are loving the changes!

Tuna and Pasta Salad

Last week when we were at Jason's deli preparing to shop for groceries, I had some pasta salad and decided to buy ingredients to make some.  I haven't ever made anything like it before (that I can recall) and I didn't have a recipe, so today I experimented and came up with this.

         In a large bowl, mix:
8 oz. twirly vegetable pasta, cooked al dente
1 can skipjack tuna, drained and flaked  or one chicken breast cooked and finely chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
2 roasted red peppers (in a jar) chopped
1 small can sliced olives
          Mix together and pour over salad ingredients:
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used vegannaise)
2 T olive oil
1-2 T vinegar (I used Braggs Apple Cider, but others would work)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dried dill weed
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. Beau Monde Seasoning mix (celery salt, onion powder)

Refrigerate before serving so flavors can mingle and mix. Quite tasty and filling!

Wings!

I feel like I could fly I am so excited to be finished with the second eBook!  That one was much harder than the first one. It was 99 pages of single spaced 12 point type and required a great deal of sentence reconfiguration, contraction reduction, subject and verb tense arrangement, chapter titling and general overhaul.  I am taking a couple weeks off before I do the next one and plan to do the following less-thought-provoking projects in the interim:

1. paint the alcoves 
2. finish the plate frame Ornery made for me
3. paint the guest room
4. make the rest of the ornaments I have orders for
5. make the ornaments for the exchange
6. do a little fall decorating

Mickie has a couple of jobs that will keep her away from our weekly craft sessions, so I have both of those Wednesdays completely open to accomplish a LOT! I'd rather have her company, but I will not whine. Much.

Back to work!

 Yesterday we went to Lowe's to pick up some wood for Ornery's next projects.  He will be making some Christmas gifts and helping me by cutting the wood for a cute little pumpkin decoration for our front porch. He also finished off his scrap-bin, mowed the lawn and took a nap.

I thought he did a wonderful job on it--he even painted it to match the rest of his shop!

I sanded the sixteen new ornaments he cut for me last weekend, and painted the backs of about 1/2 of them.  Then I designed two for a special order. (sorry about the picture quality...)

I puttered around doing a few other things, but nothing significant. I can't ever remember a Labor Day weekend that we weren't working on some big decorating project.  This was a nice break for both of us.

We are finally experiencing some beautiful weather.  Other than the lack of rain, yesterday was absolutely perfect. We are forecast to hang around in the 80's all week, with lows deliciously cool.  As I am typing this, it is a mere 53 degrees! Bring on the sweater!

It's back to work for Ornery today, and I suppose for me, too.  I have already been busy working in the kitchen, and have some laundry started. It makes for a long day when you wake up at 4:00, but I figured I may as well get going on the day since I had the energy! This morning between 8:00 and 10:00 the Culligan man is coming to tighten up our little faucet handle. I could probably call and cancel, since I think I fixed it, but just in case there is something that needs tightening under the sink I will let him come and fiddle with it.

After he leaves, my project is to finish editing the eBook. I am sure that will run into tomorrow but I am really ready to have it finished.  The other thing I plan to do this week is paint the two little alcoves to match the dining room and hall. I am going to use the one by my studio as a little gallery of some of my finished work. Here is a photo of one I have been working on...

This is something else I plan to hang in there...

Z for Zoe Cottage! :)

I am sure I will make other things, and in fact I have part of a project started involving crayons and a heat gun. I have so many ideas, and just need to get busy and work on them!

Weekend in Review: lazy

Friday night Ornery and I went to Jason's Deli for a salad bar dinner, then over to Whole Paycheck where we bought some groceries. We made a few menu plans and a grocery list over dinner. By the time we got home I was tired, so I went to bed.  I woke up several times in the night with a splitting headache, which did not bode well for the next day.

Saturday morning I woke up at 6:00 or so and had my morning beverage--8 oz. apple juice, 1 T hydrated bentonite, 1 T liquid chlorophyll and 2 tsp. fiber chased by 8 oz. water-- while Ornery drank his coffee.  He started out more peppy than I ever got all day. Elizabeth arrived at about 7:00. While Ornery went to his mom's house to do some homeowner projects she had been saving up, Elizabeth and I went to breakfast, then to do a little shopping. We found 5 pair of jeans at one store, so we didn't have to go anywhere else. Yay!  She went home at about 1:00, and I took a two hour nap, although I didn't have any more energy upon arising than I did when I lay down!  I didn't have a headache all day, though, so that was good.

I managed to drag my carcass into the kitchen to clean it up and fix dinner.  After I ate, I felt noticeably more alert, so I coerced Ornery into my studio to plan out an art project.  Neither of us have any experience with painting anything besides walls, so this was a foray into new territory.  It is not surprising that Ornery and I both approached the project with completely opposite styles.  He got all the drafting tools out and began drawing things on graph paper; I started with mixing acrylic paints and brushing it on the canvas.  By the time we went to bed, I was well into my project and he was still making plans for his.

Sunday morning after I fixed breakfast, I finished another ornament and worked some more on my art project. Then I listed a few more ornaments on my etsy shop and decided to run a special throughout September offering free shipping on all orders over $25.00. We listened to the sermon online, then Ornery went out to the man cave to finish off the scrap bin box he started last weekend.  He just lacks the painting of it as I type this.

We still have one more day "off" before he goes back to work and I finish that eBook.  Meanwhile, I plan to do a little cooking and work some more on my art project.  I still have the plate/frame project to complete, more ornaments to make and pictures to take to list them, and different ornaments to make for the exchange.  I don't have any idea how much of that will get done before Monday, but they are all possibilities.

Three day weekend!

It is finally Friday and we have a three day weekend ahead!

I have one more message to edit then a final combing through to fix all the things I missed the first time. I have spent half of every day for the last two weeks on this project and I am ready for it to be done!

Yesterday afternoon I explored a few stores here in town. Since we moved, I have barely had time or inclination to check out the area. There is a furniture consignment store a few miles away and I have meant to go in there for a long time, so yesterday I checked it out... and I can check it off my list. The prices did not reflect the condition of the merchandise. I wandered into a couple of other shops and ended my foray at the scrapbook store.

Several friends were there working and I stayed to visit for a spell. The owner of the store is moving to Brazil with her husband's job, and is planning to sell the store. I will miss her, but hope the new owner is a little more organized.

Today is my third day with no coffee. I had a slight headache all day yesterday, but it is mostly gone this morning. I am not exactly somnambulant, but I am not terribly energetic either.  I have moments when I just want to sleep so badly, but I usually can shake it off by moving around for a little bit. I haven't cut out all the other dairy products yet, but I knew that 1/2 and 1/2 was not going to be good for me on RBTI.

Ornery and I went to Hobby Lobby the other night and I bought some clear glass ornaments to cover with strips of old hymnal pages. The book is falling apart, the pages are so yellow and brittle that it couldn't possibly serve as it was originally intended, so I don't feel remorse over dissecting it for my craft. I am thinking about using them for my ornament exchange instead of the elf socks, but I haven't decided for sure.

Ornery is going to his mom's Saturday to help her with a list of honey-do's, and Elizabeth is coming to town to buy some jeans so I am planning to go with her to a store or two.  Neither of us are much for shopping, so it should be a relatively painless outing.  We don't really have anything else planned for the weekend, though.  No painting, despite it being a three day weekend and plenty of time to actually finish a room. Oh, well.