The Amazing Mrs. O

New Workbench!

2012-01-30T17:31:00.001-07:00

Since we moved from Portland too many years ago, I've been using a folding table up on bed risers as a sewing/art table. It wasn't the worst thing to work on, but wasn't very attractive or stable. So, this weekend I made a new one!

Cupboard shown upside down

A couple weeks ago I bought a kitchen cupboard for $20 at Donation Warehouse, which is kind of a Goodwill for bigger stuff. I also used the cupboard we took down during our kitchen remodel. First, I had to build it up a bit; upper and lower cupboards are typically different heights.

Old closet door being a closet door

Then, I grabbed one of the closet doors that we took down when we moved in, and slapped it on top.

A few well-placed wood screws, and I'm in business!

You can see the cupboard I bought has a pull-out bottom shelf - perfect for my serger! Now it's tucked away and protected from dust, but easily accessible.

What have we here?

Old closet door being a worktable

Under one side of the table I have lots of storage... And under the other side, plenty of legroom so I can sit up to the table when I'm drawing or painting or something like that.

You've probably noticed that I painted the room an invigorating lime green. I love it! It fairly GLOWS in here sometimes. This is NOT a room to chill in. It's a room in which to be creative! and productive! and inspired!

New Shoes!

2012-01-27T12:10:00.001-07:00

LR Update

2012-01-23T16:58:00.001-07:00

My living room is awesome! But we're not done yet, and I can't post pictures of a half-finished room. Spring semester started up today, so my painting time has been severely curtailed! But in snippets of an hour or so at a time, I am up on a stool with a teeny paintbrush painting the bead that runs around the top of the wall around the room. It's very satisfying because it makes such a big difference in the overall look of the room; adds more sophistication.

I know I said that Sunday we would work on the trim, but we were both so sore after painting for two days straight, that we just put the room back together and took it easy. It was worth it - just what we needed. So, hopefully in the next week or so, we can find some baseboard trim we like and get it installed. Best thing about this project? I get to buy a chop saw! It's about the best thing to have in order to make perfect 45-degree cuts and whatnot. I think I'll use it a lot, seeing as how I hope to be creating canvases to paint on and frames to finish them with!

Meanwhile, I found this cool site that shows you the popularity of your name in years gone by. Evidently, there haven't been many new Twilas created in recent history. ...And by recent, I mean the last 40 years because, you know, 40 years isn't really THAT long of a time span. Why, someone in their 40's would most assuredly be considered young by all accounts. Wouldn't you agree?!

Living Room Progress

2012-01-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

We had planned to go to Helena tonight for a Bar Mitzvah tomorrow, but with over a foot of snow on the ground, and a mountain pass between hither and thither, we decided against it. Here is how our neighbor dealt with the snow on his roof!

Meanwhile, I was not about to just laze away the day, no ma'am! Today we worked on the living room. First, Ryan pulled up the trim around the floor. It's old, generic, rental-living trim that had been painted over more times than I have been.

I couldn't believe the nails they used to attach it to the wall! Did they think it had to hold up the wall itself?!

It was cool to see what the original color of our floors were. We also noticed that at one time, these walls were quite pink...

After that, we took everything off the walls and then scrubbed and painted the ceiling and trim. The place already looks better! I took some pictures, but it was after dark and the flash burned out all the color. They really don't show anything. While we were painting, our new shag rug arrived via UPS! Excellent timing! Tomorrow we paint the walls and then head to Home Depot to shop for new trim.

Snow Day

2012-01-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

Schools were closed today due to the foot or so of snow on the ground, but the interior decorator braved the roads and showed up for our 1:00 appointment with a palette for my living room! She came up with some colors I hadn't even thought of. At first I wasn't sure, but I'm liking them better the more I think about it. She chose a purple that she says is rich and interesting without being "volatile". It will anchor the room and won't react with other bold colors that I will put in the room. We were wishing my millwork were wood, but since it isn't, we're going to paint it near-black; which is actually the wall color a couple shades darker. Then the ceiling will be painted a color, since creams and whites aren't really going to "work" in this room. I plan to hang a couple big light fixtures from the ceiling as well. Should really make the room romantic and interesting!

I can't wait to get painting. I plugged the colors into a "test room" on the Benjamin Moore site so you can get a visual.

What do you think?

More Mural-ing!

2012-01-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

Hannah wasn't in this house more than two days before she started working on a new mural on her bedroom wall, since she had to leave the others behind. Now I've finally gotten around to photographing it.

This is created from a picture of herself, completely freehand, using no grids, and no projection.

If you haven't checked out Hannah's other murals, you need to do so now: Here and Here.

I just have to say it; my daughter is amazing.

Shoe Shelter - Complete!

2012-01-12T09:06:00.001-07:00

There's a really nice lumber shop just a few minutes from our house where I can just drive in, pick my wood, have them butcher it into whatever cuts I want, and then put it straight into my car. Isn't that nice? I got some more shoe shelves cut and sanded over the weekend, and then yesterday I finally got them primed and painted. This morning, I put two of them up all by my own self. Now all my little pretties have a home - and room to grow! I even have a shelf on reserve completely ready to be put up when the need arises.

Oops!

2012-01-10T12:40:00.004-07:00

So, sometimes I admit. I don't know when to leave well-enough alone. In my own defense, that doesn't happen very often, but when it does...

I just wanted to see how the floors looked under that horrible tile in front of the fireplace! Turns out, mortar is really hard to scrape off hardwood floors... and even more difficult to scrape off other tile.

Ryan's going to kill me when he gets home.

2 Items

2012-01-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

Item #1. I do believe the cat will love our new shag rug when it arrives. Can you see the corner of the itty-bitty sample poking out from under her?

Item #2. Hannah's best Missoula friend's mother brought me a stack of "This Old House" magazines completely out of the blue last night. We spent a few minutes talking about my living room. This woman understands me! Maybe she needs to be MY best Missoula friend.

Living Room Saga

2012-01-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

My goodness! I have never had so much trouble putting a room together in my LIFE!

First, the progress I HAVE made. We found a couch, finally. We found it at a store not known for its low prices, but it was surprisingly affordable. The throw pillows that came with it will not make the redecorating cut, of that I am sure.

We have also found a great shag rug online, but have yet to order it. Here's a picture of the sample, which isn't exactly true to color, but gives you an idea.

Meanwhile, Ryan has realized he has a "thing" for houseplants. He lavishes them with attention, pulling them into the sunlight whenever possible (he's particularly drawn to tropical plants)... and forgetting to put them back when the sun goes down. They seem to sprout legs and end up in my way much of the time. But he loves them, and I have to admit they are lovely.

Here's where the problem comes in: wall color. As you can see, the painting is the centerpiece of the room, and we have to be sure the wall color sets it off nicely. The only color I can see really working is that green on top, but I've done a green living room before, and I want something different.

I am THIS CLOSE to hiring a professional [gasp]! Just someone good with color to come in and consult with me. I am driving myself crazy with all these patches, and the decision is getting more difficult and complicated rather than easier. I am usually pretty confident about my color choices, but this time I am truly stumped.

Oh, PS - Ignore the yellow to the left of the painting (which is actually green in real life)! I painted my sewing room in that color, and was goofing off.

Shoe Shelter

2011-11-13T18:33:00.001-07:00

This is the sort of thing I used to daydream about for the last 6 years we were renting and moving and renting and moving: a permanent storage solution for my shoes. All these years they've been traveling each in their own shoe box, with their portrait (usually on my feet) pasted on the end. It's the only way to keep them protected when moving so often.

In our apartments, we've had extra closet space, but there was absolutely no place to stash my shoes when we moved in here unless I wanted to put them downstairs. They have spent the last month loitering about the hallway and stacked up against the wall in our room.

Now, after several days of sanding and priming and painting and planning, my shoes have finally found a home!

There are a few pairs still homeless, so I need to get back to the lumber store and make some more shelves, but I am so pleased to have my little shoes put up. They look so fun out on display. Now I'll never accidentally wear the second-best pair for my outfit since I can see them all so clearly! Yes, you can laugh at me for saying that.

It's the Little Things

2011-11-03T19:55:00.000-06:00

I get so much joy out of trying (and succeeding at) something new! Today I switched out the tap in the guest bathroom, like I said I would. It looks so much better, and I did it all myself!

Before: Lame

After: Aaah! That's better!

What IS this thing anyway?

But one of these was in the box with the new facuet, and it was nowhere on the supply list or in the directions. Does anyone know what it is?!

Kitchen Re-do: Phase 1a

2011-10-30T11:37:00.000-06:00

First, let's take you on a quick tour back through time - to the "before" of our kitchen.

You'll notice the lovely orangey, sickly cast to the room courtesy of the endless surfaces painted yellowish. And then those lovely maple cabinets. I know, I know. You might be thinking, "Well, those aren't bad at all! Wherefore doth she complaineth?" Then let's put it another way: If you were remodeling your kitchen this week, are THOSE the cupboards you would have installed? No. You wouldn't. Because you have taste. And so do I.

We've decided to call the work we did this weekend "Phase 1a." The purpose of Phase 1a was to get our kitchen to the point where I didn't hate looking at it. And, with a lot of elbow-grease and sore muscles and a very little bit of money, we accomplished that this weekend!

I knew I had to paint the window frames. First of all, the paint was cracking and peeling...
Second of all, they were a "white" that looks white until you put a clean white up next to it and then it is so very not white! So, I spent a few hours with a can of stripper and a scraper.

Fun to watch the stripper do its work! Hmmm That doesn't sound right...

Maybe I should have left them this way - very shabby chic!

We also decided to get rid of these upper cupboards. They interrupt the light between all those awesome south, west and east-facing windows. Plus, everything we kept in those cupboards is beautiful, so why not display them?

Please excuse the blotch of paint, I was testing out a color.

Next, we painted out all the yellow - making the ceiling bright white and (with apologies to my Gramma who believes blue does NOT belong in the kitchen. ever.) the walls a soft blue. We put up some shelves to replace the cabinets and this is how it turned out! Drumroll, please

I love the kitchen SO much more now! The white ceiling puts the light back in the room, and the whole feel is more clean and fresh. The only downside now is the idea that it could easily slip into a "country" look, and that is very much not my taste. I'm hoping the lack of rooster cookie jars and the like will keep that from happening, but I will also keep my eyes out for elements to bring in that will push it more toward "cottage" or "beach house" and away from country.

Phase 1b will entail painting the lower cabinet fronts. White? Blue? Gray? Any opinions out there? I know there are. ;) And does anyone want to guess how much this remodel cost us besides an entire two days?

New Shoes!

2011-10-20T19:44:00.002-06:00

Tight Squeeze

2011-10-18T20:33:00.000-06:00

We finally got the garage organized enough to pull the car in, and this is how that worked out...

The front end is literally underneath the workbench, and the back end is about an inch and a half from the garage door.

Dad, I think I'd like to take you up on that collapsible work table idea!

Either that, or buy a Smart ForTwo...

Plum Delicious

2011-10-17T16:37:00.000-06:00

Today on "What's Up with Mrs. O" we're making Plum Hooch!

When we were living in Grand Forks, my Auntie brought this way-cool canning jar all the way over with her on the train. It was filled with raspberries and sugar, and with daily attention over the course of a year I was left with a delicious raspberry chambord.

Now I'm trying something with plums. I have an abundance of them from a plum tree in our backyard, so here's what I did:

plums, sugar, cheap vodka

dark, cool place

stir every few days

cross my fingers!

No Place to Wine

2011-10-16T18:45:00.000-06:00

Our new house has more kitchen cupboard space than the rental did, but what it doesn't have is a nice pantry. It has a very goofy pantry. I will show it to you sometime, but only when I have come up with a solution to it!

Wine, liquor and wine glasses are big space hogs, so I decided to get creative and try to find alternate storage for them. Since we now have our microwave on top of our refrigerator, our old microwave stand was the perfect start. It was easy, of course, to just put all the bottles on the bottom shelf, but how to store the wine glasses... We went to Home Depot hoping they would have stemware racks we could attack to the bottom of the cutting board top, but they didn't. And I didn't want to wait to find and order some online, so I created my own!

I bought a long stick of wood trim and a few (shorter) 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch sticks of wood.

Then, I cut them into 14-inch lengths, and stacked the trim on top of the 1/2 inch sticks.

I pre-drilled a hole at each end so the wood wouldn't split, then used my countersink (thanks, Dad!) to make room for the head of the wood screw, and then I screwed them down tight.

Et voila! A wine glass rack!

Next time I do this, I'll be able to make them more beautiful, but I am happy to have accomplished this at all. :)

Magic Sauce

2011-10-08T21:28:00.000-06:00

Try this. I ate it drizzled on 3-cheese tortellini and it is EXCELLENT!

Tuckered Out!

2011-10-03T16:21:00.000-06:00

Sunday we got up early again and got to work on the house. Thank goodness Ryan's folks came for a visit around lunchtime. We three were pretty beat. Thanks for the visit and for the delicious, nourishing lunch at the Cracker Barrel, Pop & Alida!

Before we fell over from sheer exhaustion, we managed to finish painting our bedroom, and Ryan pulled every last staple from the floor in the living room, hallway and bedroom. He also took out the carpet in the second upstairs bedroom. I know we said we weren't going to, but we decided if we didn't do it now, it's a job we'd procrastinate way too long once all our stuff was moved into the room.

Now that I've had the luxury of time to just wander through the house and look at things up close, I've figured out one of the reasons why I wasn't terribly excited about this house. Besides using those really bland neutrals, the previous owners also painted the trim the same color as the walls. I'm not an interior decorator, but I can safely say: Don't do that to your house! It MAY make the room seem a bit larger, and it most definitely means using a lot less painter's tape, but it also turns a room into a plain box. Yuck! So much architectural interest is lost.

Our bedroom is a pretty good example.

This, of course, is after we removed the wallpaper, but you can see very clearly how boring this room is with the trim basically painted away. They even painted the window rail, for Pete's sake!

Even before I painted the walls, painting the trim white made that boring cream color look almost decent. (sorry, no pic of that mid-process point).

Now take a look at it with some contrast going on!

I'm getting a lovely cottage-y vibe from this room, almost a beach house feel.

Meanwhile, Hannah's been working on a project in her room. She's painting a mural on one of her walls, and it's turning out spectacular! She's so excited to be able to decorate in a more permanent manner. As am I!

Wednesday afternoon we have some college boys coming over to help move the big stuff, and we will finally put our toothbrushes in the bathroom drawers. :)

Floored.

2011-10-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

Okay, so remember the living room with that bossy brown carpet? Friday afternoon I pulled up a corner to see what was underneath and found hardwood flooring! So, yesterday we decided to take a chance and pull up the carpet completely, with the opinion that even worn out hardwood flooring is better than old bossy brown carpet. I recorded the big reveal so you could join us:

What a lovely housewarming gift, wouldn't you say? Ryan spent the entire day peeling up the tackboard strips around the edges. And we will gradually work on pulling up staples - it's not easy. But I was so happy to see what great condition the floors are in! The flooring extended into the hallway and both bedrooms. We left the second bedroom carpeted, but pulled the rest.

I also finished getting all the wallpaper off the walls in our bedroom, and picked out the paint. I have to paint the trim before I can paint the walls, but here's how it's looking so far.

I have one more full day of work before I have to go back to classes, so stay tuned!

Working for the Weekend

2011-10-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

Removing wallpaper is a nasty, messy job! My hands were cramping up by the time I quit last night.

However, painting is SO rewarding!

More on both of these projects later. :)

Officially Official

2011-09-30T10:24:00.002-06:00

After signing only about 354 pages, we are homeowners again!

We went to the house straightaway, of course, to see what it looks like now that we own it. There was a lovely surprise waiting for me - a few tugs revealed hardwood floors under the carpet in the living room!

More later. :)

El Otro Cuarto de Baño

2011-09-27T20:02:00.001-06:00

Two good things:
1) My 3 tests last Thursday: A- in Ethics, 98% in Spanish, and 107% in Art History. Chee! Studying pays!
2) This Friday at 8:00 AM we close on the house. :)

So, I thought I'd do one more blog before then. Presenting, the upstairs bathroom.

This is the one Ryan & I (and guests) will use. I see a major remodel in this bathroom's future. As you can see, it's gray. I once painted a bathroom gray, but it was a "good" gray. Actually, it was a great gray, and the bathroom was stunning. This isn't a good gray. This bathroom is NOT stunning. Not sure what color we'll do, but it won't be gray. Not even a great gray. This sad gray has made me... sad. No more gray allowed in this room.

Most importantly, I must have a new bathtub. No, really. I must. Because of my back regular bathtubs don't work for me. I can't slip down in them and submerge myself. I have to be either lying down flat with my head underwater, or sitting up straight. Try that one on for size. Seriously, picture yourself (not me, please) sitting straight-up in a bathtub. It's no fun. And it's cold. What I need is a deeper tub. It doesn't have to be big around or long, it just has to be deep so I can soak. Maybe something like this, only hopefully not so expensive. We'd have to do some rearranging, but we plan to take out the vanity, so that should help. There's more room in there than it appears in these pictures.

The floor is so 80's it hurts. Of course I will probably put in (heated) tile. I'm a tile girl, what can I say? And then there's the sink situation. It's okay. I mean, it'll do for now, but eventually? Oh man, eventually! My friend Sarah does BEAUTIFUL pottery, and I have already asked her if she would do a free-standing ceramic sink for me. Wouldn't that be GORGE?! I'm thinking a natural, perfectly imperfect clay sink sitting atop a smaller counter with dark pebble or rock tile.

Could those BE any more awesome?! No. No, they couldn't. We'd divert the pipes so the tap would be in the wall above the sink.

Yeah, I know, major work. But I'm allowed to dream (and save my pennies) am I not?

Miscellaneous Update

2011-09-21T14:18:00.002-06:00

I should probably be studying. I have 3 exams tomorrow, one of which is worth 1/3 of my overall grade in the class! However, I studied four hours straight this morning, and I think all that's required now is some review later this evening and tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!

A quick update to my last post about the downstairs bathroom. My mother-in-law suggested that she may become, shall we say, reluctant to come visit us if I put tile in that bathroom since she doesn't prefer frozen feet! So, I did a bit of research and found out that it is easy-cheezy to put in heated flooring. You just lay down a mesh unit that has heating coils in it - something like an electric blanket - and then tile over that. Et voila! Toasty toes!

In other house-news, it appears we will be closing a week from tomorrow. At that point, we will have just over 2 weeks to get moved out of our apartment. I think we can manage. I hope to slap some paint up in the kitchen, our bedroom, and possibly Hannah's room before we move our stuff into those rooms. The kitchen remodel won't be for awhile because it's one of the biggest projects, but that yellow-ishness has got to go immediately. And of course once you put beds in a bedroom, it makes it harder to maneuver, so we will paint those first as well. Hannah has a master plan for her bedroom, but I am purposely not blogging about it in advance. I think you'll have to see it to understand it!

Meanwhile, the sewing room is almost all packed up. With all that's going on, there is zero-to-no chance that I will be sewing between now and the move. Hannah has already started packing her room too. She's so excited to have a new place. Ryan went over to the house and cleaned the gutters on Monday. While most of the house was very well maintained, someone didn't like cleaning gutters; there were plants growing out of them! He filled 3 large garbage bins with the debris!

Well, must keep moving. (ha!)

Cuarto de Baño

2011-09-14T18:40:00.001-06:00

Been kinda busy. The Jones had a gig this past Saturday for a wedding and reception, and we have another one at Riley's Irish Pub in Helena this Friday. My mom and dad are driving out from Portland to hear us! Hope we do our best. :) School is going well. I think I'm finally in the groove in 3 of my 4 classes. I don't think I'll be "grooving" on the last one (Art History) until we have our first test next week and I have a better idea of whether I'm studying the right way!

In the meantime, I had a few minutes so... on to the downstairs bathroom.

Why anyone would think this is a nice treatment of the room, I have no idea. The flooring has some of the same green in it as the formica countertop, but other than that, this is a barren, lifeless wasteland of a bathroom!

Happily, this room doesn't need much work to make it sing a sweeter tune. I'll start with some COLOR on the walls. YAY COLOR!

Eventually I will replace the flooring with some tile. I can't stand linoleum. I'll probably stick with something simple and beautiful. I'm saving the flash and amazement for the upstairs bathroom remodel! I'd love to replace the formica... can a person tile over formica? Hmmmm.

Here's a view of the sink. The faucet will need to be replaced. I don't like those squatty, apartment building taps.

It doesn't have to be spectacular, something like this will do:

And you know what? That's about it! Easiest room so far. What do you think?

Catch the Wave

2011-09-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

Today is Inspection Day! This afternoon we find out if the house is good enough for us. :)

Meanwhile, I could have sworn I posted about my Victor Daniel painting! Victor is an art teacher in Helena, whom Ryan met through Craigslist when he was looking for guitar players to jam with. The first time I was at their house, I fell in love with a painting of waves that Victor had above his couch. A few months later when I found out it was for sale, we promptly put down some money on it and faithfully made payments until it was ours! Here's a picture from when Victor and his lovely wife Whitney brought it over to our apartment and put it up. An Art Installation party, if you will.

Obviously, I was tickled pink to finally own it!

So, anyway, this is the painting we'll be sort of planning our living room around. I plan to use some of the less-obvious colors from the painting.

Living Room Dreams

2011-09-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

I almost don't want to show you the living room. It's that hideous. However, the worse a room looks "before", the better the "after" looks, eh? So, here's it is, in all it's blandness.

The only architectural features I am working with here are the coved ceiling and doorway. The house was vacant, but staged when we saw it. I don't think the sellers actually used that horrendous couch. [shudder] The carpet may look like a nice medium neutral in this picture, but it's actually brown. It's not in bad shape! But it's brown. Clean! But brown. So, its days are numbered. I'm thinking wood (or wood-like) flooring. I don't have to go crazy with too many possibilities in this living room because I know I want to design it around our original Victor Daniel painting. ... Oh wow, I just realized I've never blogged about that painting! I'll do that tomorrow.

Okay, so, the coved ceilings would definitely stand out more if I painted the walls a nice rich, saturated color. But it might also be cool if I painted the ceiling too! - in a different color, of course. Another option would be to put a dark border around the lip like this:

A third option I thought of would be to buy some carved trim/moulding from Home Depot, and put it up just under the lip of the ceiling, and maybe also just inside the ceiling itself. Hopefully that would give it a crown moulding effect like this.

Any of these options would help make the room seem a bit smaller and cozier, which it obviously needs.

Then we swing a bit to the north and see this.

I had a house like this in Portland - where the front door opened directly into the living room. Sometimes it bothered me because sitting in the living room felt a bit like you were on your way out, rather than settling in. So, I'm thinking, what would be wrong with putting in a half-wall right there where the wood floor meets the carpet? It would create a little niche where we could put shoes and coats, and it would visually divide the space. Not completely sold on this idea, but it's a thought!

And finally, the east wall.

If I did the half-wall thing, it would be there to the left. I guess it's nice to have a fireplace, but this is not a very attractive one. It depends how we decorate this room, but I'm thinking it would be nice to tile over the brick, and keep tiling up the wall. OR, create a mantel over it. Maybe using some reclaimed wood? Could be nice!

The funniest thing about all this is that all we really have for this room is a wooden bench and an awesome painting. It's going to be pretty spare until we get more furniture. That will be a while, we're going to take our time to (hopefully) find just the right pieces.

And that's room number two!

Kitchen Dreams

2011-09-05T07:00:00.000-06:00

I've had a few requests for interior pictures of the house. I think I'll post them along with my ideas for redecorating/remodeling - some of which I will accomplish, and some of which I will only dream! Our first major project will be in the kitchen.

First of all, that yellow has GOT to go. Secondly, the cupboards are too traditional for my taste. I already posted a link a couple days ago to a cabinet re-do that will work really well. The countertops look new, and they're not bad. Once I paint the walls and cabinets, I'll know better if I need to replace the countertops. The big change I want to make is to put cupboards/countertop where the oven currently is, and build an island/breakfast bar with a gas range in the center of the room! We had a breakfast bar in the last house we owned, and we loved it. We did a lot of living around it.

This is the other side of the kitchen. I figure once we put the bar in, we won't really need that lonely little extension under the windows. I say we take it out and put in a little corner seating area so we can max out that lovely south and west sunshine. One cooky thing about this house is that you have to go out to the garage to access the backyard. So, perhaps in the future, we could spend the money and effort to extend that corner into a sunroom/porch that would lead directly to the backyard. Lovely thought, huh?

Lastly, this is what you see on the north wall of the kitchen. That goofy little door leads to a pantry cupboard. Whatever I do to the kitchen cupboards, I'll do to that door too. I won't have any furniture against that wall, because it will be the pass-through between the living room and the garage and stairs to the basement.

Color Matters

2011-09-04T09:25:00.000-06:00

I think the first, and most essential investment we'll be making in this house will be a few gallons of paint. Here are swatches of the current "colors" on the walls...
I am SO not feeling the love with these bland neutrals. Yet another reason we call this place our clean slate! After years of apartment living, I am ready for some bold, vibrant, I-can-do-what-I-want-now color!

Woohoo!!

2011-09-03T15:04:00.000-06:00

I heard from our realtor just minutes ago: our offer was accepted! Move-in date is just over a month from today. I can't wait! I have long been ready to leave apartment living behind me. No more landlords, no more white rooms, no more shared walls!

As it is, I spent all morning combing the internets looking at interior design sites. I was SO excited to find this blog called "Mom and Her Drill". Her kitchen cabinets looked exactly like the ones our new/future house currently has. You need to click through to see the work of magic she did on them! I do believe that will be my first major project. It'll be awesome.

Proffered an Offer

2011-09-02T18:24:00.000-06:00

Well, we've gone and done it. Ryan and I wrote up an offer on a house! Or rather, our real estate agent did, and she is going to present it tomorrow. It's a 4-bedroom, 2-bath stucco house just south of downtown. It's not nearly as "exciting" as the last one I posted about, but it's MUCH bigger, and we like to think of it as a clean slate ready to be spiced up!

We first looked at the house last Sunday - it's the one I said was too expensive for even the small amount of work we'd need to do to it. But on Wednesday, they dropped the price by $13,000 (!) so we offered full price and a deadline of Sunday at noon to respond. Why Sunday at noon? Because their open house is scheduled for Sunday at 1:00! See what we did there? lol

Now, we wait. I'll let you know what happens.

School Days

2011-08-29T21:17:00.001-06:00

Well, I guess it had to happen. My free-wheeling summer is over, and it's back to school for me. It wasn't too difficult today - on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I only have one class, and not until noon. Tomorrow I'm there from 8 to 3:30.

So, I think I mentioned we toured five houses yesterday with our realtor. Three of them were quite large, and two of those would be a boatload of work to get them looking good. The other didn't need as much work, but was too expensive even for the small amount of work it would require. Plus the fact that we'd have to buy out a furniture store just to outfit the place! The two we really liked are small. In fact, one of them we had to rule out completely for being too small, even though it was in a lovely neighborhood and in immaculate condition. One of the bedrooms wasn't big enough for a queen size bed. I mean, physically impossible to put a queen size bed in it!

Here's a shot of the inside of the other one we liked. Sunday night we thought we wanted to make an offer on it, but we slept on it. We're smart like that. It's still a contender, but we are going to keep looking. It's like this: sometimes when I'm shopping and see something I think I want to buy, I'll pick it up and carry it with me while I'm shopping. Quite often, by the time I'm done shopping and ready to check out, I find I've "owned" the object long enough, have lost interest, and can happily put it back on the shelf. Today I went back to the house to take pictures and measurements, and lo and behold, decided I could put it back on the shelf for now. The hunt continues.

Meanwhile, you may have guessed what the recommencing of school means for my blogging. Yes, spotty blogs. I'll do my best to keep up, but hope you guys will hang in there with me anyway!

On the Hunt

2011-08-25T21:31:00.000-06:00

Today I met with our banker and got pre-approved for a home loan. I spent the rest of the day alternating between pacing the living room and looking at home-dec websites... I am jumping out of my skin here, fellas! I honestly feel like a hunter - with my heart racing and my senses on high alert. And I remember this feeling. I felt exactly this way when we went through the process of buying our house in Oregon. It's torture! And if I remember correctly, it didn't subside until we signed the closing documents. We meet with our real estate agent on Sunday to start touring houses. Crazy to think we may meet our new home this weekend!

My heart (I'm not joking) jumps a bit just opening a new can of paint - imagine how I'll feel knowing it's for a wall in my house and not just a little piece of furniture. I am driving myself to distraction fantasizing about making this new place our special haven, a retreat from the world. I'm so done with moving around. I sincerely hope we settle in to this home for years and years.

Everything feels right about this. I fell in love with Missoula (and Ryan!) 20-odd years ago, and I'm so happy to be back. The town is bigger, but it still has that same feel that captured me at the time.

The Face of Forty

2011-08-21T19:53:00.000-06:00

I'm 40 years old now. I don't even know what to think about that.

Fortunately, I started out my forties will a fun and fabulous party with some of my fun and fabulous friends. It was a great reminder of how important friends and family are in this life. And you know what, if you pick them right, and try to treat them right, they couldn't care less whether you "look your age" or not.

Pedestal Redo III

2011-08-18T16:51:00.000-06:00

Alright, so here's what I've done with the pedestal. After I coated it with a couple layers of high-gloss white enamel, I decided to go ahead and put a checkerboard pattern on the top. But I didn't want a straight grid pattern. I wanted something that would play off the round shape of the pedestal, and create a bit more interest.

Eventually I chose to make a warped grid to give the illusion that it was a sphere. First, I cut a big circle of paper, rulered it in quarters (like my new verb, there?) and then free-handed my pattern in pencil. Hopefully you can see that in the top picture.

Then, I covered the top of my pedestal with white contact paper. To transfer the grid lines, I chose the best half of my paper circle, and cut off one strip from the outside along the line I'd drawn. I used that to trace a line onto my table, and then I rotated it 90 degrees and traced the same line until I got back to my original spot. Then I cut along the next line and went through the same process. As I cut off each strip and traced, the lines started to cross over each other, and it magically took shape!

I then ran my exact-o knife along each line, and pulled off every other "square".

Finally, I coated the whole sh*teroo with black paint, peeled off the contact paper, touched it up with a teeny brush...


Et Voila!

I love it. When I am satisfied with my touch-ups and have it as perfect as I think I can manage, I'll put a couple coats of polyurethane on top to seal the deal and make it user-friendly.

It's not the only treatment I'm going to give this pedestal, but it's a good start, and I think it will look great as a fun, quirky companion piece to my fun, quirky chair.

Pedestal Redo II

2011-08-16T17:47:00.001-06:00

Today I finally got the wood ribbons off my pedestal, and pulled out 3,216 staples (or thereabouts). Then, I sanded it down as well as I could. Yay for my electric sander!!

As you can see, there was a plaster trim around the base that had chipped off in spots. There wasn't any way to build it back up, and every time we've moved this from one spot to another, more pieces chipped off anyway. So, I grabbed a hammer and chisel and spent about an hour working off the surviving plaster.

I haven't yet decided what my end result will be, but I know none of it will be the original color, so the last thing I did was throw on a coat of Kilz primer. And now it's a blank slate just waiting for some magic!

We've been house-hunting, y'all, and it's killing me! I can't help but mentally remodel every house we've walked through. It's so inspirational to see the potential in these houses, but a bit irritating since I can't have them all to do with as I please!

Hannah's favorite house so far had a second floor that was just big enough for a one-bedroom landing, stunning bathroom, large closet, and deck - a teenage girl's dream room. She says we're cheating on our "lover" by looking at other houses and "You know what happens when you cheat on your girlfriend? When you finally come back to her, she may be GONE!" I love that girl.

Pedestal Redo

2011-08-15T11:00:00.001-06:00

I finally realized what's been keeping me from working on my pedestal, eye surgery notwithstanding. I hate the swooping ribbon things draped along 2 sides and couldn't figure out how I was going to work around them. SO, I took a chance and decided to see what was under them. Armed with a screwdriver and pliers, I just started prying them off. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the "finish" was the same UNDER the drapes as everywhere else. Yay!

As you can see, I have my work cut out for me with removing all those little rusty staples, and sanding it smooth. But it's worth it to get rid of the faux ribbons!

Progress

2011-08-13T10:49:00.000-06:00

Thought you might want to see what my lens looks like...

My vision continued to improve yesterday, believe it or not. While I was able to test at 20/15 at the doctor's office, there was still a "shadowing" effect to my vision, particularly when I was reading text. It was most noticeable while I was on my computer. But as the day progressed the shadows faded away.

My eyes and head were still achy most of the day yesterday. Not so much that I couldn't function, but enough to bother me. Today there is still some achiness, but I'd say it's down to about half of what it was yesterday. Yay!

I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever been able to see this well, even with best correction with my contacts. It feels like a miracle to me! Yesterday afternoon I took a nap, and it was such a different experience not having to go take out my contacts first or put them back in after. I just walked into my room, took off my shoes and flopped down on the bed!

Good Morning!

2011-08-12T11:19:00.001-06:00

This morning I woke up, opened my eyes, and behold, there was my husband, and not only could I tell he was in the same room with me, I could tell if his eyes were open or not! Then I looked past him and saw the window! and a tree outside the window! and some leaves on the tree outside the window!! And I didn't have to paw for my glasses first!

I had a post op appointment this morning at which the surgeon and lens rep stopped just short of high-fiving each other when my vision tested at 20/15! Yes, you read that correctly. I went from being off the 20/20 chart (at which point they literally do fingers - like, at what distance can you finally tell how many fingers I'm holding up), to BETTER than 20/20 vision! It has been worth the trouble. Every bit of it.

Today is also my dear husband's birthday! Happy Birthday, Baby! You are talented, compassionate, thoughtful, sexy and brilliant. I am so blessed to have you!

Intraocular Lens

2011-08-11T20:33:00.001-06:00

It's 8:30 the night of my surgery, and I thought I'd report in about my day!

Ryan & I arrived at the surgery center at 6:30 this morning and I was brought back to the recovery/prep room. Just like my other appointments, this one started out with a regimen of eyedrops. First, a bunch of antibiotics and dilating drops, and then some anesthetic drops. The last "drop" was a slimy anesthetic that coated my eyes and made it difficult to open them. That was fine with me - the room was too bright for my dilated eyes anyway. Shortly after 7:00, they brought me to the operating room. It was kind of surreal walking into the room because there were at least half a dozen people in there - not that I could be certain without my glasses on... I know besides the surgeon, anesthetist and nurses, there were reps from the company who makes the lenses.

They got me comfortable on the chair and put a mild (very mild) sedative in my IV to calm me down. I wasn't panicking, but I was nervous and a bit teary. They put a drape over my face that covered everything but the eye they were working on, retracted my eyelids a la A Clockwork Orange and went to town. Yeah, that's about as specific as I can get. I had no idea what they were actually doing at any point during the surgery. I could hear them talking quietly, and every so often something would hurt a little, or a soothing bit of saline would get spritzed on my eye. But other than that it was, "Please look at the light. Please look up. Please look down. You're doing good." kind of stuff. It took a good five minutes, I'd say, and then they did the other eye, which seemed to take even less time.

Here's what my left eye looks like now. The red spot is where my contact was injected.

Just as the surgeon predicted, I was able to see as soon as they got me up from the table! Not terribly clearly, by any means, but I could tell immediately that my vision had improved. They shuffled me back to the recovery room, gave me a cup of cocoa and 20 minutes later I was on my way. Ryan brought me home and I went right to sleep, getting up just in time to go back for my post-op appointment. My vision was even better at that appointment - which, you know, better is a relative term! But my vision has improved little by little all day, and I can't wait to SEE what it's like in the morning! So far, I have much better distance vision than close-range.

My eyes are a bit achy, and very sensitive to light. I have a regimen of 3 different drops I will use 4 times a day for 1 week, and then 2 I will continue using for another 3 weeks. I think my recovery is going to be cake! I've been dozing and eating and listening to my iPod all day, and every once in awhile I'll get this flash in my brain like, "Gee, my eyes are tired, I should probably go take out my contacts." Pretty crazy to be a functioning human being without glasses or contacts! I think I'm going to like it!

T Minus One Day and Counting

2011-08-10T10:07:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is the big day! I was going to post a video of the procedure so you could all play along at home, but... ew. Gross. I don't mind having it done, I just don't want to watch it. But, if you insist, you can Google "Intraocular Lens Implant" and go to town.

I spent all day yesterday getting the house nice and clean, and taking care of some procrastinated chores. Today... I don't know. Just try to stay distracted, I guess. I've been taking my antibiotic drops like a good girl. I guess that's all I can do besides making sure I show up!

Poor Ryan is consulting in Baker today, which is about as far east as you can get without crossing in to North Dakota. He'll make the loooooong trip home tonight and then get up with me tomorrow. Such a good man I landed!

If you are so inclined, prayers would most definitely be appreciated!

Art and Music

2011-08-05T07:00:00.018-06:00

So, last Thursday after our time in Seattle, we met up with my mom and sister who took me back to Portland with them, while Ryan & Hannah headed back to Missoula. Unfortunately, the only picture I have from Portland is one of me lying on mom's couch... But I DO have a picture of my (early) birthday present from my parents, sister and brother. It's a limited edition canvas print by Rosie Augustine, whom I subsequently got to meet while in Oregon City! She was really nice, thank goodness. I have a friend who spent good money on a piece of art and loved it until she met the snarky, rude artist. Now she can't look at her painting without remembering the negative attitude of the person who made it. I would hate that!

Gee, I don't know why they thought I'd like this, do you? ;) I love it.

We also got to enjoy the musical stylings of Aaron Meyer at a Concert in the Commons in Tualatin, and then Faith and I snuck away to hear Franco Paletta and the Stingers play some blues in Oregon City. Fun Fun!!

And because you can't get enough of the eye surgery talk... My eyes were STILL dilated when I went to bed last night. That's over 30 hours since my appointment! According to the nurse at the center, they gave me a particularly strong dilating drop because of the type of measurements they had to do. I'll say! How annoying.

T Minus Eight Days and Counting

2011-08-04T07:00:00.036-06:00

Our trip to Seattle also included a first for me - a piece of designer clothing by Michael Kors, and even from an actual Michael Kors store! Just trying them on was fun, but when I saw that they weren't actually that expensive, I decided to go for it. What do you think? I'm more likely to wear them with ballet flats instead of these heels, but at least I know they look great either way.

Meanwhile, at my appointment yesterday I was relieved to hear that my iridotomy holes are still extant. Yay! All they had to do was take a million measurements (double- and triple-checking, I am happy to report) and set me free. No pain, no panic, all good. And the best part is from now until my surgery, I can wear my contacts if I want to! As uncomfortable as wearing contacts has become, they sure beat wearing glasses, hands down.

Also, I used to whine about getting my eyes dilated. But now that I've experienced the opposite, I don't mind a bit. Looks funky too!

My surgery is scheduled for early the morning of the 11th. I can't wait! There are 3 other people having the same surgery that day, including a nurse who works there. I'm second on the schedule. The surgeon told me today that I will literally get up from the surgery table and be able to read the clock on the wall, and my vision will continue to improve for a week or two after surgery. As always, I will report back here!

Sightseeing in Seattle

2011-08-03T07:00:00.007-06:00

I'm home. Did you miss me?

The three of us had so much fun in Seattle. We wore ourselves out traipsing around downtown absorbing all the sights and sounds we could manage. The weather was PERFECT. Not too hot, not too cold, and not a drop of rain!

One highlight was the Seattle Art Museum.

I was impressed with myself that I was able to identify some of the artists just by looking at the piece and remembering similar work of theirs that I had studied in Art History class. I'll have to tell my Art History professor... who also happens to be my advisor. Yay brown-nosing!

Of course we also had to hit Pike's Place Market where Hannah bought this fun umbrella. It was kind of cute how it diffused the light around her and created her own little traveling sun porch.

We also ate way too much sushi. It was awesome!

I'll post more about our trip tomorrow. Meanwhile, this afternoon is another pre-op appointment at the Eye Surgery Center. If all goes well, it will be a pain-free appointment to get the proper measurements to order my intacs. However, if the iridotomy from last Monday didn't take (meaning the laser holes healed shut), it will mean they'll have to do it again and I will NOT be happy. I have decided that I will do the iridotomy procedure one more time if necessary, but if it doesn't take after the second time either, I will take it as a sign and cancel the surgery. Here's hoping it worked the first time!

Have Tool, Will Travel

2011-07-27T07:00:00.003-06:00

Saturday we took Hannah out for a little shopping on her birthday, but besides new shoes, I couldn't resist getting myself a little something...

Yay! An electric sander! And I know JUST the project with which to break it in. (...dang, that sentence STILL ends in a preposition!) The last time we owned a house was in Canby, Oregon, and in the summer of 2004, while Hannah was at Girl Scout camp, I repainted her room.

It was SO cool! As you can see, I painted her furniture to match. Well, she still has the dresser and it's in great shape except that the paint is badly chipped. Time for a little TLC! First step: using my new sander to get the old paint off.

Eye think they deserve 20 Lashes...

2011-07-26T07:00:00.004-06:00

I was minding my own business yesterday, making plans to balance my checkbook and maybe clean the bathroom, when the surgery center called. My surgery date has been moved up a week, and therefore, so has a pre-op appointment I had been dreading. The surgery coordinator wanted to know if I could come in this week rather than next week. Terribly sorry, heading out of town tomorrow, won't be back until Monday. (phew!) Oh, well, how about this afternoon then? (Gah!) Will it ruin my vacation? Nope, you'll be right as rain by morning, why not get it over with? So, here's my story.

The procedure is called a laser iridotomy. Basically, it consists of making holes in your eyes with a laser. Fun stuff. My appointment was at 2:00. The first half hour was a regimen of eye drops with a break in between to let them do their stuff. First, drops to constrict my pupils. Do you have a headache yet? Nope, better give me some more. More eye drops to constrict my pupils. Massive headache in 3... 2... 1... BINGO! Oh goodie! More eye drops. These were to help regulate the pressure in my eyes. Sit for a bit, chat with the tech about... what did we talk about? Oh yeah, spinal surgery, advancements in medical technology, the hereditary gene that makes my mom, sister & I have bad vision and make bad puns. Then another set of eye drops to numb my eye.

Then it hit me. This huge wave a nausea. It was VERY unpleasant. Between the nausea, the headache, and my nerves, I was pretty darn close to crying. I controlled myself moderately, and the nurse took me to a cooler room where I could lie down and have something to eat. She told me that my eyes had responded very quickly to the medication and constricted right away, and that was why I was nauseated. The surgeon poked his head in the door around 2:45, but dubbed me too pale to continue and told me he'd be back after he saw another patient. I pinched my cheeks ala Scarlett O'Hara, but he left anyway. At 3:00 I guess I was looking better and I was led back to the laser room.

Ooh! This is where the fun REALLY begins, ladies and gentlemen! Time to make the donuts!! You don't want to miss this. First, the nurse gave me more numbing eye drops in case the first had worn off at all. Then I put my face in the machine - you know, just like every other machine they have at the optometrist's - chin in the little scoopy and forehead against the bar. Then he placed a monocle kind of thing right against my eye and told me to look at the little green light. Within a few second the first laser hit. You know, I may have had a more negative opinion about the sensation the laser created if I didn't already feel like vomiting. My head hurt so bad, the electric pinch of the laser hitting what felt like the back of my eye was merely a distraction. Okay, maybe a bit more than a distraction, but it really wasn't horrible.

Two holes per eye, they told me. What they neglected to tell me was that you need multiple zaps to make each hole. It still only lasted about a minute and the surgeon told me I could sit back a minute before we did the next eye. I sat back and blinked and realized the vision in that eye was miiiighty wonky. Like, not just blurry like I'm used to, but warped and disturbing. And I began to feel a panic rising within me. Um, is there something in my eye that's messing with my vision? Yes, it's a gel to protect your eye. Will I be able to see right once it goes away? Oh yes, let me clean it out now. The tech irrigated my eye and my vision was back to "normal". I don't know if it was the combination of fear, relief, pain, and everything I'd been through, but the panic didn't really stop. I couldn't help myself. I was crying and shaking all over and fidgeting with my hands, you know like you do when something really hurts but you can't touch it. I knew I had to get myself under control and I didn't want to take a break, I wanted to get it over with. I took some deep breaths and tried to calm myself. I don't know if I managed to calm myself, but I did manage to hold still enough for them to do the second eye. Thank goodness it seemed to go even quicker than the first one.

After they cleaned the gel out of my second eye and gave me yet another round of eye drops, they offered to let me rest a bit in the recovery room. I just looked at the doctor, looking quite pitiful by then I'm sure, and said, "I just want to go home." I don't blame you, he said, and Ryan took me by then hand and led me out the door.

The real blessing about the discomfort of having my eyes constricted was that as soon as I was horizontal, about 90% of the pain went away! No, seriously. Stand up: migraine, ears ringing, Puke City and I'm about to be elected mayor. Lie down: Hmmm, is that a dull ache I detect behind my eyes? What a relief! I am SO good at lying down! So, I spent all evening in bed. I had Hannah take this picture at 10:00 last night, a full 8 1/2 hours after my eyes were constricted. It sure lasts a long time - they were still constricted this morning when I got up!

So, the surgeon tells me that the worst is over. The only thing I have to worry about is if the holes heal shut. If you are so inclined, please pray that they don't. I don't want to go through this again.

In other news! Today, we got up bright and early and are heading to Seattle for a little family vacation. On Thursday Ryan & Hannah will head back home and I will continue on to Portland to spend the weekend with my parents and sister. YAY! I deserve a break today.

Inside Out

2011-07-25T07:00:00.002-06:00

Give Hannah a plain hoodie from Old Navy and some paint, and this is what she comes up with. You are amazing, my girl!

New Shoes!

2011-07-24T07:00:00.001-06:00

Sweet Sixteen

2011-07-23T11:40:00.004-06:00

Indeed you are. Happy Birthday to my awesome kid! I can't say enough about how intelligent, beautiful, witty and authentic you are. I am sincerely looking forward to this, your 17th year in our lives! I'm so glad we have you.

Finishing Touch

2011-07-18T10:29:00.003-06:00

This weekend I decided to add a temporary back to the lower half of my... sofa table? entertainment center?... to hide all the cords. It looks so much better!

It was pretty easy, actually. I just bought a sheet of masonite and had someone at Home Depot cut it to size. Then I drilled a few holes on the ends for the speaker cords, stained it, and popped it into place.

In other news, I thought I'd lighten my hair a shade or two last Thursday, and ended up with white/yellow/orange... I was sad. I didn't leave the apartment until Ryan returned Friday evening and promptly sent him to the store for another box of hair color. Now I am a brunette. And yes, I did whip off my glasses before my friend took that second picture. Vanity thy name is Mrs O.

Well Said

2011-07-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

This brought tears to my eyes. It's EXACTLY what I needed to hear. Thanks, Ira Glass. And thanks A Beautiful Life for the original post.

A Vision of the Future

2011-07-15T07:00:00.003-06:00

I've been wearing hard contacts since I was 8 years old. At the time, my eye doctor had never put someone as young as I was in contacts, but I was already at the point where I needed either contacts or bifocals. My mom and sister both have incredibly poor vision as well, but as usual I took it a step or two further and am the reigning myopia champ in the family at about 20/1,000.

I've always done well with my contacts, but there is one problem with hard contacts. A few years ago, my eye doctor explained it to me this way. Imagine a countdown clock. Every morning when you put in your contacts, the clock starts and keeps running down until you take them out again that night. Everyone's clock started at a different point, but eventually they all run down, and you will reach a point where your eyes will no longer tolerate contacts. My mom and sister have already reached that point, and I find myself nearing it as well. I have tried wearing soft contacts. I wore them for almost a year, but unfortunately my eyes didn't tolerate them very well at all. My vision wasn't very clear, and my eyes were incredibly dry.

I found out recently that I am not a candidate for LASIK eye surgery. I don't have an astigmatism, but because of the amount of correction I would require, my cornea is simply too thin to maintain sufficient stability once the laser removes as much tissue as it would need to to correct my vision. However, I am a candidate for what's called ICL (Implantable Collamer Lens) or Intacs. I've had three visits with the center here in Missoula that offers the surgery, and I have decided to have it done! My surgery is scheduled for August 18th, but is subject to change.

In the meantime, I have to completely forgo wearing my contacts so that my eyes can resume their natural shape. Blech. I HATE wearing my glasses! They feel so heavy and give me headaches. Not to mention the fact that they make my eyes all but disappear! I had to wear them for our last Perfect Jones gig, and I messed up some of the lyrics because I couldn't read my sheet music as easily as usual. Ah, but this too shall pass. Once they get the measurements they need, I will be able to wear my contacts the last week or 10 days prior to surgery. And after that, pray God, I'll never need contacts again!

My Daughter the Muralist

2011-07-12T07:00:00.002-06:00

You may remember the mural Hannah created awhile back. Well, she's done it again. This time she made a mural of a character of her own creation: Cecilia from a comic she is writing/drawing called "Zombie Bathwater".

The best part is that she videotaped herself creating it. Enjoy!

Goodwill Find

2011-07-10T07:00:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago I spotted this Roman-style pedestal at Goodwill. Of course I had to have it! I mean, it's awesome, am I right? It's really heavy and sturdy, and how many of these things do you see every day? Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Plus, it was only $15.00. I mean, come on! I happened to also be driving Ryan's CRV rather than my car, so I had space to bring it home. It was meant to be.

The big question is, of course, what do I do with it? It needs some repair work, obvs, and something definitely must be done to remove the '80's from it. Either take it one direction and make it look really "nice", or go the other way and make it wacky fun. Any suggestions?

Sofa Table - The Big Reveal

2011-07-09T07:00:00.008-06:00

I sanded until my arms fell off. Then I duct-taped them back on and sanded some more.

Then, I stained until I was loopy from fumes, took a break and said, "Sofa so good!" Sorry, had to squeeze that one in there somewhere.

I really tried to make one coat good enough. If I kind of squinted when I looked at it, one coat was plenty! Alas, I decided that since I hadn't taken any other shortcuts while making this thing, the last step wasn't the time to start. So, I sanded yet more, and applied a final coat of stain at about 11 PM Thursday night.

You know how (or maybe it's just me) if you don't really think about it, you can see a cube and think it has four sides? It's like that when you're staining. The number of surfaces seems pretty manageable until you start working. Then, it's like, is this thing growing?! How many dimensions am I operating in here anyway?!

But I do believe it paid off. As I was building this, I was trying to figure out exactly where to put it since... we don't have a sofa. Then Ryan said, "That might work really well for the TV!" Oh man, it's perfect! See for yourself.

One thing I didn't mention before is that besides changing the arrangement of the uprights, I also replaced the 1x3 across the top front with a 1x2. For some reason, the 1x3 just didn't look right to me. It kind of made the front look like the back, and also ate a lot of vertical space out of that top shelf. Hopefully you can see the difference here: Back... Front...

And here's a nice comparison shot of how we USED to have our entertainment center, and how it looks now! Wow. Looks like a real person's house!

I have to say, this project has only fueled my excitement for woodworking. I learned a LOT, and gained confidence. I'm definitely going to make something else soon. Something of my own design this time!

Today we are off to Helena for a gig at Riley's Irish Pub tonight, and then on to Butte Sunday morning for the annual Folk Festival. And the weather is supposed to be perfect. YAY!

Red Gold

2011-07-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

Just what does one do with a $7 heirloom tomato from the Farmer's Market?

Slice it like precious sashimi and serve it on a toasted sourdough bagette with goat cheese and a fresh basil leaf. YUM! Tastes like candy!!

Sofa Table - Progressing Further

2011-07-07T08:00:00.004-06:00

I am SO SORE! Yesterday I was SO SORE too! Tomorrow I think I will be SO SORE still!

Besides that, things have been trucking along nicely. I spent yesterday trimming the raw edges of the wood. Let me show you how I did it.

There's a product called Veneer Edging which is basically a thin ribbon of wood with adhesive on one side. It comes in a roll. To use it, first you iron it on, making sure to more or less center it on the wood. The heat of the iron melts the adhesive, and it sticks.

Once it cools, you use an exact-o knife to trim the edges down to the thickness of your board. And then sand it.

Presto! You go from this.... to this... (click the pics to see larger).

Today, I finish up the last of my edging and sanding and hopefully get to staining.

PS. Today is my Mom's Birthday and also my Mom & Dad's FIFTIETH (that's Five-Oh!) wedding anniversary!!! What an example to follow, eh? Congratulations to two of the most awesome people I know! Thank you for staying married and being happy with each other on purpose. I know it must have been work, but you made it look easy!

Sofa Table - Progress

2011-07-06T08:00:00.002-06:00

First, allow me to just say that woodworking is much more tiring than I thought it would be! Though, I think it may have something to do with not having saw horses and having to work on the floor - I had to do a lot of getting up and down.

Here I am just getting started. I figured out really quick that I want my own nail gun. This thing is amazing! Once the air compressor was filled up, using the gun was quiet, gave no kickback, and the nails were almost always flush with the wood. One thing, though. When the air pressure got a bit low, the compressor would fire up for a few seconds, and every time it did, I about jumped out of my skin!

Every joint had to be glued, as well as nailed.

Yay! Progress! Getting ready to put the top on.

Doing the trim. Some of the trim was just a hair too long, so I had to cut it down a bit. But for the most part, everything lined up really well. Oh, and you might notice that I changed the arrangement of the top dividers. I think it looks better with the uprights staggered instead of lined up vertically.

Another great thing about this project is that it forced me to get comfortable with the cordless skill saw my Dad gave me for Christmas. I love it! See, Dad, I clamped the rafter square to the board and to the table so I could cut straight just like you showed me. Perhaps I shouldn't have been operating it barefoot, but all's well that ends well! lol

Next step is trimming out the raw edges of the plywood, puttying, sanding and staining. Wait, that's FOUR steps... WOO!

Sofa Table - Commencing

2011-07-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

Yesterday morning when we woke up, Ryan asked me what my plans were for the day. I told him that the sofa table project had marinated enough in my mind, and I finally wanted to tackle it. Well, after bringing me breakfast in bed (!), it wasn't too much later and he surprised me by bringing all the wood up to my workroom. What a dear! Even though the original plan had been to work on it in the garage, he knows I hate the garage - cold and dark, even in sunny 80-degree weather - and wouldn't enjoy working on it nearly so much as I would in the house!

So, here we have all the pieces and parts laid out for inventory. I trial fitted some of the pieces together and was not surprised to find that Dad had measured and cut everything to perfection. I would have jumped in head first and started nailing it together, but I have to rent an air compressor for the nailgun, and the rental place was closed for the 4th. The nerve! Instead, I contented myself with reading the instructions through a few more times to be sure I understood, and making some marks where the uprights go. Should make things go quicker today.

Today I am off to the rental place to get the air compressor, and to Home Depot to pick out a lovely shade of varnish. And don't worry, Dad, I promise I won't get the cheapest I can find!

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T08:00:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was so much fun!

We had Independence Day plans elsewhere, but they got cancelled, so instead, we had breakfast with some friends, and then went hiking. We found a beautiful, challenging trail up the side of one of the mountains here. It was such a great way to enjoy the gorgeous weather we've been having here. We even happened upon a spring to cool our feet. After a couple hours of that, we were ready for some rest... so we took the rest of the day off.

Life is good.

Yum!

2011-07-02T13:26:00.005-06:00

I had a craving Friday for Street Fish Tacos and decided I wanted to try making them myself rather than heading to El Diablo. They turned out AMAZING!! You need to try them. I'm serious. OR, come visit me and I'll make them for you!

I bought some cod and cut it into fishstick size pieces. Then I breaded them with this mixture: 1 cup flour, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 egg, and 1 cup of water (you could also use 1 cup of beer). Fry them up.

Next step: the white sauce. Absolutely essential, and the reason you don't need cheese for these tacos. sour cream, fresh chopped cilantro, generous squirt of lime, and minced chipotle*.

Heat up some small corn tortillas, slice some cabbage really thin, dice some tomatoes, quarter the other half of your lime to squirt on top of the whole thing and you're golden!

*Here's my chipotle trick. I buy them canned with adobo sauce, but I never need a whole can! So, I make individual little piles of them (2 peppers per pile) on a sheet of wax paper and freeze them. When they're completely frozen, I drop them into a ziploc bag and I always have them when I need them. BONUS: they are MUCH easier and less messy to mince when they are frozen!

New Project!

2011-06-29T13:55:00.004-06:00

I'm posting a day later than I thought I would, but yesterday was my day of peace and recovery after a VERY full 2 weeks before putting Irina on a plane back to Russia Tuesday... at 5:00 in the AM thankyouverymuch! What a sweetheart Irina is. We had such a fun time with her, and look forward to seeing all the amazing things we know she is going to do with her life. We miss you already, Irina!!

And now let me present my next big project:

This is not MY sofa table, I haven't started mine yet! This is a sofa table I saw on a blog called "Take the Side Street", and the blogger generously posted all the instructions on how to make it yourself!

When we were in Portland 2 weeks ago, my dad cut the wood to spec, and I brought the pieces home to put it together myself. I'm so excited! I just LOVE the idea of building furniture. Something to satisfy the creative AND practical sides of my nature.

I won't be able to post anything tomorrow because we will be in Helena for a lunchtime gig with The Perfect Jones, but I will post progress pictures as much as possible.

Short Hiatus

2011-06-23T18:41:00.003-06:00

Well, between the trip to Portland last weekend, a trip to Helena this weekend, and Irina's departure next Tuesday, I haven't found the wherewithal to post. Next week my life will be back to a bit of normal and I will introduce you to my next big project! I can't wait. :) So, check back in next week, k? And have a great weekend! *I* surely intend to!

Meanwhile...

New Shoes!

2011-06-22T10:48:00.001-06:00

Scenes From a Trip to Portland

2011-06-20T11:09:00.004-06:00

McCall's 6078 - Completed

2011-06-15T07:00:00.002-06:00

But first... YAY! Today we head to Portland! It's a long drive, but SO worth it. It also seems considerably shorter now that we live in Missoula.

You've seen this top before... Twice. But it works up so well, I had to make it again. This is the other yard of fabric I added to my upholstery fabric order at Fabric.com. So far, I have been very happy with everything I've ordered from them. This striped knit is incredibly soft. It sewed up surprisingly easily, given its softness. I guess that's the advantage of good quality fabric!

Kwik Sew 3497 - Completed

2011-06-14T11:35:00.003-06:00

Once again, I took a tank top pattern and made it into a tank dress. I love this damask knit! I ordered it along with that checkered upholstery fabric I used on my chair. It was either add a couple more yards of fabric to my order, or pay shipping. No-brainer!

Not a great picture, but you get the drift.

High Water

2011-06-11T07:00:00.002-06:00

Gah! This makes three cities (in three separate States) I've moved to the very year they had flooding!

Pics

More Pics

Year 10 - Completed!

2011-06-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

Today is the last day of the girls' Sophomore year. [sigh] I am excited to have them set free for the summer! Or at least, in Irina's case, until she flies home the 28th. Next week we're heading to Portland to give Irina a taste of the big city. (Saturday Market, IMAX theatre, Powell's Books, Sushi, oh yeah!) And Hannah will get a chance to catch up with her cousins. I was feeling a bit sentimental, opened up a photo album from 2000, and found this little gem.

Are they adorable, or what?!

New Shoes!

2011-06-09T07:00:00.002-06:00

$30.00 minus 30% minus $20.00 plus free shipping equals free shoes!!

Chair Remodel - Completed!

2011-06-08T07:00:00.004-06:00

I can't believe I did it. I finished remodeling my old denim chair! I got the upholstery fabric late Monday afternoon, spent that evening mentally preparing myself (!), and Tuesday I worked all day and had the cushions, my final step, completed by 5:00.

A "before" picture was actually pretty hard to find. I didn't think to take one before I started painting it last fall, and it's been such an (ultra-comfortable) eyesore for so long, that I tended to try to crop it out of pictures... But I'll go with this one of Hannah, taken shortly after I started painting the chair (hence, the black boxes). See how faded and stained it was?

And (drumroll please), AFTER!

As you can see, it doesn't "go" with our living room at all. But I'm okay with that. I love it. It's fun!

Trouble

2011-06-06T10:47:00.002-06:00

Yo, any of you guys have trouble posting comments? I think I fixed it. Will you please try posting a comment (to this post or any other) to see if it works/doesn't work for you? Thanks!

Meanwhile, I've been enjoying my first Watercolor Bliss lesson! Not too late for you to sign up and take the class with me. It's self-paced, so you don't have to be footloose and fancy free like me to take advantage of it!

A Day in the Park

2011-06-06T08:00:00.001-06:00

Sometimes, the best way to max out your day is to spend it playing. :)
Of course, technically I can consider it productive - I did do some video production!

Presenting: A Day in the Park
Starring: Hannah & Irina
Enjoy!

You're only a day away!

2011-06-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

I am looking forward to tomorrow! Two reasons:
1) My online Watercolor class starts up.
2) It's the "estimated delivery date" of the fabric I ordered for my chair project! I can't wait to finish it. I just know I'll feel really good about myself, and the chair is going to look fantastic!

In the meantime, yesterday's weather was so nice, I could almost believe that summer will eventually arrive, rather than a perpetual, rainy spring! So, we got up early and headed to breakfast at the Uptown Diner, then walked around downtown for awhile hitting the Saturday Markets under the bridge and up by the railroad building. Then Hannah & I went to Jo-Ann's where I bought some plaid shirting to make this skirt. It's so fun!

It's kind of hard to see the details in the picture, but you can't beat the scenery! We had to enjoy the fine weather some more, and decided to have a picnic by the river. Here are some more pictures from our little outing. (click on any of the pictures to see them bigger)

Something Besides Sewing

2011-06-04T08:00:00.003-06:00

The Perfect Jones enjoyed singing with Irina so much, we decided to expand and possibly add a third voice! In fact, we are "auditioning" our first singer in June. In the meantime, I'm giddy with thoughts of 3-part harmony, and have started looking at songs that I can arrange. Some songs are easy - either they're already sung in three parts, or else they're already in 2-part harmony and a third is easily written. Some other songs... not so much. Wednesday night I went to bed with Peggy Lee's "Black Coffee" swimming in my head, and I just knew I had to write two harmony lines for it. This is one of those other songs, where the harmony isn't obvious. In fact, I've never heard Black Coffee sung as anything but a solo!

My iMac came with some music recording software called Garageband, so all I had to do was drag and drop in the original song, add a couple tracks, and suddenly, I'm singing with Peggy Lee! I can't wait until TPJ does it, but in the meantime, hope you enjoy Peggy Lee and Me!

Turn it loud!

2011-06-03T08:00:00.003-06:00

Yay! It's First Friday! This really belongs in another "3 Reasons" post. The first Friday of every month, a number of downtown Missoula businesses stay open late and turn their retail spaces into art galleries. A lot of them set out free hors d'oeuvres and wine or beer. The sidewalks are usually packed with art lovers as well as street musicians and dancers. It's become so popular that they've started "Second Friday"! It's awesome.

Alas, it is Irina's last First Friday here in America, so we are hoping the rain will stop by the time we want to head out.

Yesterday, I decided to dive into my stash for my inspiration, and out I came with the wildest knit I've ever bought. I knew it would make a cute tank top, but as I was cutting it out, I realized that if I made it a bit longer, it may work out as a tank dress. It turned out, but I'm a bit hesitant about wearing it in public. It's kind of... wild. And perhaps it puts a few pounds on me with the ruffles and horizontal stripeage... And the neckline needs something, but I'm not sure what. Do I look like a linebacker? What do you guys think? Be HONEST! Kthxbye

3d

2011-05-31T08:00:00.001-06:00

I thought you might want to see something I made for my sculpture class this spring.

This is a non-representational (meaning, it's not meant to look like anything "real") sculpture made from soapstone. At one point of the process I hated it so much I threw it off the balcony so it would break and disrupt what I had done so far. It was weird, I felt trapped by my original design and had to do something drastic to get out of it. Breaking it actually worked! It broke the spell and I was able to take it in a different direction. I'm happy with the way it turned out.

My talented girls!

2011-05-30T08:00:00.003-06:00

I am not the only one who's been productive around here. Saturday, Hannah and Irina got on a stenciling kick and each made a new t-shirt. They're getting really good at this!

Texture

2011-05-29T08:00:00.003-06:00

I guess I'm on a roll. I woke up Saturday morning with a new sewing project in mind, and by 5 PM, it was done! I used the chartreuse linen I dyed last fall to try a new (to me) technique called Stitch and Slash. First, you layer the fabric at least three deep. You can use different colors for a cool effect, but I wanted the focus to be on the texture, not on the color, so I used the same fabric for all three layers. Then you stitch parallel seams along the bias of the fabric. Lastly, you slash through the top two layers of fabric, leaving the bottom one intact. This creates a really cool raw edge that naturally flips up, and will ravel a bit. It shouldn't ravel way too much, though because it's sewn/cut on the bias.

One thing I particularly like about this skirt besides the textured fabric is the waistband treatment. I usually just sew on some bias tape, but this time I used bias tape I had made myself from some quilting cotton I had, and then I used my twin needle to finish it off.

Et Voila!

I am so happy with this skirt. Partly because I paid careful attention to every detail, but mostly because the whole thing, including the pattern, is 100% original. :)

Spotty

2011-05-27T08:00:00.004-06:00

I'm going to have to give myself a so-far, so-good on staying busy creatively. Once again I dug into my UFO box and found a t-shirt that I loved, but had been ruined when someone's lip balm made it into the dryer with it - those grease spots just wouldn't come out. I knew I had to cover them with something, and finally decided that this was a perfect opportunity to use my darning/quilting foot. I bought this a long time ago. So long ago, in fact, that I bought another one last time I was in Portland because I forgot I already had one! This neat little gadget lets you sew in any direction, free motion style.

First, I cut out circles from some white cotton muslin I had. Then, I waterpainted them. Then, I sort of appliqued them onto my shirt, but instead of zigzagging around the edge as is usually done, I sewed a purposely sketchy set of lines around each one to make it kind of look like ink outlines.

I was inspired by this gal. I love her art. In fact, I'm going to be taking an online watercolor class from her in June. I can't wait! I used to think $50 was a lot to pay for an online class. Then I saw the bill for my one summer session class before it was cancelled... Put things in perspective!

Anyway, I had a blast decorating this shirt. I don't know if the watercolor will make it through a wash, but if it doesn't, I can just paint the circles again!

Thursday I found and ordered the perfect fabric to reupholster the seat and back cushions on my painted chair. I can't WAIT for it to arrive so I can finish my first major summer project!

Skirt Tut

2011-05-25T08:00:00.001-06:00

A couple years ago, I refashioned one of Ryan's extra large t-shirts into a skirt. I loved it so much that when I spied a Mountain Dew t-shirt at Goodwill awhile back, I bought it and stashed it away for the same purpose. How could I not have a Mountain Dew skirt when it's my drug of choice? I finally turned it out Monday and decided to make a tutorial, just in case someone wants to make one for herself. One caveat: I use the sleeves as the yoke of the skirt, so if your waist is bigger around than the two sleeves put together, this tut may not work for you. By the way, if you're new to this sort of thing, it's pronounced toot cuz it's short for tutorial.

Step 1. Cut the sleeves and shoulders off a men's extra- (or extra-extra-) large t-shirt as shown:

Step 2. Carefully cut the sleeves open along the underarm seam. Then trim the long cut side so it's parallel to the hemmed side.

Step 3. Sew the newly trimmed side to the center of the cut end of the body of the shirt, right sides together. Do this for the front and the back of the skirt.

Step 4. Sew up the sides of the skirt. At this point, you'll want to put it on inside out and "pinch and pin" the side seams to get the shape you want. Then carefully remove it and sew where you pinned. The shape is completely up to you, but the straighter your seam is, the better it will look. Make any curves gradual, so it won't look lumpy.

Step 5. Hemming. The great thing about this method is that the whole thing is already hemmed - IF you want the skirt to be as long as the shirt was, like my Jerry skirt. But if you want it shorter, be sure to measure from the original hem upwards, which will help you keep it straight.

Step 6. Put on your new skirt and strut your stuff!

What's that you said? Why yes, those ARE new shoes! Thank you for noticing.

UFO Day

2011-05-24T08:05:00.004-06:00

Sunday was UFO (UnFinished Objects) day. Since I wasn't raptured on Saturday, I figured I'd use the extra time to finish some projects I've had stowed for awhile. Ryan had a rugby shirt that was too short, so I sewed in a layer of black knit at the bottom to look like he's wearing an undershirt. He asked me to do that last fall...

I had a linen shirt dress I'd picked up for a song at Macy's about a year ago, but it was a bit long, so I hemmed it up about three inches. Let me just say, I LOVE my serger! I used it on all three of my projects, and it saved me SO much time and everything looks much nicer because of it.

My third project was the revamp of this linen skirt I found at Goodwill awhile back.

I knew it wouldn't do as-is, but the fabric and embroidery are lovely. Now it looks like this!

Oh, what's that you said? Why yes, those are new shoes! Thank you for noticing.
Too bad they're not THIS PAIR!

Hannah's Art

2011-05-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

I have to share 2 beautiful drawings Hannah did just recently. Okay, 1 beautiful, 1 creepy (but good!).

She drew this one of a boy she dated briefly while sitting next to him at the table. It really captures his personality!

This one was a school assignment: draw the Easter Bunny getting abducted by the circus. She drew this from her head.

Hello!

2011-05-21T14:13:00.003-06:00

It's summer vacation time, YAY!!

Spring semester ended May 13th, and my summer session class was cancelled due to under-enrollment, so I guess my vacation is well under way!

I started it in the best way possible - singing with The Perfect Jones. We had a gig on the 14th opening up for Rocket to Uranus, Bob & Sarah's other band at Riley's Irish Pub in Helena. And this time, Irina joined us for 3-part harmony on quite a few songs! It was an amazingly fun night. And R2U was awesome. If you are a local, you MUST experience it to believe it!

Last week I decided that I want to accomplish something creative each week, all summer long, time permitting. I have a blue, stuffed chair that needed some TLC or a trip to Goodwill. So, for my first project, I decided to paint it. Or rather, finish painting it. I started last September. Does that surprise you? No, me either. What MAY surprise you, however, is that I worked on it all week and I am done with the painting part. Now I just have to order the fabric to reupholster the seat and back cushions, sew them up and it will be done! Here's a progress picture from last fall. If I show you a current one, you'll miss out on that sense of "whap!" when I post the finished product. :)

I will blog way more now that school is out. Aren't you lucky? Well, here's another picture of my girls. NOW, you're lucky.

Gakuko Cosplay

2011-04-05T18:14:00.004-06:00

So, it's spring break and I am so glad that it arrived before Sakura-Con 2011, because we were not done with Hannah's cosplay. By a long shot! So, yesterday we got up bright and early, I drank 10 ounces of Mountain Dew, and Hannah and I worked ALL DAY in the sewing room. I thought for sure it would take at least 3 days to finish it. How surprised we were when it was 4 o'clock and the end was in sight! And how exciting that her costume turned out just beautiful. We didn't use a single pattern, just a Barbie Doll, some muslin, and some crossed fingers!

I may be in art school, but so far, this is the art I definitely do best. :) Here is a lovely feast for your eyes.

The Tunic

With Under Skirt and Upper Robe

Final Touches: Sleeves, Boot Covers and Wig

Introducing Irina

2011-01-29T10:40:00.003-07:00

Such big changes in our lives these past few weeks! Besides starting school on the 24th, we 3 have become 4! Allow me to present Irina Borisenko, our Russian exchange daughter!

Irina is a 16-year old sophomore with Hannah at Hellgate High. She came to live with us because her last host family is moving out of town and Irina wanted to stay in Missoula. And we are so happy she did! Irina is vivacious, bubbly, inquisitive and optimistic. She has a lovely singing voice. We tested her out last weekend when The Perfect Jones got together for music night - it was so much fun to have three-part harmony! She moved in with us the 19th, and has kept us hopping ever since. Girl does NOT like to be sedentary for a moment! lol

She is also a very talented artist:

She's a perfect fit for our little family, and we can already tell we will miss her tremendously when she goes home in July.

Mural, Mural, On the Wall...

2011-01-17T11:33:00.004-07:00

...Who's the coolest daughter of them all?

So, I'm definitely not the only one in the house who gets crazy hairs and likes to make stuff! Remember that damask wall decal I made for Hannah's room? Since we had plenty of contact paper left over, Hannah decided to make one of her own for her new room...

Those are her closet doors. I must tell you, I am amazed at the scope of this project. And of course the detail! It's a scene from a comic book Hannah loves called "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac" (links to fansite). I know, I know, it's a bit... gruesome. But the artist in me can't help but love the artistic boldness and drama to it. Even Hannah was surprised I let her do it. She spent hours upon hours on it, and I'm pretty impressed with the results!

Simplicity 2367 - Completed

2010-12-21T18:59:00.004-07:00

I sewed these pants last week:

First I have to tell you that they turned out great. They were nicely constructed, have some lovely details, and they fit well... They fit SARAH well. Sarah is the only woman I can think of who is a size down from me. She has benefited a few times from my sewing mistakes, and she scored another pair of pants this past weekend.

What I don't understand is why they didn't fit me! After my last pair of pants turned out a bit snug, this time I was careful to measure my hips and compare it to what the pattern envelope listed as the "finished garment measurements" for the hip. When it matched up with a size 10, which is my usual sewing pattern size, I was sure they would fit. Not a chance.

I am a bit heavier, but my other clothes are fitting me just fine, and I don't look any different to myself in the mirror. Sarah says that maybe I've gained muscle weight and my glutes are bigger since I've been running more lately. I choose to believe her. :) I mean, wouldn't you?

She tried the pants on this weekend, and they fit like they were made for her. So I finished them up and hemmed them for her and will give them to her at her New Year's Eve party. Lucky woman - the pants are really cool! I'll take pictures of her in them and post them when I can.

In the meantime, I'm dropping the whole pant idea and decided to try out a button-down shirt. I haven't made one of those since I lived in Portland! I found Simplicity 2339, which is a "But wait! There's more!" pattern that includes a lot of fitting instructions and tips. I'm doing View B.

I'm making a (hopefully) wearable muslin from a fairly wild print cotton from Joann's. The goal is to get a perfect fit and then make it out of some beautiful lawn or voile fabric I saw at Selvedge on the hip strip. Wish me luck!

3 Reasons

2010-12-10T08:00:00.002-07:00

Reason Number 7 to love Missoula:

I live two hours closer to most of my family. You wouldn't believe how long that last leg from Missoula to Helena is when you're on your way home from Portland. A 9 or 10 hour trip is SO much nicer than 11 or 12!

Reason Number 8 to love Missoula:

The Mountain Line. It looks like my schedule for Spring 2011 semester includes a class that will prevent me from picking Hannah up from school two nights a week, and since we are out of the Hellgate district, she can't ride the school bus. So, Hannah and I took a trial run of the public transportation here in Missoula. It takes awhile longer than driving, but is pretty convenient and will cost her a grand total of 35 cents a trip. Once school starts for me, I'll be riding the bus quite a bit. It runs right by our front door and straight to the U, AND I can ride free with my student ID!

Reason Number 9 to love Missoula:

Traffic Circles. Missoula has a lot of them, and they are fantastic. There's one on the corner of Higgins and Beckwith that definitely solves what could be a traffic nightmare. No matter the time of day, getting through that busy intersection is a piece of cake.

Simplicity 3796 - Completed

2010-12-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

I sewed up a pair of pants from start to finish yesterday. I even hemmed them! I'm really happy with the way they turned out. So much so that I would put my tag on them and sell them or give them as a gift.

I only made one change. The top edges of the pockets were supposed to be finished with bias tape, but Joann's didn't have the right stuff. So, I found a fun cotton in my stash, and lined the inside of the pockets with it. It's just a cute little surprise that no one but the wearer should notice.

I did all the topstitching in a heavier thread I bought for that specific purpose. I had to change the thread, bobbin, needle, foot, and tension setting (and back again) every time I needed to topstitch - about 8 times! Logistically and unfortunately, I couldn't do all the topstitching at once. But it was well worth the effort - it looks a lot more rtw with the heavier thread. Rtw is sewing lingo for "ready to wear", which is another way of saying that it looks like it came from a store. Hopefully a store like Macy's or Nordstrom, not Wal-Mart or Shopko.

So, one thing. I'm not sure about the fit. I sewed my usual pattern size 10, but it seems a bit... well, you decide: Too tight or just right? Leave a comment, please!

Tea Tablet

2010-12-02T18:12:00.003-07:00

I can't usually show gifts that I'm making for Christmas, for obvious reasons. However, the recipient (my sister-in-law) doesn't read my blog, so standard rules are excepted in this case.
Last winter, I introduced Kristin to Morning Thunder tea, and now she is just as hooked as I am. So, I took the lid and bottom of a box, laminated them, and then had Kinko's bind them into a notebook. Love! I'm glad I had one made up for myself, too. lol Now I have something small, but sweet to send her.

3 Reasons

2010-11-21T10:59:00.004-07:00

Reason Number 4 to love Missoula:

The Ox. We went out Friday night to meet up with some new friends and listen to Eric "Fingers" Ray at Sean Kelly's. It was delightful to see so many people out and about even on such a cold night! Afterward, we needed some grub, so I suggested The Ox. I remember having hashbrowns there a few times in the wee morning hours 20 years ago. No ambiance, but lots of hubbub, a big menu, and excellent homemade salsa. I don't know if it's open 24/7, but I imagine it's always open when you need it to be. :)

Reason Number 5 to love Missoula:

The ON Store. This store just opened up in the mall 2 days ago. Imagine, a mall with new stores opening, not just old stores closing! ... but I digress. At first we thought it was a Mac or Apple store, because it seemingly has all their products. But it's actually a completely unrelated business that sells other brands as well. It felt like a Mac store too. All the employees were helpful, knowledgeable, friendly, and excited about what they were selling. We ended up buying an Apple TV unit that lets me stream all my iTunes content, including movies and tv shows, to my TV, as well as rent or download movies from the iTunes store. It also works with our Netflix account so we can watch any of the "Watch Instantly" videos on our TV. I can also access my Flickr account and iPhoto library to see any of my pictures on the TV.

Reason Number 6 to love Missoula:

I was standing in the center of the mall listening to a voicemail on my phone when an elderly lady came up to me and stage whispered, "What's the score?!" Fortunately, I knew. "20, 14, Bobcats." I replied. "Halftime?" she asked. "Not yet", I replied. She grimaced and went on her way.

To Dye For

2010-11-15T13:47:00.003-07:00

This stuff is great!

I've had some white linen in my stash for years, and just haven't been inspired to use it. Well, duh. It's white linen - not terribly exciting. Well, this weekend while Hannah & I were perusing the aisles of the Missoula Jo-Ann's (which is probably 3 times as large as Helena's), I spotted this:

I'll admit I was attracted by the very Apple-esque packaging, and that Chartreuse color - be still my beating heart! But when I flipped over the envelope and read the instructions...

Drop dissolvable dye packet in washer, add fabric, add salt or vinegar depending on fabric type, run wash cycle

...I knew I had to try it. I wanted the color to be very bold, so instead of just running the cycle, I put my machine on soak, and kept the linen in the dye bath for probably a couple hours. Then I just ran it through a wash cycle, threw it in the dryer, and voila!

How fabulous can you get?! I can't wait to make it into something gowa-juss!

"Cord"ially Yours

2010-11-14T13:43:00.003-07:00

A few months ago I ordered a cording foot for my sewing machine, but with all the goings-on in my life (Hey, did you hear we moved?!) I haven't had the chance to break it in until now.

It doesn't look like much, but it would be impossible to do some of the embellishments I want to do without it. The grooves on the bottom of the foot guide the cord under your needle, so you can just concentrate on the design you are sewing, rather than whether the cord is centered under your stitches. The grooves on either side of center are for other cording already sewn on - so you can make perpendicular lines of cording with precision.

So, anyway. I've had a pale colored linen skirt for years, but have worn it maybe 3 times because it's hard to pair with tops. If I go with a white top, I look washed out. But the color of the skirt is so pale that a more colorful top wouldn't look good either. So, what's to lose in a situation like this?! :) I layed out the cording in a few different designs until I came up with one I liked. It's simple, but fun. And now I can wear this with a black top and it will look great!

Of course, it's just like last spring when I made some winter pants just in time to put them away for the season... This skirt is going into storage unworn. But what a treat it will be to pull it out next year!

P.S. I wore those pants over my wintersilks the other day. Love!!

Ew.

2010-11-12T10:49:00.002-07:00

What is it about food out of place? It's like getting a drink from the bathroom sink. I just can't do it. I *know* the water is just as clean as from the kitchen, but it's just not right!

So, when Hannah fixed herself Ramen noodles for breakfast, and used a drinking glass instead of a bowl, I almost lost my cookies.

3 Reasons

2010-11-08T13:41:00.004-07:00

Reason Number 1 to love Missoula:

Worden's veggie muffaletta sandwich.

Reason Number 2 to love Missoula:

Selvedge Studio fabric shop

Reason Number 3 to love Missoula:

In order to get my favorite wine in Helena, I had to special-order it.
In Missoula I found it at Target.

Phew!

2010-10-29T11:12:00.002-06:00

I shouldn't be blogging today, and I certainly can't catch you up! In the past 2 weeks I've quit my job, sewed a dress and a skirt, performed at 2 band gigs, packed up most of my house, and tomorrow we load up the U-Haul and head to Missoula!

I can't believe "THE" weekend has arrived. There is still so much to do, but it looks like we will manage. I will try to get back online as soon as possible after we move and update you all!

Meanwhile, here's a picture from our last (and possibly, but hopefully not our "last") Perfect Jones gig. We had fun, can you tell?

In Defense of the College Bound

2010-10-20T11:03:00.003-06:00

A long-time penpal of mine recently included this in a letter to me:

“You said you were a little surprised that I wasn’t more encouraging about you starting college. I suppose that’s because I’m a little worried. Your family is making a great sacrifice for you, and you’re only going to get one shot at this. But, I still get the feeling that you don’t have the slightest idea what you’re doing. What you’re about to get yourself into is a long, hard fight. Roughly 50% of people who start college [he cited his source] manage to get their degree. And unless you have a practical goal in mind, even if you graduate, you won’t have anything but a piddly-a**ed set of skills to offer an employer. That’s what college is about: four years of beating your head against the wall so that maybe you can learn something useful. So maybe if you told me you were scared to death of screwing up and wasting this opportunity, I’d feel a little better. At least I’d know you were in the proper frame of mind going into this thing”

Following is my response.

I completely get what you’re saying about my family making a sacrifice for me and getting one shot and all that, and I appreciate that you’re worried. But let me address your concerns one by one.

First of all, your statistics: You are lumping me in a huge demographic! Let’s see what the attrition rate is among people like me: middle-age, financially stable, and married. You’ve got me in with 17 and 18 year-olds away from home for the first time without mommy and daddy taking care of them and setting their curfews. You’ve got me in with 19 and 20 year-olds who while trying to earn their degree are ever distracted by the bigger life questions – Who am I? Is “he” the one? Is this what life’s all about? You’ve got me lumped in with 25 year-old single moms trying to do it all, all by themselves – living on student loans and trying to stay connected with their kids while still getting their homework done and grabbing a couple hours of sleep.

You can’t deny I have the best of many worlds going into this: a supportive, encouraging husband earning decent money; a daughter old enough and “good” enough to require very little extra work; a happy home… My life (my real life) is figured out! So many of the traps, distractions and difficulties that plague other college students just won’t apply to me.

Secondly, “You won’t have anything but a piddly-a**ed set of skills to offer an employer”
I am not doing this so I can have a career. I don’t even really want a career! I am going because I want to learn. Every job I’ve had I’ve loved until I no longer had anything new to learn. I’m doing this for its own sake and to fulfill a dream I’ve had for a long, long time. I’m doing this because I’m too d*mn smart not to.

Thirdly, “I get the feeling that you don’t have the slightest idea what you’re doing.”
No, I don’t know what it’s like to go to college full-time. How could I? I’ve never done it. However, I would suppose it’s something like getting married, which you also can’t fully understand until you do it. How can that be a reason not to? If you’re not taking it seriously, that’s a reason not to, not just the fact that you don’t know all the ups and downs, ins and outs, and minute intricacies that can make it difficult. And, continuing the comparison, 17 years of marriage must demonstrate some sort of strength of character upon which I'll be able to draw.

You said you might feel better if I told you I was scared to death of screwing up. I say, why must I be scared to death in order to prove I’m taking it seriously? When embarking on a venture such as this, I say the proper frame of mind is a blend of determination, positive thinking, careful planning, and excitement!

Perhaps part of the problem you’re having is that I may still be an 18 year-old girl in your mind – subconsciously, at least. I know I give off a girlish vibe. But I’m 39 years old! If, at this point in my life, I can’t face up to a challenge and see it through, then I suggest I may have worse problems than the potential to be a college dropout! Perhaps underneath this fun-loving, peace-making, compliant, easy-going, type-B skin is a foundation of life experience, strength, confidence, and determination that you just haven’t had the pleasure of witnessing.

New Digs

2010-10-19T20:11:00.002-06:00

Today we took a drive to Missoula to sign the lease and do a walk-through on our new rental. We are SO excited to move in! It's much bigger than where we are. We will actually have a dining room. I just don't know what I'll do if our family actually sits down to the table for a meal! The kitchen isn't very big, but it's bright, and we have a big pantry, so that definitely makes up for it. There are 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and the washer and dryer will be in our unit rather than in a separate common laundry room.

Also? The garage can fit 6 cars. No, really. It's crazy! The building is a condo duplex (duplex condo?) and the garage runs the entire length of the building, under our half and the neighbor's as well. I plan to set up all the woodworking stuff that my Dad has given me. I'll actually be able to build something! Not well, mind you. But I'll learn. But, of course the first thing I will do is paint. The landlord has already said we could, so that will be the first order of business.

I had to visit the Good Food Store, to see how it compares to Helena's Real Food Store. I almost started crying. It's so beautiful! The produce, the bulk foods, the wine, the cheese... [sigh] I will live there.

Pretty in Pink

2010-10-03T20:12:00.002-06:00

I love my kid. She's brave and fun!