Is It Really Over?

 

The most wonderful time of the year...Christmas.  I'm not quite ready for it to be over.  Not only do I love seeing the house decorated and the tree lights, but it's just too much work to dismantle after a short time.  I will enjoy it all at least another week! 

Our Christmas was so very nice.  Hope yours was, too.  We had some great weather until the rains began and it has rained and rained.  Our son and daughter were here for both Christmas eve and Christmas Day.  We had our traditional pizza on Christmas eve and I fixed a big turkey dinner the next day.  Wasn't it just a few days before that I fixed a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving?  Time flies between the two holidays.   

I only baked a pumpkin pie for dessert, having gone to the Amish country again for some baked goodies.  My daughter went along and we made a day of it, going to lunch in Columbia and doing some shopping, too.

That is the table set for dinner in the collage above.  BG is sitting at the head of the table waiting impatiently to eat while I snap a few pics, son is on the right, but you can only see his hands.  I got a good shot of daughter and J that day, but I can't remember now what they were laughing at.  We had a good time and laughter is always part of our family gatherings.  We played cards and ate and napped and ate.
   
We really had too much food.  I still fix the same amount for 5 as I used to fix for 15.  It's nice, though, to have leftovers and food to send home with our son.  Some of the candy has been put in the freezer.  

We got some nice gifts.  My new bread box pictured in the collage that my son gave me will be handy.  One of the gifts from our daughter was a pretty gift basket with goodies and a couple of movies to watch that look good.  I also got some new ornaments and other nice things.  And badly needed potholders!  Do you put off buying potholders like I do?  lol!   

My last gift from my younger brother is the nativity set shown in the collage and is always on display each Christmas.  It's sitting up high along with my collection of bottles out of reach of the furry ones.  They have been trying my patience with knocking ornaments off the trees.  They think they were put there for their amusement, I'm sure!

Our friends, Ell and Bob, will be here tomorrow night for New Year's Eve dinner.  I am making lasagna, salad and rolls.  A quick and easy chocolate whipped topping pie will be dessert.  That will make a nice change from all the ham and turkey we've been eating this week.
 
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and I wish each of you the very best New Year ever!  Thank you for your comments and friendship this year.
  
Happy New Year!
xo Cheryl

Merry Christmas!

My Christmas gift this year was a long weekend trip to Branson.  This photo was taken just a few miles out.  I thought I'd share a few of the highlights of our visit and photos, not in any particular order.  
   

The weather was very nice, although it turned cloudy Sunday when we went to Silver Dollar City.

 

We both love seeing the park decorated for Christmas.  The lights on the trees and buildings are fabulous.

It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas when its mighty Founder was a child Himself. ~Charles Dickens

I don't think I would like to do without our modern conveniences, but the old buildings and the old-fashioned ways of long ago fascinate me.  Life was undoubtedly hard then, but it was a simpler time.  

We stopped in to listen to the Homestead Pickers at the cabin on the left.  They were entertaining as always. 

We didn't get a carriage ride, but it would have been fun!  

My little camera just doesn't capture the lights as well as I'd like.  The colors are so much better than they appear here.  See the 5-story tree in blue?  I wish I could share my video of the tree light show, but it's too long to upload. 

 

We drove past the Dixie Stampede on the way to the downtown area.  I just had to stop in at Dick's 5 & 10.  Later that Saturday night, we met our son and L and her kids for a visit.  They were down for the weekend also.  We were invited to eat pizza with them, but I had my heart set on Shorty Small's for the best bbq ribs I've ever eaten.  Yum!  And yes, I had room left for cinnamon ice cream and apple dumplings the next day at SDC.  Double yum!

All too soon, it was time to pack up and head back home.  It was a fun trip.  Now it's time to finish up the little bit of wrapping, cleaning house...does that ever end?...and prepping some of the food for Christmas Day.  We'll have snacks and a light supper Christmas eve.  Are you ready?  It's almost time! 

I haven't been able to do as much blog visiting as I'd like the past few weeks, even months.  Thank you to my blog friends who have stayed with me all this year as it's been such a busy one.  Hopefully, next year will be quieter!  

In case I don't get a chance to visit before then, I'd like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!

 

xo Cheryl

Catching Up and Some Thoughts

Hello everyone!  I'm still around and ready...almost...for Christmas!  I will be heading out to finish the shopping as soon as I finish this post.  Are you busy getting ready for Christmas or have you finished and are now sitting back and enjoying your prettily decorated home?

I had to push myself to get all the dust the bathroom project created out of my house and get the trees up, but it's all done and I'm glad I kept going even though I might have been heard grumbling a time or two.  

My little audience might have heard me saying things like "why can't Christmas be in January...it's too close to Thanksgiving" and "I hate putting the lights on the tree".

 

The bathroom is finished except for a few pieces that need staining and the oak board on the divider will get a few coats of clear varnish.  I haven't hung anything on the walls yet in the way of decor.  That will take some thought when things slow down a bit.  

Actually, things are slowing down until after Christmas.  Let's just say the electric wiring is driving BG nuts and we had a family meeting and decided to take a break.  Our daughter didn't want him hurting himself trying to finish so she could move in before Christmas.  Besides that, a water line downstairs sprung a leak...twice...and needed fixing.  That took up some of his time. 

Another deciding factor in the postponement on the work on The Project was that her fella J had some health issues recently.  In fact, J got to ride in the ambulance to the emergency room when he had a seizure in the middle of the night.  He is diabetic and it was found that he had been getting too much insulin via the pump.  He's doing better now, but it was a scare.

Kim and J have painted most of the rooms and J made a clever cover-up for the ugly tile that was on the corner fireplace hearth.  He had a piece of sheet metal cut to size and spray painted it black, then used some leftover oak flooring for the surround.  We think it turned out great!

I'll share more photos of the rooms after Christmas.  When BG gets the wiring figured out, it shouldn't be too long before it's ready to move in.  The wiring was done in a haphazard fashion.  And a hazard it could be, because BG found some frayed wires in the attic.  Needless to say, they are now disconnected.

I am glad for a break from "projects"!  After the bathroom was painted by moi with help from BG who painted around the ceiling, and the new trim stained or painted, my hand was cramping and swollen.  I am ready to retire from DIY jobs!  

We had our children here over the weekend.  Our son and his girl, L, and daughter and J were here Sunday for pizza.  L brought us a beautiful poinsettia for Christmas.  I will be careful to watch that the kitties don't nibble on it.

I haven't been too busy to keep up with the news.  It's hard to ignore it, much as I'd like to.  I have read a few blogs also when I sit down to relax, but I haven't tried to comment.  Some I would have liked to comment on, but it was just as well I didn't.  

Now, I have to say something that doesn't fit into the sweetness and light that we hope for in our blog posts most of the time.  Not everyone has the same view or opinions, of course.  I respect your right to your opinion even though I may strongly disagree with you.  I hope you will respect mine.  

Someone, the one I wanted to comment on but knew it would be better not to, was railing against guns in one blog post and suggested some chapters in the Bible that those of us who are for the 2nd Amendment needed to read.  Then she went on in another post about how we are to be tolerant and just love each other regardless of what country we're from and how heartless we idiots...yes, she did say that in response to a comment...are when we don't want to let certain people come into our country.  She was speaking particularly about the latest suggestion from a presidential candidate about stopping those people from coming in for a season.  Which has been done before and is constitutional by the way.  

I'm all for loving and respecting my fellow men and women no matter their color or nationality.  What I'm not for is letting people into our country who can't be vetted properly while we have this group who hate us and want nothing more than to destroy us.  As they have said themselves and we've already seen what they are capable of here as well as overseas.  And just for the record, I'm not endorsing any presidential candidate as yet.  There is a long way to go before the election.

I'm getting worried.  Just here in Missouri, there have been multiple cell phones bought by...shall we say...foreign men.  A hunter found a stockpile of explosives in a wooded area that were said to not be something that would be purchased for recreational purposes.  Although the sheriff of that county tried to downplay the possibility the explosives were tied to terrorism, it also was stated that they really didn't know that for sure.  Who knows what is next?  I am not naive enough to think that just loving people will change their minds or goals.

And about guns.  I am NOT for assault weapons.  In my humble opinion, no one needs them but perhaps the military and law officers.  But having a gun for protection or for hunting is perfectly okay in my book.  Maybe I partially feel that way because I grew up in a community where everyone had guns for hunting.  We were used to being around them.   

My father bought me a gun when I was 17 years old.  I had driven to our small country church one Sunday by myself.  I don't remember now why my family didn't go as they usually did.  Maybe it was during Vacation Bible School, I can't remember.  Anyway, I was the first one to leave and as I pulled out of the driveway and headed down the gravel road, I saw a car pulled over on the shoulder.  As I passed by, I looked over and saw a lone man in the vehicle.  I went on and then noticed in my rearview mirror that he had pulled out and was following me.  I got a bit worried and sped up.  So did he.  Even though there were some sharp curves in the as yet unpaved gravel road, I noticed he was keeping up with me.  As I turned left onto the other road that would take me to the turn off to our farm, I really floored it because that road while hilly was very straight.  I could see that he was trying to keep up, but the dust from the gravel and my speed kept me ahead enough that I whipped into our lane and saw him cruise on by.  Of course, I immediately told my parents and my dad called the sheriff with the description of the car I gave him.  In our community, everyone knew each other's vehicles and I had never seen this one before or the man, either.  That is when my dad soon after brought home a gun for me to carry when I was by myself.  

I tell all this because if you've ever had a scare like that, it makes you feel safer to know you have protection when you are alone.  At least, it did me.  No, I never had to use that gun.  But I would have used it if push came to shove.  I wish someone in these latest horrible situations had had a gun.  It might have saved a life.

Okay, enough of that.  I have some travel plans to share, but will wait for another post to tell about them when I have more space.  I have talked too much already, as usual.  I do have a question for you before I run along, if you don't mind my asking.  What is your favorite Christmas candy/cooky to make?
  
xo Cheryl  

What's Been Happening and Happy Thanksgiving!

The kitties and I were quite surprised to see a skiff of snow on the ground when we got up on Saturday morning.  I don't know if it was the weather or what, but they were into everything over the weekend.

They probably knew BG and I were trying to get a lot done with the bathroom remodel and decided to test our patience!

 
Sorry for the poor quality of the photo, but I wanted to show you what Stormy has been doing the last few days.  She just doesn't want to leave the plant alone that is on the entertainment center.  She thinks that if she walks behind the TV she is hiding and we won't see her.  lol!   

I spent the better part of 2 hours one day repotting some 8 or 9 houseplants and I had a lot of help with that job from my furry crew.  It was a job that I've been putting off, but now it's done and all the tops of the cabinets and refrigerator are also clean where I keep them away from busy little paws.  Except for the couple on the entertainment center that I have to watch for telltale signs of chewing.  

I do know that pothos is toxic, but not deadly, to cats and it doesn't seem to bother Stormy.  I  purchased a container of grass for them to chew on at the pet store, but they ignored it.  

  
Friday saw me heading back to the home center again, but first a little detour was made to the Amish country for some pies and other goodies for Thanksgiving.  I was so focused on thinking about what I needed/wanted that I didn't think to take any photos until I was leaving.  The day was cloudy and dreary as you can see in this quick snap through my dirty windshield.

 
I'd rather have been napping over the weekend, but BG and I worked on the bathroom getting the trim back in place, hanging the closet doors, putting the cabinet back in place in the divider, hanging the mirror, and semi-installing the vanity.  We still have the vanity to finish and new closet doorknobs to install and the trim around the new window needs finishing and installed.  I think that's about it!  

Meanwhile, Kim and J were still working on the walls at The Project.  They have the spare bedroom painted and now the rest of the rooms are about ready to paint.  After our bathroom is finished, we'll be helping with the painting when we can.  BG also needs to finish some electrical stuff.

I'd love to be going to Branson for Thanksgiving this year, but we decided we'd better spend every day BG has off at The Project if daughter is to get moved in before Christmas.

  
Are you cooking this Thanksgiving?  We were invited to go out to eat with J's parents.  They live near us and are a fun couple to be around, but we decided to stay at home.  Our son will be coming in and it will just be the few of us.  Kim and J will come by later in the day for an evening meal.

I most likely won't be posting for awhile.  Maybe not for a few weeks.  Life is just too busy for me to keep up with blogging right now.  I will pop in and read when I can, though.  And I still have several blog friends on my prayer list.  I won't forget you!

I wish all of my friends here in the US the most wonderful Thanksgiving ever.  I have much to be grateful for and I've put a list of a few things in my sidebar.  There is too much to list them all!  One thing I am grateful for is for my blogging friends.  You are the best and I'm thankful for each one of you.  Take care and have a wonderful holiday!

xo Cheryl 

A Rainy Monday

 

The clouds were just moving in late yesterday when I snapped this photo.  I woke up to rain this morning and a bit of a panicky feeling as my thoughts quickly zeroed in on the work still needing to be done before Thanksgiving.  I'm beginning to think that going out to eat this Thanksgiving sounds good.

There is so much clutter from moving stuff out of the big closet in the bathroom in order to get to the plumbing for the tub and putting ceramic tile on the floor.  The clutter of tools scattered around, the clutter of boxes such as the new sink faucet and the huge box which houses the new toilet.  You get the picture.  But not an actual one.  Ha! 

 

After being home from work all week with a nasty cold/virus, BG was feeling well enough to help me get the bathroom painted over the weekend.  He got on the ladder and painted near the ceiling and I rolled on the rest.  And, yes, I did find the paint I was looking for!

The vanity is now sitting below that light fixture, but not yet completely put in place.  I stood on a chair holding that fixture while BG did the wiring.  He finished just in the nick of time as my arm began cramping.  Not to mention his hand was getting a cramp, too.

I think I may have said a time or two, that when we get finished with this bathroom and a couple more rooms get painted and the basement redone, and The Project is painted, that I'm swearing off DIY projects for good!  

Meanwhile, back at The Project our daughter was painting and J, her boyfriend, was changing a ceiling light and taking out shelves in a closet for her.  

As in all painting projects that I've had a hand in, after the first coat dries you always find a few places that need a touch up or maybe even a second coat.  I had to do that for the bathroom and her spare bedroom will need the same.

At first I didn't like the color she chose, it looked so different when wet, but after it dried a bit it looked much better.  She chose a shade of brown which looked pretty and chocolatey on the sample.

Don't look at the ceiling too close, there needs to be some touch up painting done.  The only thing in this room we didn't replace was the bathtub.  It was in pretty good shape and we wanted to stay within our budget for this project.  I did decide to go ahead and have the grab bars put in because I've already wished I something to hold on to when I've had a senior vertigo moment.

How about a mirror like these that are at the Dixie Stampede in Branson for our bathroom?  I actually have 2 of the horse collars from long ago.  My dad gave me one and when he moved I inherited his.  They've been in storage ever since because they are not quite my thing!  But hey, I could put a mirror in one and hang it over the vanity.  What do you think?  No?  Me, neither. 

Before I close I want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the horrific happenings in France.  Also my prayers are with all who are fighting against those who are doing the devil's work all around the world.  I think that the devil must be working overtime because he knows his time is growing short.  May the Lord bless us and keep us safe.

xo Cheryl

Just Call It A Gallimaufry

I ran across a new-to-me word recently and it pretty much describes my post for today.  The word is gallimaufry.  I do read a lot but I have to say this word is one I hadn't yet encountered. 

Dictionary dot com says that it means a hodgepodge; jumble; confused medley.  2, a ragout or hash. 

Sound interesting yet?  Ha!  Well, this is my way of saying that this post is likely to be all over the place today.  A gallimaufry.  Or, if you prefer, a hodgepodge of stuff to share.

I'm driving myself nuts trying to decide on a color for the bathroom.  It will probably be ready for painting after tomorrow.  

Here's another shot of the condo that has the color I want.  I called the condo Friday and they are supposed to look it up when they have time.  Hopefully, they'll get to it soon!  Meanwhile, my paint sample collection is growing.  I've gotten close to the shade I'm looking for, but the color looks different depending on the light.  Just like the walls look different according to what time of day it is or the kind of light in the room.
  
Help me, Rhonda.  I'm about to put all the colors in a hat and draw one out and say this is it!  

In spite of some very chilly nights, most days have been nice and we have a few geraniums still blooming as well as some of our Knockout Roses.  We put away most of the flower pots over the weekend.  That is about all BG and I accomplished.  Mr. Grumpy Face is feeling puny with a cold and even stayed home from work today.  I call him grumpy because he is when he doesn't feel good.  I am the same way, I'm sure!

Our daughter and her fella have been busy getting the hardwood floors done at The Project.  This is another before shot showing the sanded area and then with one coat of polyurethane.  Most of the floors have now had 4 coats with some sanding in between.  The last coat will be put on the bedroom floors this evening.  They are looking great!  

 
Let's get out of the house for a minute and away from all that paint pondering and sick men and enjoy the nice fall day.  Most of our leaves have fallen or have turned brown.  The tree above in the back yard is always the last one to lose it's leaves.  The tree in the first photo and next photo is at the other house aka The Project, so there are a few pretty trees left but they won't last much longer.  

  
Did I mention that the carpenter worked all weekend?  Oh yeah.  Fun times around here.  lol!  There will be lots of work to do after he's finished.  Dust is everywhere from the sanding of the sheetrock even though he kept the door closed.  So, if I disappear for awhile from blogland, you know that I'm busy cleaning and painting.  We're about ready to begin painting at the other house, too.   

Take care everyone and have a great week!  I'm going to the kitchen now and make some homemade chicken noodle soup for Grumpy Face BG. 

xo Cheryl

A Change of Mind and Another Before and After

It's another beautiful fall day in mid-MO with sunny skies and warm temps.  A great day for the Royal Celebration Parade in KC.  My son and his girlfriend will be there to cheer the 2015 World Series Champions.  I requested some photos since I couldn't go.  

The bathroom project is still ongoing at my house.  This carpenter seems to be slow, but he's particular and that's all good.  The table and floor is covered with boxes of tile and various stuff for this project.  Stormy likes to keep on top of everything.  :)  

Why do there have to be so many paint samples to choose from?  It's just mind-boggling!  I've about decided against the light aqua for the bathroom.  The teal blue color pictured above was in the condo we stayed in at Branson a couple of years ago.  I fell in love with the color.  If I can find something close to this, I think this will look good in my bathroom.  The color just below and right of the clock around the light switch is the closest to the true color.

When I can sit down without a couple of kitties on my lap, I get online and look for things we need such as the polyurethane for the floors at The Project.  I found what we wanted at Menards and their online site said they had 5 gallons left.  Just what we needed.  It sure saves some steps to know which home center has what and if it is in stock.

The floors at The Project were sanded over the weekend.  This is a before shot of the hardwood floor in the kitchen.  This is also before the gas cook stove was removed and the ceiling fan was replaced with a simple light fixture.  Also, the wall on the left side was repaired and everything is almost ready for paint in that room.  

This is the same floor looking in from the deck with one coat of polyurethane on it.  I was amazed at how the sander made the wood look like brand new.  The floors have gotten 2 coats of polyurethane and will get a couple more.  We wanted to get the painting done before the floors were finished, but it didn't work out.  They can be covered with some good drop cloths. 

Hubby still has some wiring to do at that house.  There is one situation that is really bugging him.  A switch in the living room that operates the ceiling fan stays hot even when the main breaker is turned off.  He hasn't solved that mystery yet.  

That's all for now folks.  Have a lovely day!

xo Cheryl

Mysterious Happenings, One More Time

Five years ago, I did a post in October about some mysterious happenings that had occurred at my house.  I will share this post again for those of you who may not have seen it.  For those who remember it, you might want to skip on along! 

I'm not big into Halloween, but this is the sort of post that may go with the theme.  I am pleased to say that these happenings are not happening now!  Well, maybe they are...I am blaming it on the goblins.  I had a phone call from our renter next door at the office building and found out our furnace there was on the blink.  Last night, BG was at The Project and found the new furnace there wasn't acting right, either.  So, I am awaiting the repairman to take a look at both of them.  The one furnace is brand new, so it must be the goblins messing with us!    

And now, the post from 5 years ago titled Mysterious Happenings.

What is a strange happenings post without a photo of a haunted house?  Well, to be honest, I'm not sure that this old vacant house that I took photos of the other day is haunted...but it makes a good prop!  Cue the scary music!  Woooooo!!!

Since Halloween is right around the corner and even tho I'm really not all that into Halloween, I still thought this might be a good time to share the story of some unexplained happenings here in my own house.  This may turn out to be rather long.  Hope you stick with me and let me know what you think!   I saved the strangest story for the end.

In recent years, we've been experiencing some strange sounds and happenings.  One night while I was at work and my daughter and husband were downstairs....she was at her computer desk and he was watching television.  They both heard what sounded like someone stepping down off of a chair, then scooted the chair across the upstairs bathroom floor.  Then after that they heard a door shut.  Both of them ran up the stairs to see what was going on, but saw nothing out of place.

Another time, while they were downstairs, they heard what sounded like someone walking down the hall.  Thinking I might have gotten home early, they came up the stairs to see me...but it wasn't me!  I was still at work.

Yet another time, my daughter was sitting in her computer chair at the desk and a cool breeze went by behind her and she caught a whiff of a floral perfume.

Both my children have heard music in the house, when there wasn't a tv on or music playing.  My son even walked around the house trying to determine where it was coming from....didn't find anything.  The neighbors were quiet, so it wasn't them...and their houses aren't real close to ours.

I've heard loud sounds in the bedroom.  Sometimes it sounds like a chain or something is sliding down the wall.  That is about the only way I know to describe it.

One night there was a loud crash, and the cat took off running.  Another time, she got spooked and her fur stood on end with her tail getting big.  There was nothing to be seen.

I think the strangest happening of all is the day I was getting ready for work.  I had showered and had opened my bottle of foundation preparing to put on my makeup.  Nature was calling, so I sat down the bottle of foundation and went around the corner...there is a half wall between the vanity and toilet...when I finished and went back to the sink to wash my hands, I noticed that there were drops of makeup on the floor.   Looking closer, I noticed that these drops were about the size of a nickel and were almost perfectly spaced in a row leading back to the wall between two closet doors opposite the vanity.  I had a plant stand with a plant next to the wall between the two doors...our bathroom is rather large...and there were some drops on the leaves, too.  Well, I had to go to work so in my haste I cleaned up the mess and finished getting ready and didn't think to take photos.   I was certainly very puzzled as to how that happened.   But when I got home and told my family, I showed them the drops still on the plant and a few had ended up veering off in another direction on the floor that I had overlooked while cleaning up the mess,  so they did believe me!  I am wondering to this day how that happened.  My hubby said I must have shaken the bottle.  No, I didn't and even if I had I would have had to have thrown the stuff over my shoulder, because the drops were directly behind where I was standing.  And how would they have ended up so perfectly matched in size and evenly spaced?  I didn't count the drops, but there were quite a few!  I can't think of an explanation for this.  I didn't shake the bottle, the bottle was unopened and just where I left it.   Strange!!! 

Okay, you probably think I've really lost it!  But all of these things have really happened.  I don't really believe in ghosts, but I have no explanation for any of the many strange sounds and happenings we've experienced.

How about you?  Have any strange goings on in your house?  If so, please share!  I wish someone could tell me how my makeup/foundation ended up in perfect drops lined up on the floor!!  Very, very strange.....

Sadly, I may have mentioned this in a past post, but that beautiful old abandoned house was burned down by vandals.  I had always wished that someone would buy the property and restore it.  

Have a fantastic Friday and weekend!

Edited to add:  Both furnaces are up and running and were quick fixes.  Yay!!
 
xo Cheryl

Bits 'n Bobs

~wish I was here~

I am sitting here watching the leaves drift by my window and listening to the carpenter working in the bathroom.  And thinking that this would be a good time to write a blog post. 

Trouble is, when I put my fingers to the keys and have a blank page before me, it's not that thoughts just fly out the window and join those leaves drifting to the ground.  Not at all.  Fact is, that there are too many ideas and thoughts running circles in my head like a hampster on a wheel and I don't know where to start.

So, I'll just begin typing and we'll see where I meander to on this rainy day in late October.

I've been thinking lately how fast the calendar pages are turning. Remember when many of us were tired of the cold winter and were eagerly awaiting spring?  It only seems like a few months ago and now here we are knocking on the door of another winter.  How did that happen so quickly?

So much to do and so little time.  Yep, that is my mindset as of today.  I'm getting older and feeling it today.  I won't talk about the late run to the home center and not getting back home until 10:30 last night.  Okay, maybe I'll mention that I traipsed through 3 home centers and even went to WallyWorld while I was near one.

It was necessary.  The trip, that is.  Mr. Carpenter decided that a new window we were going to get should be put in now rather than later.  It was our fault that we had forgotten about it while we were there last time.  I suppose being forgetful goes along with getting older? 
  

I did a little surfing on a few blogs today and ran across a great idea for a wall arrangement behind my entertainment center.  That wall has been bugging me for quite awhile.  Now to find the right stuff.  I will be shopping the house first.  The idea I found can be seen at Brenda's Tweak it Tuesday.  Scroll down the page and it is entry No. 2.   

One of the things on my mind lately has been sprucing up my house.  Just a good deep cleaning would help.  I took off the drapes and washed them and rehung them the other day.  I replaced the sheers, too, as a few snags could be seen courtesy of kitty claws.  I only buy window treatments that are washable, nothing too fancy, because of the cats.  Comfortable and cozy is my style, but it still needs a little sprucing up now and then.  And a few changes are always good.

Along with the rain, the temperature has dropped.  It's going to be a chilly night at the first game of the World Series in KC tonight.  Go Royals!!

Hope your weather and day has been going well for you.  Enjoy these remaining days of October!

Note:  Some distractions prevented me from finishing this post earlier today, but I'll leave it as is.  It's still sprinkling here, hope it's over by game time in KC!  :)

xo Cheryl

What a Mess...Then and Now

After such a long dry spell, we are finally getting a little rain today.  I can't remember the last time we've had more than just a few sprinkles.  So far, the rain isn't much today, either, but we'll take what we can get.  Our county is in the "moderate drought" zone.  

And, of course, the drought affects the color of our trees this fall.  They aren't as pretty as I've seen in years past.  Once in awhile I'll see a pretty tree such as the lone tree above standing in the midst of walnuts which have already dropped their leaves.  The prettiest trees I've seen are in parks or someone's yard.  

Warning!  I've been too busy, and too tired, to post since last time so this may turn into a lengthy post to try to catch up.  But if you have a messy job coming up, you will want to read on to see what my sweet mother had to deal with once upon a time!  

First, though, I do want to thank everyone for your comments on my last post.  I think we are all pretty much in agreement on "blogging without obligation."  Everyone recognizes that there are seasons when commenting and posting just can't be done as often as we'd like.

Now, on to what's new at Pond Hollow.  I don't know whether to tell this...just like some days I don't know whether to laugh or cry.  I've chosen to tell it like it is...just like I choose to laugh over crying.  Crying makes my eyes puffy.

Most of you have surely forgotten, but I mentioned about 4 years ago that we were going to redo our main bathroom.  Remember this is a 60's ranch-style house and has just one bathroom upstairs and one bathroom downstairs.  

That may seem like a big pain in the tush to those that have 3 or 4 bathrooms, but I can remember not having a bathroom at all until I was 9 or 10.  The house we lived in burned down when I was 9 years old.  It didn't have a bathroom.  We just had chamber pots in cold weather (we just called them pots) which was a round metal container large enough to sit on with a lid and handle to carry.  In warmer weather, we used an outhouse.  Washing hands was done in a bowl with a bucket of water with a dipper nearby.  Or outside we just pumped out water from an outside well.  Primitive, huh?  

I want to tell a little sad story from that time of primitive living.  When I think about it, my trials and tribulations regarding our "projects" seem to pale in comparison and I try...well, sorta try...not to complain too much.

When I was probably 8 or so, one of my chores was taking out the chamber pot and dumping it.  Wellll...man, it makes me cringe even today when I think about it and, as you can see, I've never forgotten it...one morning I was carrying the nasty pot through the kitchen and had gotten to the next room where there was a threshold between that room and the kitchen that was raised and I tripped over the blasted thing.  Oh No!  You guessed it, I fell forward and the nasty pot lid came off and all the contents spilled out on the floor.  

My poor mother.  She was understandably livid and I got a few swats on the behind for being clumsy, but then she had that whole mess to clean up.  Unfortunately, the pot was pretty full.  The room was just sort of an enclosed porch and I vaguely remember boxes of stuff like canning jars and so forth out there.  I don't know what was ruined or even how long it took her to clean the mess up.  I think I went into hiding for awhile.  

Back to the present...I haven't had to clean up messes like the one my mother had, but one of our cats has taken to peeing where they aren't supposed to.  For example, BG left a sack of plumbing stuff on the floor night before last and I saw the puddle when I went to pick up the sack yesterday.  I spent an hour scrubbing that up because while I was on my hands and knees, I just cleaned the whole kitchen floor.  And it is a good sized floor, too.  Any way, as soon as I figure out which kitty it is, I'm pretty sure it is either Peanut or Callie, then another home for her will have to be found.  That is a deal breaker for me. 

And why would BG have plumbing stuff in our kitchen, you might wonder?  The bathroom we wanted to redo 4 years ago is finally going to get done.  We are slow, there's no doubt about that, but getting someone nailed down to do a job in this town is nigh impossible sometimes.
  

We had one guy that promised on 2 different occasions, beginning 4 years ago, that he would do it.  Turns out he likes his alcohol more than working, so it's probably just as well he didn't begin.  The next fella was from several towns away, but he came and looked it over and said he could do it.  Even sent me an email about the project.  Then nothing.  We called, he didn't answer.  We didn't know if he had an accident, gotten sick, or what.  Called numerous times and left messages.  Nothing.  

Well, we finally got the drift that he didn't want to do the job, but why not just tell us, for crying out loud?!  Then time passed, we painted the bathroom as it was a shade of tan, which I since have grown tired of, and resigned ourselves to having to go to Plan B.  

But I wasn't happy with Plan B, so BG located someone who lives in a nearby town who does ceramic tile work and he came by and said he would do the job.  Yippee!  He will begin Monday.  

I wanted ceramic tile around the bathtub, not a surround like we put in the other house.  Not every carpenter such as the one that worked on The Project does ceramic work, we found out.  This guy keeps extremely busy and we've had to wait on him for a couple of months now, but what's a few months when you've been waiting 4 years?  

 ~where vanity will sit, plumbing needs moving - the toilet is on other side of divider on right - the white is where mirror was~

 

BG has been tearing out the old sheetrock which had tile on it and redoing some electric and the plumbing you see in the photo has to be moved over for the new vanity.  We didn't start on this project until this week because I we didn't want to have to run downstairs in the middle of the night when nature called any sooner than necessary.  It's very inconvenient having the bathroom torn up and I've wished many times already for another one upstairs.  But when I remember what my mother had to deal with way back when, I think it's not so bad and I can handle it.  It's only for a little while.   

I'm still pondering paint colors.  I picked up some samples from Sherwin Williams.  Two of the colors, Rain and Rainwashed, I had seen in photos of bathrooms on Pinterest and liked them.  But, the colors look really different in the sample.  They have a grayish tint to them and I'm not at all fond of gray.  I'm still leaning toward a very light aqua.  

I have made 3 trips to the home center this week for this project.  BG went with me on 2 of these trips.  I had wanted to keep our old vanity as it was about 5 feet long and had a lot of storage.  But, in taking the old vanity top off, it was evident that it should be replaced.  So I picked out one that is 4 foot long and is oak (my favorite wood).  I like the darker wood, too, but they didn't have one in stock that I liked well enough to bring home.  Anyway, the shorter vanity and placement of the bowl means that BG has to move the plumbing over so the drain pipe will clear the drawers.  Hopefully, all this work will go smoothly and get done tomorrow.  Then it will be back to work in his spare time on The Project.  I'm very blessed to have a hubby who can and is willing to do many of these jobs himself.  It does save us a ton of money!

One last photo I have to share...while waiting in the loading area at the home center this week for some waterproof drywall to be loaded, I couldn't help but watch the scene in front of me.  These 2 guys were trying very hard to strap the mattress set down.  I left before they did, so I don't know if they got it secured any better than what it looks like here.  lol!  I hope they made it home okay!

I hope your week has been a good one.  Have a nice day and fantastic weekend!  

xo Cheryl