Catching Up and Still Puzzled

I'll start off with great news. My Baby (26 yrs. old) just got engaged to a sweet young man from Fiji, who is a chef. The wedding is tentatively Labor Day weekend 2010, although they are considering the $$$ advantages of waiting till 2011. She already knows what dress she wants, but since Mom (moi) likes to make wedding dresses, we are going to the bridal shop next week to see if I can copy it. We will keep you updated on these developments. She wants to get married outside at home (which means all the ugly flower beds will have to be cleaned for sure next year.)
Next item on the agenda: the pictures and updates as to what kept me busy2 weeks ago, as per previous blog:
1. Yellow Socks : Mystery Sock pattern for the Sock Challenge on Ravelry. Started Sept 2, Finished Sept 27.














2. Second Pair of Socks: Seaweed by WendyJohnston, also for the Sock Challenge.














3. My nephew's Kilt Hose--I am using these for one of the October Sock Challenge socks: Men's Socks.















4. Honeycomb Sweater #4 in black. I am almost finished the last piece: only the assembly and neck/button/buttonhole band left to do.















5. All the decks are stained. Only the balusters (slats) left to screw on. Will do this when all the cleanup in the garden and the tree nursery are finished. I think maybe Friday I'll get this done. After we go to the dump again. Notice that the flower pots are all gone.















I love the redwood stain, but couldn't face the prospect of that much red on the deck floor, so I chose a more sandy version. For the rails I used up some old semi-transparent, but prefer the look of solid stain, so, for the under-parts I bought solid stain and I will re-do the rails next year.















6. The swing sets are gone. The old play fort is gone. In their place, due to the damaged trees from the storm, I planted 4 Fat Albert Blue Spruces. They will nicely screen off the damaged part, but maybe not in my lifetime.















My Current preoccupation: The Renovations

Here is the new floor--the kitchen/dining area, adjoining laundry room and the main bathroom. It is a high-end lino, but when Daughter #2 came over--she being a porcelain tile advocate--she thought they were tiles. She was so impressed with the excellent grouting. Only when she got down to check the grouting, she realized they were not tiles. The floor is deeply textured like slate. It is a very matte finish--very slip-proof. We really like it.















See the end wall (dining area as seen from the kitchen).--These are my color samples done in primer. I am strongly leaning towards the sage green on the right, since I want this to be the main color in all the common areas of the house. I'm having trouble with what to do with the trim. I want the trim to be ivory--that's a given. I will put fairly wide crown mouldings around the ceiling. I would like to stack mouldings and make the windows look like in older houses, but I don't want to do this to the doors. I don't know if I can get away with that. Also, we have such lovely oak passage doors to the bedrooms, that I don't want to paint or replace them. Right now all the trim is mahogany stained to match the oak cupboards. I don't know how it would look to paint the trim and leave the doors wooden. And I want to widen the baseboards and paint them also. No rush. We can live without the trim and baseboards finished. Before I finally choose the color, I am going to the city tomorrow to choose the ceramic tiles. Perhaps they will suggest a color.
The dated "country" look knick-knacks will likely be packed away.















This is the wall of oak cupboards on the left side of the dining area. I'm toying with the idea of (assuming that the sage green is a go) using a rich chestnut brown in the space where the plates are hanging. These plates will stay, because I love them, and because they were a Christmas gift from Daughter #2 the first or second year she was away from home. I'd like to paint the bi-fold closet door the same color as the wall, so it disappears, but none of the other doors are going to be painted, so I don't know....















Since we had to remove the toilet in the main bathroom, and it sits inside its own alcove, and the length of baseboard that fits behind the toilet can't be inserted with the toilet in place, I bought the paint for the bathroom and painted the alcove, and also did the baseboards in the alcove. I will post these pics next time. Scary thing: On Wednesday, I'll have to cut 3/8" off the bottom of the passage door, since new underlay was needed and the new lino is very thick. Lots of Painter's tape to prevent the wood splitting, and a brand new skil-saw blade. Kubota Man has already set up the sawhorses.
Tomorrow's Agenda: Go to the city, meet with the Custom Cabinet Saleslady (we are making a second kitchen downstairs for canning and for extra cooking for family gatherings --4 or 5 times a year, about 30 people come over). Also a visit to the LYS, since I don't think I'll have enough yarn for the kilt hose, and I want some teal alpaca yarn to make my OWN honeycomb sweater. Then groceries--for our Thanksgiving this Sunday. And lastly, lots of building materials: the suspended ceiling for the downstairs kitchen, the crown moulding for the upstairs, the ceramic tiles, some more paint for the bathroom, and some millwork samples so I can play with the window design and possibly the door trim.

Till next time: Sweater, n.: a garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly. (from Chicken Soup for the Soul Like Mother, Like Daughter)

Mid-August Blues

I always feel blue in mid-August. The summer is going too fast, with too much work and not enough time to do it all and still have lots of quiet time, knitting time, do-nothing time. If I steal the last three, there is guilt because I was raised not to waste time. (This computer thing gives me lots of guilty moments). And yet I know I have chosen this work. I don't need a huge garden, or 30 flower pots, or too many flower beds, or the acquaintance of the Alpaca Man, or a 60-foot strawberry patch, or all those raspberries.... But an excess of honest work has been the hallmark of my life. Maybe it was my pioneer upbringing, or the childhood poverty.
When I was teaching, the reality of the end of summer was even more pronounced. Teachers had to come back the Thurs. and Fri. before Labor Day for organizational meetings and Prayer Service. Although I loved teaching, I loved being home and with the kids even more. I used to get really really blue in those days.

As I'm composing this, I realize that it isn't the work done that's tiring and saddening, it's the unfinished stuff.

Much as I mourn the passing of summer, since I retired, I have developed a love of autumn. I never saw much of autumn, since the beginning of the school year was always so busy with long after-school hours. Now I am aware of the smells, the sights, the changes, and I love it. But not quite yet.

One thing I like to do is to go for a walk
and talk to my Maker about my stresses
and feelings, and thank Him for His
blessings. One of my favorite places is
the patch where the Angelica plants grow
(also known as Garden heliotrope). It looks
like Queen Anne's Lace, but is 5-6 feet tall.
If you sniff the flowers they stink, but in the evening they infuse the entire yard with the most heavenly scent.

Back to reality--if you look closely, you can see the Angelica amid the tenacious Canada Thistles. My hands have become so tough, I can pull Canada Thistle without gloves--no word of a lie!





Today we had new (wider) eavestroughs put on, along with a cover called "Gutter Guard". With all our trees it was a real chore to keep cleaning the gutters (they get dirty even if there is no rain), and we're not spring chickens any more. That will remove one summer chore from my list. (Or Kubota Man's list).

I've been stealing time. Here are the
Mary Maxim Bamboo socks in the
color "hyacinth". They are soooo
pretty. The dark line looks black, but is a soft brown. It blends in quite nicely, although in the picture it shrieks out. These are MINE!

And I've finished the fronts and back of honeycomb Sweater #2, in charcoal grey alpaca. Will finish most of a sleeve tonight.






This is the commissioned chenille
sweater that I've just finished. It is
for a lady who runs a local appliance repair shop and appliance outlet. She
donated a lot of yarn to our Prayer
Shawl Ministry, and some lovely quilt fabric remnants from which my friend Jeanet made a double-bed quilt which we raffled for our Women's League fundraiser. This sweater is a Mary Maxim kit. It worked up quickly, but shed a lot of dander, so I had a lot of sinus problems for a while. It was so furry, I couldn't see the individual stitches, so counting was horrendous. I'm glad it's done.
BTW you can just get a glimpse of a wall of my newly-renovated sewing room.

Alpaca Man came this afternoon and dropped off 2 big boxes of alpaca yarn (looks like worsted weight) in both black and white. Lots of designing to do now.

We've still had no rain. It takes the whole morning to water the potted trees and shrubs. Kubota Man has just about finished rebuilding the damaged greenhouse--just has to figure out how he wants to set up the chimneys, then we wait for calm days that the kids can all come home at the same time so we can put the plastic sheeting on, and finish everything off--clean up and wait till February, when we start up again.

Tomorrow I am going on a field trip with Mom and the Handi-Bus. We are going to Muttart Conservatories in Edmonton. This site consists of glass pyramids, each with a different eco-system environment: I don't remember them all, but there is a desert one, and I think a tropical one. You get the idea.

I have to start thinking about completing the deck renovations. Our deck is huge. In 1987 it started to be 8'x8', just a big porch at the back door on the east side of the house. While it was still in the planning stages, I thought another 16'x22' on the east side would make a nice sitting area (in full sun). So then I thought 8'x30' more along the north (front side) of the house would give us a nice shady spot. So Kubota Man, in fear of a house totally surrounded by decks, ordered the lumber. Now, we each have our own unique skill-sets. He is an excellent structural builder and framer--I have the patience and meticulousness for finishing work. So we did what we do best--divide the labor. He built the sub-structure (it is quite high off the ground) including the floor joists. I did the floor planks and the railings. In 1987 pressure treated wood was prohibitively expensive, so we used just spruce and kept it stained. Two years ago we replaced the decking and last summer I ripped off the rails, saved the decorative slats, and re-built the frames. Now the wood has dried, so I need to take the mill glaze off, and stain the whole thing, then replace the little slats. I'm looking forward to it being all finished. I will do it in stages: wash all the rails, stain. Wash all the floor boards, stain. Wash the fence under the whole deck. Stain. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ I'm worn out already, and I haven't even started yet. But at least I have the stain so I don't have to shop--my least favorite activity in the world.

Till next time: Grandmother and grandchild discussing a common interest are exactly the same age (Duane Birch)