Gallery Wall

I have been preparing to do a gallery wall in the office. I couldn't resist this sign. I think we can all relate . . .

I plan to use black/white pictures in black frames. After a successful trip to the thriftstore, I came home with these beauties and some new family members! I used flat black spray paint to paint the frames and now the arranging process begins. FYI: make sure the frames are real wood. Removing the glass is a pain and sometimes even painful if you get sliced. Careful careful.

Thriftstore 101. There is typically a tag color that is 1/2 off (this day was green). So, before you begin your shopping experience, find out what color is discounted and you can keep that in mind as you peruse the aisles.

Some people do this in a very systematic way, but I will probably end up with 300 holes in the wall. Love these old pics. Where did these kids (and puppy) go?

My Ute

One thing I love about Katrina is she's a little bit car and a whole lot pickup. The former owner was a concrete inspector and he hauled a wheelbarrow in the back, so some fiberboard and foam insulation (recent bargains at Habitat) are nothin' new to her.

The boards were 97" long and they fit perfectly in the back of my "crummy." I have been decorating the windows of a florist shop in town and thought the lightweight foam boards would be perfect for display. I covered them with some bargain striped fabric from Wally World and it was the perfect "look" I was going for.

The picture is less than stellar but you get the drift. The hearts were cut from the fiberboard and were stenciled with a chevron and houndstooth pattern (and OF COURSE - distressed). I know "Me & You" is gramatically incorrect, but it was on purpose.

And the lettering on the outside of the window - compliments of Mr. Cricut.

How Much Proof do you Need?

Yes it's a country song. No, it's not about pickup trucks, old hounds, gettin' dumped or mama. Crank it up and enjoy . . .

Happy Birthday to Me (way early)

Oh yeah baby. This machine is mine. This week, Dad decided that I desperately needed a new chop saw. An avid cruiser de craigslist, he found this beauty and it now resides in the basement. It has a laser system which outlines exactly where the cut is going to be BEFORE you are committed.

In the Fall, I was using a chop saw to cut aspen branches for a project. Things were going well until the saw jammed.

Since Dad has been helping with trim projects, he was highly disappointed with the old saw as it wasn't making perfectly straight cuts. I fessed up to the "event" and he took it to the shop to inquire if the the blade was warped. Bad news, the shaft was bent. Yikes eeee Oops eeee - guess I won't be using a mitre saw to whack branches anymore.

Revenge is Sweet (not)

Maren and Milah got in a tussle last night before bed over an online job chart program (I know, sounds stupid but they can fight about the most insignificant things).

An hour after they were supposedly sleeping, Maren came down - eyes reddened from crying. When questioned about her distraught state, she blurted out that she "accidentally" deleted Milah's account. Accidentally? The tears began to roll and she admitted that "she just wanted to do something back at Milah!"

Vocabulary lesson for the evening - revenge.

Apparently she had laid in bed, agonizing about her behavior and regretting what she had done. Haven't we all been there? One of the things I love (occasionally cringe) about Maren is that she is so honest. She doesn't have the sense to "bury or hide" feelings that maturity will bring.

I guess our human nature is one of the things that makes us so "human", but why does it have to have to be so snarly? I know that it is to allow us to feel a need for God's control in our lives, but dagnabit - that glimmer of glee at plotting a sweet revenge is incredibly strong. If we could only think of the sickening feeling of regret instead of the pleasure of the moment, we would see revenge for what it is. Just ask Maren;)

Change

We have a friend that is between jobs and loves to paint so we have been keeping him busy. Next up was the office. I have loved the top part of this wall but it was time for something new.

Do you ever have trouble with paint colors? Sometimes it's impossible. I finally ended up mixing my own - using the medium green on the right.

So here's the outcome - I plan to do a gallery wall with family pics. The green is a bit institutional/ janitor pants and I desperately need to clean up - but I'm liking it.

It's the little things . . .

Do you have a few unfinished projects around your home?

We sure do.

You get busy living and it's not a big deal. But when you run through with a critical eye and make a list, the piddly things start piling up.

Enter retired father with extra time on his hands who just happens to be a master woodworker. Amazing what 2 days of dedication to finish work can accomplish . . .

This faux support has always bugged me in Maren's room. I mistakenly read the tape measure in the beginning, and it is "swinging" in the air - looking ridiculous.

Why didn't I do this last year? Now I can sleep at night, knowing that the ceiling won't cave in - Ha!

In the basement, we had 5 windows that did not have sills. They are a deeper sill and required gluing 2 boards together - using the table saw, the joiner, the planer, and the biscuit joiner (in the process creating heaps of sawdust).

Ahhh, much better. Looks official. Thanks, Dad - you can come back anytime. There are still a few things on the list. Oh, and bring that planer!

Another adorable song -

White Out!

Winter finally showed up! We all turn to 4 year olds when the white stuff starts flying - giddy with excitement.

Katrina is a bad girl in the snow. She has remained parked since her slippery trip down the hill yesterday. Bad girl.

6+ inches! It's supposed to keep snowing throughout the afternoon and night. The kids are definitely cheering for no school tomorrow.

Oops!

Exciting weekend around here - we were on an odor hunt in the kitchen (can you spy the cans of room deodorizer). In the process, we pulled the refrigerator out of the cabinet and blew out the compressor unit. Yes, this is dust flying in the house - nasty. Our conclusion was that there was a dead critter in the ceiling and we would just have to "ride" it out. However, we were not correct in that assumption . . .

2 weeks ago, we cooked 4 whole chickens for a potluck. After getting most of the meat off, Scott threw the pan in the upper oven and we forgot about it. The origin of the odor became clearly apparent when we used the upper oven yesterday. "Gag, shiver and wretch" does not cover our reaction . . . do I hear a "duh!"

The argyle gypsies and their gymnastic genius were busy while we were making a big mess

Sten was also busy at the shop - starting to look like a real beast

Cricut Project

A few years back, Sten used these canvas boards for his artistic endeavors. I figured someday they might come in handy for a project . . .
I covered his sketches by painting the canvases white (bad mom).

Then I cut out the desired lettering on contact paper (from the $1 store) using the Cricut. The most tedious part was peeling the back off each of the letters - pain in the rumpus!

After the lettering was placed on the white canvas, I put a coat of paint over all and waited (impatiently) for it to dry. Using a needle - I carefully removed each of the letters, to reveal . . .

There was a little bleeding under the letters that I touched up with white paint. I used spray paint on the red one and brushed the gray one - the brushing technique worked better.

Apparently the brand, Adidas means - all day I dream about soccer. Fitting for Milah's room -

Although I like them, I will not be using this method to make signs for retail. They are tooooo time consuming.

WHAT?

Trivial? Yes. But I am disappointed.

Recently, I have had occasion to use a bandaid. Lets just say part of my big toe nail is hanging loose and I am too big of a baby to rip it off because it's way into the "quick". I do not wish to "catch" this piece on the sheets at night, so I went searching for a bandaid.

It was then I discovered that they no longer put the little red thread in the bandaid package. What??? I always loved slicing the package open with that efficient piece of string. Cost cutting I suppose - bah humbug.

Told you it was trivial. Can someone please open this bandaid for me?

It all started when I coveted . . .

I have been saving a gift certificate to this store for just the right moment. After seeing this at a friend's home, I couldn't resist. Is it not adorable? Crazy cuteness (and my gift certificate is blown) If you need to borrow it, give me a shout-

Now it's HER turn

Milah has a teeny bathroom that is doorless. This is only a problem when she has guests. To make everyone more comfortable, we made a curtain with the bunting fabrics.

This is an awesome idea that I borrowed from a magazine. Space for a towel rack was hard to come by, so we increased the depth of the window sill, cut a "slit" lengthwise and it is the perfect home for towels.

Milah's room was in desperate need of a rehaul too. That hideous green color is a design idea gone bad, really bad.

The comforter we found HERE was our inspiration for the colors. Lime greeen, dark/light gray & bright/light pink. (I generally like to start with fabric as inspiration instead of trying to match something up later) A few cans of paint, some Craigslist furniture, soccer jersey valances and she has an updated look.

This previously all white wall looked spiffed up with some lime paint but still needed some pizazz.

A bunting with coordinating colors was the perfect accessory. Cheap and simple - cut desired fabrics in a triangular shape and sew them to a ribbon (I used grosgrain). We attached them to the wall with tacks.

NOT in the plans

We have a problem. An odor problem.

We began smelling a strong sewer smell in our mudroom/bathroom this past week. There was a day when Scott said that particular scent smelled like money (when we had a portable toilet and septic tank pumping business), but now it just smells like . . . er . . . uh . . . icky poo.

As our logs compress, things settle - and we have had issues with a certain vent pipe before. Upon closer inspection, Scott determined that we would have to tear out the wall behind the toilet as we suspected there was further damage. Bummer

Yes, there's the crack and the lovely brown streak is compliments of "you know what"

The dark staining on the insulation is from the odor - ew nasty! No wonder it was stink'n up the place.

We are still not certain that we solved the problem and may be tearing out the wall behind the washer/dryer. If you plan to visit, bring a can of room deodorizer - blech!

A Few Years Back

Hmmm, I think I sat next to this girl in drivers ed

We have had some fun with this site. You import a picture of yourself, then plug it into a yearbook photo.

Looks like Milah belongs in my parent's yearbook

Funky Dude

1978, looks like Uncle John

1988, looks like cousin Ed

1966

More Cruise Pics . . .

We laugh at Sherman cuz his camera is from the dark ages (as in it takes 35 mm film). But his pictures from the cruise turned out great. I'm sure you will all agree that it looks like a painful way to spend Christmas vacation:)