Renovation Rambles

::Weekly Rambles::

What’s really on my mind and heart?

Decluttering and minimizing is on my mind. Not surprising considering the state of the house. I'm constantly looking around, wondering how I can best use the space in the basement, and contemplating what to get rid of.

What am I thankful for?

The sound of men working in the basement! Yay! 

What’s going on in school?

Columbus Day holiday! Everyone is happy to have a day off, and I am happy to have my college boy home for part of his fall break.

What’s on the needles?

Last night I picked up my Westport Shawl that I had put down weeks ago when I messed up the lace. I finally had time to tink (un-knit stitch by stitch) 4 rows until I undid the mistake and could resume knitting. After only 3 rows of knitting, I messed it up again, and I have just. had. it. with this pattern! It's gorgeous and it seems to be well-written, but I must not have the patience or concentration skills necessary these days to work on such an intense design. So, now I'm looking for something else to do with these two beautiful skeins.

What’s special about this week?

They are beginning (and ending?) the installation of our new basement floors today. Ever since the sewage backup in May the house has been a disaster (actually, before that, since we moved half the house down to the basement for new floors up here). There is clutter everywhere and I'm learning to live with it. That is frightening to me. Since there's so little "cleaning" that can be done, I'm getting seriously out of the habit!

What am I reading?

I've reached the halfway mark in The Boys in the Boat! I'm really tempted to stay up well past my bedtime every night and keep reading.

I'm also at the end of The Maze Runner audiobook, and I don't know if I'll have any quiet time for a few days to finish it. But once the floors are finished and I can get down there to caulk and paint baseboards, I'll have lots of time to finish that one and start the next!

What am I praying about?

• Our country
• For all our priest and deacons
• an end to abortion and, especially, Planned Parenthood
• for all the beautiful people suffering chronic pain and from illnesses like cancer

What projects are happening at home?

LOL. Basement, decluttering, cleaning...

xo,
Sara

October Quick Takes

~Linking up with Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum. Drop in for more Quick Takes. ~

1.

True Confessions: I started this post LAST Friday and wasn't able to finish it, so I'm updating and, hopefully, coming up with a few more takes to make it to seven!

2.
Sitting at Chik-fil-A on Day 8 of the Whole30 diet while Meg does her schoolwork. There's pretty much nothing here that I can eat, so I'm gritting my teeth and drinking decaf. I don't mind just drinking decaf, but I can't stand their coffee. And I probably could have some french fries without too much guilt but I don't think that would really help the cause. (Another True Confession: I had french fries today because they're fried in peanut oil, momentarily, and conveniently, forgetting that peanuts are legumes and forbidden.)

3.
What's the cause, you ask? Aside from the never-ending quest to lose weight, it's to get the sugar and junk out of my life. Lately, my diet has been getting worse and worse, and I haven't put on more than a pound or 2, but they always invite their friends over, don't they? They find a happy place and invite everyone over for a rave. Pretty soon, someone needs to call the cops....That's the Whole30. :-)

4.
"Rika-Chicka", as one of my babies famously called this place, has the nicest employees. There's a lovely German lady who visits with us every time we come, chats with me about my knitting, and even brings free coffee! I shouldn't complain that it tastes bad.

5.
Meg and I made our 2nd of the 9 First Friday's today last week. We started because our schedule lends itself to the devotion right now, but I can see that it will be a struggle to continue if our schedule changes. I'm praying that God will grant the graces necessary to persevere! As I have had a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for nearly 14 years, now, (My Margaret Mary will be 14 in January!), it's about time I attempted to make the 9 First Fridays. One of the great things about the parish we have been attending on Fridays is that the pastor actually stops to pray the Litany to the Sacred Heart and an Act of Consecration. It's a lovely start to the day.

6.

Our flooring arrived much more quickly than I expected, and the installer is faster than I expected, so installation starts on Monday---maybe even finishes! We had to hold him back a bit to have time to empty the basement. We've begun, but there will be a big push tomorrow to bring everything upstairs. I'll be so happy to have the next phase completed! It will still take time to get everything purged and put away, but I like that part a lot better than the messy painting and packing.

7.
So excited! I just sold another item from my Etsy shop Rosy Knits. I really need to knit more to add to the shop. I've been preoccupied with other things this summer. Like floors. ;-)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

xo,

Sara

Continued Renovations

We put in an order for flooring in the basement, at long last! It is Coretec Plus---a wood-look luxury vinyl plank. I'm excited about it; I hope it lives up to my expectations!

Flooring should arrive in two weeks, so we need to empty the basement and I need to paint the two bedrooms while I have carpeting that can act as drop cloths! The first is 90% finished--and it's the biggest. I need to finish the ceiling because I ran out of paint, and I need to paint the window trim. It's gorgeous! Here's a not-gorgeous picture: 

Since I took that picture, I have finished the walls and the trim/doors. The navy is the old color. The new is Sherwin Williams Sea Salt, a pale gray/green. I am NOT excited about the idea of putting the yucky Cargo beds in here again! Since the boys don't live here anymore, maybe I can do something else with it? I'm thinking TV room with a sleep sofa, and maybe my sewing. The other, smaller room which is the craft room now, can be a simple guest room.

What would you do? What's the statute of limitations on adult children's bedrooms?

First of Fall Rambles

::Weekly Rambles::

What’s really on my mind and heart?

I'm excited that the Holy Father is here! Our country needs a good dose of his holy influence; we are so far from being the great country that we used to be. People are lost and unhappy and don't even know it.

What am I thankful for?

I'm thankful for a lovely visit to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Alabama last weekend. A group from our AHG troop made an overnight visit; mothers and daughters were able to spend time together as we toured the incredibly beautiful and peaceful grounds. The last time I was there, the main church was complete, but they've added several new buildings including a replica of the Lourdes grotto, the St. John Paul II Eucharistic center, a gift shop, and the Barn--- a home for the men who belong to the Knights of the Eucharist. This Shrine is an incredible gift to the Church and the surrounding community. Located an hour north of Birmingham, the quiet countryside is a perfect backdrop for this peaceful community of servants of the Lord.

One of the first things we saw on our tour of the Shrine was the door that young postulants knock on to be admitted to the community. Meg was fascinated by that door! She mentioned wanting to go through it so many times that I suggested, maybe, Jesus was calling her to serve Him in that way.

What’s going on in school?

Spirit Week! Meg and Pip are both excited not to wear uniforms every day and stressed by the options they are given.

What’s on the needles?

I'm so close to finishing my afghan! I'm on the last skein of yarn, so the end is in sight, but I haven't felt the urge to work on it, because I want to finish my Stripe Study Shawl. I'm on the border, finally, but I stopped the stripes one stripe short-----My contrasting color was almost gone and I did not feel like playing that game of yarn chicken! If I lost, I would have been unraveling a lot of wrap-and-turns, which would have been a nuisance. I'm thinking of---no, I actually started----putting a few thin stripes of the blue in the variegated border to use it up. It will be pretty, and I can't wait to see it blocked, but I have a hard time believing that it is going to expand to be the size of the picture in the pattern!

What’s special about this week?

My two oldest, Katie and Brendan, had birthdays last weekend. I can't wait to go visit them in a couple of days to celebrate! Two birthday celebrations back to back used to be so stressful, and now....it's not. All you young moms, stop being frazzled by it all and enjoy the chaos while it lasts!

Spirit Week and Homecoming at school. I guess this is the first year we can actually have a "Homecoming" dance since there were 4 graduates last May!

What am I reading?

I am still reading, very slowly, The Boys in the Boat. Since knitting is my daytime recreational activity, reading is just 5 minutes per night at bedtime. Unfortunately, i have approximately 20 books on the desk in my room waiting to be read, and I promised not to add to it....but I somehow acquired two more books at the Shrine last weekend! Oops! :-)

What am I praying about?

• Pope Francis's visit to the US
• Our country
• An end to Planned Parenthood. We pray for an end to abortion all the time, but it has always existed, and always will in some form or another, but our government can (and should) stop paying for the wholesale slaughter of babies and the sale of their body parts.

What projects are happening at home?

I'm not finished painting all the upstairs trim, but I bought paint for the basement bedrooms and I'm going to start that as soon as I finish this post. We are still struggling with the final decision about the basement floors because of cost, but I hope we get it figured out quickly. I'm ready to have this done!

xo,
Sara

***Linking up with Ginny and Leila today!***

Office Updates

I don't think I ever showed you my new "office" since we redecorated. This room used to be a combination office and library, but now it's just my office. The library has moved across the hall to the former, mostly-unused living room. The office is very Ikea-heavy, and I was afraid it would look too much like a showroom, but I don't think it does---do you?

This is basically what you see when you walk in the front door of the house---Mom's paintings and the new secretary. The secretary was supposed to house the printer, but the printer is huge. The kids' papasan chair is in the corner for some reason. I guess Pip got tired of it in his room! It goes, but I'll be happier when there is a nice armchair in that corner! That awesome lamp is also Ikea.

The rug is jute from Homegoods. It's all turquoise and blue blended together which I don't think comes out clearly in the photo.

My new desk from Ikea. My friend Kathleen and I were scouring Ikea for good options, and we kept seeing this new line all over the store----bookshelves, tables. It was pretty, but expensive, so I didn't even consider buying any of it. When we got to the end, and they didn't have the desk I had chosen, I was ready to go home without it and come back another time. Before you pay, though, you have to go through the Clearance, As Is room! That's where we found this table which had some black gunk on the top and was, consequently, half-price. At Kath's suggestion that a Magic Eraser would do the trick, we got a wrench, took it apart, and I brought it home! The Magic Eraser took care of the problem in the blink of an eye! The tabletop is solid wood and beautiful, and the slightly-pink, whitewashed legs (pink-washed? lol) give it character.

Notice anything missing? Yeah, my chair. I haven't found one I like, but I have it set up as a standing desk, anyway, and I haven't felt the need to buy a chair. I thought I would get tired of standing. Honestly, I do sometimes, but then I get the laptop and relax. Most of the time, though, I work quite happily while standing. I've spent several hours there at a time when necessary! The rolled up yoga mat is to put my toes on and stretch my calves while standing.

I found the crate at HomeGoods to elevate my mouse and keyboard. It's the perfect height. I had Meg sand it for me (she is working off a large debt. ;-) ) because it was a bit too rustic for my delicate skin. I'm not completely thrilled with the color, so I'll probaby paint it white when the weather outside is perfect.

Oh, and did you notice the external hard drive and the router hiding in the 2 metal file/magazine holders?

Just yesterday, before taking these pictures, I wrapped up the cords with this plastic Spiral Wrap that I found at The Home Depot. I was skeptical of the price and the look, but it actually wrapped around the 4 cords pretty easily, and when I had to let one out to go it's own way, that worked easily. I like having the cords tied together, especially if I can't hide them altogether!

I expected this set of shelves to hold mostly decorative items, but that didn't happen. It has overflow from the main library, and, yes, there is yarn in those crates! The too-large printer sits atop the shelf so it is much less visible than it was. 

Aaaaand, the bare windows with trim that needs to be painted so I can rehang the curtains. The sofa-table is useful for piling stuff that I'm in the middle of doing. I really take up a lot of space when I'm working on something, so having the large table surface and the sofa table are really nice. The trick is not letting it get too out of control! I'll let you know how that goes. ;-)

I took the pics early yesterday (too much sun coming in the windows!) and decided I had time to paint, so I spent half the day working on the windows and the door-frame. Now the curtains are back up and I can mark a couple of things off my to-do list!

What do you think? Too Ikea-ish? It looks so much nicer than it used too. It wasn't very well organized with all the bookshelves and much less space for me to work.

A New School Year

::Weekly Rambles::

What’s really on my mind and heart?

It's the first full week of school, and we are trying to get into the new routine. I'm starting a new carpool tomorrow---something we've haven't done in many years!!---I hope it works out for both families. If I don't have to drive in the afternoons and interrupt whatever cleaning or crafting project I have going on, that will be awesome!

What am I thankful for?

I'm thankful for routine. One could argue that I have less time now than I did during the summer, but now I know that I have certain blocks of time at home or out of the house. I have to get my chores done during the home block. Before, I either worked on something until I was completely exhausted, or I did nothing for far too long. Usually the former. Neither option is great, so I'm happy to have a more regular schedule.

What’s going on in school?

Just getting started, learning the ways of our new school building. It's not really "our" building as we are leasing it for one year while we close on our new property and build our own permanent school. That will be something to look forward, too. This temporary location is farther away for us, closer for others, and really far from some families. We are all adjusting to new traffic patterns and times on the road. It takes a while to figure out the nuances---and how to find the right time to leave so you don't get trapped behind a school bus!

What’s on the needles?

Oh, there's a blanket....soft, cozy, alpaca blend.

And this shawl/scarf which I despair of ever finishing. I like the lace, but it takes so much concentration that I don't do more than 20-30 rows in a day of heavy knitting (which doesn't happen often!).

And I'm starting a Catan Afghan because we love Settlers of Catan so much. I'm not sure what I will do with it, or how long it will take me to finish. The project will become a permanent fixture in my car when I finish the other blanket, because little hexes are perfect tagalongs to meetings and carpool lines.

What’s special about this week?

New carpool and getting ready for a neighborhood yardsale! This is almost perfect timing after this summer. Now I have to do some really fast work to go through the house and get everything together that we're getting rid of!

What am I reading?

OMG. So many books on my nightstand! I just started another Philippa Gregory novel last night: Wise Woman, because it's less pressure and requires less brain power at bedtime. ;-)

What am I praying about?

• Our country
• everyone with cancer
• all my children (that sounds like a soap opera!)
• for all our priests and deacons and religious

What projects are happening at home?

• trim painting
• yard sale prep
• cleaning out the basement for new flooring
• choosing that flooring (HELP! What would you put in your basement? What do you have and how do you feel about it? We are back to considering carpet again, but I'm not sure. Frankly, I'd like something that doesn't require a complete overhaul if there is ever another sewage backup!)

Tell me about YOUR week! :-)

xo,
Sara

PHFR Bathrooms

Linking up with the ladies at Like Mother Like Daughter
{pretty}

You guys, I love, love, love this bathroom! (And bathrooms, especially orange ones, are very difficult to photograph! Sorry about that!) I was seriously doubting myself after taking the "Funny" photo, but it turned out beautifully. I think so, anyway.

It all started with this paisley shower curtain from HomeGoods a couple of years ago, but we finally got around to stripping the wallpaper, painting, and replacing the vanity, countertop, and toilet. Sadly, since I drowned my phone at summer camp, I lost all my "before" photos. :-( This post has a picture of the wallpaper in the process of being stripped.

The shower curtain is not as peachy as it looks here (hard to photograph in an orange room!). It has a tan/cream background.

I picked up the perfect little striped bowl in the Dollar Spot at Target. That's probably where the toothbrush holder came from a few months ago, also!

 Loving these Kohler Devonshire faucets and accessories that I put in both bathrooms.

I'm thrilled that this beachy picture works better in this decor than it did with the old paper!

I wish you could see how well the counter and floor tile look together. The colors are perfect and the marble-like print on the floor looks great with the small pattern on the quartz counter.

{happy}

We are all happy with it, now! (And yes, that's a good photo of the true color behind Meg) I'm especially happy that I found the perfect mirror at HomeGoods. Katie and I hung it and got it perfectly centered and level the first time around. (Can I get a high five?) 

{funny}

The first photo I took of the bathroom as soon as the painter left. It was still wet, which makes it brighter, and the afternoon sun was streaming in, so I was was not happy. I went to a swim meet after taking this, and kept looking at it thinking, "what have I done?!" Leila was the only person who encouraged me and thought it would be pretty!

{real}

If you look closely at the Happy picture, you can see that there are still (STILL!) 2 missing drawer handles on the far end. They seem to be lost in the mail. 

(ha! they JUST arrived!) 

Both bathrooms are finally finished, and I think they're lovely---so lovely that I can forget the stress and heartache and indecision. It was a happy accident that most of the accessories work well with the new design, so bonus likes for that! I'm getting a serious urge to do my bathroom now....but we still have to deal with the basement, and then there's a little matter of money....so my husband can probably breathe a sigh of relief that we won't be taking on that project for quite a while!

Change is Hard

I don't like change, as a rule. I mean, I like it, but it can be challenging at the same time. I also get an idea in my head about something, whether it's bathroom fixtures or how an event should be run, and it can be hard to let it go.

That's pretty much how I've felt about these home renovations. I get an idea in my head and when the reality differs I have difficulty adjusting. Sometimes it's a long process and sometimes it's a longer process. LOL. Pity the poor husband who has to deal with me!

The Orange Bathroom was a pretty quick adjustment. I was initially shocked by the color, but you know how it darkens as it dries, and going away for a week gave me a good opportunity to mentally adjust. I love, love, love this bathroom. It still lacks a mirror, art, and a couple of drawer pulls, but it's fabulous!

More pics to come, soooon! However, I will admit that the Orange makes it a little hard to get accurate colors in photos. <grin>

The hardest adjustment, which almost brought me to tears was the granite in the powder room. Oh, how silly and shameful that I should fret over not having the perfect counter in my bathroom! There are far worse things happening in the world. So, I decided not to make an issue of it and make it work, or, at least, live with it gracefully. As it turns out, I think it works beautifully with the color and the same black frames that I had before!

Silent Saturday & Light Bulb Dilemmas

Most of the family is gone and I'm home with just Tom who, like most of my menfolk, is not very chatty. I have a whole, quiet Saturday with which to do as I please! What would you do with a Saturday to yourself?

---Have lunch with a friend
---Go to the movies
---Clean house
---do laundry
---Catch up on computer work (AHG....)
---Go shopping
---Visit your favorite LYS (Local Yarn Shop)
---Knit and a. watch TV or
                  b. listen to audio books
---Work on the never-ending home renovations

So far, I have spent the morning reading blogs and watching HGTV. Time to get up and do something a little different!

One thing I know I will do today is find some decent light bulbs for my powder room. The stone guys came yesterday---while I was out, naturally---and installed the countertops in the bathrooms. The one they put in the powder room is beautiful, but I had changed my mind about using it because I didn't think it would work with the colors I had in mind (and actually painted the bathroom the day before!). So now, it's there and I'm sure removing it would be a huge headache. Because it doesn't match the picture in my head and was a disappointment, I have to get used to this new idea and learn to like it. It's probably more beautiful than I can see because I'm not objective, but I am certain that the light bulbs are not helping the situation. The weird LED glow isn't working for me, so I think I'll go buy a couple of different kinds of bulbs to see which ones look best in there. Have you been playing with light bulbs lately? Have you found any of the new ones that you love?

I'll put in a sneak-peak photo of the bathroom. I think there is an LED cool light and an incandescent reveal light in there in this photo! Tell me what you think---about bulbs and the granite. I am actually starting to warm up to it this morning.

Loving My Floors

So sorry I have been absent around here! I have been super busy since we got back from vacation! We had new engineered-hardwood floors installed while we were away. We're also renovating 2 bathrooms, and I expected it all to get done in one week, but I guess that was naive. In any case, I've been putting in lots of sweat-equity by caulking and painting alllll the baseboards----and since I'm an idiot and changed paint colors, I have to do every blessed bit of trim on the main floor. :-)

My first foray into caulking baseboards was fun, but tiring. Honestly, I'm sick to death of sitting on the floor and sliding around every couple of minutes, dragging my caulk gun or paint can  and floor protection with me! Instead of being a reasonable person and taking breaks to do restful things like blogging, I just keep plowing through until it's dinnertime. Today I called it quits at 4 p.m. with just one long wall behind the sofa ^ to finish. 

Caulked but not painted yet.

If my helper had been here to tape it off for me, I might have made the effort to finish it, but I just didn't have the mental fortitude to tape off anymore!

The pile of boxes behind her is from putting all our books in the "new" library.

She helped in the dining room yesterday, and I'm thrilled to say that room and the library are done! We painted all the wainscoting AND the windows. (but we're not going to talk about the crown molding!) And we still need to put curtains up, drawers in the china cabinet, stuff on the shelves....but the painting is finished!

This is a good representation of the floor color. I'm slowly falling in love with them...it's taking a little while simply because I have so much work to do that I can't really enjoy them yet. Every time I get to bring more furniture up from the basement, I like them a little more!

Here's the finished library (except for the window. and the crown molding.) We moved all the bookshelves from the smaller library (which is now the Office) to the living room where they could all be lined up against one wall and be more aesthetically pleasing. So much better than it was before!

I am such a Renovation Newbie! I have learned a lot, some of it the hard way, and I expect I shall learn still more before this part is finished, and then comes the basement. It's fun, but HARD---mentally and physically. 

Yarn Along

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link at Ginny's to share your photo with the rest of us! ~

Not much exciting reading going on! Between daily routines and the added burden of end-of-the-year treasurer responsibilities for our AHG troop, I hardly have the energy or brainpower to read more than a paragraph of a book on my nightstand! Today's "leisure" reading has been perusing booklets of paint colors....because while my house is in complete disarray and we're moving out everything for new floors, I might as well paint the walls. Right?

I love all the colors in this Sweet Georgia yarn, though I wish it were a bit less heavy on the greens. Give me more of those luscious pinks and lilacs! I'm knitting a Westport Shawl. It's a gorgeous shawl, and the little Estonian Buttons you see in the foreground are cute and fun. The lace, however, is a bear.

The lace is a 20 row repeat and I don't have a hope in you-know-where of memorizing it! As you can see, it's so crumply before blocking that I also have no idea if I'm doing it right. The only clue there is if one row doesn't work out because I'm missing a stitch. Somehow, so far, crossing my fingers and toes as I say this, I've been able to find my mistakes without needing to tink back more than one row. Even so, it's pretty slow going, and with only 30 minutes per night to work on it, it may take all summer! :-( Not that I'll be wearing it before fall...on the rare occasions I attempt to wear a summer scarf, I end up ripping it off in a (hot) huff. 

Minimizing My Life

Did you see this article on how much stuff we own? Or is it how that much stuff that owns us??? Do you ever drive through an old town and wonder at the size of the houses? Where my dad lives, which is where he grew up, the old houses are small. I remember my grandparents' home and my aunt's home which are tiny by today's standards, but they didn't feel small to me. And I believe there are actually smaller ones in town, and people had more children then than they do now! I guess everyone aspires to a higher standard of living than their parents, but it seems as if that is just a bubble that has to pop eventually. Maybe it has; I see more and more news about minimizing and simplifying life. That's what the Tiny House craze is all about.

I'm enamored of the tiny houses, but people keep telling me I need room for the many children (I have) and grandchildren (I hope to have). Until other people (ahem!) are on board with me about downsizing the house, I can still simplify the rest of the house. Recent flooding events are a perfect time to do so. My plan is to bring back upstairs, only those things that we love. I'm afraid it will still be Too Much Stuff, but I'll try.

Have you seen the articles on minimzing or building a capsule wardrobe? I tried encapsulating my wardrobe a couple of weeks ago. The goal was to get it down to 37 items, shoes, bottoms, tops, jackets. I had a really hard time doing that! In the end, I kept a few other items that go in the Uniform category---AHG shirts, khakis, a red & a blue sweater for winter---and a Workout Wear category that I pared down quite a bit, also.

That's what is in my closet and dresser now: clothes that fit and make me feel good about myself. I got rid of anything that didn't make me happy! I also saved, in the ill-fated basement, clothes for winter, and a few too-small items that I really would love to wear again. At least they're not in my closet mocking me on a daily basis! I'll have to get the basement cleared out by fall to be able to reach the cold-weather items!

I'd love to know if you've tried minimizing or simplifying your life and if you have any tips. Shameless blog promotions are acceptable! ;-)

7 Quick Takes

Thanks to Kelly for taking over QuickTakes hosting duties for Superwoman Jen...

1. Tomorrow is St. Nicholas day! It's always one of our favorite days of the year when St. Nicholas fills our Christmas stockings with way too much candy and little goodies!

For breakfast we will have coffee, candy, and a Kringle which I found at Trader Joe's and saved for this occasion! That's appropriate, don't you think?

2. Did you know that you have one more day to use the coupon code holiday20 at my Etsy shop at Etsy.com/shop/NestEggKnits ? You can get one of a kind book blankeys for the favorite little child in your life!

3. Did you know you have one more day to use the coupon code holiday20 at my Etsy shop at Etsy.com/shop/RosyKnits ? If you look at the sidebar on the right you can see that there are some yummy Cowls and ear warmers and scarves in the shop!

4. Our school set up this amazing little room for Advent. They put lights up and then covered all the walls and ceiling with wrinkled craft paper and set the holy family in a little niche. It has chairs and Gregorian chant playing, and you can go in and sit and have a few quiet moments in prayer. The students have had the opportunity to go in during the school day and listen to a little meditation. It's really beautiful! I took the opportunity to sit and pray the St. Andrew novena yesterday morning----that particular prayer in that particular setting was just a perfect way to start my day!

5. Getting a pair of hand knit socks from me for Christmas means that I love you. Not that I don't love the people that I don't make socks for, but you know what I mean!

This year there are two people that I want to make socks for, and I'm getting a very. late. start. so say a prayer for me!

6. Meg has been watching far too many DIY decorating gurus on YouTube lately. But it has had the beneficial effect of getting her to clean her room! She has decluttered most of the room and gotten rid of a lot of junk, and now she wants to do some DIY decorating.

She found some pictures online that she really liked, so we bought a couple of frames to supplement the ones we already had, did some spray painting and now she has this awesome little collage of pictures to put on her wall! I think it is super cute!

She also did a little washi tape design on her dresser to jazz it up:

 How cool is that?!

7.  Gratuitous arty jellybean photo. Just because. #MeggieSnaps