What the weeks holds and bye, bye broken fans

 I finished out last week by finally getting two ceiling fans down.  In their place are two simple light fixtures that require only 1 light bulb each. Praise. These fans worked well for 18 years so I would say we got our $100 worth out of each one.

And while I was at it, I swapped tables out in my sewing room, because this wooden one is just too big!

This week:

*today is the 3rd anniversary of losing Mom

*MUST arrange someone to come look at rebalancing or replacing my front door, because I think the wood is warped

*selling some estate jewelry

*on call one of the days

*getting a new laptop - I think mine is trying to die

*continuing on with some smallish home projects

*finishing this book 

Hmmm...kind of sounds like a lot, but I am spreading it out over several days!  What does your week look like?

Gina

5 thing Friday - boob lights, paint, chickpeas, front door, Gina

I don't know that there is necessarily a season for home projects - I feel I've been at it for the entire year. Or, five.

The electrician that installed my garage light will be coming today to remove the non-functioning ceiling fans in two of the bedrooms and install with these very simple light fixtures.  Are they fancy? No, just functional.  He laughed when I said I wanted boob lights.

These 5 gallon containers with a bit of leftover paint in them take up a lot of space in the garage.  So I bought some 2 qt. lidded containers at Home Depot and transferred enough to handle touch-ups. There wasn't much left and I will take them to the City of Austin recycle center. Along with those fans.

I reinforced the seal on the containers with a little cling wrap and tape, then labeled them and placed with my other touch up containers in the hall closet where they won't bake to death.

Another benefit of having actual storage space I can use.

Trader Joe's has these canned cumin and parsley chickpeas in olive oil that are delicious served cold on a salad!  I'm not normally a fan of chick peas, but this was very good.  I spent a little extra money on groceries this week to fill in some empty spaces in my freezer and fridge and eat healthier.

Its hard to see in this photo, but there is a gap in the front door and the weatherstripping needs to be replaced.  I don't know why I have been putting this off...probably I just don't want to do it.  But the cavalry is not going to arrive any time soon, so its on the list of things to address today. I also want to repaint the door and clean the whole area up.

I would also like to re-do the cling film on the transom, the skinny window,

and the dining room window.  Once upon a time, it was all this floral cling, but it has faded quite a bit (over at least 15 years) and I want something a bit different up there now.  The hardest part of this project was matching the seams, which sort of shrunk over time, leaving a tiny gap of light.  Its time for this to go.

If I'm being honest, I'm ready for a lot of things to go.  But they have to resolved in the right way, you know?  Everything takes time.

Gina

The butterfly

 My butterfly is still healing (even after two weeks), and its devilishly hard to take my own photo of her:

I never realized how freckle-y my arms are!

She was a whole adventure.  

I scheduled the consult. Cancelled the consult. Rescheduled the consult. Made an appointment for the tattoo itself. Sent photos to the artist who did not receive them. Went to the appointment anyway. We consulted again, then I got tattooed for two hours. Developed skin irritation all around the Tegaderm. Ran a fever - developed tattoo flu. Spent a lot of time on my couch. Had a mild(ish) anxiety attack. Kept her protected with Aquafor.  Went to work as usual at the end of the week. Oof. I think I am done with this experience now and I do love her, but I was not prepared for that roller coaster.

Sometimes I go into these "projects" with a little too much confidence, but I expect the best anyway!  

Gina 

P.S. Its Ok if everyone does or does not agree with getting a tattoo.  I wasn't going to take a poll.  But unkind comments about it, or anything really, will not be published here.  (:

5 thing Friday - biscuits, hanging trick, coat rack/shelf, yardwork, Bertram

 I had a hankerin' for a biscuit, so I bought some frozen jumbo sized ones.

I've been putting them in the oven, along with some link sausage, then splitting them when they're done and adding cheese and maybe a scrambled egg.  Not shown is some low sugar raspberry jam on the side and in no way is this healthy but boy, is it good.

Ok, so I ordered a shelf with hooks from Home Depot for the empty wall.  And the directions for assembly were simple, if not time-consuming.

I have a trick for centering things on the wall.  I use painter's tape and a Sharpie to mark where the hangers or holes are:

Like so.  Then I place the the tape on the wall where I want the item to go, using my yardstick and level to be sure the holes are centered and the item will hang straight.  Then I make a pilot hole, pull the tape off the wall, push in a wall anchor (if needed), and hang the item up.  Easy peasey.

For now the top shelf holds just simple decor.

And my tote and purse have a place to live.  I might hang art on the wall above the shelf, too.  But today is mowing day! Plus, I need to wash a month of dust and bird poop off my car.

The sprinkler going off without having to think about it is lovely.  The backyard smells cool and fresh on Thursday mornings and it looks like the grass has started growing again.  On Tuesday I sat out here and watched a rather large and beautiful skunk make its way down along the fence line into the neighbor's yard.  I sat there frozen in place, coffee cup in hand, ha ha.

After my pedicure yesterday I made my usual jaunt down the sidewalk to the Bertram Library thrift store.  Remember these coin operated horses?  There was one outside of every grocery store in the 60's.  We used to beg to ride the horse!  I wonder if this is for sale?

Then I went to the gift shop on the other end of the building and looked at everything.  Just bopping around shopping for nothing in particular can be very therapeutic.  This place is scented beautifully, too.

No trip to Bertram is complete for me without sipping wine and enjoying the peace and quiet out in what feels like the middle of nowhere.  I love it.

Happy weekend - September is slipping by!

Gina

What the week holds and an empty wall

A big expanse of white:

 That's all I see when I walk into the house from the front room, and I keep thinking I need to add something to the wall across from the bench. So that's a small thing I will work on this week.  But also:

*picking up a bunch of stuff from Home Depot

*meeting with book club about this book

*meeting a friend for a beer

*a pedicure followed by...

*...visiting my tiny winery in the country

And Monday of next week I will be off so I will bring out the To Do list and get another big thing crossed off.  What does your week look like?

(p.s. Blogger is not updating my reading list - you, too?)

Gina

5 thing Friday - a butterfly, garage light, side table, lunching, journaling

**I don't have it in me to reflect on Sept. 11th on this blog**

  

The butterfly that the tattooist came up with - and no, I didn't add anything else.

She's very pretty - but we did not discuss the amount of shading she was going to do!  I broke rule #1 which is make sure you agree on every. stinkin'. detail in advance. Its very pretty - don't get me wrong.  But she is still healing so I will show her in the future.

It was a four hour appointment, and this lady was very tired at the end of it!  I grabbed a few groceries, ate a very simple dinner, drank some wine, and was in bed before 9 p.m. Its amazing to me how quickly I get worn out in my old age.

A friend gave me a referral to an electrician to come install my garage light, so he came by yesterday and I can cross that off the list of things to fix.

Its nice to have light out here without having to open one of the doors. Not cheap, FYI.

He is also going to remove the broken ceiling fans from two bedrooms and replace with a standard light fixture - I just need to go buy those.  He said he wouldn't charge me the service fee when he returns as it only took him about 20 minutes to install the garage light. Sweet!  I have never liked the light from these fans and the bulbs are pricey.

The additional small table arrived and I had it put together in about 10 minutes. I just shopped my house for things to set on it for now.  For Christmas, the fiddle leaf fig will go live in the office and the Christmas tree will be set up in here.

My kids seem to "accidentally" leave things at my house*.  Since The Girl needed her quilt, I fixed her a birthday lunch  of mixed greens salad with apple vinaigrette, spicy pumpkin samosas, butternut soup, and this cake:

Its that viral cake mix where the guy tells you to throw the box away and add an extra egg, a stick of butter, extra vanilla, and milk. It bakes at a lower temperature, then you frost with a warmed up tub of chocolate icing.  This is The Girl's favorite cake combo!

She will be 35 tomorrow - how is that possible?

I have been journaling a LOT lately.  Its as though the mental dam broke and I have a lot to process.  I have found some great prompts on the internet - not all about grief.  Some colored pens help me stay engaged with it. I'm hoping I can destroy all of my journals someday, as the emotions in them are pretty frank.  But just in case? There is a disclaimer inside that says "these are my private thoughts and not meant for anyone else to read!".  

Everyone was warned, ha ha.

Gina

*I have a theory about that, but as I have said before, I am not a storage unit!

Drainage plan - will it work?

 I wouldn't even call it a project, but I have purchased a few things to help move rain drainage away from the house - in the event that we get any rain.  My mulch in the front gets washed sideways and down the driveway whenever it rains hard.  I sure am tired of sweeping it back into the beds.

For the downspout near the front steps, I added an adjustable extension to help the water flow a little more naturally towards the shrubs instead of soaking the foundation.  I also bought the self-tapping screws and new downspout bands to hold the ones on the side of the house in place.  Very minor fix-its, but still*.

For this empty-ish area of flower bed (to which I will add another shrub next spring), I had to devise something to let the water flow and not take the mulch with it. (that poor olive tree is suffering)

I bought some foam tubular pipe insulation (think pool noodle) and used some extra screen material I had along with some cable ties to rig up a sort of drain.

I pushed it against the house so it is less noticeable.  Hopefully the screen will keep the tubing from getting clogged.  Will it work?  I will find out!

You can't see either of these things from the driveway or sidewalk.  Left to do? Maybe spruce up the mulched areas, run the sprinkler on a regular basis (duh, Gina), and powerwash the walkway. I would also love to tackle the rust stains on the driveway near the garage doors.

But none of that is happening this week as I am giving myself something of a small break from the heat and doing mostly indoor projects.  What about you?

Have a good week!

Gina

*every small thing I learn or project I undertake only adds to my confidence!