"Weekly" Rambles

::Weekly Rambles::

What’s really on my mind and heart?

I'm trying to figure out how I can do all the things I want to do (or at least some of them) in addition to the things I need to do.

What am I thankful for?

I'm thankful for a quick visit from the Athens kids, yesterday. I'm thankful for a little camping trip with AHG which included Tom, Pip, and my dear husband. We had a good time; it was relaxing and pleasant in spite of unwelcome thunderstorms, stitches (for another child), and sewage backups in the bathrooms.

What’s going on in school?

Today being Columbus Day, we have the day off for "enrichment." I think some reading aloud of fairy tales is in order.

What’s cooking?

Why do you always ask that? lol. I should just delete it. Well, I'll tell you what---it will be something healthy since we ate way too many pop-tarts and toaster pastries while camping. I know how to cook healthy meals while camping, instead of just using boxed foods, and I did do some of that, but I also provided lots of the aforementioned unhealthy options which I enjoyed.  Too much.

What’s on the needles?

This shawl. It's going to be heavy and warm, unlike my usual light and lacy things, and I'm learning some new skills on what looks like a pretty simple design.

What’s special about this week?

It is "Spirit Week" at school, so there will be several fun outfits for Pip to wear instead of the usual uniform. PSAT this week, also. And more of the usual: Eucharistic adoration, AHG, and LOTS of fun on Saturday with kids activities!

What am I reading?

I finished The Twelve, Book 2 of The Passage trilogy. Good, but I didn't like it as much as the first. The story went a bit off the rails in terms of believability---if you can even make such a comment about an apocalyptic vampire virus that destroys the world. If you're contemplating reading these, be warned that there is plenty of graphic language in both, and then the second got a bit sexually graphic. These are definitely not the same YA fiction as Divergent and Hunger Games.

What am I praying about?

Healing for lots of people, especially my uncle who is recovering from surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his colon, and my sister-in-law who has a lot of struggles and cannot put weight on her ankle for a couple of months.

What’s on my ipod?/

I discovered another podcast (as if I have time to listen to them all! I think I need to walk more. A LOT more.) called Katy Says with Katy Bowman. Katy is all about "restorative exercise" and body alignment, and I love it because of my bad back and neck that give me problems, and those problems reach down and affect the knees and feet. You know, the head bone's connected to the leg bone! 

What projects are happening at home?

First up, is cleaning up and repacking all the camping gear. After that, I think I need to give the poor, neglected basement some TLC since no one goes down there and DH found a dead lizard in the bathroom. I don't know why that would be surprising, though, because we always found live lizards when we were down there schooling every day!

Oooh, and I scored a couple of free pallets that were left up at our tennis courts by guys resurfacing the courts. Now I need to peruse this Pinterest page to find something to do with them!

~~~

It's nice to be back---home-wise and blog-wise. Tell me what you're up to! Are you reading anything good? I need a new book! Got any pallet ideas? (Easy ones, cuz I'm lazy like that.)

Repainting Kitchen Cabinets

Raise your hand if you have these MDF/laminate cabinets in your kitchen and you hate them? I wouldn't mind them if they didn't randomly yellow with age, and the laminate would stay attached.  But they do, and it doesn't.

That drawer got the best of me one day. But I couldn't leave it like that with family coming for graduation! This door was in the next worst shape, so I just took the laminate off both of them.

And repainted them both with Annie Sloan's Old White chalk paint. (pssst...that's why I ran out here!)

The drawer matches perfectly.

The door does not. Go figure.

I put clear wax on them, and no one who visits will notice, unless they read my blog. I had already painted the island Versaille Green a while back.  

Next up: the kitchen table which my sweet Katie painted green for me when she was here. And then left the waxing to me. I thought I was going to die. I'll show you soon!

Does anyone else go on a painting and decorating jag with visitors are coming? Or is it just me?

Yard Sale Reburbish

I promised a few days (weeks?) ago that I would show you the transformation of this sofa table that I picked up at a church yard sale. I've been way too busy to blog lately with To-Do lists that are out of control, and my mind focused on other things. Today I have a massive headache and I'd be in bed, but that doesn't help. It just makes me feel sorry for myself. It's better to be up and moving! Slowly.

Anyway....the table....

It's wood and laminate with 2 slate insets that I really like. That's what drew me to the table to begin with. That and the desire to paint furniture. ;-)

Trashy pic in the garage with all the clutter.

The center panel had (has) a lot of water damage and was very warped. I used the electric sander on it, and it's better, but it's not a showpiece.

The Original Plan was to use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White, but I ran out. When I went to the antique mall to get more, I found they aren't selling it any longer. They have a new paint.

This paint has two benefits over Annie Sloan: A quart is $6 cheaper AND it has the finish built-in, so you don't have to pay for wax or put wax on it---unless you want to.

Of course they didn't have any white, so I chose Ancient Gray. It went on beautifully. I did two coats, and after it dried I went over it very quickly with the sander to distress it a little. Not too much.

Wow. These iphone pics are awful. Sorry about that. Someday I'll have a real camera! The three crates from Tar-jay fit perfectly and give me extra storage in my sewing/craft room.

 It's all cleaned up, and we even hung stuff on the walls! 

PHFR

{pretty}

Maybe I'm stretching it to put this is in the {pretty} category, but I'm kinda pleased with it. This is a toolbox that Brendan (my 2nd oldest) made way back in Cub Scouts. It's been in the garage holding various items over the years...until now. I just decided to paint it (with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Greek Blue). Then I asked my sweet husband to pick up three of those cute, quart-sized paint cans when he was at the hardware store.  Et voilá! A holder for utensils at a party! Personally, I think it's too cute for words, and I will have to find something else to put in it after the graduation party. And I didn't even see it on Pinterest. ;-)
{happy}

I was happy, nay, thrilled, to get my The Little Oratory in the mail on its release date, but I was also pleased to see it prominently displayed at one of my local Catholic shoppes. It was a nice little display full of all sorts of things to turn your home into a little oratory.
{funny}

We'll go with {funny} for the photo of the Kombucha Growler. I'm sure other people would prefer that I fill growlers with beer, but I'm happy to find that I can get my own growler at Whole Foods instead of trying to keep up with making my own Kombucha every week. Now I just have to find time to go over there----I can't wait until the new one opens up just. down. the. street!

And a bonus {funny} photo of Gus who was smiling. He doesn't usually smile---except when Daddy just gets home and is about to pet him.

{real}

The pool is open, and Meg was testing my Lifeproof case by taking lots of underwater photos and videos. It worked great. Except....she put in on the bottom of the pool (labeled 5') for one video, and that is just about the limit of the Lifeproof guarantee. Sure enough, there was just enough moisture in my phone to make phone calls impossible for a while, but everything else worked. The phone is fine after drying out for a little while, but just a word of caution if you want to test the limits!

7 Quick Takes

---1---

Let's just start off this Friday morning with an announcement that Something Other Than God by Jennifer Fulwiler is supposed to be delivered today! Amazon really dropped the ball on this one. I pre-ordered on March 31, and they couldn't even be bothered to ship it until 2 days AFTER the release date. I finally got an email this morning that it should arrive today. Yay! If you're looking for me this weekend, I'll probably be curled up in a chair reading.

---2---

One of the few times I won't be curled up in a chair reading is Sunday when I will be curled up in a chair discussing The Book Thief with my book club buddies. And convincing them that we should read Something Other Than God for our June book club. If we're lucky, we can win Jen's contest and have her join us via Skype. If we don't win, I think we'll still enjoy the book and the ensuing discussion.

---3---

My sweet Katie is in town this week and she's helping me with projects around the house. Yesterday, we ruthlessly decluttered my craft room after I finished re-finishing this junky yard sale table. I'm so excited to have the now-pretty table in there with extra storage! You'll have to drop by next week (hopefully Monday or Tuesday) for the reveal.

---4---

My hand is healing...I think. It doesn't appear to be swollen anymore. I attempted to crochet, which I consider a left-handed activity and my right hand is the injured one, but evidently holding things is bad, bad, bad. Even driving affects it and it gets sore after a while in the car, so I'm concentrating on doing most of my driving one-handed. Left-handed, that is. You should see me look longingly at my knitting from time to time. Sad.

---5---

Coming home in the late afternoon, after several carpool runs, driving back and forth across town, and running errands in between, is not my favorite. And when the house is a mess I really want to cry. Heaven forbid someone should ask me for something or remind me that I have to to take them somewhere else! Does anyone else get that way, or is it just me?

---6---

What fun things do you have planned for this weekend? It will be a gorgeous weekend down here in the South!

---7---

With that, I'm going to post my Quick Takes because driving and shopping all day done took it right out of me. It's time to chill....and think about dinner. :-(

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Join the fun at Jen's for more 7 Quick Takes!

Upcycled Man's Shirt Apron

I did this a few weeks ago, and I never got around to showing you. I'm really happy with how this apron turned out. Meg is, too. She has been wearing it every time she cooks!

It's a very large men's shirt, though I could have used a smaller one for her, that I cut along the side seams to remove the back. I applied the same treatment to another shirt, and I used the back of that one to make the bias edging.

The most painful part of this project was making the many yards of bias tape, but I'm really happy with the finished look that it gives to the apron.

I'm looking forward to finding the time (at the end of May???) to make another one. I bought 8 shirts at the church yardsale for $0.25 each. I thought the shirts, which are in pristine condition, would fit my son, but they're too big.

What do you think? Have you made one of these? I'm also debating whether or not to cut the collar off and make it a more traditional bib-style. Which would you like better?

Finally Fall Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...
Fall is here!  The mornings and evenings are gloriously cool with a distinct lack of humidity in the air the rest of the time.  It's verra nice!  Leaves ought to start turning soon; it's still pretty green here.

I am thinking...
About what to write in this space.

I am thankful...
Thankful for beautiful mornings spent outside in the sunshine.

From the school table...
Work, work, work.  Midterms coming up already, so Pip is feeling the pressure!

In the kitchen...
I need to revamp my 7 weeks of menus.  I planned for 6 dinners per week and it's too much.  It often takes more than a week to get through all the dishes and there is too much waste from produce going bad.  It's not saving me any money to be prepared, and the fridge is full of too much food.  As I recall, this happened last time I used these menus, too.  So, I'm going to delete one meal each week, and, maybe, move those to another week.  I may end up with 8 or 9 weeks of meals!

I am wearing...
Workout clothes to go to cross country practice and walk, but Pippo is lying on the floor moaning about it.  :-)  It doesn't take much to convince me!  I'm all for staying home, getting our work started earlier, and resting my sore ankle which now 'clicks' when I try to walk normally.

Of course, now that it's too late to go, I realize that I'm also missing my really nice morning rosary and prayer time.

What I’m doing with fiber...
Oh. My.  This.  (But that doesn't really tell you anything, does it?  It's not a very good blog, even from a bad blogger's perspective.)  There are 9 shops in the metro area participating, and if you go to each one, spend $10, and get your passport stamped, you get entered into a drawing for each store you went to.  If you go to all the stores, you're entered for the grand prize of $1000 worth of yarn and supplies!  I've been, literally, saving my pennies, so I can try to hit all the stores this year.  Everyone wants something knitted for their birthday or Christmas this year, right?

I am going...
To 5 more yarn stores tomorrow. :-D

I am wondering...
What the odds are of winning the Grand Prize this year.  I heard a couple of years ago, that only 2 women made it to all the stores and were entered into the Grand Prize drawing.  Yesterday, one shop owner said that she had already completed the passports of 2 women! So, are they the same 2?  Or will there be a bigger pool?  At least 3, I'm thinking, because of me.  ;-)

I am reading...
Technically, I finished it, but I've been picking it up and re-reading because I enjoyed it so much: Falling for Your Madness by Katherine Grubb.

Eccentric literature professor David approaches Laura for a counter-cultural, rule-filled relationship filled with poetry, flowers and bottom-less cups of tea. He makes it very clear to her that they are just friends. If she wants to be more -- if she wants to be sweethearts -- then she is the only one that can move them forward. Laura is smitten by his humor, his charm, and his English accent (which turns out to be fake). In his company, she has never felt more beautiful or ladylike. David tells Laura that the reason he has these rules is because he is bound by the laws of chivalry, both body and soul. Then Laura finds out the real reason, one that's ancient, filled with legend and magic. Yet Laura has complete control of this madman. Should she release him or tell him she wants more? Is he eccentric or just mad? Falling For Your Madness is not just a romantic comedy, but it also asks the question, who has the most power in a relationship? The lady? Or the gentleman?

It was a light, fun read that took me by surprise, and I could hardly put it down.  I love the way she blended the magical elements of the story with some real truths about how dating relationships should be conducted.

I am hoping and praying...
...for my kids
...for Thomas Peters' complete recovery from his spinal cord injury
...for Elizabeth DeHority whose cancer has returned.  It's very bad news.

Around the house...
Bags of soft, squishy happiness.  (That would be yarn, people!)

One of my favorite things...
Wandering through little knit shops, feeling all the things.  Crazy, right?  Can you relate, or are you totally confused about why someone would do such a thing?

A few plans for the rest of the week...
School, yarn shopping.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...
 
What I did Thursday.  I waxed The Green Thing with Annie Sloan's dark wax over the clear wax.  It was much darker than I expected and I used  a lot of elbow grease to buff it.  The pic on the right is a truer representation of the color; the left looks too muddy.  You can see that I still hadn't done the mirror when I took the pics, but it matches now, too.

Hosted by The Simple Woman's Daybook

{PHFR}

{pretty}

~selfie~

 The Green Thing got a paint job.  If you read that link, you'll see that I've probably come to terms with my dear mother's death a little more in the past 5 years since I painted it white.  But I'm still calling it the Green Thing.  I think I chose white because I'm yearning for simplicity in my home these days.  And Mom painted everything white that wasn't nailed down, so there's that.

{happy}
This pillow desperately needed a new cover.  It didn't hold up well at all after purchase and was full of pulled threads (I took the pic after cutting off all the threads.  Natch.).  That was made worse by the fact that Gus has a rather unhealthy relationship with it. 

I whipped up a new cover for it out of this yellow toile that I purchased ages ago at Goodwill.  I was looking through my stash and suddenly realized that it would be great with the new color-scheme developing (slowly) in the family room.

It takes about 5 minutes to fold over the fabric, overlapping it in the back, and sew 2 straight seems.  Turn it right side out and stuff it with a pillow.  I covered 2 other ratty pillows and was thrilled with my accomplishment for the day!

Maybe the dog won't recognize his friend in her new clothes, but I don't have much hope of that! {funny}
This is for my sweet friend Beverley who texted to see if I was well-supplied with bonbons on my day off (while the kids are at school), and admitted to being jealous that my house is cleaner than hers.  So, I thought I'd show her (and you) what kind of a mess I can make without the help of children! {real} Distracted by the phone because we are tired of studying grammar for a test.   (Sigh.  Sorry, I forgot to rotate that before downloading.  I'm going to leave it as is since I can scarcely find the time for blogging these days, despite 14 child-free hours during the week. )  So....school.  We're baking brownies to celebrate Louisiana Purchase Day.  Thankfully, Meg did 99% of it herself!

~~~~

Go visit the other fine ladies at LMLD for more Pretty Funny Happy Real posts!

Projects for 2013

I've been looking back to see what I got done last year, and here are some of my favorite projects, that I blogged about:

I went on an Annie Sloan Rampage.

I made a valance for my kitchen window that brightens my kitchen and my day.

I made a beautiful blanket for my friend's new baby.

 I learned how NOT to slipcover a chair!

I entered the world of jersey knits with Alabama Chanin.

I made a warm wooly hat for my daughter's boyfriend.

I knitted, not one, but 3 Dr. Who/Tardis hats!

I sewed a medieval princess dress for Meg.

I We gave my laundry room a much-needed makeover.

Looking ahead to 2013, there are a bunch of things on my To Do List for the house:

::Re-organizing my craft room now that Katie has moved out.  I've done a few things in here, but there is still a lot to be done (as you can see)!

::The linen closet needs some work.  No one can find anything in here, and no one understands my organization system---hence the mess.

::Meg suggested that we redecorate the kids' bathroom which has been the same for the 16 years we've lived here.  Fortunately, the wallpaper has stood the test of time better than the kitchen paper which was horribly dated 10 years ago when I got rid of  it!

::She and Pip also want their bedrooms painted and redecorated.  I hope we can get the painting done this summer.  They're both going to be big jobs with lots of primer involved in order to cover the dark colors and stripes!  And it will all have to be done on a budget.

Don't you love all the reading material under the bed?  I do!

::Cleaning out the yarn stash.  I don't have any specific plans there because my knitting is so often a combination of finding the pattern I'm dying to knit, and finding patterns that will work with the stash.  Eh.  Forgot to take that picture!

That's just a snapshot of my life.  It doesn't include the dinners cooked, the grocery shopping, the many loads of laundry, the hugs and kisses, the tears cried and the tears dried, or the many prayers.  It was a good year, and I'm looking forward to this year's challenges and blessings.

Tell me, do you have projects planned for 2013?