Saturday afternoon

~complete with a dish of cracked corn

Saw an owl late last night as I was bringing some things in from the clotheslines.  Just glanced over toward the wood fence at the street, thinking the boys were home from the restaurant. Instead I saw the owl swoop from the ground up to the oak next door.  Large, white, wingspan about 30" or so. Beautiful, and didn't make a sound.  We'd been hearing it this week, and have been keeping an eye on the Pugs when they'd be out.  I realize a 20lb. Pug is an unlikely dinner, but you do hear tales about birds of prey attempting to grab small animals.

I love stuff like that.

Well, not the swooping down and getting Pugs part, but the owl part.  You understand. :)

Going to attempt rearranging the living room when I get up from my rest.  Or put books on the new shelf Gary made for me at the shop---something creative and productive at the same time. And then after dinner, hoping to talk Gary into taking me to church to arrange the flowers for the altar.  Thinking a coffee or something would qualify it for a mini date.  Thinking that way.  We'll see how that flies.

And just enjoying the day.  Oldest daughter took me out to lunch, and we got the flowers at Fresh Market, then came back.  Refreshment to get out for a change of scenery.  As they say, "A change is as good as a rest."

What with having chicken time with breakfast outside this morning before it rained, it's been a pretty peachy day.

Sunday dinner-time

...not my pug, 'cause mine don't wear pearls

Just finished re-arranging the living room and dining room in preparation for putting up Christmas decorations. Funny how most everything had to be moved---the sofa, the bench that usually goes behind it, the dining room table and the lawyer's book cases as well.  All because I brought in the bistro table and chairs off the front porch, so that we can put our tree on top of it.  And it's a table-top tree, since with dogs in the house, a floor tree just won't work.  I think the bistro table will look a treat, and cute after the holidays as a place to sit and drink tea.  Least that's the idea that's spinning in my head.

Anyway.  Not sure how much we'll get done tonight.  I'm so happy with the results so far, and just need to unload the dining room table of all the stuff piled up on it now.  All the bits and pieces got put on it while we vacuumed and tidied up.

And it's been a restful day.  Got a call at 8am this morning from one of the men at church.  Someone---they're thinking it was a drunk driver---mowed down a transformer pole alongside the church and the whole neighborhood lost power.  A nice surprise, though I was looking forward to going.  They cancelled services since our cars would've been in the way of the utility guys, plus the church would've been pretty warm inside.  A nice surprise to be lazy on a Sunday morning.

Must go now.  White beans for dinner---need to go dress them up a bit.  And oldest daughter bought a cake and a box of ice cream for us to enjoy while we watch the last episode of 'The Amazing Race.'   A good ending to a quiet, rainy day.

Dolling up the kitchen

Last night, fourth son and I went to our moving-out-of-town neighbor's house to clean for her before her renters move in (see previous post---gender issues person is the new addition).  Anyway, our neighbor left two rugs behind on the street, and I've always enjoyed the one shown in the photo.  Had told her in the past to use the colors in that rug as a focal point in painting her bedroom.  Well, now she's gone and left this pretty and one that will go nicely in the younger boys' room.  Such a treat.  Can't believe she didn't want them, but they're in good condition, and we hung them over the play set overnight, and they got sun today.  Plus we whacked them with the broom.  Pug hair which cleaned off (she has two as well), but that's all.  Kim, thought you'd appreciate the pattern and colors!

And since the kitchen is pale green, with rose appliques on the walls, this fits in perfectly.

Beautiful use of color...

Source: pradaanswer.tumblr.com via melissa on Pinterest

Adorable...

Source: st.houzz.com via Mary on Pinterest

I adore this room

Source: rrantiques.tumblr.com via Debra on Pinterest

Later on Thursday

Thought I'd pop back in here again.  What a good day especially in terms of housekeeping.  And now with the rain sort of drizzling outside, I'm in bed with pug Daisy---window up and the fan blowing.  The rain hasn't been the pour down sort, but more of a steady/not-so steady sprinkle.  More please.  But on the plus side is that I could smell the briefest scent of fall in the air.  Odd too since this wind is coming from the Gulf of Mexico.  I think the dampness has brought it out. Gary said he thought the breeze this morning smelled faintly tropical.

Anyway, got lots done in the dining/living rooms.  Major dusting and figured out the new dining chair arrangements.  We're using the lot of them, but Gary wants to keep his grandparent's old chair as his regular seat.  That works.  I love sentimentality.  Makes things more homey, and I do dislike all matchy things.  A bit of a tweak in decorating makes for more interest, I think.

Tomorrow will bring more of the same.  The kitchen/former breakfast room is holding all the stuff I moved around today.  Just ran out steam and it'll have to wait.  I figure that if we can walk around the excess, that'll do until I get to it.

(photo taken by oldest daughter some time ago)

Stuff

What the burning bushes will look like in a month or so.  

Drumming my fingers on the table, urging Isaac to lean this way a bit as he travels north out of Louisiana and Mississippi.  We need rain badly, and this is a wonderful opportunity. Yesterday it looked like it would run right on top of us, but today, it seems to be headed to the Plains.  Drat. Hoping the sweep of clouds will be wide enough to get here as well.  The forecast says so; we'll see.

Being hit with that darned depression this week.  Double drat.  Maybe the dark cloud that's following me around will inspire some rain.  Sort of my personal Indian rain dance.

I had the idea of re-arranging the living room while the kids are at my mom's this afternoon.  The boys brought us home 6 matching chairs that were from the restaurant where they work.  They got new ones, and several employees got the (in very good shape) rejects.  They're in perfect shape, but as Gary and I said to each other privately---they match.  We've never had anything that matches in this house, having more of an unintentional shabby chic/country look, that seems to work.  To have dining room chairs that look good will be odd.  We're of the chipped paint sort.  His first words after looking at them (being a woodworking snob) was, "But they're golden oak!"  I'm thinking they'll be sanded down a bit and given a rubbed-through black finish.  Gary can't stand anything that's oak.  In projects for clients he'll do whatever he can to steer them to another wood. He's so funny.

Anyway,  I've got about an hour and a half before I have to fetch the offspring.  Will pick up something for dinner on the way.  My budget is $10 and we'll see what that provides.

Take care.

Kitchen cleaning and re-arranging

Second son took these two photos with his new phone, and the perspective is a tad different than when I take pictures.  For one, he's about 6'-4" tall, so his viewpoint is higher up.  Oh, and if you're paying attention, you can see the tape/velcro combination that keeps the oven door shut!

Anyway, just sharing our kitchen fiasco.  Wasn't aware he was taking shots, so these are totally unplanned. In one I'm  'thinking about it' and in the next am still thinking (while sucking down copious amounts of Coke Zero), while the least one prepares her tea.

In a cool way, we thought the photos looked like they were taken long ago---old kitchen, etc.  Well, that part is true, especially since nothing has been upgraded.

Hope to finish putting things away after nap-time.  Least that's the plan.

Clearing out

Moving things out of the soon-to-be pantry/art room.  My goodness, how much can I cram into one 9x9' room?  I think it's about that size.  Small house with small rooms.  The kids' bedrooms are about 10x10' or so.  You do with what you have or fuss about it.  I'd rather cope. Fussing is out.

The plan is to get it finished today, but you know how that is. Rooms that end up as junk collectors have issues with piles, and things that really don't have homes.  Just now fourth son helped me with the heavy things---big dog crate that will go in the attic, baking pans from the restaurant that won't fit in our oven so will get tossed, paint cans that need to go where paint cans go which is on the shelf over our bedroom closet, etc. And fifth son is mopping/scrubbing the floor underneath it all.  When I crawl out of bed in, say, ten minutes or so, I'll start putting things back. Can't wait to get the sewing/painting table all fixed up with my goodies.

Anyway, that's what's cookin' in our neck of the woods.  I'm thinking that the cooler weather (in the 80's here during the day and maybe the 60's/low 70's at night) that my energy level is a bit more perky.  A nice change at that.  I've been dragging so much this summer, that any excuse to get things done is a plus.

Will possibly take after photos, but don't hold your breath.  It sure won't look like the photo I'm sharing from Pinterest!  Besides that's a tad too girlie for me.  Cute, though.

(clickable pinterest photo)

Pantry angst

Suffering from pantry envy, and scratching my head and trying to think of how to make our two free-standing shelves pantry-worthy.  They sit at right angles to one another in what used to be our breakfast room.  When the family grew too much to use the room for a meal, we put the dining room table where it belongs---in the dining room. Sounds classy to eat in the dining room, but it's really not. Necessity warranted it since we only have one table.

Fast forward.  Gary bought two 6' white bookcases a couple of years ago to put in the breakfast room, which also has a small freezer, and a long table for crafts/sewing (hahahaha). I want the shelves to be more attractive, and have played with the idea of tension rods (with curtains) to cover up the stuff/cans/mugs/small appliances.  Plus, the backdoor is in that room, as is our bedroom door.  The outside door attracts all sorts of dog dirt, so a cover on the shelves might make them stay tidier.  And on top of the clutter, Romeo (the puppy) chewed the bottom of one of the bookshelves, so I need to touch up the paint so that it's not so much of an eyesore.  And now the shelves hold cookbooks, and everything I mentioned above.  I want it nice, though, and sometimes it seems too big a task.

Not an easy room to decorate.  Lots of stuff, nowhere else to put it, and surely there's an answer that's pretty and pleasing. I'd take a before picture, but it's that rotten!

(clickable pinterest photo)

Window after...

Just checked the weather online and saw that the heat index this very minute is 115F.  While I know it's hot, didn't know it was THAT hot. Thankful for the air conditioning working, though.  Over the weekend we developed a leak coming through the living room ceiling---the evaporator was mucked up in the attic and the a/c was clogged where the water drips to the outside.  Now will have to locate some ceiling paint in our various paint cans.  After painting the living room/dining room ceilings 2 years ago, not happy about the stain.  I will say, though, that I'm very pleased that I have a husband who will crawl around a hot attic to fix stuff.  And glad the nights were mild over the weekend.

And considering the heat, our power was knocked off at about 1am this morning when a truck hit the pole up the street.  Sadly a house across from it suffered a fire in their attic and back porch.  The rest of us had to man-up and be patient with hot houses.  I think we came out ahead.  The gas/electric guys had it fixed by about noon-ish this morning.  At the height of the hullabaloo, there were 4 fire trucks outside.  Wondering if they were afraid of a ricochet effect of the fire spreading along the wires.  Amazing, to be sure.  Never have felt safer!  Oddly enough, the guy who hit the pole (Gary saw the accident happen) whammed it super hard, but just drove away.  Left his front bumper, though.  People are so strange.

Now resting after a barely fitful night of sleep.  I think we finally got to bed at around 3am or so.  Then we all  had to get up and do it all over again.  That's the way of life, eh?  We just keep on going, no matter.

Take care, yourselves, and slip in something fun.  Still working on that, myself. :)

This is wonderful...

Source: dyingofcute.tumblr.com via Sandy on Pinterest