Spring is well on it's way!

I'm ready for some warm weather. The flowers and colors of spring are arriving, making me impatient for the weather to catch up.



Yesterday I did a bit of painting - spray painting, that is. I needed some bed side tables for Alyssa's room in AR. Mom had a small chest of drawers that matched the one that I had, and she generously offered it up for the cause. Her's was in excellent condition, mine - not so much. Alyssa had painted on it, had glue spots on it, and had carved letters on it. I did some sanding so that it's better. Then I painted both f them and I think they turned pretty well.

I also painted up this quilt hanger for the master bedroom in AR. Along with the quilt for the bed, my Mom gave me a smaller quilt that will look great hanging on this.

Now for some upcoming projects . . . . .



Yesterday I went to several garage sales looking for some more good finds for the vacation home. No luck. However, I did take a side tour to Hobby Lobby. I found the grommets for the shower curtain I made that you can see I attached to the curtain last night. I also got some zebra print shear material for the curtains in Alyssa's room. I started working on them last night, but I think it will take me a while. The fabric isn't cooperating like I want.


I'm making progress. I'm going to make a list of furniture I still need and Don is going to look on Craig's list. We'll be on our way back down in three months. Hopefully we'll have the furniture for the bedrooms. Progress feels good!

We're baaaack . . . .

We just spent a week at our vacation home in Arkansas. We had gorgeous weather. With the chilly temps and wind here at home, I'm really missing those 90 degree days. The dogwood trees were blooming along with the azaleas.

The house is coming along. Alyssa is happy because her room is painted the colors she really wanted and her beanbag chairs are already there. The purple accent wall turned out pretty good. Because it's a textured wall I couldn't get a really straight, clean line. So just don't look too close. Alyssa also decided a purple closet would make all of her clothes look awesome. She helped paint just long enough for me to take her picture. Once it was done you can see she already started to enjoy her room.


I'm also really happy with the bathroom. Turned out just like I pictured it in my head. Everything is new - from the tile floor to the exhaust fan. The tile is a new type that self sticks to the floor. It can easily be cut with a knife, not a tile saw. Really speeds up the process. I grouted the floor right after we finished laying it. The grout also has a sealant in it so I didn't have to seal it when finished. Last night I sewed up the shower curtain. I'm going to put some grommets in for the shower ring holes. Just need to find out where I can get them.


I also put the binding on the quilts I got from my Mom for Christmas. They are going to look AWESOME in my bedroom in Arkansas. The walls are yellow and the quilts are shades of blue. Fresh and tranquil is the atmosphere I'm going for - I think I'll be well on my way.


Don got the laminate flooring in both bedrooms and the hallway. My brother Jeff is going to try to get all but two of the interior doors in and a lot of the trim while he's down there this week. Next time we go we'll be able to stay at our place! Very exciting!

Early Spring

The gorgeous weather continues. The crocuses are up. The first ones up are always the yellow ones. Don't know why that is. I have several different varieties scattered around the back gardens.

We went to the Home and Garden Show in Green Bay this past Saturday. Lys signed me up to win a bunch of different things. We didn't win anything. Big surprise there.

Ben enjoyed getting all the freebies. Super cool hat he's showing off in the picture below.

Also did two new things this weekend. Went to my brother's house. I stick welded for the first time ever. Very cool. I have to admit I'm not good at it, but I have a new respect for the people that can do it well. It is definitely an art. I also cut metal with a torch. Absolutely no art to that, but SO fun! Talking of things I haven't done before, ever hear of a bucket list? I have two different types. I have the list of places I want to travel to some day, and I have the list of stuff I want to accomplish. Decided to post them here.

Places to travel to Bucket List
1. Ireland/England/Scotland
2. Italy
3. Australia
4. Grand Canyon
5. Yellowstone
6. Japan
7. Nazca Lines, Peru
8. Easter Island
9. Germany
10. Spain
11. Washington, D.C.
12. New Zealand
13. Santorini, Greece
14. Angkor Wot, Cambodia (look this up - super cool)
15. To be continued

Things to do bucket list
1. Learn to play the saxophone
2. Get a master's degree
3. Take a photography class
4. Have a craft project published
5. Swim with the dolphins
6. To be continued

Maybe I'll add the stuff and places I've already done/been to. Here's to dreams!
Jill

Mish Mash of stuff

March is generally a cold month. I don't really like it for that reason. However, it does has one redeeming quality. I get birthday cards, wishes, and sometimes gifts! My husband and daughter got me cards, blue chrysanthemums, chocolate covered raisins (of course), and then we went to Applebee's for supper. I got several cards - love that! Reminds me I have friends and family that care about me. Then a big surprise, I got roses at work from my sister. How cool was all that? And all just for me!

Last Saturday I met my sister and her son to paint some pottery. Lys and I had a blast. I love cupcakes and all things cupcake. Lys told me that the cupcake she was painting was for me, so enjoy it. Hmmm. I'm paying for it and I was told to enjoy it. Sounds like teenager!

Everybody hard at work on their art.

We had a snowstorm recently. Had to take a picture of our backyard showing how much. It was a really wet snow so it was heavy. Looks like everything is groaning for the weight of it.

And to show what a geek I am, I snapped a picture of my closet. The girl I work with thinks I'm nuts, so I brought it in for her to see. I've been explaining that I arrange my closet by color and sleeve length. You know, Roy G Biv. A little OCC, I know.

Thought I'd also let you know that wood putty is a God send (see picture of drawer front below). The doors for the AR place are almost done. We'll have four closet doors to do eventually. I really need to come up with a name for the AR house. Is it a cottage, vacation home, retirement home, Let Loose Central, what? What do you think I should call it?

Jill

Gettin' Things Done - kind of . . . .

Don had the great idea of getting the cabinets as done as we could before we bring them down. He flipped the hinges on the tallboy and the end cabinet, drilled the handle holes (with the excellent help from me), and put the hole in the countertop for the sink. Looks great!



Alyssa has her black bean bag chairs she wanted for her room in Arkansas. I saw some down there at the Walmart, but obviously couldn't buy them. I went looking for them here in Manitowoc, but everytime I looked, they didn't have black. Then one day I checked and more had come in - in black! Yay! She wants her room to be black, white, and purple. Much to her Dad's dismay, she's going to have a feature wall in purple. It's just paint. Easy to get rid of when the time comes. But in the mean time, it makes her very happy! We are also going to cut out some song lyrics with my Cricut out of vinyl and put those on the walls. She's excited about that.



The basement is a total disaster. There are building supplies everywhere. I'm also trying to stain and seal some doors in the middle of this mess. It's a challenge to say the least.



I have never claimed to be a cabinet maker or a woodworker or anything else having to do with drilling holes. I was trying to help mark the holes for the drawers on the cabinets for the bath in Arkansas. As you can see below, I didn't mark them very well. We're really hoping wood putty makes my "extra" hole invisible, but we may be putting plates on the back of the pulls. Oh well, makes it more personalized don't you think? OK, maybe not.




Alyssa had her spring concert this past Friday. The title of the concert was "Time Warp". She had a couple of special parts in it this time. She got to be "Ringo Starr" for the 60's Decade. No speaking involved, but she was WAY better than the real Ringo. She also got to sing with five others for the song "Imagine" for the 70's decade.



Right now the plumbing and the drywall is being completed by some contractors. When we get there in April there will be a big change for us to see. Can't wait!

Jill

Latest update on the AR house

Don and Eric have been in Cherokee Village for the last 5 days working on revamping our vacation home. They got the electrical done and the drywall up. The also got most of the subfloor in. Our neighbor down there, Todd, will be finishing up the plumbing. Then our other contractor, Russel, will finish up the drywall so its ready for us to prime and paint. Don took the following pictures - Eric working on the drywall and we have a daffodil in bloom. We won't see daffodils up here for severals months, yet. Makes it seem like forever until spring.


While down there, Eric took pictures. He said he won't let me have them till I update this blog. Now he owes me!

Jill

Catch-Up Time

YOU ARE UP TO DATE! I WILL TRY TO KEEP THIS GOING NOW!