Tile layout

I bought these terra cotta yiles from Mexico at a garage sale 3 years ago; don't ask me why(not exactly country) except when you have a 12 room fixerupper, you look for quality pieces at bargain prices. I had just enough to cover the hearth so I better not break any...

Notes are important!

You know how you are sure you can remember brilliant thoughts for later reference...HA! Yesterday I spent an hour playing with tiles designing the hearth. Because they are handmade, they needed to be placed in a certain order. It was absolutely beautiful. I admired the pattern, took them off my practice board and moved them upstairs to the base.
Needless to say, it took another hour for me to rearrange the forgotten pattern...

Pack it up

I thought it was difficult to move 30 years of accumulation to a a new house. Dealing with someone else's is near impossible. I have to learn not to ask whether this stays, goes or get tossed. I will have to be ruthless if it is ever to get finished.

Going green with my Pazzles

Today I took a much needed rest from the bedroom (remodeling, that is) and spent half the designing and creating these little boxes out of recycled cans and jar lids. The Pazzles made the cutting a breeze because all I had to do was input the diameter of the circles to size them perfectly.
Of course you can do it the old fashioned way with scissors too...

Just make sure the lids and cans are the same size...you can mix and match. The card stock insert holds the two together.

Recipe
2 lids or cans of the same diameter
2 inside circles of card stock glue inside after installing insert
2 outside circles any paper or material for top and bottom
for the card stock insert (I lined mine with matching paper)...Measure the circumference and add 1/2 inch overlap.. and height of the 2 cans together.glue to bottom can inside.
Embellish the top with whatever and hide a gift inside!

Is that actually the sun?

So many gray days this summer.
I haven't had to water my gardens since the beginning of June.

Filter your posts

You know how you think..."Did I say that out loud?"
Some people ( we won't mention any names), should think... "did I actually BLOG that out loud?"

Dread

Tuesday we get an estimate for foundation repair...

Gestation of a faux fireplace

Want a fireplace with all the ambiance and none of the heat? We ordered an electric insert and grate for a custom built corner fireplace (hubby power) Here's a sneak peek. I guarantee it will look nothing like this when we are finished;O)
Mari

New floor in an afternoon

Well maybe 2 days, because hubby and I aren't quite as limber as we used to be.
Truthfully, the hardest thing about installing this floating laminate flooring by Trafficmaster, is carrying the boxes up the stairs. The finished product looks just like wood flooring without all the work (or cash)...we got ours for under $2 a sf. There is virtually no waste because only the end pieces get cut and if you have them in the right direction (ask me how I know) the job is a cinch. Knee pads are a must, as is a utility knife and a square. This is the second room we've done with this product and we love it. It goes right over existing floors or tile with no underlayment. Because our house is 150+, we have rooms where this would not be suitable because the floors are not level.

What inspiration?

Okay...so the bluebird was definitely a contender but other things may have influenced me just a tad...

Feeling Blue

Scroll down to my little bluebird and you'll get a sneak peak at the color scheme for my new master bedroom (formerly the upstairs kitchen). Here's the awesome bed Peter built for me! He's building a faux corner fireplace now and I have some really gorgeous mexican tiles in cobalt and white to put on the hearth.
The ceiling came out fantastic.

A visit from little boys

and you thought we were finished

Mom and Dad's Wedding day

















Mom & Dad 1953










Susie Hayes and Dottie circa 1967

So you think 40 years makes a difference?

I'm in the process of decluttering my mother's house so she can put it on the market and of course I am finding all sorts of things mother's put away and forget about...Art, poems, pictures and such...tossed in a drawer to be discovered decades later.

"And I took the road less traveled and that has made all the difference"