What I did on Friday night...

It's getting closer and closer to the demo on my kitchen and all a sudden I got a bit sad.  Tim knew how I love purple.  I wear purple, I sing purple, I eat and smell purple.  Well, you get the gist of it.  So one of  the first things he did when we bought the house eleven years ago was surprise me with the offer of a purple kitchen.  If the name purple scares you, try to think lilac...anyway he took his time on it (three weeks) cleaning and priming and painting and I loved it.  Here are two pictures that I stitched together to give you a panoramic view...

I'm not the best at photo manipulation, but once again you get the idea...

Over the years we had lots of fun in the kitchen, fixing coffee, dancing Three Stooges and James Brown style on the newly waxed slipperiness of the vinyl flooring. We seldom ate in the kitchen, choosing to chow down in front of big screen in the living room, so the kitchen was always the site for craziness.

We bird watched and deer watched from the kitchen windows and he cooked his first real meal in the purple kitchen. We both were pleased with the purple kitchen and just were never ready to repaint it.

So it was sorta bringing me down that I had to destroy all of this for my kitchen update.  In an effort to way goodbye to the kitchen and have some fun at the same time, I decided to graffiti the cabinets and the wall that are going to be removed...

This is the first thing that I did.  Oddly enough, it felt wrong to write on my walls.  I thought it would be freeing, or something but it really was more of a sad goodbye to start out with.   I didn't stop, though, I had other things to say...

We always talked about blooming where you were planted and were happy to say that we felt like we had.  Tim was a musician and was always touched deeply by the deaths of other musicians.  With that in mind I honored a few of our favorites on this cabinet door.

We prayed in the kitchen many time and were never hesitant to give the Lord credit for all the wonderful things he had done for us.  Some of you may know that hubby was conservative in his political views, so to say that the Lord was praised, but the president was not is a very true statement.  Even though the self imposed stress of politics may have contributed to Tim's early heart attack, we were very happy together...

By the time I got all around the kitchen with my markers, I had cried quite a bit, but I realized that I am still happy.  Happy for the privilege of spending so many years with the man that painted my kitchen. Happy because I am anticipating many more years of joy in my new kitchen.  The years to come will bring new friends to my table and new experiences to my kitchen.  How can you not be grateful for a life like mine.  I have wonderful sisters and good friends and a hopeful positive attitude.

So in closing this post, I have to let you know that I am ready to say goodbye to the purple kitchen.  I realize now that I'm not saying goodbye to the memories of the wonderful things that happened here.  I'm moving forward and looking forward to wonderful things happening in my new kitchen.

Happy Sunday to all.  Stay tuned for more pictures of the remodel.  I'm sure there will be crazy things happening...

I've decided on wall color...

I am giving myself a pat on the back for not only admitting that my initial wall color choice was so "not me", but for listening to that little voice in my head and changing completely.

Initially I was thinking pale yellow as our friend Ellie, has a beautiful yellow sunroom.  Now mind you, I wasn't even thinking wall color when I  picked out the vinyl for my flooring, I was thinking how I wanted something that I really like and would want to live with for years.  (I may no longer be a spring chicken, but I am planning on many more years in this new space).  I love the vinyl squares that give the appearance of stone with grouting, but give me the benefit of more cushion underfoot and easier maintenance than actual slate. 

So after deciding on the vinyl, I realized yellow walls would not work at all.  Especially with the laminate that I picked for the counter tops.  This is the process I used to determine what paint color would work...

My appliances are going to be stainless steel, so I took a stainless steel burner cover, the yellow paint sample, the sample floor tile and placed them all together.  I even made a little drawing of my stove and cabinets cut them apart and placed them on the yellow paint sample. See how I colored the counter tops with pencils in the drawing?  Then I used the outsides of my colored pencils as substitute "paint samples" to see what shades would work.  It didn't take long to realize that my floor and counter tops would simply not work with yellow.

I continued with this method using other colored pencils and decided that I really needed something in the warm rose or beige family.

I took my laminate samples and headed to Home Depot to look at more paint samples.  I finally narrowed my choices down to a warm color in Behr paint called Champagne Ice and a cooler version of the same color called Early Sunset.  I purchased paint (sample sized) mixed in both of these colors and went forward with this...

I wish the colors on the wall showed up better in this shot, but as you can see when you click in, I took the floor, laminate and stainless samples and placed them next to the white baseboard ( representing my new white cabinetry) in my dining room.  I then proceeded to paint the sample colors directly on the wall.  What??? is she crazy??  She's not having the dining room remodeled!  What about her walls? 

Well, the area that I painted will be cut out to make a four foot opening connecting the old dining room to the new sunroom.  It will then be more of an extension to the foyer and the color of the sunroom  and kitchen will be very visible from the dining room/pass through.  For this reason, my carpeting needed to be complemented by the new flooring and wall color.  Whew, what a long (and probably unnecessary) explanation. 

Bottom line is this, Campaign Ice won out. I love the warm beige-y color with everything.  It reminds me of the color of my grandmother's face powder.  It is such a "make-up" color and it feels soft and comforting, where as the Early Sunset (the cooler painted block) ended up looking cold and uninviting and pretty much turned gray.

So the porta-potty has been delivered and the dumpster for the demolition trash.  The plumber has been here and the hvac guys...so it is really underway.

I'll try to give you updates, and who knows maybe I'll have time for some art while all this is going on.  In the meantime, let me know what you think of my choices so far. 

We'll talk soon. Take care.

Deep thoughts...

Posting twice in the same week...crazy, huh.  This is just a quick post because I needed a format for my inner most thoughts today.

You all know that I loved my husband and, of course, I miss him.  One of the things I don't miss is how super cautious he was.  He was so prone to trying to be perfect that he would get almost paralyzed if it came to doing something where he couldn't visualize the scenario ending perfectly.  This has never been my style and sometimes I really felt bad for him when he just couldn't move forward because of these self-imposed "what ifs".

I could expound on this personality trait, but let's just say for now, that I am not completely stymied by the unknown.  Today's unknown would be, me wondering if I can trim my hair (front, back and sides) and not look like a toddler had taken scissors to her bangs while playing beauty parlor.  Tim, would have said, "no, no, no, you DO NOT want to try that, call your stylist!"

Well, when I want my darn hair cut, I want it cut now and now is when it's gonna be cut.  I've cut hair for years and done a pretty good job of it, so I went for it.

Here's the front view (the lighting was really bad and my eyes do not look that raccoon like in real life.

I am posting the side view mostly because I think the photo is hilarious.  I don't know what I was thinking, with the pursed lips, but I think I was talking out loud.  Be sure and click in on the vintage ear bobs that I got for Christmas 1972.  Yeah, I still have a lot of my old jewelry.

So the whole point of  today's post is to remind you to let yourself go sometimes.  You'll never know  what you can do until you try. Don't be that person who, after you have passed on, has people feeling bad for you because you were frozen in fear of something not being perfect.

My hair...no, it's not perfect, but it reflects my attitude about life.  If no one is going to get hurt by it, (after all, hair does eventually grow out) go for it.

The way I look at it, I saved $40.00 and there are several tubes of lip gloss at the CVS that are calling my name.

Love ya and we'll talk soon.

I've been sewing...

As many of you may know by now, I do things in "spurts".  Wait, that didn't really sound right.  What I mean, is that I do one thing for several weeks and get over that and go on to something else.  I'd like to think it really keeps me creative, so to speak. Actually I get bored easily.  If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that I make jewelry, I crochet, knit and do various type of needle work.  Recently I've been posting pictures of watercolor  paintings.  Well, this week I got the sewing bug, mostly because it's frustrating that off the rack clothes seldom fit.  Recently I have found several items at Hamrick's that do fit really well and I wanted to  duplicate them in a fabric of my choice.

Before going to shop for fabric, I took to the basement to dig through my stash.  I knew I had some really pretty print rayon (thank you Peri) that would make a cute pair of shorts/culottes so I found that and then went to the internet to find out how to convert a shorts pattern (which I had) to a culotte pattern (which I did not have). I  found a site through Pinterest redesigning children's shorts, and adapted it to my own adult sized shorts pattern.

I took my shorts pattern and custom fit it by making slight adjustments to the length of the stride, duplicated it on paper and cut it as show above, repositioning to get a bit more flounce. I then taped it down to another piece of  paper and cut it out.  In all actuality, it would probably be easier to take a skirt pattern and add a crotch to it, and I may try that at some point.  I digress, as I said, above you see the culotte pattern that I came up with. Now the blouse...

For my blouse pattern I took a commercial pattern that was close to the style I wanted and made adjustments in the length (see that red pencil mark near the hem).  Then I weighed the pattern down with kitchen silverware and cut it out.  If you are not as confident in your garment cutting (or have more patience than I do) this would be when you pin the pattern to the fabric.  I've done it this way for years, having learned this shortcut in a sewing class I took back in the 70's.

Next,  I took the actual blouse that had the sleeves that I wanted, and placed it down on a sheet of tissue paper and drew out my own sleeve pattern.  Shucks, if it doesn't work, I'll make it sleeveless.  Never know  till you try, right? (By the way this fabric is so pretty with silver glitter actually on the surface)

After sewing and pressing and learning a different sewing machine as I went, I came up with this...

Normally I would never have taken a pictures of myself in shorts, but as you know, I have a new normal now, so ta, da!

The shorts turned out so comfy (with their elastic waist and roomy pockets) that I have been wearing them everyday.  Good thing I went to Joann's and got a bunch more fabric, right?

The blouse is a bit wider in the neckline than I had anticipated, but it was so pretty that I actually paired it with black slacks and wore it to church today.

So there you have it.  I'm sewing again.  The builders will be here in a week, so I'll probably move all my accoutrements to another part of the house, but it feels so good to make a garment that fits my current body size, that I'm ready to tackle another sewing project.  I even purchased lots of extra fabric to make tops for Per and Peri.  Who knows where this might lead.

Well, that's all for now.  Hope everyone is having a good Spring, because Summer is right around the corner. 

I'm staying busy...

As I wait for the contractors to finally start in two more weeks, I am thinking of ways to stay busy.  I love to do various kinds of art so I've been doing watercolor to help pass the time.  Imagine having to find ways to pass the time...I live a good life, huh?  Anyway I did another house portrait, this one for my neighbor.

 (She fell in love with it)

 This was a fairly large piece with the image area being 14 x 11.  I usually do 8 x 10 sizes.


 This next one is a mixed media piece, a still life of sorts, based on the picture I took of the citronella candles from my last post.  The shadows are cast by the pole and fabric folds of my deck umbrella being reflected in the textured surface of the glass table.

This one is much smaller, with the image area being 5 x 7.  I used my photo program to turn the photo into a black and white line drawing.  I then used artist's graphite transfer paper and just traced the image onto the watercolor paper using a mechanical pencil. For this painting I used a very smooth surfaced watercolor paper.  The underpainting was done in traditional watercolor paint with the details being done in another of my favorite water media...inktense pencils.  It's not perfect by any means, but the reflections are my favorite part.  It's raining here today, so I went out and took more shots of the candles with rain on them in hopes of continuing the series while learning to paint rain drops.

Well, that's the art for this week so far.  Who knows I just might do something else this week.  I've got the time and I'm not easily discouraged, so I just might learn something new.

What do these things have in common?

Ahhhh the beautiful flowers and the lovely aroma that they provide...

I love to sit  outside on my deck in the evening, talking to Peri on the phone.  The smell of this container of flowers is most pleasant...

After the first night of sitting outside to enjoy nature while we chatted, it quickly became apparent that I needed these...

 Citronella Candles

Mind you it wasn't because I heard or even saw any bugs, it's just that I am one of those types of people that draws insects to them, causing them to soon need these items...

Perhaps it's just because I'm so sweet, but ever since I can remember (and probably before then) I have had allergic reactions to all bug bites.  Even gnats.  Especially mosquitoes, which as usual caused this...

I hope you don't mind seeing the resort supplied slipper, as well as the freckled and crepey skin on this sixty year old leg, as you view the bug bites that have been most unpleasant the past two days.  There is one on my shin of this same leg and one on the calf of my other leg.  My little tootsies have even swelled some.

I bathed them in cold water, put ice on them, and even made a poultice of crushed aspirin before finally going to the store to get itch cream and taking a Benadryl.  They really feel mucho better now, but they look hideous.

Wont be but a few more weeks until I have my deck screened in and can sit out there and talk for hours if I want, but until then...I'm loaded and ready to attack if it happens again.  The candles really helped last night, so I think I'll be ok.

I suppose if bug bites are the biggest worries I have, I'm doing pretty dang good.

A couple of pictures...

Nothing much going on here yet.  It will probably be another two or three weeks before my remodeling starts.  In the meantime here are a couple of everyday pictures.

Here I am wearing my new prasiolite earrings.

Went to the yearly gem and jewelry show at the nearby civic center.  Got a pink beaded bracelet that I don't have the time right now to make myself, and it was only ten dollars.

Got a matching prasiolite ring (some call it green amethyst, but that's not actually the case). There is no such thing, but if you heat a purple amethyst, it turns a lovely shade of green and I like the look of the set that I chose.

I got some nice silver toned spacer beads and a strand of blue fire agate faceted beads.  The colors really spoke to me. I could have gotten them cheaper online, but there is just something about holding the beads in your hand (not to mention the convenience of taking them with you) that makes the few extra dollars worth it. 

The stone in the other ring is larimar.  It's a stone that I wasn't familiar with but apparently is found only in the Dominican Republic and has become so popular that they may become harder and harder to find.

I kinda splurged on the large piece of polychrome jasper (desert jasper) that will look lovely in my new sun room when it's completed. Desert Jasper is a new find, coming from Madagascar and it's really lovely.

Last but certainly not least, I had to really splurge on this next item.  It's my sister's fault.  We were talking about our love of sugar wafer cookies and I mentioned that those cookie making elves had some chocolate covered cookies of this type, I thought they were called grasshoppers, but that's another delicious cookie made in a hollow tree.  So this is my weekend treat...

I do hope everyone has a good weekend and remembers what the real Memorial Day is about. 

Here is my sister Peri's take on things.  Hope she doesn't mind me sharing her FB status.

To all those folks who lost loved ones in wars fought by this country..whether they were or were not "sanctioned" or whether or not they are today considered "improper actions" or "rebellions"... men and women died and May 31 is the day chosen by women in this nation to remember and to honor "the brave fallen". So have your barbecues, your parties, your sales, your drunken sprees this weekend and on the Federal Monday holiday, and then on May the 31st, stop, be quiet, be sober, and reflect on what it means to give up one's life for one's country. Remember them ALL, from ALL the wars, from ALL the countries, shed a tear, say a prayer...but do not belittle their memory. You walk free and proud and can say you are an American because of them.

Remembering Salvation Mountain

I was so happy to see that Yahoo had done a beautiful video of Leonard Knight returning for a visit to Salvation Mountain. Tim had found out about the mountain while searching online for unusual things to do in California. I told Peri and she and Peg made arrangements for us to visit the mountain as a surprise for Tim's birthday in 2008.  I did have to tell him ahead of time, but that didn't lessen the joy and excitement that Salvation Mountain held for us.

We stopped by Home Depot on the way and got several gallons of vibrant paint to help keep the mountain alive...

You see Marc and Tim unloading paint and brushes and other supplies to help spread Leonard's message of "God is Love".

Tim did a short video of Leonard giving his famous thumbs up, "let's everyone love one another", signature message.  This is so sweet, as Tim had done the thumbs up for his entire life.  He tried to be a really positive guy. Even in this quick photo, you can see the joy on Tim's face.

Our buddy Marc drove us out into the desert of Niland, California to experience Salvation Mountain.  Marc was a sweetie, helping me to climb to the top of the painted mountain, holding my sunglasses when needed and even taking pictures of Tim and me...

It was a fun vacation, a most exciting birthday for Tim and now another wonderful, joyful memory of time spent with my husband.

As I mentioned, this post was brought about by a video that appeared on Yahoo today about Leonard returning to the mountain.  It's about seven minutes long, and I hope you can find time to watch it.  Try to ignore the not so family friendly commercial that precedes the video that hopefully can be seen here. 

Have a great week and remember that God is Love!  

Matisse trinket box

Just realized that I forgot to post a picture of the trinket box that I made for Peg, my sister-in-law.  I drew the design on the canvas with markers.  I used a Henri Matisse coffee table book for my design.  I really like his use of vibrant colors and thought that they would work well as a needlepoint design.  I started the project several years ago, as you can see here.  I really like to eventually finish what I start and that is why and how the needlework ended up as a trinket box.  I really have very few unfinished needlework projects.  Unframed, but not unfinished.  Blah, Blah, Blah...all that being side, here is Peg's trinket box.

I purchased an inexpensive black box at the craft shop and painted animal stripes on it.

After getting everything penciled in and painted, I glued craft felt into the inside of the box and glued the needlework to the top.

The craft felt will allow her to put delicate items, such as sunglasses or jewelry in the box without worrying about scratches.

I really like painting and drawing needlepoint canvases and have often thought about doing some and selling them.  After I get my house remodeled, that may be just the way to relax.  I will have lots of room with lots of light and I can already predict an increase in motivation to be artsy.

Well, taking Sister Peri's advice to heart, I'll be posting random things as the construction progresses and probably asking for advice on things, too.   In other words, I won't be a stranger.

Take care and enjoy your Spring.

I'm still around...

Just wanted everyone to know that I'm OK.  I've just got a lot going on right now.  Signed a contract for a remodel of my garage into a sun room and if they do it as nicely as I think they will, more  improvements to the house are in the near future.

I have tree people here today and tomorrow and my landscaper is working up a proposal for some work to be done this summer.

Getting ready for the remodel will required cleaning out the garage, donating items and storing others.  If I  decide to have the kitchen updated, that will also require packing and moving items to other areas of the house.  Well, I think I'll have plenty of help and I'm still in good enough shape to pack and move some  items myself.

Life is moving forward in a positive fashion.  I'm feeling good about things and settling into a new routine.  I still check out your blog (even when I don't comment), so keep me posted on all your "goin'ons".

Take care and we'll talk soon.

More vacation pictures

Yes, dear friends, there are many more pictures to be shared.  I can't believe that I didn't take any pictures at our friend Ellie's house, which was our first stop on the road trip.  She has a beautiful home and served us a wonderful lunch with dessert and coffee afterwards.  Forgive me Ellie for not taking any pictures.

I started taking pictures in Colonial Williamsburg.  I do have pictures of the hotel we stayed in

 (The Williamsburg Inn)

and pictures of the rooms and such, but for today we will take a quick tour down Duke of Gloucester Street.

Walking towards the center of it all you see the beginnings of lovely gardens (it was early April) in the backs of some of the houses.  If the gate is open to the fence feel free to roam about quietly and enjoy them.

On your way to the main street you see lots of restored homes that I wasn't sure what they were, Peri said that some were private residences. I've come to find out that some of the restored structures are also used for lodgings and are staffed by the same folks that run the Inn where we stayed.  These houses are much more original inside, with canopy beds and even trundle beds, some sharing a bath and sitting area with other guests, and some are houses that you can rent the entire dwelling for your stay.

 Here you see the Brick Tavern Inn, with a sign that states there are "Sixteen Good Rooms for Ladies and Gentlemen".

Hmmmm, now that's a thought, actually staying in one of the restored buildings in the middle of everything that happens.  Anyway, I digress and I'm not sure I'm ready to "rough it" after staying at the Inn.

Here is a beautifully restored house that has a sign attached to it, but I can't remember what it said, and can't quite make it out.  It may also be lodging.

We were taking our time as we were walking, something I thought would be easier than it actually was. The walking, that is.  It's a long street, and it's not a bad idea to get a carriage ride.

Further down the way we come to a building that has a sign that says grocer, with a cutout piggy, but I didn't see a flag outside, the signal that you may come in, so it may also be a private dwelling.

The main reason I took this shot was for the doors that appear to go to the cellar, on the beautiful barn shaped house next to the grocer.  I just love everything about the houses in this picture and probably will use it for a watercolor painting.

We saw a man with his oxen.  Later in the day, Peri talked at length with this gent and can give us the info on them in a future post.  (It's about time for her to be guest author, anyway.)

These structures were painstakingly restored and are proudly maintained. There is much history about the restoration itself. There are, in fact, several blogs about Colonial Williamsburg that would really give much better information that I can, but in the meantime I'm still walking, talking and taking pictures.

I went in one shop that had all kinds of pantry and kitchen items for sale, including this wall of lovely pottery and crockery.

Colonial Williamsburg is a historical tourist site after all, and while they try to keep everything low key and staffed by folks in period attire, there still has to be bar codes and scanners and all the things that keep modern day merchants on top of things.  (some of the proprietors will tell you in their British accents that they dislike the new fangled gadgetry and wish it were not so).

One of the shops sells stationary and inkwells, along with printed material pertaining to colonial times, that is actually printed in the lower portion of the dwelling. 

 Print Shop and Store

I, being retired from the commercial printing industry, should have taken the time to visit the printing area, but there was still so much more to see.

We ate and did other things that I'll discuss later, but the main thing I wanted to do was get back to the hotel and soak in the tub.

I knew as I stepped into this narrow, deep tub that I would have trouble getting out, but I really wasn't prepared for how difficult it would be.  I didn't have a phone handy or I might have called Peri for help.  After about five minutes of maneuvering, I was able to get on my knees to stand up.  I just could not for the life of me, push my self up to a standing position using the safety rails.  For a few moments, I felt a bit like a beached marine animal with no rescuer in site. Whew, finally I figured out how to do it and got myself out.  A bit embarrassing, even if I was by myself.

Many, many other fine things happened on our week long road trip and you will have more (yes, I did say more) pictures in the next few posts. 

It was good for me to get away from home and learn that the world is still the same as I remember it and I can do things and go places.  My life is different now, but that's to be expected and I'm learning to make the changes that I need to.

I have to say once again, that the love that my sisters have shown me, doesn't surprise me in any way. It's just that I know that they loved Tim, too and they miss him and want me to be able to make the most of this new life.  Friends and neighbors have been kind and thoughtful, but these two sweeties have shown me, that my life is about me now.  They are helping me move forward and have done so much to help me to keep Tim's memory alive in a wonderfully strong and healthy way.  I love them both so much.

OK, enough of that.  Hope you liked this weeks travelogue.  Stay tuned for the next installment.

At Blueberry Brooke...

My pictures don't compare to the pictures on the website of Blueberry Brooke, but I took lots of them anyway...I always do.

We got in a bit late, and after calling Virginia to let her know we had arrived we proceeded to experience that which is Blueberry Brooke.  I really want to say a lifetime of memories were made in a very short time.

We entered into her kitchen, where she had sweets set out for us and where she lovingly displays one of the several magazines that their house has appeared in.

The parlor is quite expressive...

And Virginia graciously donned her birthday hat for a fun photo...

After a few moments of introductions and getting to know the house, we went to our rooms for the night.  Here you see my room...

Peri's room had a little something special to watch over her as she slept...

I am sorry that our traveling gear seems to show up in all the photos, but it is after all part of the experience.  Blessedly we had Marc to help us with all our gear.

After sleeping, we awakened to a chilly morning (31 degrees) and had a lovely breakfast of fresh grapefruit, followed by bacon, scrambled eggs and toast.  Since it was our birthday week, Virginia  thoughtfully had made a sweet cake.  Cake at breakfast, you may ask...yes, yes indeed.

 Well, it's time to load up the car and start out for the next adventure.  Here is a shot of the 100 year old school house that is also on their land.  Sorry that we didn't take time to go in, it does look interesting.

We had a bit of time to kill before we went to our friend's house, which was much closer than we realized. After taking a quick photo of our host and hostess (sorry Bob, I have a talent for catching my subjects right as they blink)...

Virginia suggested that we visit a bookstore nearby that is housed in a structure that was once an actual barn.  Armed with a container of cake as (a bribe) thanks for opening on the day off, Virginia, having called ahead, led the way and we got to meet some more interesting folks.

Virginia had very graciously given us a copy of a gardening book (now out of print) that the mother of the bookstore owner had written some years back.  After climbing the quite steep (ladder) stairs in the barn, where we did find some treasures to take home, we came back out, spoke to the chickens...

and got to meet the author of the above mentioned book.  Marc had opportunity to speak with the owner of the bookstore and learned of his previous life as a musician and of his life on the road.  This bookstore owner/musician called his mother and we met her, chatted a bit and she signed the gardening book.

As you know from my previous short post, our main reason for visiting upstate NY was to meet our blogger friend in person for the first time.  We had a wonderful adventure in New York and really did make a lifetime of memories.  What a fun trip we had.

I'll have more pictures in future posts, but I know there is no way they will adequately describe the experience that was "Peri, Peg, Susan and Marc on the Birthday Trip".