Favorite Things Friday

One of the great blogs that I read regularly, Shay over at Quilting in My Pyjamas, has a regular feature called Favorite Things Friday.  And it's just what it sounds like.  She posts about one of her favorite things, and encourages others to do the same.

Her blog is definitely one of my favorite things, but today I'll share another one.

My wood burning stove.

It's winter here on this side of the world, and so far it's been colder than normal.  And to be honest - I don't like it.  I hate to be cold, and much prefer summertime.

But my wood stove makes it bearable, and even enjoyable.  It warms the whole downstairs of the house. It has that great "fire-burning-in-the-fireplace" smell.  You can even roast marshmallows in it.  What's not to love???

So that's it.  My first Favorite Things Friday!

If you have a FTF, stop on by Ms. P's blog, and add yours to the list, too!

AMW

From an episode of the Hoarders

For the last month or so, I kept expecting Matt Paxton to show up on our doorstep.  Who?  Matt Paxton is the host of the A&E's show Hoarders.  


Back in October, I showed you a "quick before and after" post of the office transformation, but in reality, it wasn't a very accurate "before" picture"  You see, since it is an office, it's been kind of a catch-all room in the house.  There were boxes and boxes of stuff from floor to ceiling.  So the before was actually an "after".  After all of the stuff was removed.  But before the room was transformed by the removal of the carpet.  


Did you follow all of that????  Me either.  


Anyway....  All of the "stuff" that came out of the office, landed in the living room.  Yep, we just moved it from one room to another.  Isn't that what everyone does?

There's a couch under there.  Really.

90% of the items in this picture came out of the office.  We were mortified when folks stopped by, and blamed it on the work that we had done to the house.


Fast forward to this upcoming weekend, where we are a stop for the annual Progressive Dinner party.  And we certainly couldn't have a house full of people over to THIS!


So, instead of just moving it to yet another room, or back into the office, we decided to take this past weekend and go through it all.  ONE.PIECE.AT.A.TIME.  Just like  Matt Paxton does on Hoarders.  There were trash bags available.  A donate box.  A sell box.  And the stuff we kept.  We bought storage bins that can be concealed, and away we went!  The only thing missing was a dumpster or a dump truck outside!


How did it end up???  Take a look:

As long as you don't enlarge these pictures, the room looks FANTASTIC!  And if by some chance you do enlarge them and see the layer of dust, then we'll just call it a protective layer.  We'll get to it this week...


Has your home ever gotten to that point that you thought maybe the mailman would call and turn you in?   No?  It's just us?  


Alrighty then....


AMW

YEAH!!!!

Over two years ago, on another blog (that is pretty much defunct, I haven't posted on it in over a year) I did several posts about a new roof we had put on.  HERE are the before pictures, HERE are the in progress pictures (and basically finished, because I apparently didn't do an after post....  Sheesh!)

Well, mostly finished.  It was 99% done.  I've been waiting over two years for the finishing touch.


And here it is.  THE most important part of the roof:

This mermaid weathervane has been sitting in the shed, just waiting for someone to put her up.  And now that she's there, she's BEAUTIFUL!  We live just blocks from the water, and no other weathervane would have represented us as well as this one.

I LOVE it!  She makes me smile every time I pull in to the driveway...


Happy Turkey Day!

AMW

Quick before and after...

Today, I decided to pull up the carpet in the office.  I didn't immediately think of doing before and after pictures.  Shortly after starting, it hit me, and I ran off to grab the camera.  The batteries were dying, and honestly, I just wanted to get back to ripping things apart/up to bother with something like batteries.....

 

Yes, that is greenish/brown shag carpet.   That has probably been down on this floor for 30-40 years.  So, what do you think was underneath??

Here ya go!

The carpet apparently did a FABULOUS job of protecting these hardwood floors. Really makes a HUGE difference in this room.  

We will put some kind of rug down, to protect the floors a bit, since it's an office, with a rolling chair, and all, but for the moment, I'm enjoying walking in and seeing these beautiful wood slats all aligned perfectly....

I'm sore as hell, and would love to get in the hot tub to relieve the pain, but I'm too tired to lift the lid!  But it's worth it...  I think......

AMW

Whirlwind of Activity

Well, the last couple of weeks have been hectic, but are settling down just a bit.  The fish tank is now listed on Craigslist and will hopefully be gone by the weekend.  


The painter that we had scheduled a few weeks ago has come and gone and now one room has been COMPLETELY repainted from ceilings to walls to even the inside of the closet!  It looks FANTASTIC!  It's a slow process getting it put all back together, but we're even decorating in the process.  It will be kinda cool to have one room decorated.  All it REALLY needs now is a QUILT!!!!  Gotta get to work on that......


Last weekend, Wednesday through Saturday, I went to the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Chantilly, VA.  It's about a 4 hour ride.  A lady where I work told me about it, so we decided to go together.  She was thrilled that she didn't have to drive up there and back.  Just realized that I have a ton to say about this trip, so I'll do another post....  (And I promise, you won't have to wait tooooo long for it....)


And the Sneak Preview post from a few weeks back is 97% complete.  It is down to the binding, which has been put on the front, and I'm toying with the idea of finishing the binding with a decorative stitch.  I saw it done at the Expo, and it looked REALLY cool.  Just need to see if I can step out of the box enough to do it......


No trips or anything major planned until the first weekend in November.  But around here, you never know....


What have you been up to?
AMW

We got FLOCKED!

This is what I saw today when I pulled up at home.  I wasn't sure what was going on...  It wasn't anyone's birthday, or anniversary, or retirement, or flag day, or national penguin day...

It is, though, National Trail Mix Day, so maybe that was it.

I parked, and went out to check it out....

Casey decided to help me figure out what was going on...

Nope, not in celebration of National Trail mix day...

Some friends of ours are on a softball team, and are raising funds to get to Las Vegas for a tournament.  Someone "flocks" you, and then you can donate to "flock" someone else, or you can make a donation just for them to remove the flock.  Great idea!


And certainly put a smile on my face when I got home this afternoon.


Off to camp for the holiday weekend, so I'll be MIA for the next few....


AMW

What a difference a week makes!

Last weekend we were breaking all kinds of heat records, with temperatures at 105. We were in a drought and everything green was dead.

Thursday night, we had torrential rains, and tornado warnings.

And believe it or not, these two pictures were taken about an hour apart.... The top one was taken just as the rains started. The bottom one shows the water at it's highest point, with landscape timbers and yard debris throughout.

This weekend, it was beautiful, and by Sunday it was about 72 degrees and rainy....

It's amazing the difference a week can make!

I hope you all enjoy your week!

AMW

Hot, Hot, Hot!

It's so hot here, we're melting!!!

Well, not quite, but almost.............

Yesterday, was 105. Which tied the hottest day ever on record back in 1918. And of course, that doesn't include the heat index with the humidity.

Today is slightly cooler, though. So far at noon, it's only at 101.

The AC is working overtime, for sure. Except for when we turn it off for half hour at a time to run the washing machine.... Laundry is slow-going today.

Yep, we have window unit AC, and when we run the washing machine and the AC at the same time, we blow a circuit when the washer switches from rinse to spin.

But there is this annoying need for clean underwear, and it's too hot to just go out and buy more, so off the AC goes every now and then to wash the skivvies....

Hope you all are staying cool!

AMW

2010 SnowPocolypse

Earlier here I reminisced about a snow storm that happened when I was young. Now, through pictures, I'll tell you all about the big storm of 2010. A much different scene for me. I really enjoyed this storm, and had a lot of fun...

This was about 10:30 in the morning on Saturday. It was still snowing, but this was the earliest measurement. About 5 inches and steadily falling.

This was the back patio, around the same time-frame. See those two bowls on the table?

These two bowls? They are the collection bins for SNOW CREAM!

I remember having snow cream growing up. My grandmother would make it. But I had never tried it... It was REALLY yummy!!

We also picked that day to try to make sushi for the first time. It was really easy with the SUSHEZI! And good. This was avacodo, cream cheese and crab.

Of course, we HAD to go out and play. Casey just watched for bit. She's seen snow before, but not nearly this much...

I almost lost her in it at one point. It was up to her underbelly. Good thing she's so dark!

And I finally got her to sit still enough to take a good picture. She wasn't happy about sitting in it though. What a trooper!

Now some shots from around the yard...

The two suns and crab didn't seem too bothered by it all.

By Sunday morning, the icicles were growing bigger and bigger.

Guess we won't be grilling on these this weekend.

Sunday, we also decided to take a drive by the water. It's only a couple of blocks and I wanted to get some pictures. Of course.

This was one of the first things I saw. Beautiful, huh?

We also saw this guy. Wasn't 100% sure what I was seeing at first, but you'll see below and hopefully you'll be as amused as I was...

Yep. Cross-country skiing in SE VA by the bay.

And a great sport he was. I opened the window, held out the camera, and he just grinned.

And I almost missed this guy, cause I was facing the water. See him? On a snowboard?

That's him again being pulled behind that pick-up truck!

LOVE IT!

Lots of folks were out walking dogs. These two where just enjoying the day and each other!

I loved how the sun was shining so bright, and the snow was overlooking the water.

It was the most snow our area had seen in a long, long time. Nearly shut the entire metro area down. Took a long time to clear it all up, and kids were out of school until Wednesday or Thursday for a storm that happened on Saturday.

But it will be a storm that people will remember for years to come.

I know I will! How about you? What did you do that was memorable?

AMW

Let it Snow!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

I'm read for another really good snow storm... Fire up the wood stove and keep it going all day. Grab the sled and slide down the front hill. And hop in the Hot Tub, just for good measure....

So bring on the 4-8 inches!!!

AMW

Completely Random Update

Well, I sure have been delinquent in my blogging, haven't I?  Have I lost all of my readers?  All 2 of you?  LOL!!  Kidding!  I hope there's at least 3...

This is likely to be a complete hodge-podge random update.  

It's been an extremely busy summer!  A friend is staying at our house for a bit, so there is the dynamics of a third person.  Kind of strange, as there have only been two of us in the house for 3 years.  We're adjusting.  I'm not sure if I've ever lived with someone that shows signs of ADD and OCD.  It certainly makes for an interesting combination.

Since it's summertime - there have been lots of "gatherings"!   Several have been birthdays with pool parties that have been fun beyond words.  There have been impromptu "porch" nights, dinner at friends houses, and a near-weekly breakfast at Paul's Restaurant.  (I promise a FULL post with pictures about Paul's in the not-to-distant future.)

Our ADD/OCD houseguest has an over abundance of energy, and has a list of projects she's working on at our house.  She just re-roofed one of our sheds, edged the front brick walk with a shovel, cleaned and re-organized the back patio, and has dug up an overgrown flower garden, complete with pulling out bushes with her truck.  Did I mention she's only been with us for 3 weeks???  For her next trick - she'll do cartwheels while simultaneously cooking a gourmet meal for 100 of our closest friends in between re-grouting all three bathrooms!  She moves too fast for pictures, so there will be no photographic evidence.  

Work has been a bit on the stressful side.  Without dwelling on it too much, I'll just say that even though I own my own business, I still have to do what others tell me to do.  The owners of the building that pay my contract have had some requests lately that are affecting business.  And since business is already slow due to the economy, well, let's just say that it's nearing the painful stage.  I'll get through it.

My Casey-Dog (who is 13, by the way!) has started having a little more issues.  Her hips are bothering her more, and she's taking to chewing herself raw in spots.  And this is a dog that doesn't take kindly to your trying to help her.  If you try to clean a sore spot, she's likely to turn around an nip!  I've never bathed her...  I've always taken her to a groomer.  And clean her ears?  No thank you!  They can muzzle her at the vet, or they can risk the nibble that she'll give them.  So imagine when we take her to the vet, and the vet says to clean the area twice a day, and apply this cream.  Oh, and don't let her lick it.   Hmmm....  This poses yet another problem!  We all know that most dogs dislike the plastic collars, but my dog FREAKS.OUT.  Yeah, having her die of a heart attack from the stress of a plastic collar kinda defeats the purpose.  So I've tried just about everything!  What works?  When we're home, we keep her on a leash, so we can monitor her every move.  When we go to work, I put a doggy diaper on her that covers her raw hip, with a piece of gauze under it for a little more protection.  That was after trying a t-shirts (put on her backwards), and soft collar, and self-adhesive gauze.  All of those were not pretty either.  She's not thrilled with the doggy diaper, but she tolerates it.  We go back for a follow-up visit today.

Overall, the summer has been fantastic!  There are still more parties to attend before the summer is over.  We got invited to THREE for this Saturday, alone.  We can only make it to one, which is a bummer, but there are more lined up!

And then......  BOWLING starts up!  I know you can hardly wait for the weekly bowling updates, can you?????

What summer fun have you been up to?  Leave a comment here for me!

AMW