Skip to my loo.

I made a list of things I want to complete before summer

and I've already crossed off number one.

It may not sound like much of an accomplishment,

but just imagine giving 6 of these chairs (1,000,000 spindles)
 2 coats of chalk paint.  Yeah.

This was the first thing on my list after I saw how bad they looked

when I set up my dining room for Christmas dinner.  They were all

different shades of white, and 2 of them had just a coat of primer.

There are only 2 chairs alike, but now at least they're all the same color.



August 2011

Our dining room in my early days of blogging.

What a difference a few coats of paint can make!

Since I had paint left over,

I gave the two dressers and drop leaf table their first

coat of paint and this is how they've sat for 2 weeks,

because I'm already onto a new project.

(I've completely given up on being focused.)

Number 2.  he he

  We are on day three of wallpaper removal.

I hated the wallpaper (already removed in this photo) in this bathroom from first sight,

but it's taken me over 12 years to tackle this project,

because I knew exactly what to expect.....

.......hours of scrubbing to remove wallpaper glue, followed by sanding,

priming, and a skim coat of mud on the plaster walls.

  Messy, messy, messy.

This photo is from a thousand years ago, and it's hard to tell,

but the wallpaper was a faux sponge paint purplish pinkish beige.  Yuck.

It clashed with the tile that I'm not fond of either and I'm currently

researching the pros and cons of painting the ceramic wall tile white.

 The truck is going bye-bye, along with all my turquoise thingies.

The beige floor tile is staying.

We installed the reproduction medicine cabinet, pedestal sink, and new toilet,

so it's just the walls and window trim that need work....

and the window that was installed a number of years ago will finally be painted.

All work and no play make this Ranger cranky,

so in the evenings I've been working on this......

 Making the squares is fiddly work, but crocheting them together

is sort of like putting together a great big puzzle.
It's very relaxing to do after a long day at work.

I'm pretty sure somebody in this house would rather see a different

sort of spread on the dining room table, but since it's
temporarily out of commission, I believe we'll be dining out tonight.

Works every time.  :o)

Thanks for visiting!
Vickie

Sunshine on a cold winter's day.

It's amazing how much more energetic I feel with just a small dose of sunshine!

 I've been busy filling holes in the walls and making lots of new ones, too.

I got tired of the busyness of my picture gallery wall, so I gathered what I could find

to create a quieter neutral grouping.  I took the mirrored panes out of my old window

and turned it around to the chippy white painted side.

  I bought this rickety old window on July 4, 1999 at my hometown antique shop

 (I can remember that day vividly, but I can't remember where I put my car keys 

10 minutes ago).  I'm amazed that the old window trend  

has lasted 2 decades and it's still going strong!  Our girls were high school students

 when I bought it and now their kids are starting school!!

 I replaced the old hats on the wall in this corner with a woven basket

found for a steal at an antique shop.  The folk art carved angel was also purchased

at an antique shop, but neither are old.  She was a medium wood tone

when I found her, but I lightened her up with whitish paint.

 She's kind of a hot mess right now, because I mistakenly added

sanded grout to my chalk paint.  Looks a bit like she's been flapping

around in a sandbox.  Poor thing.

 Gone are all the reds that filled our house over the holidays.

 I'm not much of a frilly flower girl, but these funky pom pom flowers

in a nice earthy green are just my style.  On sale for only $5 a bunch at Hobby Lobby,

I splurged on 3 bunches, two for this bucket and one for the mantel.

 Any room looks better with sunshine streaming through the drafty old windows.
Lots of fresh -20 degree air blowing in, too.

 Little fuzzy green snowballs.

 I painted over my dark wood candlesticks, which look like

I unearthed them at an archaeological dig (same gritty sanded grout 
 chalk paint finish as my sandbox angel).

A new basket holds another wool throw I've been knitting during
long car trips.  It's almost finished.

Side note:  My cedar Christmas garland stayed green for a full month!

It was dry and crispy, but it still looked good and that's all that matters, right?

 I gathered all my woven goodies together to fill this tray.

 I wound a discount greenery swag (also from Hobby Lobby)
 around a grapevine wreath to add some life to this corner.
  Years ago we had a hand-me-down tabletop Christmas tree at work that we nicknamed
"Swamp Thing".  Just thought I'd add that tidbit that came to mind

while I was making the wreath.

 I think it's supposed to be some type of eucalyptus and I chose it because
but it was the only greenery that looked somewhat real to me.

 I bought and returned several styles of lamps to replace the dated buffet lamps

 I sold a few years ago.  I'm still on the fence about these,

but I'm afraid Target's pinned up a photo of me at the return counter,

so I'm keeping them.  I've got another spot in mind for them, so it's all good.

More faux greens fill an old sugar bowl.  I can not keep house plants alive,

 so If you can't grow, go faux! is my motto.

I've had a lovely day off with the house all to myself,
way too many cups of coffee
  and a few pieces of orange chocolate biscotti.


I'll probably be up all night.

Thanks so much for visiting and stay warm!
Vickie

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