Bye Bye Borders

It truly is sad to see a bookstore close. Whether its the mom and pop store or the big chains. I have held my ground against the electronic books such as the Kindle and Nook thus far. There is just something about turning the pages that I don't think I'm ready to relinquish quite yet. I know that in due time I will surrender.

Although watching Borders close their doors has been heartbreaking, it hasn't stopped me from joining in with the other vultures. I've drive by the one closest to my house almost daily, but have been waiting for that 70% Off sign to pop up in the window to make my purchases.

A good number of books that I wanted have already been swooped up by those fools that fell for for the 40% Off sign. Suckers. You can get those prices on Amazon. I will share with you what remains in full stock.

Anyone surprised? Me either.

R.I.P Borders. You'll be missed.

Skype From Across the World

Halfway around the world and we still waste time making faces at one another. Some people never grow up.

Father - Daughter Project

I've mentioned in previous posts about how I would have never foreseen myself doing this or that. Three things distinctly stand out in my mind. My mom can attest to all of them, for I'm sure I told her more than once.

1. I will never own a germ-ridden dishcloth. I really can't explain my distaste for them when I was a teenager, but you better believe there is one posted up on my sink faucet as we speak. I like to think it is germ free due to all the Lysol I use.
2. There will never be a strip of wallpaper in my house. Just last night, over a riveting game of ping pong, I asked Ryan if we could wallpaper an accent wall in the basement.
3. Antique furniture is ugly. Insert foot in mouth.

My friend Colleen gifted me this beauty for my birthday a few months back. We had scoured antique malls looking for a piece of furniture that I could refinish and house all of my quilting/embroidery/whatever else project supplies. No luck. Believe it or not, her mom had this tucked away in the basement!

I'm a novice of any project involving stripping, staining, or wood materials in general. It's hard for me to admit my short comings. Insert father dearest. AKA the all knowing king of improvement projects, as long as they only last 45 minutes. (explanation)

Anywho. I gathered my supplies.

Did a little taping.

Flew my friend, Miriam, in from Barcelona for some stripping.

Sanded.

Stained and prevented damage from this irate worker elf.

Voila!

Then I lined all the drawers with fancy bubble wallpaper. Guess that rule #2 is a moot point now too. I really need to learn how to keep my mouth shut.

Here she is all nested in the guest bedroom closet.

Ah. Doesn't organization just warm your heart?

The mirror is tucked away. Not much use for it at the moment. Usually when I'm in crafting mode I try to avoid mirrors. Not my best 'put together' moments. My mom claims that someday I won't be hiding it in the closet. I would argue with her, but I've been known to be wrong in the past.

Weekend House Guests

Gizmo

Bella

AKA MacGyver and Matlock

I miss them already.

Lacks Direction

[insert corny joke]

'That sounds like one of my high school report cards.'

[insert rolling laughter]

House projects have been at a bit of stand still. Blame it on 100+ degree heat, two full time work schedules or just pure laziness. At least my retired neighbor is keeping busy. Here are this week's grass clippings drying the the sun.

That is a perfect rectangle. I can't wait until I have that much free time.

I've been filling my time with some crafting. The assembling of this wreath saw me through 8o some episodes of 'Brothers and Sisters' on Netflix. Maybe that could be why the house projects aren't being completed.

She's a beauty, if I say so myself.

I got these flowers at the downtown farmer's market today. They really epitomize the feeling of summer. I'm enjoying them for now, but am really looking forward to sweatshirts and football games.

Happy Sunday!

Garden Overhaul

Growing up I never would have imagined myself planting a garden. They were only a road block to whatever game we were playing in the yard. When we bought the house I didn't give a second glance to the garden, or lawn for that matter. Oh how things change.

The front flower bed looked a bit like this...

Not only did the previous owners love bird wallpaper and living in the 70s, they adored lawn ornaments. I'm not talking about cute bird baths or the occasional cement figurine. I'm referring to these...

I spent a good part of a morning collecting them from all corners of the yard. A sad sight they are really.

My next goal was to remove all of the white rock from the front beds. I grabbed my shovel and some trash cans because it can't be that hard right? Wrong. Pure torture. My neighbor came to my rescue and posted 'free landscaping rock' on Craig's List. Now, I'm thinking these rocks are atrocious and there is no way that someone is going to come personally dig out my flower beds. The saying ' one man's trash is another man's treasure' rang true. Within 5 minutes I had at least three people say they were on their way.

With the creatures and the rock gone it looked something like this. There may be a good chance it looked about the same for the rest of the summer... and fall... okay and the winter.

But I redeemed myself this spring.

I even planted this nifty mailbox.

Okay, perhaps my husband and brother did that and maybe they had to do it twice because it wasn't to my liking the first time. They sure are wonderful aren't they?

Paint Me Happy

The green ranch is no more. Now she's a pretty Sherwin Williams' stone grey.

Before

Progress

Completed

It is such a relief not to cringe when driving up to my house. We have a lot of finishing touches to work out. For example, the two different light fixtures in the last picture. Along with a new front door, screen doors, window frosting, house numbers... why does this list keep getting longer?