summer 2011

summer 2011

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012
family

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

um, excuse me? This has gone on for quite long enough...!

Winter, it's just not funny anymore!  This fine morning, it was seven degrees when I got out of bed.  -13.89c.  That is pretty cold.  My car windows were frozen, but I went to the pool.  The roads were nice and clear, so there is that.  The pool felt amazing, very thankful for water aerobics.  

Home....ahh, home.  Camille and I headed to the small city on Lake Ontario to go to the Amazon return store, to exchange an espresso machine and return a cupcake stand that came without the hardware.  It was Dollar Bin day, but we didn't find anything fun and exciting.  We did see some fun friends in there, Mr. Grant, Miss Ruth, and Miss Maeve with their mama Grace.  It was so nice to see them!  We did go in the grocery store for a few steaks for Valentine's Day, a gallon of milk, and some eggs for almost five dollars a dozen.  

We stopped and visited Margaret for a few minutes, hugged those kids, then headed home again.  We rearranged the tables and vacuumed, did some dishes and cleaned up the house, and then..not so much.  Evelyn Joy came over for a visit and to leave Mr. Newton here, tried on her wedding dress for us, as she just picked it up from the tailoring guy.  (It's beautiful!). 

Some cut out cookies for our activity club Valentine's party, I made buttercream frosting, and brought a can of chocolate frosting, and lots of candies (dye free from Trader Joe's), so the kids could decorate them.  They made cards and did crafts and had snacks and played games and ran wild.  
Mr. Newton...small guy with a big attitude.  Sam said Newton has one of those circus mirrors at home that makes him look huge when he looks in it, so he thinks he's big.  We are dog-sitting him right now and he will not stop trying to boss Sunny around, so on and on it goes, they just keep play fighting.  

We had Wulf and Tennyson over night from Monday until Tuesday night.  They went to bed like champs, and woke up all happy, wanting their waffles. They know I have a bowl waffle maker and a regular one that makes heart shaped waffles, so they wanted both.  I always add brown sugar and vanilla to the waffles, makes them yummy.  They eat them with whipped cream and strawberries, and no syrup.  

I don't really mind winter, by the way.  I don't like when it's all slippery out though, and I walk like an even older lady than usual.  I don't mind being inside with the fake fireplace, but being chilly gets old.  We keep the heat low, it's usually 65 in here.  Propane is super expensive, and it's been so cold this winter, the bills are high, so we bundle.  I wear my Bombas (sock-like slippers, I don't like clunky slippers with rigid soles), sweatpants, and usually a sweater.  As soon as I start doing housework the sweater comes off.  Hot tea in the evening is nice too.  We're getting more snow this weekend.  Imagine that.  

Wedding season is upon our household again...two daughters getting married in May!  Two wedding showers coming up, it's all so fun and exciting.  Valerie, I haven't been able to find that dress you tried so hard to show me, dang.  I have ordered two from Kohl's that I will try on and perhaps return.  One of the ladies in the pool suggested I go to Macy's...trying on clothes is so disheartening, we see ourselves so critically.  I don't care if I look wonderful or not, I just want to be comfortable...and not look horrid.  I don't want to lean over and fall out of my dress either.  It has to be modest.  

Ah well....you have a good night and stay warm!




 

Monday, February 10, 2025

it's monday again already?!

 Snow snow snow, if you think you're sick of hearing about it, imagine living in it!  Some of you have been there done that, I know.  It's just been a whopper of a winter, January was like six months long, and February is following suit.  When the pine trees glisten with snow, and the whole house is lit with that glow that only a snow covered yard can bring, yay, I love it!  I avoid driving in it as much as I can, but it still happens.  The older kids have to go to work too, so they're all driving in it all the time.  This is from Sam and Grace's drive home last night: 

When the road is covered like that, you can't see where you're supposed to be driving, and when the flakes are coming down heavily, you can't see anyway.  On a perfectly clear summer night, it's hard for me as it is, driving in the dark, but add these things and then slippery-ness...I recently had to slow down to turn onto my road and there was a truck, right on my tail...it's stressful!  

Anyway.  Our weekend was just as it should be, fun and loud and warm and good.  

I stole this picture from Emily, Lake Ontario.
Just the random things, little Miss Blythe and Bluey...Paul, Tennyson in the background with a toy gun, Ben, Kathryn.
Me with seven of my eleven daughters:  Margaret, Kathryn, Evelyn, me, Sonja, Suzanne, Abigail, Camille holding Kathryn's Jamie.
The five-girls-in-a-row-in-five-years...Margaret, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja
Random:  That's Abigail's fiance Derek, then Evelyn with her fiance Nate, Grace and Sam with Maeve...you can see Sunny at the side, and Nate's dog Newton.
Suze, Marge, Cam, Oscar, and Sonja
Camille using the little kitchen torch that Jonny got her for Christmas on her Creme Brulee' cookies.  

Margaret and her Blythe, Jamie, Grace with her Maeve
Grace and her two little girls, Ruth and Maeve...the kids love that three dollar Bluey!

I didn't go around taking pictures, being intrusive, I always feel intrusive when I take pictures in such a cozy, let-your-hair down setting.  So I will just have to use my words.  Ben and Ashley were there with Anya, Elise, Declan.  Suzanne's husband Zech was there.  My son Joseph was there.  

Son-in-laws Adrian and Zech.  

Anyway, we had meatballs and Buffalo mac and cheese, and chicken wing dip and ribs and yesterday Nate made three kinds of chicken wings.  The espresso machine clogged up (it was just the little insert basket of the portafilter, it clogged and the water couldn't get through), the kids went in and out, but Paul did take them sledding on the back hill, there were dogs:  Sunny and Suri, Newton, Suzanne and Zech's big black gentle giant Lab Winnie, Rosi's little Junie.  They were all fine, Newton is small and mighty, and likes to be the boss, but the other dogs didn't care that much.  Junie just ran around wagging and smiling.  

(When I vacuumed on Sunday morning, oh dear, I had to keep stopping to empty the dog hair!)

I'm going out the door to the pool in ten minutes, so this will be short.  Life is interesting.  I want everyone to choose the good, to walk on the straight and narrow, because I love them and want them to be happy.  Yesterday in church we heard about blaming others.  It's not right, and when we get the nudge not to do that, we need to really take heed, because it's something that brings US misery.  It doesn't feel good.  Pointing the finger even in the most trivial matters can lead to those bitter roots, which defile many.  God has much better plans for us.  When we pray for it, God will answer.  When we listen to that still small voice of the spirit, things will go well.  Christians get a bad rap, mostly because they tend to be self righteous, and that's not Christianity at all.  We're to judge ourselves, and give other people freedom.  We see how glad our hearts are when we say no to sin,  we want others to experience it, but without love, it's just clanging....and love isn't puffed up, doesn't parade itself.  It is patient and kind.  So love comes by much obedience to that still small voice!  It suffers when wronged, and doesn't fight or argue.  We have to live the life, then that is the light of men.

Okay, stepping down from the pulpit now and hurrying like heck out the door...have a good day!

Friday, February 7, 2025

a little more Before and After!

 


Before...with the Alabaster white, black hinges, round flower knobs...blueish paint...
After; with the new handles, spray painted hinges, Biscuit cabinet paint, Aged White walls (and the cupboard door open, so professional!)


Before...notice how grungy around the handles, I was forever wiping these down.  Hoping the new paint and handles wear better!
After...and look how that Kitchen Aid matches!  
Before:  the coffee cabinet cupboards (see, they have a name!)
After...now my nice water kettle is too white, but I am not getting a new one just because it doesn't match.  :)

The blue counters are staying, everything can't be perfect.  

I rearranged the tables so we could fit better tomorrow.

Yes, that is a cooler near the door!  It was on the deck with some drinks in it, they got nice and cold, some froze, none exploded.  I just dragged it in, put it on a rug with a towel over it, and added more drinks, figured they would get cold.  We are fancy, I know.

Who will come over tomorrow?  Ten, twelve, fourteen of the kids...spouses, grandkids...fiances'.   I think 36 counting Paul and I...today was meatball making day, 80+ are in the refrigerator, they'll go in the crockpot tomorrow with sauce.  I am also heating up the oven to bake more cookies.  

I looked longingly at my chair, and sat back down in it.  The couch cleaning machine still needs to be put away, and Jamie's new Bluey is standing on the coffee table.
Paul came home and left to go pick up the truck...it blew a brake line last week when Rosi went off the road and had to be towed, Jon drove it to the shop with no brakes...it was a blessing in disguise though, what if it had happened on a highway or something?  Anyway, Darius picked Paul up from the airport for me, so nice of him.  I do NOT like driving in the snow, and all the snow that was forecast stayed up to the north, oops.  (that dog is NOT allowed on the couch!  She is super sad that Paul left again!)

Ah well....time to make the cookies!






Thursday, February 6, 2025

snow day!!!

 We actually had an ice day, lots of slippery roads.  More lake effect moving in tonight, snowy and windy tomorrow.  It's about this time of year that can feel claustrophobic here in the north, you can feel like it's never going to end.  I choose to embrace it.  Otherwise it would smother me.  I like sunshine on my skin, and bare feet, not being shivery cold with sweatpants and slippers and a big wooly sweater on.  But instead of longing for the warmth, I'll focus on the little fake fireplace and the coziness of the lantern on the bookcase, and how nice it is to make soups and stews and cookies.  

So it occurred to me that three weddings this year (plus my sister's granddaughter Grace, my niece's daughter, one of Sonja's besties, is getting married this summer!)...anyway, I need some dresses!  Shh, I do look when I go into the thrift stores, it would be great fun to score a super cheap nice dress.  The one I wore to Sonja's wedding was extremely reasonable ($35), Suzanne's was double that.  It's harder than ever to find them though.  Not too long ago, I could go to the mall and wander into Dress Barn, Sears, Christopher and Banks, H&M, Macy's...there were nice dresses in the Burlington Coat Factory.  There is a mall in the city, it takes some better knees than mine to traverse it.  I may be able to go to a few places, we'll see.  I do want to try Kohl's, there were some promising one online, looking so nice on the thin little models.  Even when they show plus sized models, they are shapely in the right places, no big hanging pooch, or fatty bat-winged arms.  ahem.  sorry.  It's not all about me, anyway, I just have to look presentable and not embarrass the bride and groom, right?  And look young and beautiful and thin would be nice too, as long as we're at it.  

So the dresses have to be:

Modest.  Reasonably priced, which sounds better than Cheap.  More flattering than fattering.  (snug around the tum-tum is a no-no).  Elbow length sleeves are a hefty middle-aged woman's dream, no short sleeves or sleeveless, I would choose comfort and take the little sweater or jacket off, and ugh, ha.  (Get me in the sun for a while and I'll care less, right now I have so much skin covered up...).  I have to figure out what colors each bride has chosen for bridesmaids so I don't matchy-match them.  

This too will pass, and I will enjoy it.  

Today I used our little Bissell upholstery cleaner and wet-vac-ed the couch.  It took way longer than I thought it would but it looks nice.  I also vacuumed the stairs in addition to my regular vacuuming.  I made a triple batch of chocolate chip cookie dough, put it in the refrigerator and went to Costco with Kathryn.  I needed the burger to make the meatballs.  The prices!  Never mind it's $25 just for the burger, the little Unreal coconut bars I splurged on last week for $10.99 were $14.99!  I did get two pounds of pepperoni for $7.49, and some ribs to make on Sunday.  

Home...I brought a few Costco hot dogs, and some pizza slices for Jon and Cam.  I ate one hot dog without the bun, the some leftover beef, gravy, potatoes, carrots from last evening.  Camille had made creme brulee cookies, but we ran out of sugar, and she needs to put some on top and use her little kitchen torch on them, so after Norwegian, she and Jon are stopping at the Dollar General.  

Tomorrow, I'll drive her to work, then go to the pool, then later in the day drive to the airport to pick up Paul.  High winds and lake effect snow are forecast, so I'll be terrified driving.  You can't really live here and not drive in it, but I do not have to like it.  

The deck window, the walls look almost yellow in the evening.  The orchid is blooming and blooming!

Ah well.....enough rambling for this evening.  You have a good night!

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

living in the land of....frozen...

 ...it was 18 degrees F(-7.7c) this fine morning when I left for the pool.  It goes against every shred of reasoning in my brain, to get out of my warm bed and head out into the cold to get into the water.  I wish I could say it was bathwater warm, Gulf of Mexico (or do we say Gulf of America now?) warm.  But it's not.  You walk down the ramp into that water, and you know you have to start moving and keep moving or you will be chilled.  When you get out of the pool it's not so bad, but the cool air in the locker room hits you like a mini arctic blast.  The showers are nice and warm, then you're all wet and trying to dry off to get back into your clothes, and out into the freezing cold again.  Home...ahh, home, with it's slippers and sweater, and that after-pool coffee, mmm hmmm.  

This is going to be a big weekend for me.  Abigail is coming for a visit from Delaware, and bringing her new fiancĂ©, Derek.  Evelyn is bringing her fiancĂ© Nate, and the family is all invited over on Saturday.  I've got lots of charcuterie for the afternoon, and have some ideas for dinner.  Ideas.  But, we have a few gluten free people, and dairy free, and carnivore.  ugh.  :)

This fine day, I am not up to my elbows in a project.  The bathroom hasn't been started yet.  I am just trying to clean up the house here and there, deeper cleaning than normal every day stuff.  Yesterday I went out and about with Miss Kathryn and her children.  Two fell asleep in their car seats on the way to the store, so Kathryn and Achilles went in the store alone.  We then went to the thrift store, 25% off Tuesday, and I found a talking dancing Bluey for $3, and Kathryn found some children's books.  

Then to Aldi for a few things, then back home.  Achilles is excited because he's going to watch The Incredibles 2, he likes Dash and lots of other things I don't really know about, but I listen, and act interested, ha.  

Home again, then time to start dinner, Sonja and Oscar were coming over.  I peeled and chopped red potatoes, Camille made them into mashies.  I put out the steaks (strip steaks were buy one get one free) to come to room temp, salted and peppered them, added some minced onion...we all cooked our own in the iron frying pan, to taste.  I like mine a little more well done than Oscar does.  His was mooing.  Cam is in between, and so is Jonathan, and Rosi.  

Camille and I had to leave for Activity Club, so off we went.  We had air dry modeling clay for the girls to play with.  They made little doggies and kitties and doll accessories and turtles...and ate brownies.  It was a really good activity, we want to do it again sometime.  

Paul is in Houston, so of course I stay up way too late reading.  He'll be back on Friday:)

Not too much else going on.  Except:  two trips are coming up!  Next month, Norway, then to Phoenix in April!  

Have a really good night...:)

Sunday, February 2, 2025

taking a day off....ha.

....a day off.  That means I won't be painting anything today, but I won't be sitting in my comfy chair with my feet up, either, not for too long anyway.  This fine morning, I got up and took a nice hot shower, then looked out the back window while the espresso machine heated up, and there was a fox!  I only got a shadow of his back in my picture, can you see him? 

You can see the slope of his back and his tail right in the middle of the picture, he had just crossed the path.  No wonder Sunny goes outside and barks like crazy sometimes.  

I'm bringing Paul to the airport in a few minutes, he's going to Houston for the week.  Then the store super quickly for some things for this afternoon's birthday bash, for Kathryn's husband Darius, then to church, then home and lots of kids and grandkids over!  I wish I could say I de-shambled, I sort of did, but there is much to be done.  I left in the middle of things yesterday to go to dinner with Evelyn and Nate, which was lovely.  



 The restaurant is at the edge of Skaneateles Lake, and the ice is frozen on the edges...there were skaters and an ice fisherman.  This lovely house was in my view, wow.  We had a good dinner, Nashville Hot chicken sandwich for me, but I cheated and got the sauce on the side.  Partly because I didn't want it dripped all over my sweater, right?  Anyway, it was a good time, and wedding plans are in the air!  (May!)

So yesterday, putting things back in the kitchen I decided to get rid of a shoe shelf we had there for years and decades, and move things around.  Projects beget projects.  The ceiling fan project, Paul removed the globes and cleaned the whole fixture.  I spray painted the metal brackets, and painted the blades with the same paint as the cabinets.  They're all dry and put back together, waiting to be hung back up, not sure he's going to get to it before we leave for the airport.  I might have to climb up on a chair.  

This is love, if you ever wonder what love is.  He hung up the curtains for me.  I had gotten the first pair up, but sshhh, they were upside down.  (See that naked ceiling fan light, waiting for it's newly painted paddles to be installed?).   That cube thing next to Paul was moved over to where the old shoe shelf was, now it's more open there.  I want to get rid of one table so we have more room, but we do need it when people come over.  

Anyway.   Life goes by so fast, the weekend just got here and now it's almost over.  I'm so thankful for my Sundays though, I really am.  That the older kids want to come here and hang out, and fill my house with fun and noise and discussions and encouragements...what a blessing.  The grandkids go wild, they love hanging out together.  I hate to be the nagging grandma, but I do find myself saying indoor voices!  No jumping on the couch!  Eat that cookie at the table!  Don't slam the door!  Well, things I said to my own children not so very long ago.  They are all such good kids though, and they're growing up so fast.   The four one year olds will be just three, as Jamie is turning two next month.  The other three won't turn two until August.  Grant was here the other day, and he made an American flag out of cardboard, and left it here accidentally.  It got lost between wall hangings we took down, to paint.  He was looking for it, Sam called me, I hadn't seen it..found it last night!  Wulf likes to make things when he's here too.  Last week he asked me for scissors, and said None of those safety scissors, maybe some kitchen scissors...he's always making something.  

Well, time to get moving...have a really nice day!  And I'll show you the ceiling fan when it gets put back together...


Saturday, February 1, 2025

just a teeny little before and after!!!!

 In the midst of putting the room back together after painting, I present:  The Thing With The Baskets Under It:  Before: 


And After!   (I had to spackle and fill, and sand the place where the knob was, and Paul drilled the new holes for the two-screw pulls). I sanded the top down, got rid of the orange-ness, sanded the rest just a bit, then two coats of primer, two coats of Sherwin Williams Biscuit urethane trim enamel.)
You can see the new wall color too...it's Aged White now, my son-in-law said, Just like you, Della.  :)

The painting is done.  The kitchen is in absolute shambles.  There is paint to be put away, a brush soaking in a glass of water, a roller with the paint rolly thing stuck on it, the ladder leaning against the wall, and all the wall hangings on the tables.  Then, to add insult to injury, Paul just left to drive Cam to work, and they came in with stuff that was in the car, and dumped it all in the kitchen...am I the only one who gets home from shopping and can't carry everything in?  So the big box of ziplock baggies and the giant detergent, and the several-everal Christmas gifts for the grandkids for next year?  

Oh dear.  I'm fortifying myself to get up and do some more work, but Old Kitty is here with me purring, and my coffee is good, and I have a blanket over my feet.  Paul took down the ceiling fan blades to clean, I said I would paint those before he put them back up.  I painted them gray a few years ago when everyone was painting everything gray.  

You can see the ceiling fan in this pic of the shambles.  Our ceilings need painting too, but ugh!  It is never ending.  I think maybe one day we'll get it all finished, then we'll die.  ha.  It will never really get done.  But that's okay.  It's not really the most important thing anyway, but it keeps us busy and it's in our nature to make our surroundings nice, isn't it?  To make our homes homey.  

I do have so many more things to blab about today, but I am going to cut it short and get busy.  We have plans this afternoon, going out to dinner with Evelyn and Nate, then probably having the family over tomorrow, so I need to get these shambles unshambled.  We got lots of beautiful new snow overnight, it's absolutely beautiful outside...anyway, have a really nice day!

Friday, January 31, 2025

can you say "achy"?

 The other day, I mentioned to the deep water swim instructor that the water exercise seems to help my arthritic knees.  She asked if I felt okay otherwise.  Um, no, I do not. Well, I ache all over and have crampy muscles.  She looked surprised, and said that was too bad.  She is probably 15 years older than I am.  She obviously does NOT have achy crampy muscles.  hmmm.  

Last evening after painting for a few hours, I was a hurtin' unit, as we used to say back in the eighties or nineties.  

Fast forward to this morning in the pool, ahhh, the pool...one of the ladies there mentioned that both her sister and her mother have ALS, Lou Gherig's Disease.  One is wheelchair bound, one can still walk a little bit, both are happy and still do as much as they can, optimistic.  We all have our things, this lady said.  This is so true.  We all have our things.  It was one of those really AH HA moments for me.  I just have to do what I can do, and be thankful.  :)

So after the pool, we dove back in to the painting.  Camille is the roller and the go-up-on-the-ladder and reach the hard spots girl.  I am the trim lady, the cutter-in-er, with the tiny little roller for under the cabinets and the doorways.  (The doorways are a mystery, do we paint them or leave them the living room color?  We chose paint, because ha they needed paint!)

If you would like to see my view from my chair, voila.  A ladder in the doorway.  Cam went driving (Darius is teaching her), so I painted all the trim I could reach, and am taking a break.   She knocked down the aloe plant with the long handle of the paint roller, dirt all over the place...oh well, the plant is salvageable and I vacuumed up the dirt.  
It looks like dumpity dump ville, but it's just because we had to move so much stuff from the kitchen into here, and there are dishes in the drain.  Shh, there are a few in the sink too.  I painted for so long yesterday afternoon, then had some leftover chicken pot pie, which I had made for dinner on Wednesday, and some of the Costco chicken, put things away, rinsed the dishes, and haven't washed them yet.  I never have dirty dishes in my sink, I keep up with them, do not like dirty dishes in the sink, at all.  But I was too tired to do them last evening, and didn't ask Cam because she was painting with me right up until she left for Norwegian lessons.  Paul put the handle pulls on that thing with the baskets I painted last week, when things get cleaned up, I'll post the After picture.

Anyway.  I will wander back into the kitchen and wash up those dishes, clear up the counters a little bit, and get things ready to put back together.  We are almost finished painting...Cam has some more rolling to do.  So far we have paint left, bought only the one gallon, cross your fingers!

The bathroom is next on our list.   We have a new vanity top, a new vanity base, and will get new faucets, as one is broken.  We'll paint it first, because why not?  And, remove the blue tile floors and probably put this waterproof LVP because we have some left.  Camille has a pinterest board with bathrooms, and all sorts of ideas.  :)

I am enjoying my break, there's nothing like a little work to make the comfy chair extra comfy.   

My hope is that we get all the painting finished today, I get the curtains hung, everything put back where it goes, and it looks absolutely fantastic.  :)

Have a really good day.



Thursday, January 30, 2025

the good, the bad, and the ugly, aka home improvement...

But first, some congratulations are in order for my second oldest daughter Abigail,  she is engaged!

You never know when Mr. Right will come along, here she is with Derrick.  Aren't they cute?

The bad is truly sad, but not my story to tell, so allow me to be vague...we lost a tiny little unborn grandchild, 15 weeks.  Very sad for all of us, especially the parents.  I don't understand why these things happen, but I do know that Jesus learned obedience through what He suffered (Heb 5:8).  We also learn mercy, and to be thankful for our children.  

It's been a busy few days, had six grandchildren here all day on Tuesday, then three of them stayed for two days.  We did have fun, but oh ho is Grandma tired today!  You'd think I would have stayed home, but nope, Miss Cam and I had plans.  We had spackled up spots in the kitchen yesterday, moved furniture away from the walls, took all the mirrors and pictures and wall hangings down.  This fine morning, we sanded and vacuumed and wiped things down.  She opened up the paint, stirred it, and started rolling while I used the small brush and cut in.  Well, she did not like the foam thingy on the roller.  At all.  She said it should glide right on, and it wasn't.  She wanted a new roller cover, if possible.  I had just changed into my lovely floral painting shorts, and the green shirt with stains on it.  We're five miles from the hardware store and the car was covered in snow, so we decided that instead of making two trips out, as we were out of quite a few things, we would wrap up the paint and go to Costco...and Trader Joe's....and the hardware store.  

Sonja went with us too.  Costco:  yogurt, heavy cream, croissants ($5.99 for a dozen, Camille loves them), a rotisserie chicken, cauliflower rice, protein bars, a big package of burger, and whatever else adds up to over two hundred dollars.  Thankfully I spent considerably less in Trader Joe's.  Some dye free candy, seltzer (black cherry vanilla, yum!), the milk chocolate peanut butter cups which should be illegal they are so good, and shh, four bags of popcorn.  

The hardware store for two new tiny edging brushes and a new roller cover, then home....ahh, home.  But no time to put the feet up, no sir, put away those groceries and start painting!  
Miss Cam says she likes the ladder.  She is a very happy co-worker, cheerful and optimistic.  
Yeah, shambles.  This shows the blue still around the cabinets....and the cooler, doesn't everyone have a cooler in their kitchen?  It was actually out on the deck right outside the door, with drinks in it, but when it got so freezing, they would all explode so we dragged it in, and there it is...
Naked windows, and the line on the wall where the bench hits...we're going to add some furniture sticker things on the back edge of it to try to prevent it.
Curtains have been washed...
You can see the new color on the left, still blue around the cabinets...wish we could replace the counters but it's not in the budget or in the plans...

So, we're almost halfway done...it will need another coat...be glad to finish it up!  You all have a good day, I'm tired and now I'm cold, since I was so busy and now I'm relaxing...:)




Monday, January 27, 2025

not finding the words today...

....I'm sitting here in my comfy chair, not for long, as swim class starts in an hour and five minutes.  I have my coffee, and I've fed the kitties and the doggies and washed up a few dishes.  My fingers are dancing over the keyboard, not quite knowing what to write, was just going to change screens and read news instead...

Sometimes things happen that aren't your stories to tell, but make you sad.  I won't say anymore, but when we trust that God causes all things to work together for our good, it comforts our hearts when things don't make any sense to our souls.  

Oh dear.  We have had quite a weekend, taking care of the little pup, then having lots of people over yesterday.  Football was on, and I found myself getting interested, oh no!  I think when the teams are at this level, they're so good, it's more exciting.  And, being a New Yorker, duh Buffalo!  Then they lost, and I cared!  We had pizza and wings and chocolate chip cookies, and lots of fun.  We set up some dollhouse stuff on the kitchen tables, and the kids played with cardboard boxes and balloons still floating around here from Ophelia's birthday.  They watched cartoons with Grandpa, and played house in my room.  They ran up and down the hallway, and they had a few fights.  

Sweet Blythe...and Old Kitty.
Suri in the foreground, Sunny parking where the good stuff falls...sometimes the kids catch on, and just toss it so they can see the doggies crunch.  

This fine freezing sunny winter morning, I'll go swim, then go out and about with my older sister and older brother, to pick up our Aunt Barb for lunch.  Our father was one of 12, there are only two of his siblings left still living, Barb and Dorothy, who lives in Ohio and has increasing dementia.  Barb's husband passed away years ago, they never had children, so she's a very lonely lady.  

So, the before and after for the Thing With The Baskets Under It will wait, I have the drawer pulls ready to go on, but they needed longer screws, so Paul was getting them at the hardware store yesterday. Once they go on, I'll snap a picture, it looks so nice.  The cabinets look nice too.  I really like the look.  It's so satisfying to imagine something, then actually make it come true.  The wall color debacle however, has been hilarious.  I have them painted a beautiful color right now, a hint of blue, not sure the actual color name, but now with the cabinets this Biscuit color, which has a hue of pink, just a tiny hint, the blue looks bad next to them.  It wouldn't bother me much, but Miss Cam thinks strongly that we need a new color.  So off to the paint store we went, and choosing paint colors is one of my worst traits.  We brought the actual little roller pan with the dried paint in it from the cabinets to have a nice idea of what we wanted to match up.  
This is the cabinet color, which is in a satin, so a little bit shiny...

This is the wall color, which is in a flat paint.  Our cabinets will disappear into our walls, we'll have to just feel where they are.  Only the hinges and pulls will show.  It's supposed to be a "thing", texture being the only difference...the shades are slightly different...I'm hesitant, but you know what?  It's one can of paint.  (hopefully.  If we run out, today's the last day of the sale, we're waiting for the next sale to finish it ha).  (It's also toil and mess and time and work). But.  Miss Camille is open and willing to help, so what is it going to hurt, even if it looks awful?  Maybe it'll look fantastic, and we'll love it.  These days with Camille are numbered, she's seventeen, right now she's taking a breather after homeschooling, she works a day or two a week, but will be going to college, and before you know it, she'll be grown and moving out...it wasn't long ago I had a whole gaggle of girls here helping, giving opinions on projects.  Now they have their own projects, their own homes, and it's different.  It's the way it should be, but it leaves me knowing how quickly they move on through.  

Ah well, now I have to hurry hurry hurry so I'm not late to class...have a good day, and thank you all for reading!


Friday, January 24, 2025

on a whole different note...

 ...my friend died yesterday.  She was a very special lady, she ran my water aerobics class.  When I joined, she made me feel more welcome there than I've ever felt anywhere, like she knew me forever.  She was one of a kind, with her aqua plastic bracelets and her swimming leggings in the pool.  She was the kind of woman who did for others.  She drove her grandchildren to school and to sports practices, and to the Dollar General to get snacks, with money she gave them.  She never missed their games, and she babysat whenever their parents asked her, which seemed like quite often.  She gave me a whole pile of dresses that she had made in her craft fair days, and when I told her how much my granddaughters liked them, she asked if I needed more, she could make them. (of course I told her no!) She was always making meals for people, and bringing cookies to her church, and donating aprons or mittens to someone or something.  She did summer bible school for her church kids, and she put on senior luncheons.  

She was funny and she could tell stories about her grandchildren without missing a beat, running that class.  She prayed for my sister, and asked her whole church to, as well.  She would make the class fly by with her musings, and we all adored her.  She had us going out to breakfast together on the first Wednesday of every month, had everyone's phone number, and made us all feel so...special.

She mentioned quite often during the summer and early fall how tired she was.  I thought it was almost a habit, and didn't think too much of it.  She said it after every class.  I'm just so tired.  Then in September she told me she might have cancer, and by October it was confirmed, and she let everyone know.  She wasn't able to come to the pool anymore, so her husband ran the class.  He kept us updated, and it wasn't good.  It spread and then the chemo didn't work, and she was tired and worn out, and she passed away.  

I knew it was coming, and it still hit me like a ton of bricks.  I'll never see her again, until I get to heaven that is.  She was so lively and fun and and good, and now she's gone.  

I didn't cry when I found out at the pool this morning.  I didn't cry when I went to town with Camille after class, to get a gallon of paint for the kitchen.  (More on THAT later!).  Then when Paul teased me about something and I got upset with him, then apologized and gave him a big hug, I burst into tears...I am crying again.  I miss her, and I will never forget her.  

I won't get into all the details of the dynamics of the class, but there are two classes that go on at the same time, and our class has gotten smaller and smaller.  Some go away for the winter, some have stopped coming for health reasons, and obviously her husband stopped coming last week as she got worse, and who knows when he'll be back.  So I have been going to the other class, a whole different group of women...it's different, but it's still a good workout.  When her husband comes back, I'll swim with him, he needs friends, and probably some of the others from our class will be back.  Either way, I'll get my exercise, but it'll never be the same without her.  

My kitchen project, The Thing With The Baskets, is done except for the handles, so I'll wait on the Before and After pictures.  It looks nice.  Camille and I picked out paint for the kitchen, Sherwin Williams is having 30% off, then I used a $10 off of $50 coupon . I think the color we (she) chose was Aged White?  I'm not even sure.  But it's a creamy-ish white, off white, not quite light beige.  Now, I like a hint of blue or green in my white, but I figured she's so set on this tone, and what goes together, and so willing to repaint, what does it matter?  It'll look fiiine.  We're not starting yet, we have to spackle and sand, prep the walls first.  But Paul's going ice fishing with some friends and son-in-laws and grandkids tomorrow, and Camille and I are babysitting for a little dog named Junie, who is Jon's fiancĂ© 's pup, while they go to Ohio to some friends' wedding.  Then we're going to the symphony tomorrow night...so we won't be doing any painting or prepping this fine weekend.

Oh well, sorry for my laments and sad rambling, I grew so fond of her...when I found out she had cancer, I thought she'd just beat it, I never thought the last time I saw her would be the last time I saw her.  Hug your friends, and tell them how special they are, and your sister too, if you are so lucky to have one.  I have a very special one, the best sister in the world.  Hugs to you, Cheryl.  :). Thank you all for being my friends too.    Good night.

Thursday, January 23, 2025

another project!

 I am a second guesser.  The QUEEN of second guessing.  I have had an idea in my head for ages, for this piece of furniture, it has no name, we call it That Thing With The Baskets Under It.  We bought it at an unfinished furniture store a few years back, and I think I put some light stain on it before sealing it with poly.  In any case, I don't love it anymore. 

AS you can see, the knobs are different.  The wood one on the left is what it came with, the flower one is off the kitchen cabinets, I considered spray painting and using...then decided to just use the new pulls we just put on the kitchen cabinets...which means two holes, and these holes had to be filled.  I couldn't find any wood filler, so just used drywall compound.  Paul said it won't work, but Google says it will.  :)


I sanded the top, and will put one coat of clear coat, the rest of it will be painted the same color as the cabinets.  I don't love painting over wood, because wood is nice.  But this wood has always looked patched together to me, on the top it's fine, but the rest of it...nah.  The Second Guesses started to paralyze me, so I had to take a bloggy break.  Not really, the drywall stuff has to dry so I can sand it off and prime it.  And, the paint brushes and the top coat are downstairs, and I've already gone up and down the stairs once today, which is one time too many, in my lazy book.

So here I sit.  In the middle of a project.  The cabinet doors, oh dear.  They are all done, finished, and hung back up.  I can't show an official After Picture, because my lazy rear doesn't feel like putting everything 100% away on the countertops, plus I'm still using the paint and stuff.   I'm in the middle of sanding the wood edge of the counter top too, and it's hard, ha.  So I skipped over to this other little paint project.  Why clean when you feel like sanding and painting?  

Right now, I feel like doing nothing.  A bloggy break is just the thing.


This is why you buy extra cans of crushed tomatoes.  

One coat of primer...
And the second coat...the top is sanded but I haven't put anything on it yet.

I have to tell you a story.  Those hinges?  I was so proud of myself, I spray painted them and absolutely love the finished look, they match the handles perfectly.  Well...

Wait, tangent:  this poor corner cupboard, known here as The Broken Cupboard...true story, I have a picture of Evelyn standing in front of it as a toddler, it was broken then, don't know how long before. Evelyn is 25.   It was attached to the lazy susan inside, there were no hinges.  You just pushed it.  Well, it broke off, and well...true story, it sat in front of the cupboard...for years.  So many years you wouldn't believe it.  We removed the broken inside lazy susan, and put some shelves in there, used the cupboard, with the broken front just sitting in front of it.  When it was finally glued up, shored up with some brackets on the back, and hinged onto the cupboard, 22+ years had passed.  We still call it The Broken Cupboard.  (I think life would have been easier if we named ALL the cabinets and cupboards right from the start.  It would be easier to explain where things are to kids who haven't looked for it but ask where it is.)
Anyway.  The hinges.  I love the look.

 I wanted to help things along, half the doors were still not installed, so I used that drill and put on the handles, then the hinges, so Paul could just hang them up.  Well.  I put EVERY SINGLE hinge on backwards.  He had to remove them all, and fix them, didn't say anything, if I were him, I would have slapped me, ha, not really.  It was kind of hilarious, but then I wasn't the one doing all the fixing.  I can tell he's rather over the project stuff, he does it because it makes me happy.  He doesn't stand there in the kitchen in wonderment that we actually made it look so much nicer for less than two hundred dollars, in just a few days.  

The thing is, projects beget projects.  Camille is convinced that our blueish walls don't match the cabinets, and that we need the paint called Creamy, which is like my coffee....a little bit of coffee with tons of cream.  Even lighter, just a hint of beige.  I don't love those colors, but if she's willing to do the work, I just may buy a gallon of paint.  And of course I'll be painting too.  

Ah well, my primer is dry, so I think I'll go do the first coat of paint on The Thing With The Baskets Under It.....have a good day!