Saturday, November 10, 2012

WHAT I GET FOR MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS




We took the back,country roads this morning to my parent's house and spotted this little beauty at a garage sale on the side of the road. The mirror in it was cracked all the way across (bummer because it was a nice beveled one). Three little girls were "manning" the sale. They said they were saving for a four-wheeler. Their dad came out and was trusting enough to let us take the mirror with us even though we did not have any money. He said we could come back later and pay. It was $10.00. We took 15.00 back by and gave each girl $5.00. They were precious!! The color that you see is how it came. I haven't touched it yet. I will probably see how it looks when all cleaned up and I may not HAVE to paint it. Thinking about making a chalkboard but it will more than likely be a little while before I get to it. Surgery day is Thursday so I am going to be out of commission for a few weeks. I would appreciate your prayers.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Musical Chairs

With the furniture.  And it's getting old!  We've moved our furniture around so many times we've lost count.  I am so ready for cleaning and organizing!

Here's our foyer.  We're still working on the door.  It needs another coat and so does the trim.  We haven't started on the floors, but the walls are finished and look sooo much better.

 This was before we began:





Goodbye red. And hello mess.  The paint on the door is Valspar, Fired Earth. The wall color is Olympic, Toasted Almond.  





Saturday, September 15, 2012

LAST PROJECT

LAST BIG ONE AT LEAST!  Lots of odds and ends left to do.

FOR A LITTLE WHILE ANYWAY! We have a few trips planned.  Surgery is more than likely in my future (not certain but will know more about the reality of it after I see the surgeon next week).  If I do have the surgery, I should recover just in time to get ready for the holidays.  Hopefully we will be ready to tackle the exterior of the house next spring.  

Here's my project: THE FOYER



The plans are: (1) Paint the door and trim (2) Paint the walls a neutral color (3) Paint the floors

I know it defeats the purpose of spending money on oak just to paint it, but I did not know when purchasing it twenty years ago how REALLY tired I would become of looking at this door. 

Way past time for the red walls to go!

The floors are wood, but I do not like how they look next to the laminate flooring we put down.  The two floors join going into the dining room and the living room. I hope I like what I have planned for them. 

I can't wait to see this room come together.  I'll post pics as we go.  Right now I'm off to prime this bad boy!


Friday, September 14, 2012

Seven Swans A Swimmin

How About Two Swans A Hangin?

Finally!

I bought this pair of corbels in an antique shop in Alabama over a year ago and have had great plans for them. They are finally in place!  Here's some close up shots:







They appear to be very old but we can't figure out what they were used for.  The knob on top of the heads and the front of the heads were extremely dirty so that gave us a clue that they may have been door pulls.  I have wished a million times I had asked for the booth owners name and phone number to see if they knew the history.  They are very unique and I can't find anything like them on the internet.  They were $35.00 each, so I'm not confident the booth owner knew what they had.  You cannot buy new corbels this size for this price, much less antique ones.

My "handyman" (aka: husband) had to do some repair work on the feet.  Both swans had a section of its foot chipped off.  He was able to repair one using wood filler, but the other one required a piece of wood glued on and then some actual carving.  

I cleaned them, sanded lightly, and then painted them with chalk paint.  They look great now.   I have some pics of them before painting, but I will need to find them.  Will post when I do.

They are hanging in the new opening between the living room and dining room.  Here's a pic, but please excuse the mess you can see and the poor lighting!!  We've gotten a lot done in the house, but still have a lot to do.  Curtains and a chandelier are on my list for future updates!


And here's their view from above:  My new floors!  Bye-bye nasty carpet!



Saturday, July 21, 2012

Red Rover Red Rover...

...I don't like my hall tree.
So it's getting a makeover!!

Remember I showed you this hall tree in my foyer?




And then I posted this pic after I painted it promising to show more?



But I never did show more. On purpose.  Because I never liked it.  So, now it is getting a re-redo.

And, yes, it is red.  RED!

Red furniture on a red wall! Whatcha think?

No sneak peak this time around. But, hopefully I will like the new color and will post the reveal in a couple of weeks.





Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Wild & Crazy

I found this quote on Pinterest. (Where else?)



This is something I use to remind my children of from time to time when they were growing up because I firmly believe it to be true!

My friends may be few, but they are loyal, like-minded, selfless, and cherish my friendship as well.

And three of them are wild and crazy!  Well, actually, more crazy than wild!  And to be perfectly honest mostly crazy when we are all together!  (They are going to kill me for posting these pics)



The four of us took a trip together last year, and laughed and cut up all the way to Mexico and back.  It wasn't our first "adventure" and there has NEVER been a lack of fun and "craziness" when we hit the road or high seas!!

We will soon be on another adventure and I can't wait to see what lies ahead!  The only thing I can be sure of is that it will not be this:



Only because we will stay on dry land this time!!




  

Saturday, July 7, 2012

My Dirty Little Secret...

Is out of the bag!!



This is my very tall and very old curio cabinet that  has been sitting in the same spot for several years.



 When we moved it to take out the carpet, this is what we found:


I never moved it to clean behind it (obviously) because I was afraid it would tip over and I couldn't stand to think about breaking the curved and beveled glass.  

We are still working on the living room.  No new floors yet.  We found where water had been coming in under the patio door and had to address that problem.  Currently, we are working on  leveling the concrete floor (involves sanding and filling) and painting the room.  Hopefully we will start on the floors next weekend.  

Here I am vacuuming my 18 year old carpet for the last time 


Bye Bye Carpet!!



On a completely different note, here is a pic of my new "grand" dog.  
Cute as a bug with personality to match!


Sunday, June 10, 2012

Wish I Could Say...

We were out of this room:

And into this one:


But, we're not.  A few unexpected things like deciding to add crown moulding and moving electric outlets in the dining room and then a trip out of town has delayed our progress. I did finally settle on the moulding for the case opening so that will more than likely be our next step in this chaos. The next steps will be to empty out the living room, remove carpet, paint, and put down the new floor.   

I did; however; the jump the gun a little and start on this in the living room:



I'll share a little more about this "honkin big" project a little later, like maybe when I finish it.  As you can see I am in the process of painting and distressing the fireplace mantle.  I like it so far, it's just that I have "so far" to go!! 

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Fender Bender




Yesterday.
Stopped at a red light.
On my way to work.
Minding my own business.
Rear-ended.

The ironic thing was that while I was still on the highway before I exited the ramp where this accident took place, I had intentionally passed an eighteen wheeler because I spotted something on one of his tires flapping.  My thoughts were to pass him before he had a blow out that caused me to wreck.  I did so successfully, but apparently a wreck was on my agenda for the day!

I got out and checked my car but did not see any damage other than a gash in the bumper, but I happened to notice something leaking from the car that hit me.  I approached a middle aged black lady who seemed to be in a daze.   She apologized, asked if I was ok, and asked if she should call the police.  I told her I was fine but I thought she should get out of her car since something was leaking and that yes she she should call for emergency help.  As we walked together to the front of her car, I saw extensive damage to her car that I had not noticed before. 

She was shaking and crying and could barely dial 911. I hugged her. 




Her apologies were many and sincere!  She told me a little bit about her situation.  Her husband was sick and had been in the hospital for three months.  He was still there.  She never told me what was wrong with him and I never asked.  She also told me she was on her way to the bank.  That was all I knew.

The emergency personnel arrived.  They made sure we were not hurt and then they began to ask  for  driver's license, insurance cards, and a description of what happened, etc.  After I gave them my information, I saw her sitting in her car in the driver's seat bending over the passenger seat going through a bag.  I could see several bags in her car, the ones you get to put your personal belongings in at the hospital.  She was crying.  I thought she was getting all of her things together before the tow truck arrived.  The passenger door was open and I saw a card fall to the ground so I walked over to her car, picked it up and handed it to her.  Through tears, she told me she could not find her drivers license.  The passenger seat was full of the contents of her purse but another card had fallen on the floor between the passenger's seat and the door where it was not visible to her.  It was her license.  Relief washed over her face.   

Before I left the scene, we exchanged names, phone numbers, and more hugs.  

A friend visited me later that evening and as I shared with her what had happened, she told me that during a time period when she was distraught because of having to place her mother in a nursing home she hit the back of another vehicle, one with a Louisiana license plate.  The lady got out of her car ranting and raving screaming to her that she needed to pay attention to what she was doing and that her personal problems were no excuse.    



Don't see any "beauty" here!

I went to my bed to read somewhere around 9:00 pm.  My phone rang shortly afterwards.   It was the lady who hit my car.  She apologized for calling so late  but wanted to thank me for my understanding and kindness.  She also wanted me to know she gave my name and phone number to her insurance company.  We talked for several minutes and I learned quite a bit in those few minutes.   Her husband, a long time diabetic, had initially been admitted to the hospital for bypass surgery in his leg.  While recovering from that, an abscess developed on one of his toes.  It would not heal and got worse.  His toe had to be amputated.  Three months later, but not before a  fall ripping open the sutures in his leg, a blood transfusion, a staph infection, a stroke, kidney failure, and dialysis he is still in the hospital.   She stays with him day and night even though it is over an hour away from their home.  He is the pastor of a church.  She had just learned from another church member before hitting me that the attendance at their church was beginning to suffer.  She was on the way to the bank because of an 800.00 debit to her account that she did not make.  Now an automobile accident.  And then as soon as she was able to return to the hospital she learned that her husband was going to have to be placed back on dialysis. 



It is not for me to try to understand why God allowed her to run into me and damage her car when she has so much on her plate already, but for some reason He wanted our paths to cross so he allowed our bumpers to meet.  I sincerely hope that this encounter will forever be my reminder that:




For you never know what a person may be going through! 




 (BTW: Her insurance company called me today.  They were extremely cooperative, even offering to furnish me with a rental car while the damages to my car were being taken care of. Not sure any of that will be necesarry, but it's good to know I can count on them.)  




 

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Back in the Saddle Again

We took a little break from all of this last weekend:




To do this:


Congrats to my son, Jarred and daughter-in-law, Brittni!  I am so proud of these two. 

And today it was back to the grindstone:

Here's what we've accomplished so far (this weekend):
- cleared out all the furniture
- removed carpet
- removed tack strips
- cut, primed crown moulding
- installed crown moulding
- picked out moulding to be built to frame out the case opening
- moved electrical outlets

We hope to begin installing the floor next week.
 

Thursday, May 3, 2012

With The Hole In The Wall...

...Comes A Can Of Worms

As you can see from the pics below we dove head first into a new project last weekend by opening the wall between the living room and dining room.  It's been on my wish list for a very looong time and I still can't believe it's finally happening!  Of course, everyone knows that one project leads to another that leads to another and then another.....(hince the "can of worms") so I'm not sure how long it will take to finish everything I want to do in these two rooms, maybe never, but I'm going to have fun trying!  I hope to share the journey. 

The first thing on the list will be to remove the studs, case in the opening, and then finish it with decorative moulding, the second thing will be to put crown moulding in the dining room.  The living and room and foyer already have it.  And the third thing on the list will be to pull up the carpet and replace it with the same laminate flooring that is in the master bedroom and hallway. 

And then...repainting and redecorating! Told you!  A can of worms!!



 

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

You're Only As Old As You Feel

And yesterday I felt  pretty dadgum old!!

Why?

Because nothing makes me feel older than going to the clinic for my yearly gynocology exam and being surrounded by young pregnant women and then when it's my turn to see the nurse and doctor our conversation turns to things such as menopause, hot flashes, incontinence, medication, and hypertension.

Oh, dear me!!



Friday, April 27, 2012

Oh, BEE Still My Heart

Some may call my chandelier old and outdated, but I call it traditional and paid for!  Oh yea, and maybe a bit dusty!!  Seriously I have thought several times about replacing it, but I still like it, and that's what really counts, isn't it?  If there weren't so many other things that needed updating around here, I would consider a new one, but for now it's not at the top of my priority list.  

I did; however, buy some new shades for it this week and I am LOVING them!  Whatcha think?


   

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Essays

I ran across several essays my daughter wrote while in elementary school.  I couldn't keep them to myself.  I had to share. Here are a few:

MATH
"I hate math! Do you like math?  I sure don't!  Espicially when we take-a-way and when we borrow.  Do you like to take-a-way or borrow?  I don't.  But I sure do love to add."


IF I HAD $100
"I would save it until I had $120 and I could buy anything I wanted.  I would buy a barbie lamberginy and I could drive.  I could even drive down the road to my friends house.  Her name is Jennifer.  Try to guess her last name.  Can you guess?  I guess not.  It is _______.  Her name is Jennifer ________.  Now do you know?  I guess you do.  Me and her are mabe going to make a club.  The End. "  


MY TEACHER THINKS I AM...
"A good reader and speller.  I am going to spell one word for you. Super fragalistic expie aladosias.  It may not be right but I tried.  One more word: Dictionary."



IF I LOST MY LUNCH MONEY
"I would panic.  And then go tell a teacher.  Then I would cry.  But Superman's on the way.  He gave me an idea.  I will charge.  And pay back tommrow.  And then Superman left.  And I paid back."

P.S. My spellchecker was going crazy!!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Happy Birthday To Me!

My husband surprised me by being home from his out of town job when I got home from work today.  He had these waiting for me:



Thank you "B"! I love you!

Cork Board

A few years ago I bought a wall hanging at Kirkland's but it was one of those pieces that I could never find the right place for so I never hung it.  When my son moved out and I redecorated his room, it got "stuck" in there.

And dummy me forgot to take a "before" pic!  So I'll attempt to describe it.

It was made like a shadowbox with three square metal trivets placed inside boxes with a green mat placed on top. Actually, after tearing it apart we discovered that the metal trivets were not really metal, but plastic painted to look like metal and the boxes were made out of Styrofoam.

Not sure you get the "picture", but it's the best I could do to describe it.

Several weekends ago, I found some old wooden darts with turkey feathers at a local antique shop. I loved them, but did not buy them. Later, I had a brainstorm about how to use them so my husband bid on some on e-bay and won. They were cheaper than the ones in the antique store ($10.00 for a dozen).

This past weekend we (meaning "he") took the shadowbox apart and put cork board in place of all the other stuff! I hung it back up in my son's room with some of his memorabilia pinned to it using the darts.

The black frame looks good in his room so I am not going to paint it.  The only thing I want to do is add a few more pieces of memorabilia.      

A signed golf score card from Brett Farve.  My dad use to play golf with him.