Marathon Day 2

First, just let me say...

building a house with your spouse

is risky business.

Very risky business.

I took this test

several years ago

and passed with 

flying colors.

Why , oh why

am I being asked

to take this test

again?

Today we are shopping again

for kitchen appliances

at the same stores where we spent all day

yesterday.

Then we are going to shop 

audio systems.

These items have to be decided on now

in order to proceed with the wiring 

that they will require.

Hubs has declared that we will do this 

again.

Tomorrow.

In the meantime

I am to study

the 1000 page catalogue

that we borrowed from the lighting store yesterday.

Oh and also check out the website

that the lighting ladies recommended

which boasts over

40,000 choices.

Just. Shoot. Me.

I know, I know,

I should not be complaining.

Shopping is fun, right?

I AM thankful, I really am.

I am blessed.

So blessed.

But.

My husband is very tired...

I am very tired.

We need some sunshine 

and some warm temps.

We need for stuff to stop breaking

at the rental houses.

We now have to rip up a house

because the tenant has complained

to the county about the mold problem.

This is going to be almost impossible

to address with people living there

and they are behind on the rent

to boot.

We will be selling this house

when it becomes empty,

not renting to these losers again.

Sorry, I digress.

Sometimes I just want to fast forward to

the Assisted Living Home

where someone will bring my food

on a tray 

and tuck me in at night

and 

let me read blogs all day.

But until that day,

I forge fearlessly

and cheerfully

and hopefully

into the fray.

Day 2 is about to begin.

If hubs doesn't stop and get me Coke

when I am dying of thirst 

and caffeine low,

You will hear the screaming

all the way from Joplin..

Im just sayin.

On a happy note,

Here is the buffet

we recently bought

at the Flea Market.

I have been watching out

for one that I could 

put in the entry hall.

I hope they didn't rip my head off

but we both felt like it was 

a good value.

Try to ignore the pink vases...

I didn't buy those!

Im not sure about the hardware,

but I don't have time to do anything about it right now...

It has some little 

wear signs here and there

and some chipped up places,

to proved that it has lived a good life

and been used well.

Like me, right?

Yep.

Now join me in

a little happy dance

because

It's Friday!

The next time I write 

there will be a lot of scratches 

on the BIG to-do list.

Amen.

Happy Sunday morning everybody!

It's my hubby's birthday

and I should be baking him a cake

taking him coffee in bed

regaling him with praise.

Instead I am here 

with you 

so that I can tell you

about a lovely blog

for you to peruse

on this gloomy

gray

rainy

day

in February.

Let not your hearts be troubled

it is almost March!

Take a look at these yummy pictures

and learn.

This cool blog is like

flipping through a beautiful magazine

without having paid $7.99

and there are no advertisements,

no comments,

no giveaways,

no nothing.

Just lovely pictures.

I love it!

www.inspirationfordecoration.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

hope springs eternal

Spring....

She's coming~

And She's bringing

the girls.

 These beauties 

are out there 

lurking beneath

the soil.

Just waiting for

their turn 

in the sun.

And after that,

these darlings will

fill the air

with sweetness.

And pastels.

You will have to look closely 

to find this 

fragile imp!

and then, 

this one.

Lush.

Soothing

Comforting

Dependable.

Then,

Sassy 

Happy

and

Carefree

and all the cousins...

The world is brown right now.

But we have hope

for the future.

I am looking

forward

to

spring.

How 

about 

you?

Beam me up Scotty!

I am so blessed.

Just this morning

I was bemoaning once again about

something I wanted to put my hands on

but couldn't remember what box to look in.

I was feeling blue

because I have so many things to decide

in the next few days.

My bum still hurts.

I don't know what color tan/beige/kahaki

I want to look at for the rest of my life,

in this house.

This baby lives thousands of miles away

and I can't touch her.

I got to see her yesterday

on the miracle

called

Skype.

It is 76 degrees there 

and her mommie had her chubby bare legs

sticking out there for me to see.

I could hear her babbling away

and crying too.

Isn't life wonderful?

I am blessed.

Beigeness

It is coooooooold around here.

The brave men are building some interior walls for

the downstairs kitchen bar

and finishing some 

rough in plumbing.

Because that's where the heaters are.

I am here at home

staring at paint chips.

I remember writing a paint chip post

around a year ago,

pondering the qualities

of

Fireweed.

It's getting close to crunch time

and I am second guessing 

my ability to chose colors 

that I will love forever.

Does this beige look green in the sunlight?

Does this beige look too pinky?

Is this beige too dark?

Too gray?

I don't know why I am starting to freak out about this.

It's not like I've never done it before...

I don't think people ran

to their cars

shrieking

eeee gad!

What was she thinking??????

I'm pretty sure

Fireweed

is 

out.

I am looking for a more mellow

calming

deep

sensual

red,

like a fine wine.

Fireweed conjurs up

thoughts of indigestion,

and is a little too orange,

I picked Red Bay for my office last time.

I loved that color.

I loved it every time I looked at it.

That's what I'm looking for.

Simply

Quiet Warm Deep Luscious Not Too Harsh And Not Too Bright Red

and Soothing, Neutral Comforting, Yet Warm But Not Too Golden Tan.

That's all.

Oh, and Soft, Like Sea Glass, Barely There Slightly I'm Not Sure It's Really Aqua.

I guess that's why I'm still looking 

one year later! 

I can do this...I can do this...I can do this...

Yesterday was an interesting day!

While on sabbatical from

my duties as an

electrician's assistant,

I decided to 

putter,

nest,

and 

decorate.

I am having the Saturday Brunch Girls

over for brunch on Saturday

(that's why we call ourselves the Saturday Brunch Girls)

and since it is almost Valentine's Day

why not decorate the tables with some really girly-girly stuff?

That meant moving some of the winter-snow-village stuff

out of the way.

We had some large ceramic tiles laying around

so that we could stare at them and

instead of moving them out of the kitchen

(also tiled)

I just lined them up out of the way.

I just needed to move the snow stuff over to the bookshelf

which just happened to be where the tiles

were lined up.

Anyhoo,

I stepped on one of the display tiles

and it went scooting.

Tiles on tiles can scoot really fast.

I did not scoot...

I went Down.

Fast.

In the process I knocked over a lamp,

broke one of the snow village boys,

and took the top off one of the little houses.

As I lay on the floor

clutching the broken boy,

I thought of that TV commercial

where the old lady is on the floor

crying,

"I've fallen and I can't get up!"

Dear Children:

Do not bother to get me one of those Lifeline gadgets.

I'm fine.

I spent the rest of the morning

setting up the table for the Brunch Girls

and 

mourning the broken boy's head

and 

feeling foolish.

All those days on ladders,

at the house,

up and down

down and up

working working working 

in hazardous cold conditions,

with nary a slip...

only to find myself

injured 

putting up 

Valentine's Day decorations!

Moral of this story:

Decorating can be hazardous to your health!

also:

Ceramic tile hurts when you fall down go boom on your bum!

wiring 101

Hello.  It's me.

I have been trying to decide

what to share with you

about wiring.

I've come a long way

in the wiring world.

I now know the difference 

between 12 guage, 14-2 and 14-3 wire...

I now know how to drill holes in the studs

for the wire to go through,

and I know how to 

shove that wire through the holes

from one outlet to another.

I now know what single boxes, double boxes and heavy duty fan/light boxes are.

I now know that climbing up and down ladders all day

makes your legs ache.

I now know that holding your arms up over your head all day

makes your shoulders ache.

I now know that being an electrician's assistant

is not for sissies.

One thing that has been hard for me to learn

is that my electrician wants me to learn.

He wants me to understand why he does things

the way he does.

He wants to teach me about electricity

so that I can anticipate what tool he will need next,

or what room we will move to next,

or where I will want to put the switches and plug-ins next.

He wants me to remember all the lingo

he taught me yesterday

so he won't have to explain it all again

day after day.

Every time I sit down to ponder whether to paint the

library Quiver Tan

or the bathroom Night Owl,

he hollers

bring me the small battery operated drill,

or 

bring me another box of staples,

or 

switch out these bits....

I now know that 

wiring is slow-

but it must be done,

and it must be done right.

You can work at it for days

and not see any progress.

Wiring in winter is cold business.

I now know that one must wear two pairs of everything

and you will still be cold.

Two gloves, two pants, two socks, two hats...

hot coffee in a thermos and lots of granola bars to keep

going

Sometimes 

there is a little lull in my duties

and I get to gaze out at this scene

and this,

and this.

Who could ask for more?