I'm Back!!! (Again...)

I know it's been awhile, but my electronics mutinied and it's been awful.   After the strain of three, sometimes four people sharing the laptop, she died. No Bootable Media were her last words. I cried, only because I haven't backed anything up for the last month or so. Oh well, live and learn.

Our desktop was painfully slow. In the time it took to load a webpage you could make a pot of coffee, drink two cups, colonize a third-world country, find a cure for cancer, clean your house, raise a family and go on vacation. Luckily for me a friend of mine, ubergeek that he is, had two or three extra towers just sitting around his house so he gave me one. (Fantastic, charitable fellow, this is the guy who plays at the bar every other week, only accepting donations for the Second Harvest Food Bank of NW Pennsylvania. Great big standing ovation for Marty O'Connor please!!  And not to short change the rest of the guys, a myriad of extremely talented musicians accompany him whenever possible, which is most of the time. I'm horrible at names boys but The Unprofessionals are incredible too!!)

I'm trying to put a positive spin on this. I spend more time doing things now that I'm chained to the desk again. No more funny looking imprints on my thighs from having the laptop on there for days at a time.I've got a few things accomplished, a hundred more ideas on my to-do list and a relatively clean house.

And since it's a beautiful day, I'm off to get some stuff done so I have entertaining posts for you guys!!

Till then...

Here I Am!!

I can't believe it's been a month already! Sorry to disappear like that, but the desktop finally died, and four people sharing one laptop really doesn't work that well!!

I've kept busy, in addition to the usual upkeep around here, I've been slaving away in the attic. I am getting closer to having my meditation 'room'. There is alot of work that needs done up there. So far I have organized my crap and I've gotten 15 boxes of crap to donate to my nephew's rummage sale (and I'm only halfway through the abode).

I'm working on a few sketches, one showing the layout of the attic and what is there now, and one showing how my sanctuary will look when all is said and done! A few teaser pictures.....

The dormer that is going to be my meditation spot. Picture scarves, curtains, cushions. groovy lights.

 Due to lack of funds and such, for now I'm stapling window plastic everywhere to insulate a tidge, but mostly so that the hundred years or so of dirt stays off of my curtains and scarves and such. I absolutely lurve the 2 windows in attic, they're on hinges and open like little hobbit doors! The one in the picture has no glass in it. Until recently it was covered by a board, I have it wrapped in plastic for now (I have to open it for a breeze so my laundry dries faster!) and will have a friend put glass in it for me soonish.

I am on a mission to find rugs, curtains, anything really I can drape the walls in. I have had the best luck finding stuff at the the thrift stores! I even found some chairs for up there. I love half price day!!! I was only going to buy two of them, but I couldn't break up a happy family so I bought all four, for $20!

I'm definitely recovering the cushions, maybe painting them black.

 I've got my 'laundry area' going on. 50 feet of clothes line, 2 racks, 2 fans and 2 windows are working great!

The boards under the plastic are to 'bird-proof', story to follow!

I love how the attic is 'pre-sectioned' by the chimneys, I have the clothes line hung in the back of the attic (front of the house though) so that you don't have to duck underneath clothes to get to the sanctuary part.

On the 'must-do' list for the attic, in no particular order:

• plastic and cover the walls
• put in some outlets (right now my juice is coming from those delightful screw-in additions to the ceiling lights)
• sand and paint floors (replace a few missing floor-boards too!)
• curtains for storage access
• build closet type thingie 

Over the next few weeks, between garage sales and thrift stores, hopefully I can scrounge enough curtains, fabric, rugs and such to get most of it done. Later in the week I'll get more pics up.

I've also been going a bit crazy with the plants. I went from no plants at all to about 12 so far. Not counting the ones I've started! I can definitely feel a difference in the place since I've got more green! All but 4 are hanging now, the plants do much better when the cats aren't treating them as salad bars. Even my Niblet is coming back very nicely!

She was touch and go for awhile, but much better now!

Later this week I'll have more up. Atleast three, the attic, the plants, and the Bird story. I better get motivated now, it's Spring Break so the kids are home, and I've got to be to work soon!

Till then...

This Is Why I Have To Stop Reading Blogs.....

Today's MUST DO!!!!!

I so have to put a hold on all my blog reading. Here I am, wallowing through the lists of things I need to accomplish before next Saturday, I sit down to take a break , open up Google Reader and first post I see has these pictures...

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2011/02/diy-project-justinas-valentines-day-fort.html

http://sloanesspot.blogspot.com/2011/01/dream-rooms.html

And I start thinking, THE ATTIC!!!!   All that untapped living area!!!  Goddess knows I have the material, I have the furniture, I have the poles and such. Why can't I start small? MEDITATION 'ROOM'!!!

I can see it oh so perfectly in my head! The tent, the cushions, the lights, the candles. Want, want want!!

It is taking every bit of self control I have to not call off work today and start immediately!!!  I can't do it. I will go to work, make lots of money and then go completely crazy redoing my attic!!!

In my head the meditation room comes out beautifully and D completely lurves the idea and it's not a huge fight when I say, ever so slyly, 'Can't you just imagine our bedroom up here??'  And life is beautiful!

Ok, off to work. Have a great day!!!

Till then...

Cosmic 2x4

Every once in a while the Powers That Be decide I'm not paying attention and that I need the equivalent of a 2x4 to the back of my head.  I am a firm believer in signs, there's always something behind a coincidence.

I'm not going to get into the whole long, sordid story. Hell, I wasn't even there for the original drama. All I know is somehow I got sucked into an argument that never should have happened in the first place and only through some sort of incomprehensible drunken logic am I involved now. Or rather, I am removing myself from it.

Either way, it affected me way more than it should have. When I found out what was going on this morning I was rather shaky, twitchy, ready to take my frustrations out on the first person who looked at me. I have been trying so hard lately not to get that way. I don't enjoy feeling that way, and I know no one around me likes it either. I'm rather proud of myself, rather than freakin' & geekin' and starting World War III, I limited myself to one text message, instructing villian #1 to leave me out of said situation and to lose my number.(So I may have thrown in a few choice curse words, but I was upset.)

Rather than pace my house like some sort of caged animal, I got out, ran my errands, and like I usually do when I'm upset I cruised the thrift stores. Now mind you, in all my years of frequenting thrift stores, I have never seen any sort of religious statuary other than the usual Christian ones and the occasional Kwan Yin (which I always scarf up). I'm wandering around, thinking marginally good thoughts and this little brightly colored fella catches my eye:

Ganesha!! Hindu deity, sometimes known as Remover of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings, Lord of Obstacles, Deva of intellect and wisdom among other things.  (Go ahead, Google him, I am not that well versed in Hindu Theology, I had to when I got home!) I couldn't help but smile when I saw him.

I like to think that He's a sign I'm headed in the right direction. That the decisions I made today to cut certain emotional ties, while strengthening others is the best thing for me right now. That if I am to continue evolving myself into a healthier person, spiritually, emotionally and physically, then I am on the right path.

I can think of a hundred different cliches that I could put here, but I'm going to spare you. I'm off to evolve some more now.

Till then...

Word of the Day #19

Today's word is.....
                 Breathe.....
         (whirl, twirl, fall down)

I've been stepping back a bit, trying to find my groove so to speak. I get into these states where I rush around and rush around and for as hard as I try, I accomplish nothing. I know what I want to do, I just can't focus on one thing long enough to get it done. I'm getting buried in lists, ideas, half-finished projects, housework, drama and then, like a small child, I see something shiny and I'm distracted again....


I shouldn't say I have accomplished nothing, a few small things have managed to slip through the distractions. Hooks are up, most of the salad bars are out of business now that they are out of reach. Of course the hook hanging itself was quite comical. Not very often do I ask D for help but as I'm practically an oompa loompa height-wise I got him to operate the drill for me. And then I remembered why I very rarely ask for help.....

 

Atleast I know the hook will be secure....

I scored some cotton butchers twine at the dollar store and got three more plant hangers made today. Nothing fancy, I prefer the simple ones.

Have to love the chaos!!

My pothos in the living room, I have named her Niblet

There is also a much longer one that will be hung in the kitchen for my proposed herb planter. Let's see how long that one takes...

Also on the list of stuff I have actually accomplished....

• recycled a few jar candle messes into smaller easier to burn votives (have to love that little coffee cup hot plate thingie-ma-jig)
• Chopped my middle room curtains into valances, remaining material will become valances for the living room.
• repotted 2 aloe plants I scored at the thrift store. (Woohoo succulents!)
• held back the impending wave of filth my family insists on unleashing in the house

Of course, there is the list of half-finished jobbers...

• denim rag rug made out of D's old work jeans. If they were good enough for his tush, they're good enough for boots and shoes down in the entranceway. (Almost halfway done, need to shred more jeans)
• middle room shelf curtains (cut, need hemmed, hung and stenciled)
• yoga mat bag (cut, needs sewn & stenciled)

And the never ending list of things I must/want/need to do

• so not doing that to myself right now...

 So, for right now, I'm going to reevaluate my lists, remember to breathe and see what I can do.

Till then...

Mad Dash (intermission)

Woohoo!!  So much to do, so little time, so thankful for caffeine!

Where to begin the update???  Ah, Day 7, Operation Air Dry. Surprisingly enough, I am doing fine with no dryer. I've  never been so conscientious about laundry as I have been the last week. I honestly think the dryer dying on me was a blessing in disguise. Granted, Mini-Me 'cleaning' her bedroom has put me a few loads in the red, but for the most part I'm keeping up! I found an extra tension/shower rod in the attic so I either put that up in the boys lair or in the shower for extra shirt hanging space. I've got a system going on and it's working great!

Operation Make the apartment look like decent people live here going very well.  I've managed to stay one step ahead of the demon hordes who reside with me. Just don't open any doors or cupboards....

Operation Kitty Salad Bar/Spa. I'm managing to foil this one. I've spent the last few hours making hanging plant holders out of my mad hemp stash (that's hemp stash, we won't discuss the other stash). Nothing fancy, just something to keep my plants out of snacking range. My poor pothos is very ragged and my dwarf palm is not much better. For plants that are supposed to be poisonous to furry heathens, my cats are surprisingly healthy. Now I just have to grab some sort of hardware apparatus to hang said snack bars from.....

Operation Impending Doom.... Ah, the candle party. I don't often have people in my abode so I have a lengthy list of things that must be done, things I'd like done, etc. etc.

• repaint & stencil coffee table
• recover living room pillows
• make a yoga mat bag for my strat mat
• sew area rugs together (they look great but crack kitties skidding through house ala Tom Cruise/underwear scene makes them skitchy)
• New living room curtains (middle room curtains being converted to 4 valances)
• paint furnace door
• new shelf curtains in middle room
• slip cover for my vacuum & sewing machine(same fabric as above curtains)

I imagine most of that may get done. I'm hoping.....

Operation Quit reading other peoples blogs so I can quit adding to my lists of things I must try. Complete Failure. I have found so so so many things I want to try out..... decoupaging furniture, brown bag/glue treatment for the stairs, world peace, gardening (I am going to make a window box herb garden for my kitchen!!!) and a thousand other things....

Ok, intermission over. As soon as I get batteries I'll start posting pics of all my projects.

Till then...

Done(ish)

Well, it took a few hours to get D out of the living room, then a few more hours to get what I wanted done(ish)!!  Mini-Me even helped, mostly by offering sarcastically helpful remarks and occasionally picking up things and moving them!!! But, we're done!!!

Couch, love seat & chair all covered, rugs in place, furniture moved back. So now it's lazy time!

 

 

 

 

 

Check out Hostage Kitty lurking...

Wouldn't you know it, not a single live AA battery to be found in my house.... even the ones in the remotes aren't charged enough to run my camera!!  Cell phone pic will have to suffice for tonight. I'm relatively happy, for now. Curtains need to be changed, pillows need to be recovered, I guess it wouldn't hurt to dust (hehehe). That can all wait, I'm enjoying my chair, chilling with netflix and loving the fact that Mini-Me is making me dinner! I'm off to enjoy!!

Till then....

The Gods Love Me!

My dryer died. I'm not even sure how old it is, as it was given to me, but after 5 1/2 years of faithful service the motor has finally given out. D & his Dad pulled it apart once, freed the bearings and she dried two more loads but alas, she has fizzled again. So today I bit the bullet and went out and bought a new dryer. Well, two actually....

I have decided I'm not going back to the machine, atleast not for awhile. I'm interested to see if I can stick with doing the laundry this way. Our first 'natural' load is D's work jeans, if we can make that work, this'll be cake!! 

Why do the Gods love me, you ask? I originally headed to Valu Home Center to buy my new dryers, go all through the store only to find out their laundry racks are not available at that store. Frick, frick frick! I'm so not in the mood to go traipsing around town, but on a whim I head to K-Mart, figuring I can run in and run out.

Joy of joys, on the way back from grabbing my new toys, smack dab in the middle of the walkway is a display of area rugs on sale!!!  $19.99 a piece! I found my new living room rugs!! I can't wait for D to get the hell out of my living room so I can put them in!!! They're dark blue/brown/tan stripey things, I think they'll look great!

While we're talking about the living room, I think I have finally amassed enough fleece to redo all the furniture. As bizarre as this sounds, I cleaned out the dollar stores clearance fleece blankets, it was the perfect shade of navy and only $2.40 a piece. Over 5 or 6 trips, buying 2 or 3 each time, I've got enough. I sewed the cushion covers for the love seat last night and they turned out better than I expected. I'm almost sure I have it figured out where the seams will go where they will not be noticed. Besides, for as much as I love throws and pillows and the such, they can be covered!

Well, I'm off to tear things apart, put them back together, all that fun stuff!!

Till then...

Word of the Day #18

(start the light show.....)
     Today's word is.......
                       REDO!!!
        (random rejoicing, inappropriate dancing, carry on....)

Now that my place is more or less clean (I would be slightly embarrassed if you walked in right now, but it's bearable), it's time to touch up/change/revamp some things around here.

Pretty high up on the list is making new curtains for the middle room shelves, however sewing is not permitted right now according to Hostage Kitty:

 

 

 

 

You shall not pass (or get into your sewing boxes)

All of that black canvas I found for the Media Center From Hell is going to become embellishment for the shelves. I've got the stencil and paint out to throw on some lotus(es?) I'm pretty excited about that.  I should have enough left over to make a slipcover for the BRAND NEW SEWING MACHINE!!!!  (woohoo!!) Yes, I broke down and bought a new sewing machine. Tweety has gone back to live with D's sister. I have yet to name her, but it'll happen.

I've got a pile of lists going on here, To Clean, To Paint, To Sew, Must Do Today, it's rather geeky, but it helps. Tops today is getting my kitchen organized, the pantry is a mess, the fridge even worse. I'm pretty sure today is being devoted entirely to the kitchen and bath.

I better stop procrastinating and attend to my lists.....


Till then...


 

It's just like kindergarten.....

Remember all those really fun things you could get away with when you were little and cute??? Smearing glue and paint all over and you didn't have to use a brush, you could use your fingers?? Playing with the scissors and cutting cute little patterns out??  Setting things on fire??? Okay, maybe that last one wasn't exactly encouraged but being the pyro that I am, I always wanted to.

Just the other day I'm slinging beer, minding my own business, chatting with customers and I find out that my neighbor not only loves all things crafty, but has her own website! (Blatant plug-in, check out Just Craft Talk, not only is Robbie fun to talk to when you should be working, but she has some pretty cool ideas!) And in all this chatting she mentions Burning Stuff!!!  On purpose!!! I had never heard of burnt bag before but she marveled me with talk of smearing tacky glue all over brown paper bags and SETTING IT ON FIRE!!!!

Ok, so it's just a tidge more involved than that, for a more reliable set of instructions, mosey on over to this tutorial and check it out.

I have been wanting a lotus blossom candle holder for about forever now, and haven't been able to find one locally (or really have the budget....) so this started me thinking, why not try to make one?? So I combined my pyromaniac tendancies and a little deranged creativity and came up with this (so far):

I definitely want to add more petals, I'm definitely going to paint the cork and who knows what else I'll do to it. I'm pretty much jammed today but have the whole weekend to scheme and putter. The important thing is that I think it's going to work.

I'm off to be domestic.....

Till then....

How I Spent My Winter Breakdown....

Ok, so it wasn't technically a breakdown but just an extended blah.... I had no ambition, no drive, no sanity, etc. etc.

But I'm back, I'm feeling good, I'm actually quasi-human again!!

There's actually very little to update you on but a few highish points:

• I've decided to try and kill houseplants again. I have always had the worst luck with houseplants, but we're going on 3 weeks and I haven't killed them yet!! Of course, the furry beasts are treating them as some sort of salad bar. All I have to do is pull my water fountains out of the attic and I'll have some sort of cat spa for them....
• I finally got my Christmas decorations back in the attic!!!  (As of yesterday, yes it was a funk)
• I've gone back to work. What started out as helping out whenever a friend of mine needed help has turned into steady bartending again. To be honest with you, I did miss it more than I thought I did. It's what I'm good at and I'm happy. I miss being with the twitchies, but it's working out.

I've got a list a mile long of things I want to accomplish, but I'll fill you in next post.... I'm easing back into this!

Till then...

I'm back!!!

I finally crawled out from underneath that rock I've been hibernating under! I've got tons to fill you in on, and just as soon as I get the 47 errands I have to run, 2 dinners made and all the twitchies picked up I'll be back on and rambling like a crazy person!!!

Missed ya!!! Mwah!

Till then...