Too Sick To Do Anything!

Boy, I haven't been this sick in a long time....the kind of sick where you just feel like a blob and can't move because all of your bones in your body ache, ache, ache. Today I had plans on painting the upstairs bathroom (since the tile guys finished with their handiwork there) - not happening. Dishes in the sink - they will stay there till one of my daughters does them. Living room clean-up - I guess I will just trip over whatever is on the floor because I can't seem to move out of my recliner. I have my little Lola keeping me company all day.....such a cutie!

While I was feeling better earlier this week I was able to do some sewing. In our bedroom we have these cream cotton blinds that don't keep a lot of light out of the room. There is a street light right outside of our window that glares through the thin blind material and it is impossible to fall asleep at night. Ta Da! I covered them with a deep red floral fabric that now blacks out that annoying street light. It works so well that the other night when I was coming up the stairs I couldn't even see our bedroom from across the hall. 

And, as soon as I am feeling better this bathroom will have a new coat of paint on it and the blinds in here will also be covered in some pretty floral fabric with some fancy trim on the bottom edge. You can see from the picture below where I had to paint the wall behind the toilet before it was installed again.

And these holes in the floor.......

Are where this tub needs to be reconnected - I'm thinking of painting it gloss black before reinstalling it. What do you think?

And lastly, our baby girl turned 17 yesterday - time sure does fly by. I remember celebrating her first birthday just a few years ago! What a cutie!

Bushes Are Bloomin'

Finally it seems like a glimpse of spring has arrived here in the north....despite the recent snow and rain that we've had! And, today the sun is peeking through the cloudy sky that we have. I hear that they are calling for more rain today but that tomorrow and Saturday are supposed to be in the 70's and sunny. That is something to celebrate. My perennials roots are doing the happy dance right now as I type! Weedy flower beds watch out because the gardening gal is going to get out her gear and clear you and your pesky little weedy families out of her life and yard! Can you hear them crying right now?

Look at my fabric collection....

I have plans for all this. I am going to recover my recliner and also re-slipcover these chairs so that they are in the same color family.  Also the vintage tablecloths that I have been collecting are going to make seat cushions for my dining room chairs and kitchen chairs. See, there is a plan to all this ebay fabric shopping madness - I just know that I need more fabric though so I must visit ebay again and see if there are any new vintage red fabrics or tablecloths listed. No wonder I never get any house cleaning done! I'm always too busy online.....better get offline soon so that I can get some laundry and cooking done today otherwise I will have an unhappy family when they come home.

Here are the chairs that the fabrics will cover...

The Piano

Look at my great find on Craigslist......it is a piano from the 1920's and it is gorgeous. Only $50!! It's sounds great too. Do I know how to play the piano? No..... But, I plan on learning. I can't wait to have this beauty delivered and to make it part of our home.

Addicted To EBAY!!

Okay, so I am an addict.....but in a good way! I have this addiction every morning to check my email and then go to ebay to see what is new and available for my liking. Could today be a day to feed my quilt addiction, or my aunt jemima addiction, or my red addiction, or my see what I can find to start a new addiction? Well, last month it was my "feed my aunt jemima" addiction. I found the two cutest things from the same seller - an apron and a toaster cover.  Aren't they adorable? I think so.

And, in the past couple of years I have fed my "red" addiction to fill this little red cupboard I got at an "antiques in the street" sale in Oregon. I just loved finding these little treasures and it was a bonus if they were red. Problem is I am running out of room! I just might have to find another showcase for my future treasures at The Farm Chicks show in Spokane, WA in June. I can't wait to see what that show will hold in store for this collector!

Shelf #1
Shelf #2

Shelf #3

I guess it's a good thing that I only collect "red" things and not the entire color wheel of colors - otherwise I'd be in serious trouble!

What Is Going On...It's April Already!

I can't believe that it is already April 18th and we are having more snow...yes, snow!! They are calling for it all weekend. If you don't believe me, look below:

I guess we'll have our thermostat turned up once again because it's going to get to 0 degrees at night. Where is our sunshine?? There's enough of it to go around - share some already! If I'd wanted this type of weather I would've lived in the North Pole!

My middle daughter gets home today from Mexico.....I wonder how she will react with her new room?? What do you think of it?

Do you think it passes for something a 20 year old would love? or hate? or not care? Personally, I think it turned out pretty great and if I were her I would be ecstatic about it. Everything in it's place, a place for everything. It's all about organization in her room. She needed storage to hide all her "collectibles" that aren't really collectibles (I just call it clutter!). And I will make it clear to her that if this room doesn't stay this clean or this tidy, that youngest daughter will take possession of said room and she will move into the smaller bedroom that youngest daughter now has. Do you think that this threat will work? We'll have to wait and see what happens - maybe she'll have a new found "pride" in her redecorated room and treat it with the special love that it deserves. Well, as you can see when said daughter returned home today and went upstairs to her room, she was totally thrilled with the new look and it shows on her face! Mission accomplished!

Can't Believe It!!

Well today and yesterday have just knocked the socks right off me! As you know I have been doing some renovating (of what I am capable of) and we have also enlisted the help of a tile laying company here in town to redo both of our bathrooms and our laundry room. I went into their showroom and carefully picked out the right tiles for each room to be done and yesterday the demolition began in the downstairs bathroom. It has had this really bad linoleum in it and it had begun to stain and look really gross. So, in keeping with the heritage of the home, we decided to lay a solid black tile to match the existing tile in the bath and shower area as well as the walls. So, as they started taking up the old flooring, a peek of the same tiles that are on the walls and bath began to show through! After they removed all of the linoleum, not one tile on the floor was damaged! I can't believe someone would cover over perfectly good tile. They will have to replace the grout once everything is cleaned up and we have decided to go with a black grout that won't show the staining in the future.

Isn't this great looking tile??

Who would cover it up to not have it match the rest of this great vintage bathroom.....

Surprises abound everywhere......today as they started taking apart the flooring in the laundry room, the same thing happens. Tile underneath! Now, it could've been a hidious color, something that wouldn't have matched my color scheme in the house. But, it was amazing that it was in the exact color family of what I have in the laundry room and kitchen! I can't believe it. I betcha the tile layers wish they would've known that there was tile underneath all that linoleum before they brought in all the tile we had ordered!

See what I mean.....perfect!

So, right now I am doing the happy dance because we are able to keep the original heritage of the home. That should be a good selling feature when it comes time to list it. Somebody else will be able to enjoy all the hard work that has been put into preserving this home's heritage!

Well, I must go upstairs to middle daughter's bedroom and put the second coat of paint on the walls.  I will be painting the trim tomorrow and hopefully I will be able to start decorating it (this is the part I love) tomorrow night and Thursday. When all is said and done in that room I will post the after pictures.

So Many Projects....So Little Time

Well, for the past three days I have been cleaning and clearing out our daughter's room so I can paint it. Yes, it has taken me THREE days! I cannot believe how much one person can accumulate and how many places in a bedroom that it can be stashed! Well, now as you can see it is completely empty except for the bed. Today I will be filling the little holes on the walls and painting up a storm. 

Before photos.....

And another one.....

The room looks so spacious and clean and tidy that I almost hate the idea of putting back all the clutter!! I have got some storage things to make it look less cluttered, but let me tell ya, this girl has lots of stuff! I don't think that she has ever gotten rid of anything in her whole 19 years of age! Well, while the girl is away basking in the sun of the Mexican Riviera this mama has done all of the de-cluttering for her! That's what she gets for going on a nice holiday and not taking moi!

Yesterday was a nice warm and sunny day. I really should've gotten to the yard outside, but had no one at home to help me and I just couldn't face doing it on my own. Plus, I had the room above at hand and really wanted to finish it up - it has to be done before Thursday when said daughter returns.

I purchased a 1920's upright piano on Craigslist for $50!! It is gorgeous. We will have to have piano movers pick it up and deliver to us, but for $50 how could you go wrong!! Now all I need to get is a piano stool for it. I am searching on ebay and am watching a few. Maybe I can visit a few thrift and antique stores to see if there are any out there locally.

Well, it's time to stop putting off the inevitable and start painting that room!

Great Friends..Great Food...Great Martinis!

Last night was spent with two great friends. The type of friends who you can not see for months at a time and then just pick up where you left off the last time you saw them. It was great catching up and letting each other know what's going on in each of our lives. We've had some great times together - always a bit of laughter in the mix. I don't think we've ever laughed as much as when we spent a few days together for a "girls getaway" to California. There was one particular person who was the cause of our laughter - girls, you remember, right?? Boy did we do a lot of retail therapy on that weekend too! Those outlets in Gilroy are your place for one stop shopping. I'm looking forward to visiting there in May to do some more damage to my bank account!

I sure do miss seeing these girlfriends on a daily basis. You see we used to work together at this great place....then, things started happening and one by one we are no longer there. Sad, but true. So, our daily chats and daily comraderie stopped and things have never been the same since. All of our lives are so busy that we have to schedule special times to get together, but it doesn't take us long to get right into it with the latest news and gossip.

We had some of these.....

And some of these.....

And some of these.....

Ladies, it was great spending an evening with you....you both are a hoot and I'm glad that we are friends!

This Puppy....

This little puppy has changed my life.  She is the sweetest and cuddliest puppy I know.  The first picture was taken on the day we picked her up in Vancouver, BC. She came over from Brazil (it's a wonder that she has survived the BC winter when she came from a warm climate!) and has since taken over our household.  She is now nine months old and has done much in her short time here. From day one she has been put in her "puppy purse" and has gone everywhere with me. Literally, everywhere! She weighs four pounds and I don't think she is going to get much bigger. She pretty much rules the roost (as far as the animals go) in our house.  She doesn't let size get in the way of what she wants. She has travelled to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Vegas, Oregon, and California. She is such a good traveller, sleeping in her purse the whole airplane flight, and then ready to go once we get to our destination. I'm sure she will travel to many other places in her future.

I was just thinking how great it would be to have the life of a dog (or puppy). To always be fed on time, bathed, loved, carted around, and to have a permanent bed on someone's lap. There are days when I dream of that. Especially after a day where my bones ache or I'm just plain too tired to go on.  Oh the life of a dog.....

Some Reno Pics

Here are a few of the before pictures of our house entry hallway. Tomorrow I will be putting up the last of the panels of the beadboard.  Then the trim....then the paint....then on to the next project!

Rain Rain Go Away

Another day of rain, am I surprised?  No.  What would life be in B.C. if it wasn't raining??  It just puts off the fact that I desperately need to get out into my yard to do a major cleanup that wasn't done last fall before the freeze.  I honestly think that people driving by our home must think that it has been abandoned because of the mess of the front yard.  And it doesn't help that on either side of us we have very meticulous gardeners that have already taken advantage of some of the nice days we've had to clean and spruce up their yards.  (They must have really dirty houses inside and don't have to cook for their families!)

Could it be that the state of the outside of our property be related to the fact that I have been working frantically on the inside of our home doing many renovation projects to prepare it for a future "for sale" sign.  I guess before we put that "for sale" sign on our front lawn this chick better take off her "carpenter" gloves and put on her "gardener" gloves and get to the business outside! Otherwise, once the "for sale" sign goes up in our yard, this chick better make sure that it is a yard that someone would stop and take notice of!

Getting back to the reno's at hand, I am almost finished with the front entryway.  The entryway used to have really old wallpaper that wasn't in good shape.  I have really wanted to use bead board in the house somewhere and this seemed like a good place to spruce things up and to streamline the look.  Just two more panels and trim and then I can get to painting it.  The walls above the panelling are already painted to match the rest of the house to make it "flow" better.

Just yesterday the tile guy came and measured the rooms that we want to add tile to.  The two bathrooms and laundry room will soon have gleaming floors to stare in awe at.  If I knew how to tile floors I would've, but this is not an area I want to mess with.  Tiling our kitchen backsplash is as far as I will go.

Last night we spent the evening at an athletic awards banquet in Abbotsford for our middle daughter's university.  The dinner was great, the speaker was great, and the conversation was great.  It is nice to see all the athlete's get recognized for all their hard work during their sport season.  With our daughter it is the sport of basketball.  We spend many hours warming up the gym's bleachers watching numerous basketball games.  We enjoy it though.  We have two daughters who play on basketball teams (one in high school, one in university) so we spend double the time in gymnasiums!