Good Stuff

First and best-Millie sailed through her heart procedure and was released from the hospital today.  They cleaned up a bunch of scarring and said she will feel much, much better.  They will come home tomorrow.  She said it was an interesting experience, being admitted to such a large hospital, and the specialists are there to treat you, not be your friend.  She got just what she needed, though, so we're super happy with her care.

I told Sam that his parents would be home tomorrow and and he said, "But Gramma, I just got here!"  Does Gramma's heart good to hear that.  He later admitted that he misses his mommy.

We got the pew put together and on the porch.

A nice place to sit on sunny days, watching the world go by.  Nobody notices us because of the trees, so we can enjoy relative privacy right on the front porch.

I think I'll make some nice semi-weatherproof cushions so our world-watching is a bit more comfy.

What We did Today

Well, actually we started a few weeks ago, ordering carpet and clearing the "stuff" out of the two extra bedrooms. The carpet finally came in and yesterday we worked like dogs carrying things out to the garage. Then today two nice young men came and put in some very pretty carpet.


We did two rooms-we need to redo the master bedroom and the bathrooms but I think that can wait a bit-costs money and it's a boatload of work! I know in my heart that some of the stuff filling up my stall in the garage won't make it back upstairs. Craigslist here we come!

It's a bit lighter than I anticipated, but it's in the bedrooms and we can get some throw rugs. The carpet came just in time because we are gaining two roommates-our son Steve and his son Sydney. Steve's wife has asked him for a divorce, and Sydney will be living mostly with his dad but some with his mom, too. They'll be here for a couple of months, but they're both a pleasure to be around so it shouldn't be any problem.

In other news, I finished Grandma's socks! I used the self-striping Deborah Norville sock yarn that is a blend of merino wool, nylon and bamboo. It's so warm and soft-she sleeps in socks even though, being an elderly lady, she wears nylons during the day. She'll have some cozy nights.

I own three pairs of US size 2 sock needles, so I knitted these together until I got to the heel gusset. That way I was assured of a stripe match and I got it-I think they are a perfect match! Too bad that will be lost on Gram because of her macular degeneration. She'll still enjoy them. Oh, and did I mention these are part of my ambitious sock Christmas? Got a few more to do-started right out on a blue variegated for a five year old boy.

Time For a Change

I've been eyeballing my bedroom window for some time now. Several years back, I decided to make a window quilt to insulate the bedroom from our cold, cold winters. I made an Irish chain quilt and backed it with drapery lining, put batting inside along with a space blanket, then quilted it a bit. (A space blanket is the thin metallic blanket that firefighters carry in forest fires to insulate themselves in case the fire backs up and they can't escape. They also work to keep you warm in very cold weather.)

Only one problem, though. The quilt insulated so well that too much moisture built up on the windows. We have too much humidity in our house anyway, and this compounded the problem. I had to keep a towel rolled up in the window track and even then the moisture invaded everything.

Not pretty, eh? I could only handwash the quilt and couldn't do that very often because the space blanket couldn't take too much agitation.

Well, yesterday was THE DAY! I rooted through my stash and came up with some fabrics that I thought would be in keeping with my theme. I made a set of curtains, underlined, and put tabs at the top to hang them by. I wanted the openness to let the moisture escape. I like the finished product-it's a bit busy but I think we'll get used to it.

Kind of a log cabin, fisherman-outdoorsy theme. I'm not the typical woman-I don't care for flowery chintzy frou-frou decor. I like the serenity of the greens and blues and the feeling of being by a lovely lake.

The curtains join other things I've made for the room, like the hooped birds above my bed, made about twenty years ago:


And the loon quilt I made about ten years ago:


The colors of the curtains are a bit more brown-and-tan than I really wanted, so I added panels at the top and bottom that are a teals and greens fish pattern. It's fine-we just sleep there, but it is nice to wake up to such a serene scene. And I can throw it in the washer!

What We've Been Up To Lately

That nasty hailstorm did a real number on our roof, so we have builders making a mess for us.


There are benefits. I always wanted a tubular skylight, so we seized the opportunity to buy one and have the guys install it.



What a nice thing to come home to tonight! It's amazing how much light those things let in.

My kitchen and dining room, formerly kind of gloomy, feel very happy now.

Fibbing Contractors

Our house was built in 1981. Our builder assured us that we were getting only the best materials-the plywood was 5/8" and so was the sheetrock. Some of the sheetrock was, but not all, and when our roofers uncovered our roof yesterday they found 1/2" plywood instead of 5/8" They had to fix several water-damaged spots. The builder got early delivery on our windows and left them lay in the mud for two weeks in a rainy April. Nothing fits right, the patio door wouldn't slide, and the windows steam up between the thermal panes. And a month before the house was finished the builder went to New Mexico to help his brother build his house, leaving us with the company owner, who charged us about $5000 more that what the original guy had quoted. Just gotta love it when they do you over. Wish I could tell the world the name of the contractor to keep other people from being burned, but I have ethics even if he didn't.

The Other Boy's Sweater

I just realized I've been negligent in posting about the red sweater-Sam's birthday present that is a buddy to Sydney's. I did finish this one before the birthday-it was well received by Mom, but the birthday boy just pitched it over his shoulder when he realized it was more clothes! I know he'll love wearing it this winter, so my feelers aren't hurt one bit.

I actually had a bit of time to take shots of the sweater mid-block, instead of on a wiggly preschooler.


Both sweaters had these buttons. The package had trains, cars and airplanes. I put cars and trains on Syd's; and cars and airplanes on Sam's.


The best part of the sweater is the hood. I think I need to find a different pattern, though. One that is knitted more in one piece. I got pretty sick of sewing them together.

Now I'm working on February Lady in a soft off-white Lion Brand yarn for myself. I'm almost past the yoke and I have the three buttonholes done. I might make it short sleeved instead of the 3/4 sleeve the pattern calls for. I've wanted to make a short sleeved, off-white sweater for a long time to go over light dresses and this just might fill the bill.

In other news, the roofing materials were delivered yesterday. Jeremy has one other job to finish and then we're next. We're going to have him put in a tubular skylight while he's at it-we'll pay for that out of our own pockets. The roofers in the area are doing a booming business after the hailstorm three weeks ago, but there sure is a difference in pricing. Can we say, "taking advantage of the situation?" I think Jeremy will get more jobs since he isn't gouging us.

My Kitchen Chairs

For a long time now, I've been totally frustrated with the chair pads that are supposed to fit the farmhouse style chairs. Mainly they DON'T fit! So after much thinking and working through stuff in my head I finally came up with the solution.

This is the old cushion. Notice how it doesn't fit at all and half the pad hangs off the chair. Also, even with the ties, it moves-like all over. I put the no-skid rug liners under them which helped, but they still moved a lot. The ties would tear right out of the pad.

What to use for the cushion? Foam is expensive, and it compresses after a while and you don't have that comfort you need in a wooden chair. I was strolling through Jo-Ann's one day with a coupon in my hot little hand when I came across this stuff. It's compressed, bonded polyester batting, 2 inches thick, and it looks to me like it isn't going anywhere very soon.

Now to the travel problem. I decided that I wasn't going to put ties on, instead I went with the rug lining stuff, but I used another coupon and got the good stuff. I found out there is a right and wrong side to this stuff so I was sure to have the stickiest side to the outside.


I used fabric from my stash and knew I didn't have enough to do both top and bottom, so I lined the no-skid with a yucky looking flesh colored fabric I knew wouldn't show. I made them about 16" before ruffle. I wanted a wider ruffle, but that was not possible with the amount of fabric I had. I think it looks fine.

And the finished product! I think it looks smashing if I do say so myself. They're just as comfortable, maybe more so, since you don't have to constantly shift the pad. Annnd...no moving-none, nada, not one bit. Hooray!

One small confession-I only have three finished. The other five are cut out and ready for assembly. I hope my ADD doesn't kick in until I get them all done.

Triumph!

My kitchen and bathroom cabinets have been showing 28 years of wear. Knowing we don't want to stay forever in this house, and whoever buys it will probably replace all the cabinets, I decided to do a fix-up job.

First I scrubbed them with trisodium phosphate, rinsed, let dry, then I sanded, stained, and put two coats of polyurethane on them. (See previous post about having an occupied garage.) The guy at Walmart who said he refinished furniture for a living, said it couldn't be done, he said I would have to completely strip the cabinets and doors, then start from scratch. I told him these are old cabinets and I'm not putting that much time and money into something that someone might tear out in five years.

Well, here are the results.


The first picture is the worn cabinet, after scrubbing and sanding. The second is after the stain. I used a gel stain-I like the way it doesn't drip or splatter. I'll use it again.

And here are the final results:

Not so bad if I do say so myself!

An aside- DH decided he had to help me reinstall the doors, and as we speak he's trying to figure out how to fix the broken screws that are stuck in one door in our bathroom. His motto is, "If hard is good, harder must be better," and he broke them clean off. If he would have just left me alone..............