The Colors Of My Life

Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this? no. Just as one can never learn how to paint.
Pablo Picasso Quotes - Spanish Artists
Good Morning from Harmony Acres!  The sun is shining and all is well. Becky is off to the Tulsa Airport to catch her plane for Palm Springs, CA. via Denver.  She is expected back from this business trip on Friday night. She e-mailed her final exam for this semester yesterday (so close to that Master's Degree) and has a summer class lined up (she is relentless when she makes a commitment).  We have a small window of opportunity to work together on our home projects beginning next weekend after I get home from work.  

This project has languished so long, I almost forgot the cabinets ever had doors.

With Beck gone this week (miss her already and feeling a little lost); I  need to get to work and make some strides in my home improvement endeavors (need to wait a few days for outside work as the ground is saturated by the rain).  There is so much to do, I am momentarily at a loss as to where to start.  Finish painting the kitchen cabinets? Finish painting the ceiling? Finish painting the garden room?  Paint some of the furniture in the garden room?  I see an ongoing theme here with paint.

First, let's get a plan.  I have to go into Muskogee on Wednesday or Thursday to pick up a package for Becky, so I will plan my week around that.   Checking out my supplies on hand, it looks like finishing the kitchen cabinets is the winner (this has turned into the project from hell. Ever had one of those?)  I can pick up the hardware at Lowe's  on my trip into town and have some of the doors back on by the time Beck gets home. Boy, will she be surprised! This has been a months long project with no end in sight because of the extra work involved with so many animals.

Before

Just Need Hardware to be: After

While I was at it, I decided to go ahead and pull the drawers out and finish painting them (why not? I'm already covered in paint).  The front panel was the only thing that was painted (we did that so we can put the drawer pulls on to pull open). Hence, the name "drawer pulls". 

A work in progress.

It doesn't look like I accomplished much but let me tell you, I am pooped.  Not as young as I used to be; not as old as Methuselah (969 years).  Fall somewhere in between.  No, I won't get any more specific than that and it's not polite to ask my earth years.  My Spiritual age is eternal.  How is it that the conversation always seems to be about me?  I already told you that I am not narcissistic.

I really miss Becky.  She is the other color that makes me sing.  She is my joy, my laughter, my balance.  What a glorious gift from God to be her Mother.  Thank you, Lord!
 

In honor of Mother's Day this Sunday, here's a little something for you.

Who ran to help me when I fell,
And would some pretty story tell,
Or kiss the place to make it well?
My mother.

Ann Taylor

 

Results of Positive Thinking

Secret #8
A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory.
Arthur Golden

Today I have decided to reflect on the projects that we completed in 2010.  Sometimes, we get so caught up in the struggles of the present that we forget our past victories.  Here are a few of our success stories.

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David gave us a greenhouse frame which absolutely delighted us. Becky and I covered it with plastic and planted lots of seeds.  By the time we finished planting there was no room left in our beloved greenhouse.

CHRISTMAS 2010

I made Becky and Maggie matching aprons.


 

Maggie says, "Thank you, Uncle David.  I love the mailbox you put up."

Before:  A little trail to washer & dryer.




After:  From junk room/garage to garden room.



Now that we have made progress in the garden room, it has quickly become our favorite room.

Mom, tell that d.o.g. this is my spot.

Mom, tell that c.a.t. this is my spot.

Before

After

In a small kitchen, every space must be utilized.  Using the scrap lumber left over from our peg board project, I create a spice shelf on both sides of the cabinets next to the kitchen sink.  Bad news is, I've only finished one.



And last but not least, my very favorite of all time projects:




From empty wall to unlimited storage!

 

When I first came up with this idea, Becky was not overly enthusiastic. However, being the dutiful daughter, she supported me in my craziness. I called upon my long suffering and only brother, David, to help me once again.  We went to Lowe's Home Improvement Store so I could pick out what I wanted and then he selected the other stuff we would need to get the job done (I can't worry myself with things like screws and boards to mount it on.  That's what I have him for). 

He measures, cuts, adjust and slowly my idea comes to life.  Did I mention, he is patient and long-suffering.  Anyway, when we are finished, we have enough peg board left to put up in the garden room in my craft corner. The scrap lumber I used to make my spice shelves.

A day or two after the peg board goes up, Becky is still a little unsure about the visual effects it creates.  That night we decide to watch a movie on Netflix.  We chose "Julie and Julia".  Toward the end of the movie, Julia moves into a new home.  There is a scene of them in the kitchen and to my absolute surprise, what do you think her husband is putting up in the kitchen?  Oh, yeah, peg board for pots and pans.  Apparently, I'm not the only one that thinks it's a great idea! If it is good enough for Julia, it's good enough for me. Sweet Vindication!

Considering where we started, we really have come a long way.  There is still chaos, as there is anytime you are a work in progress, but I know this year we will finally have a home to be proud of.

Thank you for visiting today.  Sometimes it's hard work to live simply.

The Ugly Truth

Secret #3
There are homes you run from and homes you run to.
                                                          Laura Cunningham

Time to face the ugly truth.  In our home chaos reigns. I want to run but who is willing to take in a not real old lady dragging a herd of animals? My sister, Joyce, on the other hand, has created a home that just oozes country charm.  When God handed out talent and creativity, she received a double portion.  She is one of those people that instinctively knows how to drape a piece of fabric, grow plants like it's a rain forest and paint her own pictures to hang on the wall.  She has the kind of cozy, comfortable home that you want to run to.  Apparently, she being the older one, depleted the gene pool of the best talent and I got what was left.  I'm not jealous.  No, really I'm not.  If I say it enough times, you might actually believe it.

Anyway, back to me. A sea of unfinished projects that are complete and beautiful in my creative mind but a very sad sight in reality loom like the monster in the closet.  So now I am ready to bare my shame before the world and share with you visual images of my good intentions lost in time to more pressing issues (like staying afloat in a world gone financially mad). So suspend your disbelief that one little not old lady could possibly cause such havoc and have a look in my not so hidden places. 

Even though our kitchen is smaller than any other room in our home (except the bathrooms), this is the heart of our home.  So this is the logical place to start because a healthy heart is vital to the workings of a healthy body or home. Don't I sound ever so wise?  It's all an illusion you know. Sorry,I digress or procrastinate  or simply lose my focus for a moment.  I'm told that can happen sometimes when your mind is saturated with so much information it just blinks for an instant.



Finish putting up trim in kitchen

 Next on my list are the kitchen cabinets. What a dreadful sight this is.  Well, at least I don't have any trouble finding anything with the doors off.  It also makes it easier to create a shopping list at a glance. 



O.K. now on to the ceiling throughout the house.  Don't judge me too harshly on this one because I first have to wet and scrape the popcorn ceiling off (nasty, nasty, nasty, messy, messy, messy) and then repaint with a light texture added to cover all the imperfections. Kinda sounds like having a facial scrub, huh?  

Clearly defined loss of motivation.

 In order to clear out the converted garage/garden room, the stuff had to go somewhere.  The barn is full so I had no choice but to dump it in the front yard until I can connect the new battery in the lawn mower and using my cart haul it up to the dumpster which is, of course, up by the aforementioned mailbox.  It looks like my house threw up in the front yard. Yuck! I expect Becky's friends from the EPA to declare us a Superfund Site at any moment.



This is only a fraction of the stuff from inside.  Also, have to finish putting up trim on porch and painting.

There is much, much more but I'm just exhausted looking at this list.  We will start tomorrow with what we have so far and see if it takes me to a good place or if it takes me back to Lowe's Home Improvement for more supplies and ideas.

Thank you for joining me today.  The adventure continues as we begin with finishing the kitchen cabinets and striving for a simple home that people want to run to.