Happy Father's Day weekend

to those long gone and still missed every day.  To those here with us to celebrate today. 

 

Starting today the temps are rising so I will take off the sweatshirt and just sweat.  Making pistachio cake with pistachio icing for Carole's great grandkids' birthday tomorrow. 

 

Nit is enjoying the warm day.  He has been allowing me to brush him.  Until he decides otherwise and wants blood.  It's a delicate balance.  I really enjoy sitting on the swing when it's hot.  Maybe because the hot flashes aren't as noticeable.  But the chocolate melts so darn fast.

 

I thought my squawking baby wrens had flown the coop, but yesterday saw a few feathers in the entrance.  One had been pulled half way out, blocking their hole, and mom couldn't feed, they couldn't get out.  Five dead babies inside.  So sad.

 

I finished one of the boxes with a red velvet pad at the bottom, still haven't decided on the giveaway.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FB reminded me that I gave away the Fox stitch two years ago for my birthday offer.  I didn't even remember that and I think both of them were let go.  Explains why I can't find them.  Maybe this should be my stitch right now, and I'll keep it for myself.

Sherwin Williams 40% off this weekend forced me to stop the samples (those addictive little jars) and make a decision.  So I did.  Urban Putty won over Bleeker Beige.  That dark taupe on the right is the current color of the trim, this will be a huge change.  Walls will be a little lighter.

 

 Close enough to the putty I was looking for, different on every wall, green when the sun shines through the LowE windows.  Also made a decision on the wainscot and decided to use wide board, plain, simple edge.  The room is so small and certainly not formal, so the panels and frames I had considered would be out of place.  I decided to also change the doors on the built in cupboards to simple planks, and use black iron strap hinges and bar style latches.   The best news, the house building couple can't decide on a few details which gives Sam some free time ..... for ME!!!  YAY!!  He doesn't get the style at all but will do whatever we want.  I'm hoping that woman is as indecisive as I am and he can stay here for a while.  He's single and throwing in a few meals (he hinted) would be an incentive!

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

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Mistaken identity

My laptop battery came in and I am very happy with it.  It was recognized by the device, came half charged, no special instructions required.  It is giving me 5 hours and from my research, the company stands behind its products.  Ordered from Amazon, SOLICE laptop battery for my Dell model.

 

Still sanding.  It only gets worse.  We're using 80 grit but should have tried 60 and just taken the wood down.  It's a real mess.  When Mark was working I had eight hours to do what I knew he would not agree with.  Now retirement is really screwing with me.  I have to wait until he's golfing and I only have a few hours.  He said we were finished with the sanding, I wasn't.  Today was finally warm, really warm, and I decided to throw on long pants to catch the dust, and fully zip a hoodie to cover my hair and upper.  Safety goggles, a face mask, completely covered in dark clothing with a hood.  Sweating like a maniac.  How the heck do you go inside to pee when you are covered in black powdery dust?  So I strip off the stuck-to-me clothes in the garage and make it in time.  I went back out and put the outfit on, donned my mask and glasses, covered my head with the hood and walked out of the garage.  I hear someone yelling "I'm calling the police!  I'm calling the police!"  My sister was in her car at the end of the driveway and thought I was a thief robbing the house.  Who else would be covered head to toe with a hood and face mask in 90 degrees?  But I assume she is having a heart related event and calling for help!  I run toward the car, she starts screaming.  Good grief.  Good thing I just went or I would have wet myself from laughing.

 

 

My brother found more of Pat's stitching accessories and we have a group of those ceramic buttons to get rid of along with all those brass findings for some cross stitch projects.  

 

 

 

 

 

 In the box were also bird buttons, shank style.  Mom would have loved these across her sweatshirt. 

 

Pat stitched a lot of Homespun Elegance that called for the charms, but why the heck did she have so many?  If anyone is missing a particular item, let me know, it may be in this bunch.

 

 

Enjoy the week!

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It works

If you have a blogger blog and are not getting your comments emailed, try this until Google corrects it.

Go to your dashboard

click Settings
click Posts and comments
change comment location to Full Page
When you publish a post, view it on your blog and leave a comment, even one word, on your new post.
Directly under your identity, click on Email follow-ups and you will get an email for every comment posted after yours. 
Must do this for each new post.

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It ain't over

But it won't be too bad.  The stupid ass clips that hold the grilles/bars in the windows are falling out and moving around.  Andersen came out today and decided the interior wood warped, they are replacing the sashes in about 6 weeks.  The thing that upsets me most is the fact that these quality glass sashes that could somehow be used or salvaged, are not.  He said they will go into the dump.  Multiply that by thousands of defective or replaced windows across the country.  Makes me nauseous.  But the hours involved with trying to correct the problem and then refitting them into frames would not fit in with their assembly line production. 

We're still sanding, it's been power washed, probably coming to stain next week.  Narrowed the light interior paint down to two.  One is SW's Urban Putty, another is a little lighter and custom.  Bleeker Beige (HC-80) from Ben Moore is also really nice but I want as light as I can without matching the wall paint.  I'll do the windows and trim but may see if the painter can roll the walls for us.  I threw all the sample jars together and mixed them with two gallons of another beige I don't want, there should be enough for Carole's living and dining room!

 

A laundry room nicer than my bathroom.

 

My birthday is coming up and I don't know if the giveaway will be something stitched, a box, journals, or if all else fails, GC.  We'll see how this week goes but time is running out!

 

Have a fabulous week folks.  Mid-June already? 

Summer will be over in the blink of an eye!

 

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Let there be light

I always melt when I view Phoebe's home on Pinterest (before she changed it to all white) which I've mentioned before.  It took years to get a contractor and I'm weary of thinking about the changes for that length of time.  Finally an end to at least part of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needlework will show itself off without distraction of dark colors on windows and moulding.

So light it will be.  A perfect backdrop for painted pieces and dark wood, calm and serene.  She did have some areas of color which were fabulous but I am using one color throughout.

 

Her new look is pure white.  Decorating austere or sparse is very difficult and I think all white is even harder.  If the pieces aren't correct, it just looks like white paint and the theme is lost.  Phoebe's talent for decorating is unique and there is no way I could pull it off, not all white.  If you like that look, farmhouse, sparse, check out her Pinterest albums.  https://www.pinterest.com/phoebetroyer/

 I may be mistaken but it appears many photos I remember of the house before white are no longer shown.  If you have a favorite pinner that showcases this style, dare I say, show me!!  Like I need more photos to contribute to my confusion.

 

Have a great weekend.

 

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All done

Sam came back today after two weeks to finish the trim and he did a beautiful job.  What a joy to not have to follow someone and check their work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could not wait to see what the stain color will look like so I did one coat on the window trim.  Haven't painted the window sashes yet, just the frames, and I may leave it alone.  This color is dark but soft, like a charcoal brown.  Looking at the old stain around it, the clapboards turned a bluish gray.  I think I will be happy with this.  I WILL be HAPPY with this.

 

Just wanted to mention a few things if you are considering the Andersen A series windows.  The interior is wonderful, the grilles are not.  My other Andersen had a spring ball on the ends of each bar that slipped into a little hole in the sash.  Perfect.  Someone came up with the idiotic idea to install metal clips that CANNOT be removed and have the grilles snap into them.  Are you kidding me?  I have already sliced two fingers trying to wash a window with these thin metal clips all around the glass. 

 You cannot paint them to match the bars since you can't remove them so from the outside, they look ridiculous.  The glass is also tinted green for LowE efficiency and naturally, my curtains look pukey green from the outside. 

In order for the bars to not look green, since red removes green I custom mixed a little paint for them.  Take a look at the actual color and that same color behind the glass.  What would you do with white windows and bars?  Sam couldn't believe that they need to be light purple to show as brown through that glass. And why do you not see the clip in this photo?  Because I painted card stock with the purple paint, cut pieces to cover the clips and slid it behind them. 

 

It's appropriate to show you my swollen painful fingers over a bear claw design isn't it?  Oh boy.  My feet are smooth from the Baby Foot treatment but my hands sure don't match them!

 

Now comes the dreaded interior color fiasco.  I love the colonial colors but have decided to go very light.  So far, too yellow, too green, too pink, too gray.  The usual.  I want wainscot and paneling, Sam will come back. 

 Even if I knew the colors used in these rooms, the paint would never look the same because of the computer.  But I like the look. 

Will I tire of it quickly and be sorry I didn't chose a colonial color?

 

I already am and I didn't even pick a color yet!  Why do I have this problem?  The rooms are so small I don't think doing each a different color would be a good idea, and I don't like an ivory room next to a dark one.

 

 I need help!  But honestly, what good would it do?  Whatever I choose, I will want the opposite, and choosing the opposite in the beginning never works. 

 

My laptop battery is dead and it took me many hours of research to decide which to order.  I didn't trust the "new" branded ones on Ebay and Amazon because I read they have new cells installed in old housing, not good quality to hold a charge for hours.  Didn't want to pay $100 either.  It took me four days to make a decision and it's only a battery!!  I need counseling.

 

So there you have it.  Another boring post.  I haven't stitched in a while and hope to start something soon.  Will I be able to hold the needle with these fingers?  We shall see.

Hope the week is going well for you.

Thanks for visiting.

 

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