Friday, October 22, 2021

Around the House

Our home projects are coming along nicely, and I want to apologize for only hinting at them, and not sharing everything. I am thinking of doing a Before & After post, and in the meantime I just feel a bit guarded about it... not sure why. I know I've mentioned "lockers." I wasn't sure if I'd shared a picture. These are for the guest bathroom, and I am still pinching myself about this find. I have had wishful notions about using old school lockers for storage in our long, narrow hall bathroom for years. Just recently, this almost new set came up at the university surplus store! I laughed so hard at myself when all the way home I was going on and on about how pretty the blue is, then we got home and stood the lockers up by the front door, and it's no wonder I am so admiring of the color! It's practically the same as the house. There will be a locker for each of us, and more for towels, t.p., cleaning supplies, health products, a hair dryer. In the meantime, while Mike finishes updating the bathroom in Alex and Bambi's room, the lockers are holding pumpkins, and looking very cute.
Have you ever prognosticated on the forthcoming winter by studying the stripes of a woolly caterpillar? That is something my father-in-law explained to me when we lived in Minnesota. Phil explained that the width of the brown band on the caterillar was an indication of how severe the winter would be. I can't remember... was a narrow band a hard winter, or the other way? Ah, of course, the Internet knows about woolly bear caterpillars, and weather prediction. Anyway, around here, we have a woolly goat, and I have become accustomed to sizing Ada up in autumn, checking for the thickness and woollyness of her undercoat. I figure if she, or Tasha, are getting really fluffy, it has to be a sign of something... cold, rain, lots of rain? What would they look like if were going to get snow? So far, I am not sure we are getting any severe weather. Other indicators, like the return of La Niña conditions, indicate the same: Mild winter, less rain. Too bad.
If Cairo is in the picture, it is an indication that I am trying to clean, or write, or paint, or accomplish anything. Right in the middle of this (dread) chore... clearing out all of the bathroom cabinets and drawers, Cairo popped into the first cleared-out compartment and made himself right at home. I don't think Mike is going to have time to get to the upstairs bathroom, not on this visit. But it's something we are eager to get done. The natural stones in the shower are crumbling. Oh! And in order to finally finish installing the solar, someone has to move around in the attic, bring wires through walls, tear out the drywall beside the toilet, and hook everything up into the electrical box in the garage... so! Yeah, there will be necessary repairs to make in the upstairs bathroom. I figure, new shower tiles, and new paint to cover the new dry wall. It's sure to become one of those jobs where one thing leads to another. It will be interesting to see what gets done in the next few weeks. Cairo, will help all he can, I am sure!
Here. Two more glimpses. These are of the bathroom in The Lab. Twelve years ago, when we moved in, I was not interested in having a lot of bathrooms to clean, so this over-sized bathroom has been a closet. We knew it needed repairs to continue as a fully functioning bathroom, and we put that off until necessary. Someday, Bambi hopes to have a dog, and we have always known that this room, which is suite-like, could be improved to be like a studio apartment or junior accessory unit. So, we had Mike add a door to the outside, which will be handy for a little dog coming in and out of the house, or young folk enjoying a space that feels a little more their own. Mike replaced some broken things, and added an electric hot water heater. The improvements are practical, and winning! Some of the last details going in are an awning and pavers set in mortar. This future dog will have a small, fenced yard, and a mud room entry. When dust settles, I will share more pictures.
In book club, Maria and her peers are reading The Hobbit. It's more than a book club, there's crafting! Last year, Maria and I shared needle felting wool dryer balls... they make an excellent canvas, and it was a nice project to teach, socially distanced, outdoors. They've also done embroidery. The latest activity is making these elf ears, or ear cuffs... elf ear cuffs. It requires wire twisting, and I am thinking the hardest part is making a second ear look like the first one. Maria's are coming along nicely. We started listening to the Audible reading of The Hobbit, which is a nice accompaniment to crafting. I brought out my embroidery supplies, and have this handkerchief going with holly and berries.
I can't resist, one more glimpse! Alex and I rushed around collecting tiles and glass and shiny things just before Mike poured the last layer of mortar, and we've been playing in the mud! The little landing outside the new Lab entry is officially Dazzling! And that's it for now, because I need to finish clearing every last thing out of the guest bathroom... Mike is about to tear it out! Pinch me!

7 comments:

angela said...

I love the elf ears. So clever.
Yes I listen to audiobooks while crafting it much nicer than having the television going
I can also move around the house making beds hanging washing or cooking and I don’t have to stop the story
Hopefully when the weather finally clears up, I’m australia and it’s supposed to be spring I’ll take my phone
Outside and listen while gardening

I can’t wait to see the end result of all your hard work

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Maybe it's time for me to give earbuds a try, or ask Santa for a listening device. I listen from my phone, and so I am usually firmly parked in one spot if I am listening. I can get a lot done if I play music in the kitchen, propping my phone on a ledge. Is spring slow to arrive in Australia? We have had the nearest to seasonal kind of Autumn I can recall... being near the coast, our seasons are almost indistinguishable from each other. But this year has been cool(ish) and we have even had rainy days.

Little Dorrit does... said...

Such tantalising glimpses. Absolutely love the colour of those lockers, and the brilliantly seized opportunity to create an officially 'Dazzling' landing!

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Amelia, thank you for sharing in the fun of tantalizing glimpses! I still don't feel absolutely confident about how each element is going to come together. The floor tiles arrived and I exclaimed, a little bit, because I seem to have forgotten, already, that they are more black than white, and look fairly dramatic. Geoff offered, "Did they send the wrong ones?" I don't think so. I think it's just the difference of seeing pictures on a screen versus tiles in my hands!

Janece said...

I read this the first time as things were happening - and it's kinda fun coming back and rereading after the fact too.

And the wire elf-ears. Those are wonderful and charming! :D

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Hey Janece! So fun coming back to some of these posts with you. Thank you for all of the comments.
If Acorn needs crafting in their life: Beach Chair Book Club!

Janece said...

I will encourage Acorn -- they like a lot of forms of crafting once they are doing it - but it doesn't always occur to them to seek it out. That will likely change as they grow up and life evolves.