Diary of a Living Room.....The End......Almost

Sunday, January 23, 2011

The Final Coat

The hardwoods were finished on December 18th.

In order to move back into the living room, we had to paint so Bob could install the trim.

We still haven't moved back into the living room.

Yes, I know what date it is now.

Painting the living room took forever.

We did have the holidays to contend with and I was sick over Christmas break, so cut us a little slack, please!

But seriously, the process was multifaceted. It wasn't as simple as slapping some paint up. The previously wallpapered paneling had to be primed first. One coat wasn't enough, so two coats later and sick from the fumes, we were ready for paint......


The primer was a transformation in itself! I almost didn't want to put "Homestead Resort Gold" on the walls.

But we did. And another two coats later.....

Mission accomplished!

Then finally, it was time to deal with the entry. I decided to change it up. It went from "Cherry Cobbler" to my kitchen color "Fire Weed."









The change was very subtle, but I really like it.

Bob has now been summoned to come install the trim. Please cross your fingers that he'll make it this weekend! My sofa wants its home back. My car wants its garage.

And I'm so over scraping frost off my windshield every morning.

Dear Winter.....Again,

I hate cold weather. You know this. But you really came through last week!

Thank you for the perfect snowfall. It was beautiful. Sir Chester loved it too.....


Even though the cold and I don't agree, I secretly delight in all the comforts you bring. Like......finally getting my snow day.

Having the tv on, not to watch, but to see "Republic" scrolling across the bottom of the screen conjures up the best feeling of nostalgia.....I love that feeling.


I was even able to paint on my snow day! The living room is getting so close to being ready for trim!!!


My snow day even included lunch and antiquing with a friend! Not only did I find a perfect vintage stained glass window.....


I also found a vintage Fire King jadite mug for $1.98 at a thrift store!!! And you know how much I love that stuff!!!


Winter, I couldn't have done this without you!

Once the living room is done, I'd like to order up one more snow day, so I can move back in and decorate til my little heart's content.

Can I please get one more?

Love,

Dana-v

A milestone......and a story I wasn't gonna share, but decided to anyway.....

What milestone have I reached, you ask?

Why, this is my 200th post!

To commemorate my 200th post, I have a story about toothbrushes.

But first, let's talk about 200.

Wow! 200 posts! I didn't know I'd keep it up this long. I didn't know I'd have stuff to say. I really look forward to writing weekly posts, coming up with ideas for them, documenting my home improvement endeavors, sharing life. This has become such a fun hobby. Who knew??

Really, for all those bloggers who post daily, 200 is nothing. But to me, it's a milestone. Thanks, Whit, for getting me hooked.

And so, since it's my 200th post, you should leave me a "Happy 200th post" comment.

You just should.

Now let's talk about toothbrushes....

One morning about a month ago, I went to brush my teeth only to discover that my toothbrush was damp.

Like had-been-used-recently damp.

I was confused. But considered that maybe it was still wet from the night before. And I brushed my teeth anyway.

The next morning, as I was going into the bathroom to brush my teeth, I discovered why my toothbrush had been damp the day before.

The mister was standing there, brushing away, with my aqua colored toothbrush.

Not his lime green one.

My. Aqua. Colored. Toothbrush. Was in his mouth.


Were they really that hard to tell apart?

Were the lights out when he grabbed the toothbrush?

This was funny, right?

Yes, it was.

After the laughter subsided, the toothbrush was promptly discarded. And I brushed, sort of, with toothpaste and a clean washcloth.

That night, when buying a new toothbrush, I tried to get as far from lime green as possible.

Think the red will work?


So far, so good.

The Mister

He has an interesting job. Though a sad one. He attends funerals daily, as a member of the Honor Guard. He performs the 21 gun salute as well as the folding of the flag for any veteran or active duty military personnel who pass away. Up until this weekend, he'd only performed services for WWII and Vietnam veterans.

But this weekend was especially busy and sad as a soldier who was killed in the line of duty was brought home.

It started on Friday with the arrival of the casket. He was a pallbearer. Last one on the left...

(source)

He attended the visitation yesterday, and today he performed the 21 gun salute at the funeral.

What an honor to be involved in such a sobering experience.

Please send up a prayer for the family of this fallen soldier.

Is It Possible.....

......to have too many boots?

No way!

.....to have too many vintage mirrors?

Are you kidding me?

The more, the merrier!
Especially with chippy paint.

Speaking of chippy paint, can you have too many vintage chippy paint things?

Yet another resounding NO!

And is it possible to be addicted to taking pictures?

Um....

Yes!

In fact, this has caused me to embark on a new adventure in cyberworld.

I blame my friend Schlager. She introduced me to Shuttercal. It's a free "calendar-based daily photography project" as stated on their homepage.

So now, everyday, I try to find something worthy of photographing.

Some days are cinch! Other days are not-so-cinch.

But even with the random inspiration-less days, it's still a fun way to document life, including the mundane. I do not claim or attempt to be any sort of photographer. That's not what it is for me. It's truly just a life documentation thing.

My life on Shuttercal includes most of December and 13 whole days of January.

I have no idea what I should take a picture of today. But it probably won't be too exciting. And that's just fine with me.

Dear Winter,

Since you're gonna be here awhile, I wanna talk to you about some expectations I have for the coming months.

First of all, don't toy with my emotions when it comes to snow, ice, or sleet. Please don't pretend it's coming, then go north of us. Just stay the course, and gift us with a few inches of the white stuff.

Here is a perfect example of what I'm talking about.....


See? Nice and fluffy!

Next, please keep the crazy ice to a minimum. I am in no mood to clean up the war zone that was my backyard the winter of '07. It was my first winter in the house, and you really did a number on my precious trees.......


When I woke up that morning to discover the trees had come crashing down around the house, I cried.

Winter! You made me cry! Not to mention, I hadn't put my new fireplace in, so I couldn't use it. The week without electricity was really awful. If you're gonna ice or sleet, do it sparingly, please.

Finally, when you snow, please do it in a timely manner. Come overnight, so that school can be canceled that morning. But if you do come during the day, make it really pepper down in the morning, so that school could be dismissed at 1:00. Or I'd even be okay with it coming down really hard during the evening, so that school is canceled that night! That way the alarm clock gets a day off too.

So, in closing, I'm okay with you being here. As long as you do your job, and give me a snow day. Or two. And if you're not gonna snow, try to be in the upper 40's or 50's, at least. Thanks in advance!

Love,

Dana-v

P.S. If none of this is convincing you, remember last year's snow day? That should do the trick!

Love & Hate

Love: Draining tubs, washers, and flushing toilets

Today was special because after four days with a clogged drainage system, I came home to flushing, non-overflowing toilets, a tub that drained, and a washer that did not back up into the tub. Which would then not drain. And had to be bailed out with Tupperware bowls into the front yard. Because dumping them in the sink only made the tub refill with the just bailed water.

Good times.

Using every towel you own to frantically soak up toilet water is not my idea of a relaxing evening upon returning to work after Christmas break.

After Hours Plumbing helped salvage my sanity.

Properly draining pipes. Such a small thing. I'm thankful for it.

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

Hate: Ceiling fans

My feelings for ceiling fans can best be described in a very brief monologue by me:

"I hate them."

My hatred for ceiling fans is equal to my hatred for appliances on counters in the kitchen. I hate appliances on the counters in the kitchen just. as. much. as I hate ceiling fans.

But here's the deal.....there are some things that are just necessary evils.

Like ceiling fans.

And the occasional appliance on a kitchen counter.

Sooooo when replacing the lighting in the revamped living room, we knew we needed another ceiling fan to replace the old one. Mainly because the wood-burning fireplace is in that room. And when that's roaring, a ceiling fan is required to circulate the air.

Thus being a necessary evil.

But with an updated living room, we needed an updated fixture. One without caned blades....


Not to mention being monstrous.

Instead we went for something much smaller and less ornate......


Still a ceiling fan. Still hated. But less awful. Right?

Oh, anyone need a used ceiling fan, in great working order, with an antiqued brass patina?

Good-bye, Hello

2010 was good.

We got a dog....

It was love at first sight. He really is a perfect fit.

Major progress was made on the home improvement front......

From this:


TO THIS:


And then from this:



TO THIS:


And finally, from this:


TO THIS:


Went through a major reconfiguration at work, which was happy and sad......


And I read all the Twilight books, against my will.

I ended up liking them. But I don't own any Team Jacob t-shirts or anything like that.

2011 had better measure up!

I already have a wedding to look forward to. And a monumental, Beatles-esque concert to attend. I get a student teacher at school, which is a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. I'm determined to take a great vacation. And of course, the house will undergo more earth-shattering transformations.

I think I should also drink more water.

And really try to keep my car from looking like I live in it.

Happy New Year!!!