Till you Return...

I saw Dad leave today

He went out the door and down the street

just like he does EVERY day

......without me.....!

I just know he's out there,

playing with other dogs -

 throwing balls and petting their heads.

But that's ok - -

 I'll just sit here and

wait for him to come home....

I know he will eventually....

because.....

I'm his favorite

 (plus - he left his shoes here)

Don't Look Now

 If I could turn back the hands of time
- stop -
for just a moment
the relentless progression

savor the sweet yesterdays and drink

up every precious minute

would I treasure the seconds any more if

I knew how swiftly they flew by?

or does the beauty of their existence
lie somewhere in the
innocence of my ignorance

Can we only really live with our hearts wide

open because we do not know -

that in just a blink of an eye.....

Tomorrow will be upon us!

Techno Twins

Yesterday in web design class, my teacher was trying to tell us how to post something to the internet.  Everything seems so easy when she does it - but for some reason my code just wasn't working.  I proofed it over and over again but it just wouldn't show up.

So - I finally broke down and asked the teacher for some help - all she did was come and stand behind me - that's all  - just stand there - and the code worked.  What's up with that anyway? 

 

What doesn't help is the guy that sits behind me and the constant running stream of chatter that pours from his mouth..... (bless his heart) Apparently he took web design in high school (or was it kindergarten).... and this is all so very easy for him......

I swear - if he doesn't shut up (I say with the utmost respect) - I may have to climb over the desk behind me and smack him upside the head.......

but only after he helps me get my code to work.... 

Our Little B

Looking back through some pictures

I came across this little man

such a sweet little face

My goodness B

what BIG eyes you have!!!

The better to see  you with - he said

But my goodness B   

what big dimples  you have!

The better to charm you with! -  he said

Mitch Hedberg - Forklift Humor

I once saw a forklift lift a crate of forks. And it was way to literal for me. 

Kitchen Renovations IV

I love paint - it's the universal equalizer.... no matter how miss-matched something might look like when you start.....

give it a coat of paint - and it pulls it all together.....

This color happens to be one of my favorite - Rust-oleum Espresso - easy to spray and chocolaty rich - it covers almost anything in just one coat.

Finally - the cabinets are starting to come together!!!

I did find an article on line on how to remove paint from hardware.... at this site {http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/377801/removing_paint_from_metal_door_knobs.html?cat=6} - he recommended taking an old pot, placing water to cover the hardware - covering the bottom of the pot with baking soda and gently simmering the hardware for about 30 minutes - I tried this and it worked - - the paint pretty much peeled off.... took me about 4 hours to remove it from all the hinges and handles - and the last 30 minutes was tedious - as the concentration was getting pretty weak.....

My fingers got pretty raw towards the end - the secret was not to let the hinges cool off - or the paint re-adhered to the hinges.... or (as I found out towards the end of the process) - to let them simmer - then shock them with cold water and chip the paint off  - it would get brittle and flake off really easily then....

Not bad results for old hinges with 3 coats of paint..... pity I'm going right downstairs to repaint them...

I couldn't decide which color to paint the handles - so used a couple spares to try a few colors - I had originally thought to paint them brushed nickel - but didn't like the color - something about the hammered metal of the handles didn't work with the brushed nickel - nor did it work with the cafe au latte (the top color shown in this picture).... I think the black looks the best.... which, incidentally, is the color I just spent the last 4 hours removing....

In my defense - the old paint was peeling and built up - - - this new coat will look fresh and new....

or so I will keep telling myself so that I won't kick myself across the house....

while all this has been drying - I've finished painting the last of the cabinet doors - and gone over the house and painted the cabinets themselves (I'll take pictures and post them soon).....

not too long and the cabinets will be done.... Eddie's almost done with the floor - - I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.......

Kitchen Renovations III

The progress with my kitchen continues as the cold wind blows outside - and painting weather is nowhere in sight... I became friends with the chop saw.... Yes ok - I'll admit, I've always been a bit afraid of the chop saw... something about the spinning blade.... and the fact that it cuts and cuts and then all of a sudden splinters wood and explodes it all over the room... makes me just a tad nervous....  that and the spinning blade part....

 It looks so mild with it's blade all tucked away like this .... so harmless and benign.... mwaaa haa haa (insert evil laugh here) but I don't trust it at all....  oh wait... did I say I made friends with the chop saw?  I digress... yes  - I made friends with the chop saw... old habits are hard to break.

But - after cutting trim for about  30 cabinet doors .... we are definitely friends....

(notice I STILL had to keep them numbered) - I did have a regression of fear when I tried to cut the trim for the drawers... it was eensie weensie trim so the blade didn't like it - and, of course - the chop saw EXPLODED and threw wood all over the garage!   so.... I'm still a little bit afraid of the chop saw.  I had to revert to using a miter box to cut that trim and it took me 100 years... 3 blisters and a sore shoulder.... but... ITS DONE!!!!



Before Trim - plain drawer fronts









After trim - much better!


Then I filled in all the cracks and holes with wood putty - then sanded some more - painted with pretty rust colored primer....... so many steps - so little time
(always keeping them numbered)

Meanwhile - the hardware has3 layers of paint that hads to be removed - we plan to paint it a brushed nickel - it was originally a copper color and has, over the years, been painted white and then black.   All of this has to be removed somehow - and, of course - I'm going to have to do it and still keep the hardware separate and numbered...... I'll have to go on line and look for ideas on how to remove paint - I hate to use chemicals - - - anyone have any ideas?



Mitch Hedberg - turtleneck humor

So my husband discovered this comedian - Mitch Hedberg....and we've spent hours lately watching utube videos of clips of him.... his humor is so obvious - I mean - every time I hear a joke I think... dang!  Why didn't I think of that!?

My favorite -

"Wearing a turtleneck is like being strangled by a really weak guy, all day.

I can't tell you how true that is... all my life I"ve hated those things and now I know why.  You hear me mom - - that's why!!!

Time Marches On

Getting older is not all bad - I mean - the gaining

experience part is pretty good, Getting to make

 house rules, decide what to fix for dinner, what

color to paint the living room - well -there's all

kinds of things that are good about getting older - but

the one thing that really drives me nuts is the

 memory losing part.   Take today, for instance - I 

had my hair pulled up in a wierd pony tail

 kindof thing in order to work on the house

and keep it out of my face.  It always reminds

me of this cartoon character and I was trying to

remember his name in order to tell my kids who it was. 

 I've been trying to remember his name now for about

two months to no avail so I tried to get them to

help me figure out what it was - and that's

when it happened........

His name is Ned something .... I said

 "Ned - from Ned's Declassified?"

my oldest daughter offered.....

"no - no - not  Ned  - do you really think my hair

looks like Ned?  he doesn't even have a ponytail...."

"Jimmy Neutron" - my youngest daughter chimed in

Thanks a lot - I thought - so now my hair looks

 like a giant chocolate chip.......

"NO! - I said - he's this guy that acts all goofy but

 he's not a cartoon character....."

"OH - pee wee Herman"... my oldest daughter said....

"Good heavens no - my hair REALLY doesn't look like his

 oh just forget it

I'll think of his name eventually....."

(dang my forgetful brain) - and then my husband

 hollered from the other room..... "you mean Ed Grimley

Martin Short's character on Saturday Night Live...".

OMG! - YES!  That's Exactly WHO I meant!

and then he said........ 

 "They're too young to know who that is honey!"

sheesh......

I'm so old I'm not only forgetting who I'm talking

about - but talking about people nobody knows!

Good Grief!

Memories

Yesterday I went to the funeral for the husband of a
good friend.  My heart has ached for a week and every
dayI long to do something to ease the pain I know she is
feeling and yet - this is something I cannot do for her.  
It is the hardest thing - that not knowing what to do,
what to say or how to make things better.  I know in my
 heart that with time, the sadness will ease and the happy
 memories will rise to the surface more and more. 
But I also know that there will be many dark nights
where the bitterness and anger will be overwhelming. 

It's brought back the memories of my sister in law and
all the times we went through when she died.  

The hardest part was that life just kept on going. 
It seemed to me that it shouldn't have... that the world
should have stopped... that something catastrophic had
 happened and it should have changed life for
EVERYONE 
 and the fact that it didn't was so terribly 
confusing to me.   How was I supposed to
 pick up where I had left
off as if nothing had changed - when my whole world
was upside down.... and yet - I was
 expected to do just that.

Amazingly - I did - and with this exact friends' help too. 
She was there for me in a way that no-one else could be.
As someone who had been through a situation so eerily
familiar that only God could have brought us together at
that time and place and for that exact reason - to help me
 through one of the most trying times of my life... and now,
I feel so unprepared to help her through this trial in her life. 
I do not have experience to offer her - but I do have love
and friendship and support and the promise that I will be
here for her every step of the way. I know that God will
give her "Just One Day's Grace" just like He does
me... it's all we get... just enough for one day! 


Meanwhile -   I look around me at all the people going
through their every day routines and wonder just how
many of them stop to appreciate each and every minute
they have together - then wonder if I'm actually
appreciating my minutes the way I should..... I guess
we can all benefit from a little reminder to take time to be
thankful for the people in our lives and make sure we
 let them know how we feel about them!

Blast from the Past

For Christmas this year my husband got a Mr. Bill figurine..haven't seen one of those in forever and when I saw it in the store I HAD to get it .... for him of course.

But once we got it home - the fun began...

Mr. Bill in the kitchen....next to the hot hot stove.....he's just so accident prone....

OH NO MR. BILL....watch out!!

will the fun never end?

A House In Repair - Kitchen Cabinets Phase II

The demolition continues - our poor kitchen - no fridge, no stove, no dishwasher... (like Robinson Crusoe - not a single luxury -for some reason that song keeps going round and round in my head) well - at least I don't have to live there!  I've become hooked on my cold beverages and NOT having to wash all the silverware!!

You can see the next step in our project - my husband has ripped up the floor (I'll cover that in another blog) and has a few tiles down for me to see - I'm just showing you the before pictures of the cabinets before I remove them from their homes.

A House In Repair - Kitchen Cabinets Phase I

So the main thing we have to do this year - and quick - is get our other house ready to put back on the market.  It's been on the market now since 2007 - and earlier this summer we realized that there was some major water damage  going on in the basement, so my husband has spent every spare minute all summer, fall and into the winter removing damaged wood, sheetrock and carpet and replacing everything with new.  It has been an enormous job - way more than we ever thought it was going to be - and we are not even half of the way to completion.  (or so it seems some days) But when I look back at the progress he has made so far (with just a little help from me and a lot of help from other family members) - I guess we really are closer to being done than I think we are.  My job right now is to take the plain Jane kitchen cabinets and spruce them up.  We're replacing the linoleum floors with tiling in the kitchen and dining room - so new cabinets will be the final piece to make the kitchen pretty and sellable.  

I actually found these pictures (above) of the kitchen before we ever started doing anything to it - excuse the mess  - I should have washed the dishes before I took these pictures  : )

Frick and Frack

 Jack and Skeeter have new cousins and they are the

cutest cousins in the the whole world!

Skeeter Pie

My other fur child is Skeeter, and NO - I did not name him ... he came with that name pre-installed! 

You can call him "His Highness" for short

He's a fluffy mix of who knows what and your guess is as good as mine with a little bit of "perhaps" and "possibly" thrown in for good measure.  Skeeter was my nephews dog until they downsized houses and then, bless his plumpy butt, His flufferness was just too big for the new digs and had to find a new home.  Ours was to be a temporary residence until a permenant home could be found - and, well - the rest is history.  I was standing in the vets office writing a check with several digits before the decimal and decided that if THAT wasn't the first sign of pet ownership - I wasn't sure what was.  And so, after weeks of begging, our fur child Jack
 finally got a pet of his own.

An Unexpected Snowfall

Somebody in my house has been doing the "I don't want to go to school" - snow dance... because  - yesterday - even though the weather man didn't say it was going to snow.... I looked outside the window and saw a few big flakes lazily making

 their way to the ground.

Napoleon was shivering on his branch, but the ground was clear - so my husband and I prepared to go to the other house to get some major construction done... it was going to be a very

productive afternoon!

GrandKitties

I've told you about my fur CHILDREN - but I don't think I've mentioned my Grand kitties yet.  I have two lovely 

grand kitty boys

 


KBob and Knob

Of course they aren't this size anymore - does anything stay small long enough? - but they are still beautiful and sweet (ha ha) - and love to cuddle.... and eat the strangest things... like anything wool - -wood and socks..... among other things..... 

New Years Resolve

And bam - the new year is here - I made my new year's resolutions and pinned them in an envelope on my bulletin board in my kitchen.  It took some thinking to keep from crossing that line between challenging myself and still keeping them within reach.... but I think I haven't put any of them too far up there.... I don't think, anyway.  Except for maybe that first one....and then there's the one at the bottom of the list.... well - there's gonna be a LOT of reaching going on in the year 2011.. but with some dilligence and some list making I should at least make some forward progress.

Did I mention I didn't seal my envelope? I was going to seal the envelope so that next year I could open it and then check my progress against my list... you know - so that I couldn't cheat  - It then occured to me that with my .... advanced age.... I might actually forget what my resolutions were and thus drastically reduce my chances of success.... and so - my decision to leave the envelope unsealed.... (that - and - the opportunity to amend them JUST A LITTLE - throughout the year - might be necessary - you know - to make them a little  um - higher... ya  - that's it)     

Hip to be Square Headboard

My youngest daughter is anything but square - so when we bought her a new bed and changed her from a twin to a more grown up queen size bed - I wanted to upgrade her to a headboard more in keeping with her fun, "random" personality. 

After much head scratching, a lot false starts and many ideas that never left my sketch pad - here's what I came up with.....

Each panel is hung on the wall separately so she can move it around if she wants and keep the pattern interesting. (of course - her bed is never made - so this is the best picture I can give you).....