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Archive for the ‘House and home stuff’ Category

Filling in the Blank

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

Another day has gone by and I have avoided the studio and new work. I just can’t get my rear in gear.  I thought it might help to get out some paper and pencil and try my hand at drawing. I am late to the Zentangle madness, mainly because I feel quite inept at drawing.

I found a tutorial on line and started in. It recommended starting with pencil on 3 1/2 inch squares of paper. I liked that — not a big commitment!! It was kind of fun. This photo was taken with my iPhone and there is some red reflecting from our red leather sofa, I think.

I downloaded a scan app for my iPhone. I thought I would scan these and then post them.

Not very good results. I think the scanner works best for documents, but it is a cool app to have. You can scan recipes and stuff you find in a magazine at the Dr’s office, instead of sneakily tearing out the page!!

I think I will try more of these, using a micron pen for sharper images.

This is what our deck is looking like today.

There is even more deconstruction since I took this photo. I wonder how long it will be before I can sit out on the deck again?

I will probably avoid the studio again tomorrow because Mark and Jayme are arriving this week-end and I must get some guest bedroom and bathroom cleaning done.

Life’s a Beach

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

And a bitch! The early morning burglar struck again. This time he got my purse. I had to spend Tuesday from 4 in the morning until I went to bed, recreating my life and preventing the theft of my identity — driver’s license, checking account, credit cards, etc. And, yes, he/she got the new electronics. The insurance company is not happy with us and I can’t blame them. I have been so vigilant about locking the back door without any help from anyone else who lives here. Monday night, I was exhausted from the week-end festivities and getting up early to get Lisa to the airport. I went to bed early and forgot my routine of hiding my purse and locking the door.

In all of our other recent houses the garage was connected to the house so if the garage door was shut, we didn’t worry about the back door into the house. Here, it is detached and there in lies the problem.

Yesterday, we had a state of the art alarm system installed which we can put on a timer. It makes a very irritating and loud sound when the house is entered and the alarm is set. The police are also notified. I hope this works. Enough is enough.

Wednesday, I left for Seaside, on the Oregon Coast with my STASH friends. The houses we stayed in are next door to each other and on the promenade, a walk way the goes for a couple of miles along the ocean front.  So we had beautiful views of the ocean. The views included copious amounts of rain and some sun breaks — all beautiful. The photo at the beginning was our first day. That evening we had a brief respite from the rain and had a sunset.

Thursday morning, the rain stayed away for awhile and people headed out to walk. You can see a couple with their black labs in this scene.

To the left, we could see Tillamook Head. We drove up there in the afternoon. There are some gorgeous homes and a hiking trail.

On Thursday night we drove up to Astoria for dinner at a Bosnian restaurant. The food was great. As we left, we could see another beautiful sunset.

The six of us had such a fantastic time. We visited a wonderful quilt shop in Canon Beach. We sat around and gossiped and did hand stitching. Terry finished fusing her next Twelve by Twelve quilt. On Thursday night, we played Apples to Apples accompanied by a couple of bottles of wine and much hilarity. It was all very therapeutic for me.

Today, I helped with the Columbia Fiberarts Guild booth at The Gathering of the Guilds at the Convention Center. We were rented space from the Handweavers. There was so much beautiful stuff — glass, beads, metal work and ceramics, in addition to the fiber stuff. I had sold a couple of shibori scarves by the time I left today.

 

So, now you know why I have not blogged this week. I hope you are having a nice week-end. It is really beautiful here in Portland.

Random Stuff

Monday, December 6th, 2010

Today, Mr C and I took Scooter out to the country to cut down our Christmas tree. We love Noble Firs and we have a favorite place to find them. This is our third year to go back to the Allen Tree Farm. We started out to search for the perfect tree, armed with the hand saw.

It is a bit hard to see the trees for the forest!

Mr C does a height check.

A young kid working there offered to take it down with a chain saw. Mr C went to find him. Meanwhile, I found a tree I liked better. This could have gone on for hours.

Scooter had a good time off leash running around the tree farm.

And so, we headed back to the front of the farm.

Seen on the path.

After a good shaking, the tree was wrapped in plastic and loaded on to the roof of the Jeep and home we went. It probably won’t get brought in the house and decorated until later in the week. Mia asked to come and help me.

I had a busy week-end. On Saturday, we prepared the house and a meal for our church dinner group. Groups of 8 are randomly organized in the fall and the group meets together in each other’s homes through out the year. We were so excited to get to know six people we had not known before. Several are new to the area.

Yesterday, I went to church early with Mr C as he was auditioning to be a reader. I went to an advent talk and discussion. Then, last night we went back for Lessons and Carols, a very Anglican Advent service. The music and readings were beautiful.

This morning, I had a chat with the SDA conference chair and agreed to handle the housing reservations for the University of Minn dorms. I have to set up a web page with information before the end of the year.

Tonight, I finally got down to my studio and cut out the felt that I bought for the base of my coasters. I really like the touch of the felt around the edges.

Tonight, I made a batch with indigo shibori and a linen napkin that I dyed orange. I used orange felt for the base.

I am finally feeling pretty good again. I was beginning to feel my age, and that is not a good thing. I have a busy week, socially, so am not sure how much studio time I will have. I have to get moving on the deadlines that are looming.

Happiness is…

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

getting an hour or two in the studio to finish some work. For this kimono, I did the satin stitch edging. I think it gives a nice unobtrusive edge to the piece. I quite like this piece and it it doesn’t sell, I might find a place for it. All it needs is a bamboo rod.

Someone asked how big these are. They are about 32 inches in each direction.

I have Mia and Miles her until Tuesday, but with them in school during the day, I am going to try to get one more of these done. Tomorrow morning, Mr C has a Dr. appointment so I am on my own to get the kiddos off to school. Wish me luck!!

Last night’s dinner party was a big success. Even Scooter was on his best behavior. I hung my new glow bowls from Diana Fayt in the dining room next to the fireplace. They looked so beautiful.

I also splurged on some new table linens that were on sale. I bought some orange tulips to complete the scene.

A bonus of having the dinner party is that the house is nice and clean and there are left-overs.

Retail Therapy on the Run

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

I had a Macy’s coupon and some credit at the store, so this morning I did a run out to Macy’s Home Store. First purchase was a new skillet for the kitchen. Next, I browsed the bedding department as I was on the hunt for a new duvet cover for our bedroom. We used to have a Calvin Klein duvet cover that I loved -high thread count and super soft and luxurious cotton. When we painted the bedroom, I moved the blue set to the guest bedroom. Above is the duvet cover and a new set of sheets and pillow shams. Every thing was on sale and I still got the 15% off. I was in and out in half an hour.

Our bedroom has one brown wall and the remainder in a color called foam — it is a grayed blue green color. I bought this fabric and made curtains. That was over 2 years ago.

We bought an inexpensive brown duvet cover at IKEA, but it has never made us happy. I know I am going to love sleeping with my new bedding. I have to wash and dry it and then ahhhh!

It was another glorious day here in Portland. We went to our friend, Kay’s, birthday party in the hills above Lake Oswego with a spectacular view of snow covered Mt. St. Helen’s. She bought 4 different cakes from a really great bakery near us. I took a photo with my iPhone and after trying to transfer the photos to my laptop, iPhoto froze and I lost them. They were beautiful and delicious.

I also had a photo of a  sign outside a church that I wanted to share. It said – Lord, save us from your believers. I like whoever attends that church.