Since I'm not completely done, I couldn't count this step as complete, but as of 7pm, thar be green here! As I had hoped the walls glow with an inner light making that basement room look completely different. I think it also looks a bit bigger. It does need that second coat. Between the heavy texture on the walls and the drastic color change, one coat just couldn't do it. I'd planned on two coats, though, so I'm all set.
I'm really looking forward to putting together a decorating scheme for the room. I have several ideas, but I'm still on the lookout for good ideas. Several people that I know have lime green craft rooms, but I don't know anyone with a bright green tv room. We're going to need to get some furniture as well as new decor, so I'll be checking out both online and brick-and-mortar sources of fun decorating goodies. Maybe this will finally be the excuse I need to pay a visit to Tai-Pan Trading. Been wanting to go there since it opened!
On a related note, I had really forgotten how exhausting painting can be. I've had to reduce my usual gym workouts this week to compensate for all the up-and-down while I've been painting this week. And, I've discovered that it gets surprisingly hot down there, too. I'll have to remember that if I try to exercise down there once we get all the media goodies moved.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Step Two -
When I got ready to paint today, I realized that there was a lot more prep work that still needed to be done. So, I started out by patching some holes and removing some hardware. While I was tidying up, I found a few long, black dog hairs. lol! Cassie's legacy still lives on.
I got all the trim painted. Looks so smooth and bright. I didn't realize how much that the old paint had aged. I also got all the patched areas primed. Sam came through and moved the satellite hookups for me, then Mike repaired the dry wall.
And in a garden side note, I picked and ate a couple of apricots today! They were delish. Silly birds are taking advantage though. Going to have to do something about that.
I got all the trim painted. Looks so smooth and bright. I didn't realize how much that the old paint had aged. I also got all the patched areas primed. Sam came through and moved the satellite hookups for me, then Mike repaired the dry wall.
And in a garden side note, I picked and ate a couple of apricots today! They were delish. Silly birds are taking advantage though. Going to have to do something about that.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Step One -
I just finished painting the ceiling of the being-refurbished family room.
Can you tell that Mike is away at Scout camp again. lol!
Can you tell that Mike is away at Scout camp again. lol!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
In The Garden - July 7
Although you can't tell by looking at me, I have unlimited willpower! I am totally in control of my appetites. For today, at least. And I have proof...
When I went to work in the garden today, I found this perfectly ripe Early Girl tomato. Did I pounce upon it immediately and gobble it all up? No! Did I grab it and run for the house and the salt shaker? No! I walked all the way into the house, grabbed the camera, went out and took a photo for posterity! Then...I grabbed it and gobbled it up. It was absolutely delicious! Nothing tastes better than that first red ripe tomato, in my opinion.
The garden is growing very well. Except for my peppers. For some reason, they are just limping along. That is just not going to work for me. If I don't have at least sixty large peppers to put into the freezer for the winter, I'll run out about February when the store-bought peppers are $2 a piece. Today, I sprayed the peppers (and all the garden) with Miracle-Gro hoping that a shot of micronutrients will get them going. I would imagine that they are still resentful of our cold, wet spring and are showing their displeasure by poking along. That is going to change, if I have any say in the matter.
When I went to work in the garden today, I found this perfectly ripe Early Girl tomato. Did I pounce upon it immediately and gobble it all up? No! Did I grab it and run for the house and the salt shaker? No! I walked all the way into the house, grabbed the camera, went out and took a photo for posterity! Then...I grabbed it and gobbled it up. It was absolutely delicious! Nothing tastes better than that first red ripe tomato, in my opinion.
The garden is growing very well. Except for my peppers. For some reason, they are just limping along. That is just not going to work for me. If I don't have at least sixty large peppers to put into the freezer for the winter, I'll run out about February when the store-bought peppers are $2 a piece. Today, I sprayed the peppers (and all the garden) with Miracle-Gro hoping that a shot of micronutrients will get them going. I would imagine that they are still resentful of our cold, wet spring and are showing their displeasure by poking along. That is going to change, if I have any say in the matter.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
A Sense of Security
Just as I'm finally getting a handle on the weeding and flower maintenance, the harvest has begun!!! No, I'm not talking about the five or so pounds of sugar snap peas that Mike and I have consumed in the last couple of weeks. I'm talking about the kind of harvest where I spend hours in the kitchen processing yummy things and then we have delicious goodies in the pantry to eat all winter.
Both the strawberries and the red currants ripened at the same time this year. I consider that a real boon as the strawberry currant juice is much more than the sum of its parts. The six pints that I bottled today are a little over half of the harvest. The rest of the berries should be ready by the weekend, so I'll be back in the kitchen then.
Oh, and in case you wondered what all the whooping and hollering was earlier today, I finally worked up the nerve to edit the registry on my computer. I've managed to get the printer working again. I have been lost without the ability to print. Oh, yeah. I'm a geek.
Both the strawberries and the red currants ripened at the same time this year. I consider that a real boon as the strawberry currant juice is much more than the sum of its parts. The six pints that I bottled today are a little over half of the harvest. The rest of the berries should be ready by the weekend, so I'll be back in the kitchen then.
Oh, and in case you wondered what all the whooping and hollering was earlier today, I finally worked up the nerve to edit the registry on my computer. I've managed to get the printer working again. I have been lost without the ability to print. Oh, yeah. I'm a geek.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Missionary Monday - June 28
Ben is halfway through his MTC training. Funny how it seems like just yesterday that we dropped him off, but it also feels like he's been gone a long time.
The title of his e-mail last week was 'Proper Etiquette around Apostles'. The mission president training has begun and so the First Presidency and all the Apostles come in to teach parts of the training. I've been praying for Ben to have lots of spirit-enlarging experiences while he's in the MTC. Casually meeting Elder Nelson was apparently one of those this week. Ben has never been easily impressed by 'famous' people, but he has certainly been touched by his meetings with General Authorities over the last several weeks. New Caledonia is a long way from Salt Lake City, so I'm hoping that these opportunities to spend time with the Lord's anointed will help carry Ben through the hard days.
Ben also talked about the opportunity that he had to clean the Provo temple during its annual closing. Fortunately, hard work is something that Ben understands, so cleaning in the temple for a change rather than his usual participating in ordinances is still a good experience!
The title of his e-mail last week was 'Proper Etiquette around Apostles'. The mission president training has begun and so the First Presidency and all the Apostles come in to teach parts of the training. I've been praying for Ben to have lots of spirit-enlarging experiences while he's in the MTC. Casually meeting Elder Nelson was apparently one of those this week. Ben has never been easily impressed by 'famous' people, but he has certainly been touched by his meetings with General Authorities over the last several weeks. New Caledonia is a long way from Salt Lake City, so I'm hoping that these opportunities to spend time with the Lord's anointed will help carry Ben through the hard days.
Ben also talked about the opportunity that he had to clean the Provo temple during its annual closing. Fortunately, hard work is something that Ben understands, so cleaning in the temple for a change rather than his usual participating in ordinances is still a good experience!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
In The Garden - June 26
AKA Tomato Watch 2010. LOL! Every year, I'm absolutely starving for tomatoes by June. Every year, I don't get my first fresh, home-grown tomato until July. Can you see why June is generally not my favorite month??? This year, I planted four varieties of tomatoes: Early Girl, Italian Paste, Sweet 100 and our new favorite, Sungold, a cherry-sized yellow tomato. All the plants are growing well. All the plants are blooming. *sighs* None of the plants has an edible tomato yet.
These are the infant paste tomatoes...
...they're about the diameter of my little finger, which is admittedly, not very big.
In other news, the possibly radioactive pea plants are filled with pea pods. Just waiting for the pods to swell a bit more beforepouncing harvesting them.
Do you know what this flower is?
While it bears more than a passing resemblance to Deadly Nightshade, this is not one of my freaky herbs. It's my potato patch. Flowers blooming is a sign that the potatoes underground are about the size of a golf ball. We usually wait until Pioneer Day to start harvesting so that we get a little more potato for our labors, but I'm craving fresh roasted potatoes. Don't know how long I can hold out.
For the next week or so, the main yard task (excepting watering, which will be an ongoing battle until September) will be deadheading the spring blooms. So far, I've deadheaded the lilacs, daffodils and nicotiana. Got a long list still to do. One truth about being a gardener...the job security is rock solid. There's always more to do in the garden.
Have to give a shout out to Carin and Nathan who just celebrated their seventh anniversary! Congratulations you two! So glad to have you and your family as part of my life.
These are the infant paste tomatoes...
...they're about the diameter of my little finger, which is admittedly, not very big.
In other news, the possibly radioactive pea plants are filled with pea pods. Just waiting for the pods to swell a bit more before
Do you know what this flower is?
While it bears more than a passing resemblance to Deadly Nightshade, this is not one of my freaky herbs. It's my potato patch. Flowers blooming is a sign that the potatoes underground are about the size of a golf ball. We usually wait until Pioneer Day to start harvesting so that we get a little more potato for our labors, but I'm craving fresh roasted potatoes. Don't know how long I can hold out.
For the next week or so, the main yard task (excepting watering, which will be an ongoing battle until September) will be deadheading the spring blooms. So far, I've deadheaded the lilacs, daffodils and nicotiana. Got a long list still to do. One truth about being a gardener...the job security is rock solid. There's always more to do in the garden.
Have to give a shout out to Carin and Nathan who just celebrated their seventh anniversary! Congratulations you two! So glad to have you and your family as part of my life.
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