Where Were We??

.....The part where the author reaches the end of her wits in the remodeling project due to grey ceiling paint.


First, before I get to the grey ceiling paint I want to take a moment and thank all of my great readers for being so loyal, patient and supportive. My goodness, I've received e-mails (the abilitie to read/retrieve severely limited), postcards (Lyda and Kat - thanks) and my surfer girlfriend Leslie even took me to the beach in California. It was a cyber trip but refreshing nonetheless.

I thought you might like to see a few photos of the work in progress.

Here's the wood laid out for installation. When the worker is arranging the pieces it sounds like someone is playing a very enthusiastic game of Jenga.



The wood is unstained red oak. That's our office/library and yes, the walls are painted red.

Here's the floor in the family room. The border was original. We had carpet in the center but after 10 years it was looking pathetic so we yanked it out and filled in with red oak. In order to accent we added a one plank insert of walnut. This is it's unfinished state.



Another view.



After 10 years the original border was looking orange.



So we had them sand it down, restain and finish so everything matched and wasn't orange.



Another view - anotated.



But, since we have new furniture coming we needed to also paint the walls a different color. This is the Farmer up on an 8 or 10 foot ladder painting the trim. The earthquake last year left a crack in this corner so he also fixed that. You will note that he's wearing his Arkansas Razorback pajama bottoms as his painting wardrobe. Go Hogs!!!



The Farmer and I have always done our own painting and did this room the last time. We've decided, however, that we are getting too old for this.

The mess..... I'm weary of the mess involved.



New paint color.



Clean up continues.



As I mentioned in my last post we realized that we'd to have the orginal floors (that extend into the other part of the family room and the hall) resanded, restained and finished so that everything matches. We thought we could avoid that. What were we thinking?

So anyway, that's our vacation. Instead of a vacation we opted to do these upgrades.

Just thought you might want to take a peek.

OOOPS... I forgot to tell you about the grey ceiling paint. Come back tomorrow for that tale.

The Neverending Story - Our Version

Remember the movie with the title, The Neverending Story? It feels like we are living that title here at home.

I cannot imagine how people survive a major house renovation. A cousin and his wife added on to their house instead of moving and they had to rent a house for a year during construction. There would be no way to live in the chaos.

Our hardwood floor project has grown. You know, like a stone gathering moss, or a runaway snowball barreling downhill.

We are merely extending some hardwood floors that we'd had installed about 10 years ago. I anticipated the problem that arose but hoped not to face it. The problem is that the new flooring does not match the older. It's just a matter of sanding down the old floor and re-coating it with a matching finish. It's a problem that's easily solved by the flooring crew but one that I'd rather not address, moneywise or timewise.

The older floor has aged but the main problem is that the Other Mother has applied coat after coat of a cheap floor wax product from the grocery store. We tried to discourage this but she is, after all, a product of the 1950's advertising culture. She believed the ads by DuPont and others, stating the we'd have a better life through chemistry! More about that another day.

Instead of being finished we are now patching a crack in the ceiling and waiting for more floor work.

Oh....... and it snowed overnight.

So much for spring.

Checking In

Sorry, no regular Monday morning staff meeting today.

I've got the internet connection plugged in briefly before the guys return tomorrow to do the last sanding and apply the final finish to the floors. No pictures yet because the computer I use for my photo processing is stored somewhere in this mess.

Did I ever mention that I'm not the neatest person in the world? I'm not. But even a slightly messy person like me can be driven to distraction by all this mess and chaos. After the guys laid the floor, sanded, stained and laid down the first layer of finish, the clock began ticking for the me and The Farmer.

It was our task to get the two rooms painted and ready for the guys to finish. Oh.... my..... goodness. What a task! We painted both these rooms a number of years ago and do not remember it being such a draining task. The family room ceiling is 12 or 14 feet (never measured it) and it nearly killed us. I was wishing my wonderful friend Di was here to help me on this one (her and her husband are professional painting contractors). More on the painting in a later post.

Today my task is clean up. The guys will finish up tomorrow and then we can put this house back together.

I miss all of my wonderful online friends and honestly was beginning to think that I'd forgotten how to type! Lots of things have happened since last we talked, including an Illinois Bloggie Get Together. Don't worry, we've got plenty of time to catch up.

I'll talk to you after the job is finished and I'll have photos to share.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

Internet Fast

The guys just pulled up to do our hardwood floor. Man, they like to start early!

Unfortunately, the jack for the internet connection is in the office and that's the room they'll be working in.

Do you think you could survive an internet fast? Be careful not to quickly respond with a yes. Just this morning I ran to the computer to look up a recipe. OOOPS.... no computer. I quickly hooked the wireless modem to the jack and got my recipe.

Now I'm posting this and then I'll be off the grid for the better part of a week. Unless I visit the local library.

This will be an interesting experiment and we'll see if I actually get more accomplished, have more verbal conversations (as opposed to cyber) and get out into the cold March air.

Let's just call this an experiment.

Have you been off the internet grid? What was your experience?

And Another One Bites the Dust

It was just a matter of time before this farm outbuilding collapsed.



I'm pretty sure that when we moved her 17 years ago there was a farmhouse on the property. It's long gone and I vaguely remember that it was a traditional white two-story. The outbuildings remained.

This was quite a large wooden structure and my guess was that they raised chickens in here.

When it was standing I resisted the urge to take close-up photos or even enter inside to photograph. These buildings can be incredibly dangerous and there can also be old wells and other booby traps waiting for an unsuspecting photographer. These photos were taken from a distance and it was freezing and starting to snow.

Anyway, it blew over one day. Not surprising. The above image is just half of the story. It's the far end of the collapse.



At one time this was a sturdy white clapboard building and it's a shame that it was allowed to degrade and become useless.

The old farm structures aren't the only things going the dust-to-dust route around here. We have two newer homes in our area that have been empty (due to the diving real estate market) for two years! Can you imagine how they are degrading, inch by inch?

Virtual Suntan

Let it be known by all that I have the best readers - ever!

I want to extend my thanks to all my online friends who have made it possible to make it through yet another winter. The Farmer and I are looking forward to the day that we can head a bit further south and only have to deal with three seasons, the winter being just a bit of cold and damp. But till then we have to find ways to push through the cold and snow.

This winter I accomplished this with your help. I even managed to get a virtual suntan. My vitamin D levels are at an all time high. You took me along with you, and for that I'm eternally grateful.

Most recently Becky (from West Virginia) took me to Nassau in the Bahamas. Woo hoo!!



I was happy to finally make it (albeit in my imagination) to the market in town. Last time I was there (for real) I was in my cruise ship cabin with Norovirus, down and out for three days!



The west coast contingent of my reader base took me to California at least five times and this was to places I'd never been before, like Newport Beach, Lake Tahoe, the Hearst Castle, and Mammoth Lakes.



Thanks Leslie and the other surfer girls!



Melissa took me on a tour of the farms and farmhouses near her home.



I saw the beautiful Pacific northwest - Seattle. Thanks Martina! I even went to GERMANY with Silke and Susan. Good thing I keep my passport up to date.

Yes, it's true, this was all postcard traveling but believe me when I say it really helps your state of mind. My sincere thanks for all the postcards which allowed me to escape this midwest winter.

Monday Morning Staff Meeting on Wednesday

Yes, it's another episode of the lame-o blogger! I'm holding a Monday Morning Staff Meeting on Wednesday. It's not unheard of around here and I thank you for your patience.

No, things have not calmed down and the mess seems to be growing larger. The hardwood is being delivered today and we worked hard last night to make sure the area was cleared out so they have a place to put it. The wood will acclimate for four days and they will start the install on Monday. Then the race begins to get everything back in place. My vacuum is seriously going to explode. Phew!

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First thing on the agenda is food. Sorry, no baking this week. I've got some vanilla Oreos that the Other Mother purchased.



Vanilla Oreo is actually an oxymoron in my mind. Vanilla and Oreo do not belong in the same sentence. They're OK but not as good as a regular Oreo. Don't mind the fact that I took a bite out of this one, there's lots more so help yourself.

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There's very little time in my schedule these days to visit your blogs and poke around the internet. Sorry, I hope to be back to surfing soon. I did manage to come across some amazingly talented people this past week and I wanted to share with you.

First is an artist named Elsa Mora. OH MY GOSH! She is a papercutting artist, among other things. The patience exhibited by these artists never seems to amaze me. Here's an example of her work:


Source: Elsa Mora, The Art of Papercutting

This is just one example of her work. Visit her papercutting blog to see more amazing things.

ALL ABOUT PAPERCUTTING

As I said, that's not all. Here's her blog about handmade dolls.

DOLLS HAVE FEELINGS TOO

And beautiful miniature artists books.

MINIATURE BOOKS

And finally personal style.

THE HIDDEN SEED

Look at her RED SHOES!!!


Source: Elsa Mora, The Hidden Seed

Here's a woman you could love. Be sure to read her profile. She's lived a fascinating life, very different than you and I. But my question is, how many hours are in her day?

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Up next in another talented and creative person, cookie artist Callye, a.k.a. SugarBelle.

Here's an example of her cookie artistry.


Source: SugarBelle

How about this?


Source: SugarBelle

You know I love these.


Source: SugarBelle

Seriously, I could go on all day because every cookie is terrific.


Source: SugarBelle

Visit her blog to check out all the sugary goodness.

THE SWEET ADVENTURES OF SUGARBELLE

She also collaborates on another blog that offers tutorials on cookie art.

UNIVERSITY OF COOKIE

I don't need yet another hobby but I'm tempted to try my hand at a cookie or two.

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And lastly, the baby creations continue. Just a peek though because niece Heaether read this blog!



Every girl needs to start off life with a complete wardrobe of shoes and hats!

This is my new favorite color.



The packaging calls it something lame like "soft pink". Very unimaginative. It's more of a pink geranium, don't you think?

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That's all from me. Now it's your turn. Are you inspired by these artists? Do you want to grab an x-acto knife or a cookie cutter or are you content to watch them create their goodness?

Have a great day everyone. I'm not going to make any promises. I'll be here when I can and be gone when I'm busy and stressed.