Rembrandt's Got Nothing on Us (well, maybe a bit more than nothing)…

August 12, 2018

Not much to write about, but wanted to give everyone a quick look at some painting that’s going on around the house.  Charming has finished painting the living room although he still has to put trim around the windows at some point.  The color of the living room is called “Mesa Yellow”.  He also started painting the master bedroom.  The color for this room is called “Oriental Ivory,” which is a really pale mint color.  I’m hoping the color will be a calming influence, as I often find it hard to relax and fall asleep.  I have always lived in houses that have had beige walls.  While that particular color is extremely practical and goes with everything, I decided this house needed more color.

I’m also including pictures of the mock-up of the refrigerator door.  I used black “Duck Tape” to hold the mural on the door, but both Charming and I agree that it does look a bit “trailer park”.  Although I sometimes refer to myself as “The Queen of the Double Wide,” we decided that the mural would look much better if we take some time to brainstorm and come up with something that’s more wood-like to make a frame.  I expect that to take place after the rest of the rooms are painted and the flooring has been installed, but I’ll post more pictures when we come up with a solution.

The "before" picture of the living room with new drywall installed.

Not quite the same angle (use windows as focal point), but much more cheerful looking.

At left is an alcove for a small phone table & a shelf above for computer stuff.

Hallway to other bedrooms...one is my craft/guest room, the other is Charming's den/guest room.

Before installing the mural on the refrigerator door, I had to fill a good-sized dent.

The mural taped in place w/duck tape.  Worked well; just doesn't look as nice as I'd like, but we'll fix that.

A chicken wire overlay made the pictures appear more realistic.

Hot Chicks...

August 5, 2018

Since Charming has completed most of the work in the kitchen at the farm and has moved on to painting the other rooms in the house, I decided it was time to work on the mural to cover up the dents and scratches on the refrigerator that my brother Jeff gave to us.  You might recall that I wanted a chicken theme for that project, so I got serious last week and put what little painting talent I could muster to work.  I had originally thought I could simply use big sheets of cardboard leftover from large appliance purchases, but the cardboard warped after it was painted.  I considered and discarded many other options including store-bought artist’s canvas, construction paper, and poster board.  All of these options were rejected for various reasons such as cost, available sizes, weight, or warping after they were painted.  Then I had a brainstorm, we had quite a bit of Tyvek house wrap left over from re-siding the house so perhaps that would work.  It is light-weight, stable, and flexible which made it easy to cut.  I’m sure that most serious artists would never consider using Tyvek, but it worked perfectly for this project. 

First, I measured the refrigerator door, including the cut-out for the icemaker.  Then I measured it again.  And just because I’ve been around Charming for so long and have picked up some of his work habits, I measured it a third time.  I cut the Tyvek to match the door measurements and used Charming’s square to mark off the space for the icemaker.  After cutting out the space for the icemaker, I painted the entire piece of Tyvek with leftover kitchen paint.  To make the mural resemble the walls of a chicken house, I streaked it lightly with black paint and drew vertical lines for the “boards” at 3-inch intervals with a Sharpie marker.  Next, I painted brown “nests” for the chickens.  Then I lightly penciled in chickens on the nests.  After that, it was just a matter of mixing paints and slapping the paint on the mural.

This week I plan to cut chicken wire to go over each chicken and frame it all with black Duck Tape.  Using the Duck Tape will keep the mural light and hold it firmly onto the door.  I’m hoping it will turn out o.k. and will be a relatively inexpensive solution to cover up the dings and dents on the refrigerator.  Also, in the event that the used refrigerator dies in the near future, I won’t have a lot of money invested in the project!

The first layers of paint on the inside of my "chicken house" mural.

Had to use the kitchen countertop as an easel since the mural is about 5 feet long.

Chicken #1 is my favorite...all fat and fluffy.

This one looks a bit odd, but it won't be as noticeable behind the chicken wire.

Another fat and fluffy chick...too much chicken feed, I guess.

While I worked on the mural in the kitchen, Charming worked on painting the living room.

The first layer of paint in the living room...I'm sure he'll add at least one more layer, maybe two.

A small shelf that Charming made from kitchen cabinet doors...so talented!

The utility closet holds washer, dryer, and freezer...so convenient!

 

Long Time Gone...

Boy, time surely flies when you're not looking.  We've been so busy at the farm that it's hard to know what day it is, let alone the time.  The renovation, garden, mowing, and other miscellaneous things (like cats and dogs) keep us busy from daylight until dark.  I do have to say that these are some of the best days I've ever had, though.  I'm convinced that keeping both the mind and the body occupied is good for the soul. 

Charming usually gets up around daylight, fixes his coffee and immediately goes to work on the renovation.  I normally get up sometime between 6:30 and 7:30 am, depending on when I can drag myself out of bed.  I fix breakfast (usually oatmeal for Charming and a muffin & fruit for me), then I go to the garden for a couple of hours to try to beat back the weeds and murder as many potato bugs as possible.  After that, I take Charming a cup of hot tea then take a quick shower as, after working in the garden, I’m literally dripping with sweat.  (Not really the romantic picture of country life that you see in the movies.)  After I tidy up the camper then it's time to think about fixing lunch.  Charming is pretty much chained in the kitchen as that's the most intensive project we have left.  He is taking great pains to get things right because (bless his heart) he wants to make me happy, but also says he never wants to renovate another kitchen as long as he lives.  Luckily, this kitchen is a bit easier as he doesn't have to install any new water pipes as with our last kitchen project.  He is coming along with the work nicely, though, and it looks absolutely wonderful and stunningly close to what he did to our other kitchen.  He's added a couple of small features that were not possible with the last kitchen and it looks like I'll have even more storage space.  I have to admire Charming's work as almost all of the cabinets were recycled from cabinets that my brother gave us.  Sis also gave us a huge pantry cabinet that Charming re-painted and added handles that match the other cabinets and that turned out wonderfully.  The refrigerator and microwave was given to us by my brother as well.  Charming polished the stainless microwave front with car polish and it looks practically brand new.  Using the car polish was a great tip that I had never heard before, but it worked really well and prevents fingerprints from showing.  Less cleaning for me…Yay!

The garden was growing really well until this week.  During our evening walks and drives, we'd noticed a marked rise in the deer population (five in our yard, when we walked outside one day).  I was almost heartbroken to find that the deer had been sampling (or rather devouring) my green beans, squash, and even onions.  So we made a special trip to the store to purchase cayenne pepper to put on the plants.  I'm also putting the hair from my hairbrush directly into the bunched-up leaves of the squash plants.  We're also putting other stuff around the garden to try to keep them at bay.  I realize that all God’s creatures need to eat and I am willing to share some, but not my entire garden.  Charming says things will even out when deer season comes and we get some deer meat for our freezer. 

I also continue to work on knitting/crocheting/spinning projects.  My niece, Lisa, still keeps me supplied with a lot of yarn from the recycle shed at her county landfill.  I try to come up with ideas to turn the yarn into usable and/or somewhat attractive items.  I'm grateful to Lisa for thinking of me as it's saved me tons of money with not having to purchase yarn.  She also recently found what looked to be a new blind hemming machine that just happened to be the same brand as my serger.  This was a huge find as a new one costs $599.  It did not have a cord/foot peddle with it, but the cord/foot peddle from my serger works perfectly with it!  Lisa is a great forager and I'm so lucky to have her as my niece.

So as time goes marching on, we keep plugging away.  Charming hopes to move before winter time…but I’m still not betting on that!

The north wall has a tiny "coffee counter", stove, microwave, & sink.

The south wall with Sis's pantry, baking center, cabinets & fridge goes at the end.

Charming added a nice little "cook book nook" between the pantry & cabinets.

My "Charming" electrician installs the ceiling lights.

My garden hoe made from a metal lumber strap, hose clamps, & $ Store broomstick costs $2.00

Our half-runner beans prior to what I refer to as "that dastardly deer attack".

Jax amongst the daylilies...how much cuter is this dog gonna get????

An up-close of one of the daylilies.

Lisa gave me a great selection of yarn from the landfill, so I made this Topsy Turvy Doll.

The back side of the doll with a mass of "French braided" hair.

Undignified as it is for the doll, you flip her dress up and she turns into a sleeping baby.

Sleeping while standing up?  Yeah, I've done that.

Poor Jax got bit by his girl friend & was hating life for about a week.

Maribelle eats breakfast then naps under the camper step.  (My kinda girl.)

Similar to squirrels, we're already preparing for winter.

I'm spinning this lovely wool & silk roving into...

...more lovely yarn! 

 

The Finish Line…

Although I’m still recovering from surgery, I am happy to say that I’m getting more mobile with every day that passes.  I am now able to fix most of our (simple) meals, wash dishes, and fold laundry.  Poor Charming had been performing all of these tasks, plus the other chores that I would have normally handled such as feeding and watering the cats and dog, cleaning the litter box, laundry, sweeping, and taking out the trash as well as cooking.  He does all of this in addition to grocery shopping, keeping the woodstove stocked with wood, packing for the upcoming move to the farm, and small renovation projects.  Most importantly, he is responsible for keeping my tomato seedlings alive and watered.  He has performed admirably and simply says that it’s just part of living up to the “in sickness and in health” part of our marriage vows.  (He really is such a good guy.)

I’ve spent most of this past week finishing up the sweater that I’ve been knitting.  I have to say that I’m really happy with the way it turned out.  It fits like it’s supposed to and will look really nice with a turtleneck shirt and jeans.  The pattern that I used is knit from the top down, which means that I start knitting at the collar, work the shoulders, body, and finally the sleeves.  When you knit a top down sweater, there is very little sewing to do because there are no seams in the sweater.  The body is knitted in one piece and the sleeves are knitted onto the body of the sweater.  The stitches for the button bands on the front of the sweater are simply picked up and knitted, not sewn on separately.  This is my absolute favorite type of sweater to knit because, unlike a regular sweater that is knit in several different pieces and then sewn together, you don’t end up having a gazillion threads to weave in at the end.  It’s really a marvelous way to knit a sweater!

In addition to knitting, I fill my waking hours with playing spider solitaire on the computer, reading magazines, checking out recipes on my favorite recipe websites (bettycrocker.com, allrecipes.com, pamperedchef.com, bobsredmill.com and kingarthurflours.com).  Although this may seem like a life of leisure to most people, it’s pretty tough for someone who really prefers to move around and actually “do” things. 

I have to admit that this temporary sedentary lifestyle has made me realize how fortunate I am to be in good health (normally).  I have great sympathy for those who are unable to get up and move around freely.  After the memory of this surgery fades, I need to make myself remember how lucky I am to be able to get out of bed every day and do the things I love to do like working outside in the garden, taking a walk in the fresh air, and even just walking up or down stairs.  A healthy, working body is a wonderful thing!

My sweater.  Looks like it's on a mannequin, but it's me holding onto my "scooter".

I'm ashamed to say that Charming's shorts actually fit me...uggghh!

The back side is definitely not my best side.  (I do love the colors in this yarn!)

A length of knitted cord, doubled into two loops form this button closure.

An Idle Mind…

For the past three weeks I’ve divided my time between sitting in my recliner in the living room and sleeping in the bedroom.  If I sit too long in the recliner, my left shoulder-blade starts to ache.  Sleeping in bed presents its own problems as well because I do not sleep well on my back so I awkwardly shift from one side to the other many times during the night.  The side shifting is necessary because the weight and size of this honking-big foot cast makes it necessary for one leg to be positioned away from the other, in scissor-like fashion.  This causes my hips to ache, so sleep is elusive for the most part.  However, looking on the bright side, I only have three more weeks to go with the cast.  On my next doctor visit on the 28^th, I should get a “walking cast”.  I’m hoping it will be the kind that I can remove while I’m sitting and sleeping.  I shouldn’t whine, though, because I know life could be much worse.  I’m thankful that I did not have a lot of pain from the surgery.  I don’t work, so there was no need to take time off from work.  AND…I should have better balance and no (or substantially less) foot pain after this is all over.

I do have to admit that the surgery has allowed me plenty of time for knitting and crocheting.  I’ve completed several projects already and when I’m not knitting or crocheting, I keep occupied with designing new patterns.  Before surgery, I loaded up a box with a fair amount of yarn and brought it up from my basement craft room because I didn’t want Charming to have to root through my stash to bring me what I needed.  (I think Charming’s sense of “manliness” would definitely have taken a hit if he had to sort through my yarn on a daily basis.) 

In addition, I have managed to fix a basic supper a couple of times…really just spaghetti and meatballs that I had made pre-surgery with store-bought sauce.  With Charming putting the pot of water on the stove and draining the spaghetti after it was cooked, we managed to have some semblance of a regular meal. 

I’ve also spent quite a bit of time surfing the internet.  It was on the internet that I found instructions to make “energy balls”.  These are protein-rich, bite-sized pieces of goodness that taste a lot like candy.   There are many different recipes, using many different ingredients to make these.  They are great when you feel that you need just a little something to eat, but you don’t necessarily want a full meal.  I don’t like to take any medicine on an empty stomach, so I find that a couple of these are just the thing to prevent any associated stomach discomfort.  I don’t really even measure the ingredients when I make these.  The objective is to end up with a really thick mixture that you can fashion into small mounds.  So I combine:  peanut butter, oatmeal, finely chopped raisins and prunes, honey, cocoa powder, vanilla, a little flax meal, and a little protein powder (Charming buys protein powder in big containers from Costco and uses the Nutri-Bullet given to us by my sister, Joyce, to whip up a shake on days when we do not eat meat).  After I make these, I store them in a lidded Pyrex container in the freezer so they keep their shape.  I stack them within the Pyrex container in layers, separated by parchment paper.  (Oddly enough, they don’t seem to freeze into hard chunks…they are soft and chewy, which makes them simply scrumptious!)  You could also add other nut butters, chopped nuts, other dried fruits, coconut, etc. and/or roll them in confectioner’s sugar or cocoa powder.  Depending on the protein and fiber content of the ingredients that you use, these could be especially helpful to the elderly or those who are “sickly”, as my Momma would say.  A few of these are much tastier than those expensive pre-packaged liquid protein shakes that you buy in the store.  Try whipping them up sometime…you might never be tempted to buy store-bought candy again!

Charming came up with this fix for my cold toes.  Warm, but...

My "idle mind" came up with this design to keep my toes warm.

It also sends a message to those who may come too close.

This sweater is my current knitted project.

The yarn is called "Fruit Cake"...quite appropriate for me!

My energy bites...rolling took too much time, so used a small scoop.

A close-up shows the oatmeal and chopped prunes & raisins.  Yum!!

Oh, My Aching Foot…

I’ve been limping around for almost a year due to what I like to call “Raspberry Over-Enthusiasm.”  Last spring, I transplanted about sixty raspberry bushes from the side of the house to a nice sunny location in the field, next to the garden.  Shortly after transplanting the bushes, my right foot began to hurt.  I limped around for a month or two and then limped around for another month or two, thinking that the problem would resolve itself.  Well, it didn’t.  So in November I began the long journey to my current location where I spend most of the day in my armchair recliner with two pillows under my heavily-bandaged foot, binge-watching episodes of “Call The Midwife”, religiously watching the clock to be sure I take the prescribed antibiotics and low-dose aspirin to prevent infection and/or blood clots. 

I had the foot surgery last Thursday.  The pain after surgery wasn’t nearly the howling experience that my mind had led me to believe it would be, thanks be to God.  After a day of taking pain killers, I stepped down to ibuprofen and I was able to wean myself off of the ibuprofen within three days.  The doctor says I will not be able to bear any weight on the foot for six to eight weeks, but due to a remarkable piece of equipment called a knee walker, I’ve been able to maneuver around the house a bit.  I’ve been able to go to the bathroom without help and get in and out of bed on my own.  I have also been able to fold laundry and wash dishes without much difficulty.  This morning I was able to sweep the kitchen floor, while scooting around the kitchen on the knee walker.  Although I had to ask Charming to use the hand-held vacuum to clean up the pile of dust and the effort did make my back hurt slightly from the awkward angle of holding the broom, being able to do these small tasks makes me feel a bit less like a lump. 

Prior to the surgery, I started working on a cute little crocheted crib blanket for a new great-niece who is scheduled to make her entry into the world in March.  I also started a crocheted short-sleeved cardigan for my sister who had a February birthday.  I have since finished both items, which turned out nicely.  In addition, I recently finished re-upholstering a footstool that my sister, Joyce, had picked up at the local dump.  The split bottom was badly frayed, so I removed the splits and covered the board with batting and brown vinyl.  The footstool is the ideal height for use as a cat perch so that our cats will be able to look out the living room windows at the farm.

All in all, I guess things are going really well for me.  Family and friends have been really kind with phone calls and visits.  Charming has kept me well-fed and entertained.  I don’t think a girl can ask for more than that.  I am now setting my sights on the prospect of planting my vegetable garden, working on the farm, and last, but not least…harvesting those dad-gum raspberries that caused me this pain in the first place.

The crib blanket that I crocheted for my great-niece who is due in March.

A close-up of this easy stitch pattern. It reminds me of ocean waves.

I designed & crocheted a stuffed duck to go along with the "wave" theme...

...the yellow & peach colors of the duck match the stripes in the blanket.

With leftover scraps of yarn, I made this heart garland to match the blanket.

A close-up of the whole set shown together.

The damage to this footstool appears to be from cat scratches.

Not a fancy re-do, but perfect for my cats to sit in the sun by the window.