Better late than never Christmas tour.

I'm incapable of getting my Christmas act together until all the holiday house tours

in Blogland have come and gone.  I don't make big changes in the way

I decorate for Christmas from year to year, but I felt the need to publish a post

 to pull my blog out of the toilet, so to speak.(I'm referring to my last post.)

Sunshine and days off rarely coincide, so here's our dining room
on a gray winter day.  I had to take dozens of photos just to get a few shots
 with all the chandelier lights shining. I got my workout going up and down
the chair to screw in one temperamental light bulb and then hightail it
back to my camera to quickly snap a shot before it flickered out.
   So there you have it.  All 250 watts burning bright.

Total calories burned during my chair stepper routine = 250 (I wish!)

The chandelier crystals take on a new persona at night
when they catch the rays of the 24/7 light show next door.
Red and green and flashing all over.  :o)

An old quilt is my table dressing for the season.

I added some glittery wood snowflakes to my autumn acorn garland.

Green trees in teacups and an angel in a birdcage?
There is no logic involved in Christmas decorating.

I retired my sheet music wreath and resurrected "swamp thing"

with a piece of pine garland and red berries. The Swedish candle holder

was a thrift store find.  Score!

Red white & blue brighten up this corner of the room.

I keep the buffet top simple so I can easily move everything
 to make way for Christmas goodies.  We need lots of room for goodies.

I made little gingerbread houses to decorate the kitchen shelves,
and as of today there have been no uninvited guests
nibbling on the walls.  Whew!

The red and white mugs were a World Market find this year.
I also found a cookie cutter at WM for mini gingerbread houses
that will make assembling the houses so much easier next year!

Since I still haven't replaced our living room furniture (no big surprise),

I spruced up the sofa with a fun new throw from TJMaxx.

A round red placemat from Target brightens the basket on the wall.

On my to do list for several years was to make a big chalkboard (3 ft. x 4 ft.)
 to hang over the sofa.  It only took a few hours and cost around $10 to make.

I wonder how long my chalk art will last when our grands arrive?

The only thing I've yet to do is assemble candles and votive cups
for the luminaries we line our sidewalk with on Christmas Eve.

Our son-in-law Jeremy has taken on the duty of lighting
 the luminaries each year, which is not an easy task when it's
cold and windy.  I'll be watching from the nice warm house.

It was a difficult year for us at 911, but as 2017 draws to an end,
I realize how truly blessed we are.

We love you Santa.
  It wouldn't be Christmas without you.

Thanks so much for visiting and Merry Christmas

from our house to yours!

Vickie

Another fine mess.

Please put all food and beverages aside for a moment.
We'll be visiting in the bathroom today.  :o)

After we spent countless hours on wallpaper removal and plaster repair

in our upstairs bathroom (8 months ago) was I any happier with the room?

Nope.

After the wallpaper was gone and the upper walls were painted white
all I could focus on was the beige tile.  I looked at that wall tile
 month after month and wished it would magically transform itself
into white subway tile.  Not happening, I'm afraid.

I was so uninspired to continue with the room that last weekend I convinced

my partner in crime (who may have been slightly less enthusiastic

than I to embark on this quick fix) to help me remove the beige tiles.

Less than an hour later we were done!

  Woo hoo!

Then we stood back to survey the damage.

It gets worse.

You can see the many layers of paint over the faux plaster tiles

from days of yore.  It's even worse behind the toilet

which necessitated removing the tank.

After removing most of the tile to reveal the nightmare beneath,

I wisely decided to leave the tile around the tub.

I'm going to cut a few tiles I saved to finish off the edge

and then paint the remaining tile white.  My ever changing plan

is to install beadboard over the rest of the damaged walls.

*Update:  It seems the tiles have been transported to the landfill.
Hmmmm.  I guess we'll worry about that later.

First and foremost we need to smooth out the walls to create

a flat surface on which to adhere the beadboard.  No small feat!!

Worst Case Scenario is what we uncover
 every blankety-blank time we start a project.  You'd think just once
things would go our way!

As you can see, progress has been made, but I foresee nothing but problems
nailing base trim around the room (that slopes downhill)
 onto walls that are not remotely level or plumb.  There will be a lot of standing around
 and head scratching whilst we try to figure this out.

If you've visited the Cosmos Mystery Area in the Black Hills of
South Dakota, you have an idea of what we're dealing with in our bathroom.

But,
 I'm trying to be more of a glass is half-full type of person,
so on the plus side:

1.  No black mold was found in the crumbling walls.

2.  No small rodents or insects crawled through the holes in the walls.
(I watch every episode of Infested.)

3.  We already have new plumbing, wiring, toilet, sink,
medicine cabinet, and window so this facelift should be fairly inexpensive.

*Estimated cost x 4 (or 10) = Actual cost.


4.  I'm not a participant in a blogger ORC.
(for those of you unfamiliar, ORC is a one room challenge
completed in a few short weeks.  I'd crack under the pressure.)


Now let's look at my timeline, shall we?
Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner.
Six adults and 4 small children.

Is this not the perfect time
 to demo a bathroom?!

Timing is everything.
Vickie