My oldest asked me to carve him a pumpkin. I found this rather sweet considering he is 21 and asking Mom to do anything is not cool.
So I did.
So I did.
For some reason my husband has gotten a bug...not the sickly kind but the "I'm so sick of where we live, we need to move" kind. So when the weather isn't sweltering hot, we go on these weekend adventures. A couple of weekends ago we went to visit our youngest. He had moved the weekend before and I think "dad" needed a kid-fix. So David (my hubby), Zach (my oldest) and myself hoped into the truck and headed north. We picked up Tommy at his new digs and headed out. The first place my husband wanted to see was a property with a log cabin that he's been following for over a year. Talk about a little obsessed about moving away from the city, this place was it. After about 3 hours of driving around in the woods on old logging roads that were overgrown by thick brush and small saplings, we went back to the main road and started over. After taking control of the plat map and gauging the mileage I finally got us to the 'trail' to the cabin. Now I don't mind remote. I grew up on a farm with plenty of space to run around. My husband grew up in the Northwoods with thousands to acres to get lost in, but this was a little extreme. It would be another 100 years before electricity, telephone and even water are ever accessible. We had to jump a creek and climb up over glacier stones (large, flat, and deposited in the middle of nowhere) to get to the cabin. It was a one room cabin built on top of a large glacier stone with a wood stove smack dab in the middle of the room. Ok...no worries, I like simple but the work to bring in water, telephone (there was no cellphone service this far out, I checked), and electricity would be expensive. So we wandered around exploring for a while and headed back to the truck. 
As we started out we heard thunder rolling in the hills but didn't worry until the heavens opened up and someone poured a large bucket of water on us. By the time we made it to the truck we were soaked to the skin. (Thankfully we had brought towels with us.) I had twisted my ankle (it was turning a lovely shade of purple). We were all "creepy-crawly" with ticks and the mosquito stings were swelling up to the size of golf balls. We were giggling so hard no one noticed David had left his glasses on the picnic table back at the cabin until we got back to the main road. So we turned around and drove back to creek. While the boys ran to get "Dad's" glasses David and I were laughing about our "adventures". As we drove out of the woods, the clouds parted and the sun came out...figures. We did see two big bucks but because I was still drying off, I didn't get pictures. We did get a picture of this pretty doe. We assumed she had a fawn nearby as she didn't move when we drove up. Needless to say...the "boys" got excited about all the deer we were seeing. 
The next place was just off a county road so electricity, telephone, and water were easily accessible. It too was a little one room cabin with lots of acreage to build a bigger home. A little more to my future tastes. 
The third place was waaay of the beaten path. We passed a place with an old Family and Children Dentistry sign. No big deal, right? Wrong, there were three saws and an axe hung next to it. It freaked out the boys just a little. I never did get pictures of it. After walking about 2 miles on my twisted ankle, I couldn't walk any further so Tommy and I headed back to the truck. While I waited for David and Zach to get back I took pictures of the flora and fauna around the area. 
Since the kids were such good sports, we called in an order-to-go from Grandma's Saloon and Grill. If you ever get the chance to visit Duluth, Minnesota, I highly recommend going to eat at Grandma's. Their portions are large enough to feed these three without them stealing from my plate and their prices are reasonable. 
I know it's been a while since I've posted...but it's been for a good reason. I've been busy in the garden and playing outdoors. So I thought I'd share my efforts with you.  I love my lillies!  My dahlias make me happy!  My dahlia and petunia hanging baskets on the porch.  I've got tomatoes!  and a bell pepper.  My herbs, basil, parsley, rosemary, oregano, thyme, coriander, and cilantro.  My sage (front) and chive (behind) came back again this year.  Tomato and Bell Pepper plants line the front of the house.  More tomato, bell peppers, my herbs and strawberry plants on the side of the house. For Mother's Day, my loving husband and sons built 8 cedar boxes for my garden so I don't have to kneel on the ground to weed anymore. I love my "boys".  Lettuce (front) and peas (back).  Spinach (front) and cucumbers (back)  Carrots (front) and watermelon (back)  Onions (front) and green beans (back) I'm hoping to get 4 more boxes for Mother's Day next year! Even with tax season and all the work that comes with doing my own, I've been able to add some color to the office. Starting with the very bland white sheer curtains.  The cushion for my cedar chest is also complete.  I even have "art" on the wall!  Come see all the crafty things at http://www.skiptomylou.org/2012/07/02/made-by-you-monday-107/ I know, I know, Where's the SPLASH of color? It's coming, *holding up 2 fingers* I swear! But I couldn't wait any longer to share the pictures. Here are BEFORE and AFTER photos.     I thought I'd share some other photos as well. I was so into all the sanding, priming, and painting that I forgot to take some "before" photos. I know I have some of my "hope" chest and when I come across them I'll post the "before" and "after" photos then.  The QB's my husband made and the "hope" chest I refinished.  I even refinished the brass hardware. Now if only I could find the lock...*sigh* I am very pleased with the progress I made over the weekend. I hope to have all the painting and sealant applied so I can put everything where I want it and start the actual fun stuff. COMPLETED: Entry wall (brown) Short wall by door (white) Wall by closet (brown) Purple-blue wall (brown and green) Window wall (green) Long wall (white) 5 - two space QB (primed and painted) 2 - 3 space QB (primed and painted) 2 - 4 space QB (primed and painted) Hope Chest (primed and painted) I even took the time to refinish the bronze hardware. Now all I have to do is replace the lock. Thankfully I found a woodworking specialty shop close to home. *crossing my fingers* Ceiling Fan Installed (and the hubby didn't electrocute himself! Yay!) Desk (sanded and primed) Bookshelf (sanded and primed) LEFT TO DO: To be painted and sealed Desk File cabinets (I'm second guessing on these...I'll have to wait and see what they look like first) Bookshelf To make or upcycle Curtains - upcycle Fabric bins - make Cushion - make Other - as I think of or need them (too many ideas currently floating around in my head). Other decorative touches Decoupage - CD holders, photo holders Picture rails - make Wall art - make Purchases yet to make Wall lamps Today is the final day of my February NaBloPoMo challenge. I can't believe that I actually posted every day this month. I have to admit, it was a challenge, yet I didn't use any of the writing prompts. Maybe I should have, then again I felt like it was too much like writing essays in school. I found this to be a wonderful exercise and maybe I'll do it again...but not too soon. For me, writing is spontaneous. I write about what I see, smell, taste, do, etc. I tried to share my day with everyone. It may be boring to some but I'm good with boring. I may tone it down to every other day now. It's been a challenge with a family, full-time job, redecorating, and organizing. I hope to make my posts more interesting. Hopefully, I will learn something new and be able to pass that knowledge onto someone else. So for know, I'm going to say, adieu to NaBloPoMo...and Thank You. My desk and the book shelf are a type of laminate (more like paper than vinyl or plastic). So I've ventured into painting laminate. I found some good directions on HGTV.com to paint laminate counter tops and spoke with a guy at the hardware store who does kitchen remodeling and gave me some pointers. So here's the process I'm using.
No one told me if I should use a roller or brush so...I'm rolling on the primer and paint. For some reason I get a more even coat when I roll the paint on than when I use a brush. When I finally get to the sealant I think I will use a brush but will be able to tell if that's a wise choice when I do my first coat. The key (I'm told) is to let each coat dry completely before applying the next coat. Yes, this is taking forever and sometimes I get a little impatient watching paint dry. But I'm following the directions and suggestions given to me. I will let you know how it comes out in the end. While I was finishing painting the walls last week, my beagle, Mollie Bollie had to go outside. Since everyone else was already out there, she came to bug me. Unfortunately, she got a little too close to the green wall that I had just finished painting, wagging her tail like crazy. You got it...she did a little decorative painting herself. For those of you with pets you know that sometimes they are a lot like children when you want to take a picture and they don't want to participate. So for a giggle, I thought I'd share my attempts at trying to take a picture of her tail...She kept flicking her tail up so you couldn't see the top of it. My favorite is her sticking out her tongue just as I was about to get a picture. 
Neener neener neener...you aren't getting a picture of this tail.
Finally...my husband scratched her ears and I was able to get this one and only shot of the top of her tail. 
Click on the photo to enlarge.
Today is sort of another bust when it comes to the office. I went to visit an old friend who's husband started his own plumbing business and she needed my help with the accounting aspect of the business. Since it's what I do for a J.O.B. I figure I can help her out, stay for a visit and get to see her new granddaughter too. The only bad thing about visiting is she lives an hour and a half away so it kind of takes all day. When I got there, her granddaughter was just going down for a nap (perfect timing). I answered her questions about the business and what she needed to provide her tax accountant to file the business taxes. I also reviewed her quarterly filings and did a mini-audit for year end, just to make sure everything was in order. By the time we were done, the wee one was awake. Her granddaughter is adorable. She is a very happy baby. She didn't fuss at all, even when she needed to be fed or have her diaper changed. Her daughter is very lucky to have such a sweet, happy baby. Once I had my baby fix it was time to drive home. Why does it always seem to take forever to get somewhere and it only takes minutes to get home? I think it took half the time to get home as it did to drive there. Oh well. It was a lovely visit and I'm glad I took a little time off from redecorating to do so. Ahhh...now back to painting. =D) | 
About Me
I've been the artsy type since I could crawl. My grandfather unknowingly named my business when I was four years old and playing in the mud after a heavy rain. My grandmother, bless her good intentions, was quite irritated with the fact it was just before Sunday services and I was mud, head to toe. My grandfather just chuckled, plucked me out of the mud, tossed me in the tub and told her to relax. "This little one has her 'creative juices' flowing." I have been painting, pottering and crafting ever since. 30 years later, I named my studio, Creative Juicez, because of his understanding with me and his amusement at my grandmother's irritation. I have yet, to live it down. ArchivesOctober 2012 CategoriesAll |
