Coffin of memories

OOoh - sorry for the creepy title! 

Part of what I do when I sit out in the garage is look around at all I have accomplished and remind myself that I am hardworking, courageous, smart.  I like to think that takes some of the sting out of the resentment.

I will never tired of all this empty space

I was sitting here last week and mid-rant thought "what if I move that cedar chest and add another shelf?"  I knew there was at least one extra long shelf in the attic. Easy peasey.  I emptied the cedar chest, purged and organized its contents, and stored them in that big storage box I bought to live inside the guest closet.  Then I hauled the chest out into the open.  At one point, I thought I would repair and paint it.

heavy, damaged, and stinky

All afternoon, I had a sad, gloomy feeling.  But when I went to bed I firmly banished the ghosts by stating: "This is my house.  I am in charge of all of these things. I will not create a situation of overwhelm for my children. None of us will drown in possessions or someone else's memories.  We all deserve to love and remember without the added burden of what to do with Mark's 3rd grade artwork and photos of Marie's second husband's grave.  Plus, I am doing the best I can to care for my home and it's contents." *

clean and neat, 'twill be sweet

This garage serves my purposes. I can park my car here. I can easily access all of my Christmas decor and etc. It will be clean and neat - not smell like mothballs and decay.  The cedar chest, a coffin of old memories, can go to someone who is willing to put the work into restoring and using it.  That person will not be me. Adding another shelf will be a quickie task this week!

Gina

*why do people take photos of freshly filled gravesites heaped with flowers, and then save them for photo albums?  Its chilling. My opinion.

5 thing Friday - arthritis, vinyl window film, storage bin, new jeans, Thanksgiving sammie

Maybe its been all the projects I have been doing, maybe its just old age, but the base of my thumb has been back to aching.  Weird, since it isn't even my dominant hand.

I probably need to go back to using Voltaren, but in a pinch the Tiger Balm and a brace help me at bedtime.  Lately it seems a lot of old injuries are coming back to life: elbow tenonitis, my janky knee, and the ever-present arthropathy in my shoulder. I refuse to let this slow me down.

I bought the vinyl film to re-do the dining room window and the front transom window.  I will probably get to that next week.  I had a 20% off coupon at Lowe's that was about to expire, though there is no actual rush on the project itself. I would like for the year to wind down, project-wise, but this will be an easy fix-it.

I also used that coupon on a heavy duty storage bin for the contents of the cedar chest which will GO.  That has been on my list of things to purge since I repainted the garage. The chest itself is heavy, damaged, smelly, and needs to be painted, plus there is no way I can move it around willy-nilly.  I figure I will list it on Facebook Marketplace.

I bought one and only one pair of jeans for fall/winter.  But I also found this pretty rose color tee shirt on the clearance rack at Kohl's.  $22 total for both as I had a 40% off coupon.  I don't think I really need many cold weather things this year, I have plenty. A tee shirt, jeans, and a pair of clogs can take me many places.

I wanted one of the Firehouse Subs Thank You sandwiches, then remembered, I can make that! 

My goodness it hit the spot for lunch yesterday and I have leftovers for a few more.  YUM, what a good problem to have.  And guess what? Someone volunteered to work Thanksgiving holiday for me so I will get that whole week (5 days) off!

Gina

What the week holds and a lucky find

Speaking of earrings...

One day recently I noticed that I was missing one of my gold hoops when I got home from work.  It was lost somewhere between the hospital and the bathroom sink.  Drat.  They were a pair gifted to me by Mark and the kids years and years ago. A full week later, I just happened to be standing on the wall side of the XR table and looked down when my foot nudged something.  The room is fairly low light but there was the missing earring!  I'm going to call them my good luck earrings from now on. They have tremendous sentimental value.  

This week:

No way am I working as hard as I did last week.  I wore myself out, what with a flu shot, mowing and edging the lawns, fixing the front door, moving heavy potted plants, grocery shopping, and other various chores.  Time for an easy week of   

*dermatology appointment

*therapy check-in

*payday

*catch up on reading

*maybe buy myself some jeans at Kohl's

What does your week look like?

Gina 

Big project: weather stripping and painting the front door

 Last week, my handyman came and helped me make sure the front door would close properly*, but it was far from where it needed to be.  For one thing, the weatherstripping was toast, but also the door needed a coat of paint inside and out.  It was time for a glow up.

I wish I had watched a couple of YouTube videos beforehand, but noooo.  Took me awhile to figure out how to remove the old crumbled weatherstripping. This was crucial to getting a good seal on the door - why had I not done this sooner?

I also scuff sanded and wiped everything down so I could give it a lick of paint.  The hyper-sanded areas are from the door rubbing MONTHS AGO.

After I pulled the weatherstripping down I cut a small chunk of it to take to Lowe's.

I also removed the brass kickplate, which I had hated since I spray painted it years ago.  A little wood filler took care of holes and dings.

And then I painted the white trim.  It might need a second coat in the future, but for now? Done.

The door got another coat of Modern Masters front door paint in this chocolate brown color called Sincere. While I was at it, I rolled a coat of brown paint on the scuffed up door mat.

Then I took a break for lunch!

"Welcome. Today's special is a delightful salad with mixed greens and cabbage, tossed with creamy cilantro ranch, toasted pepitas and tortilla strips, cooked chicken, and avocado chunks.  You will be your own server. Tip well."

I was stalling for time as I had no idea how I was going to shove the weather stripping into the groove along the door (called a kerf).  But guess what? I figured it out.  It didn't even take whiskers.

and because I wanted to be "extra" I painted the inside edges of the door a beautiful green color, leftover from my backdoor project.  I called this a stopping point for the day.

Then I hung a new swag from Hob Lob. Forty percent off, so I added three white sunflowers and a burlap bow.

Yep, it all looks "sincere". 

I scrubbed the aluminum threshold plate, too.  I like the door so much better without the dumb kick plate.  And that mat looks almost new!  After I paint the inside of the door (white) I will clean the brass doorknobs, add a sweep to the outside edge, give the Toasted Almond trim a lick of paint, and add new window cling to the side window, transom, and dining window.  {One project at a time, Gina}

I had a mess to attend to on my dining table - that will get dealt with today.

Then I took myself to Jack Allen's for my belated anniversary martini.

I would like to think that Mark would be proud of me for all of these projects, but I am definitely proud of myself!

Gina

*involving a shim on one of the hinge plates

Forty One

 Its hard not to feel a little down about today.  Yes, I know that life is still beautiful and I am very blessed.  But that doesn't mean that I don't wish my person was here with me, celebrating our 41st anniversary.

I would say to him "can you even believe it?"

And he would drawl "Yep" (saying it slow and deep)

I guess I'll never truly understand how we got from there to here.  These smiling faces belie the bad times along with the good times, the struggle with the success.  It was worth it. Happy Anniversary to us,

Gina

5 thing Friday - roof, earring, photo binder, puzzle, thrifting

One day I drove up to my house and saw what looks to be a couple of loose shingles just sitting on the roof.  This does not make me happy.

Its like I told the electrician "it's always going to be something".  This roof is not old enough to be replaced just yet, so I will need to have someone get up there and investigate. These are the kinds of things that make aging in place so challenging.  Even with a strong support system or a healthy bank account it can can feel like a never-ending struggle.

I splurged on a small channel set diamond in 14kt with a flat back for this top ear piercing, only on this one ear. A treat for myself, if you will. I cannot leave the house without earrings on, no matter what I am doing.  A very weird thing leftover from childhood, I think.

I bought one gigantic 3 ring binder for three small photo albums I wanted to combine.  These are photos from high school, college, and early married life.*  I don't know why I assumed that only one would be sufficient.

I either have to go through them like I did the family albums and purge photos (I really should) or buy another 3 ring binder (I probably will).  It would be nice for all of these photos to have their new permanent home all set up so I might actually look at them.  No telling what my kids will think of them some day.  They will probably think "wait - our parents were actually people?".  Ha.

 

My latest puzzle.  I got the sewing table all cleared off because I thought The Girl was going to be here for a couple of nights while she had maintenance fix a mold issue in her vents. She ended up elsewhere, but since this workspace was cleared off I might as well spread out a new puzzle to work.  Its been ages.  Butterflies seem to keep showing up in my life.

I went thrifting exactly once for all of September.  I found a nice new chenille sweater for $7 and a glass snowflake for $3.  I guess I'm going to stick with that theme for my bedroom tree.  I'm really looking forward to having it in there all lit up at night - so pretty.

In less than 2 months the Christmas craze will be upon us, can you believe it?

Gina 

*41 years on Monday

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