Beautiful Visitors

I love this time of year  when the birds come fat and happy to eat on my porch - I've seen them all winter - but for some reason with the coming spring they come with ATTITUDE 

 and I love to see it! 

Even the girls look spectacular - their fluffyness giving them a soft beauty that makes the boys squabble in wild red abandon.

Then there's the visitors from out of town - the ones I  haven't seen before - that stop by to catch a bite to eat on their trips from one place to another.  I always feel honored to catch a glimpse of these feathered friends - I had to pull out my husbands bird books to find out what kind of bird this was - we decided it was a bluebird (of some sort) - never would have guessed.... : )

My Man

Looking  through some cell phone pictures I came across this one....

Now - since it was on my husband's phone - I'm not exactly sure how this got taken - probably by my daughter at great risk to life and limb (and phone) But it made me smile - there's not a whole lot of men who would spend a saturday roller skating with his wife and daughter just because..... and I LOVE that about my man!   Not to mention the fact that he ROCKS those skates don't you think?

Eddie's the one who always takes my youngest on fun trips - to the bowling alley......

The pet store

The pet store (I think he bribes her with puppies and bunnies whenever he needs to go to Home Depot)

and our annual trip to the Tennessee Valley Fair

I love that he has such a spirit of fun and takes the time to do the little things with our daughter.... even though his life is full of kitchen remodels and fence repairs. 

Kitchen Renovations VI

At last - the kitchen is finished!  well - all except for two little pieces of trim that will remain  un-mentioned - and painting and replacing the stove hood... and - - the putting back the fridge, stove and dishwasher part.....(and lining the cabinets - and putting a up a curtain...
oh good grief)

But other than THAT -  the Kitchen is finished!

In case you've forgotten what it looked like a few months ago - here's a before picture......

So - one task down - just 10 more to go! (but at least THIS one is finished!!)

Kitchen Renovations V

One step closer to getting the kitchen put back together - check out the new floor - Eddie has it done and it looks BEAUTIFUL!!

 Just pretend the cabinet doors are back on - and the weird funky wallpaper (who puts wallpaper on the end of a center island anyway?) - is not still exposed... for the purpose of this

"beautiful floor" picture.....

oh yes - and ignore the open blinds that show the still missing deck in the background... The FLOOR - FOCUS on the the floor!! - - isn't it beautiful?

and now - the cabinets.... I managed to quit the endless cycle of touch up painting long enough to get some of the doors back on and in place.  The hinges had flat head screws - I have decided I HATE flat head screws... they are the devil!  My drill kept slipping out of the groove -  knocking into the cabinets - leaving big gouges in the paint - which will mean I have to touch up some paint before all is said and done (AGAIN) - but LOOK - the cabinets have some doors!  Aren't we excited! : )

 No handles in place in this picture yet - but I have put up the wallpaper border....and I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  If it hadn't stormed racoons and squirrels today- I would have gotten all of them on.  But - my dogs are afraid of thunderstorms so I had to come home and keep them company  - otherwise - they flip out!!

Great Big Gardening

Tennessee's crazy weather - with it's warm and cold fluctuations, has me all excited about spring. I looked up today and noticed that my trees were starting to get little red buds on the branches - and the warm 70 degree weather today felt like spring was on it's way. (shhh - don't remind me that the weather man keeps saying we might have snow next week - I prefer to stay in denial -
thank you very much)

I've been reading on all of my favorite blogs about how all of the more organized gardeners are pulling out their gardening planning journals, designing their spring gardens and going through last years' seeds... HA - I amd the most disorganized gardener you will ever find.... My gardens take on a life of their own - and anything that grows out of them... well - I'll show you what I mean...

When we bought our first house - we were the lucky recipients of volunteer cherry tomatoes... meaning - I didn't do anything - they just grew out of the old garden the previous owners had left behind.  That spoiled me - so I decided the next year to plant some of my own.

In typical fashion - I didn't really plan what I was going to plant - just walked through the garden center at the local Home Depot and grabbed whatever plants caught my eye.  Thus... my garden had a crazy mix of tomatoes... peppers and... for kicks - I thought I'd plant some yellow squash.....well - just ONE yellow squash plant.

My tomatoe plants did fantastic... I had mountains of tomatoes - in fact - my friends started to run from me by the end of the season - - no more tomatoes.... please!!

My peppers, however,  would never make it off the ground.  I would plant a sweet tender plant only to come back the next day and find a twig where the plant used to be.  I couldn't figure it out.  I thought it was my dog - and watched him like a hawk - but he never went near the garden....and then one day while looking out my window I saw the culprit.... A loud, obnoxious starling walked right over to my little plant - took his beak and starting at the bottom of the stem - ran his beak from  bottom to top - cleanly stripping off every leaf.   To what end I'm not sure - it's not like he ATE the leaves.... he just stripped the leaves and then flew away...laughing all the way home - I'm  sure.  

I think the starling was working in collusion with the one squash plant - because with no competition for the garden - it soon
took over the WORLD!

It dwarfed my tomatoe plants - and pushed out any chance I had of anything else growing  by shadowing the ground completely.  And let me tell you - anyone who hasn't grown yellow squash has no idea just how bad those plants can smell.... it almost broke me of eating yellow squash completely!

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!