Makin' Somethin' Outa Nothin'

When we moved into our house there were 2 very large, very ugly yellow bulletin boards attached to a hallway wall. When we painted we had them removed and in the process the frame came apart. I was getting ready to have them hauled away when we decided to recycle them into something usuable-a very cool bulletin board wall for my daughter's room.

First we cut one of them down from 4X8 to 4X6 and removed the remaining frame. Then off to the paint store to buy "bad mixes paint", (pints or quarts of paint that were not the right color). My daughter first painted the board white, then created a design using the colored paint. After it dried we reattached the frame and nailed it to the wall (to the studs) with 4 nails and WOW what a cool piece of art.

She now has it covered with tons of fun drawings and other pin up stuff.


I think the board material is homesote (recycled paper) which you can get at a big box store. The paint was all acrylic latex and the frame is just some sort of trim, cut and mitered at the corners.

Fun and Games in the Master Bath

It started out as an average day. The hub had just returned home after being gone on a long trip and we were glad to see him. My daughter and I were proud of all the work we had completed on the house while he was away.

He was impressed in that "road weary" sorta way.

One of my main projects during his absence was sprucing up the master bath. We're not ready to do the complete reno yet, so I decided to attempt some cosmetic updates. One of my projects was to replace the "soft, cushy" toilet seat with a real seat. My hub already had some concerns about the "space saving" aspects of the toilet, so I was trying to give it more appeal.

I was proud of the result. He decided to give it a try. The next thing I know here come the tired hub who is looking at me and saying "I didn't mean to do it".

Now, since I was without a clue what he was referring to, I just jumped to all the natural conclusions...After numerous guesses he said "I broke the seat". Now, I had no real reference to these kinds of events and since my loving hub is a big kidder I thought that was where this was going...

But as you can see here's the evidence. Poor guy, I can't imagine what a start that must have given him when it cracked and broke. The only "play by play" that I could get from him was that there was some sort of shift and then it went. I imagined it was a "slip and scoot" sorta event.

Welcome home honey, my next project will be less dangerous for you... I promise!

Home School

Each August you can find me working away on the upcoming year's curriculum and lesson plans. Here is what my work table looks like today. I wish that it was picture perfect, but this planning is a work in progress. This is our 8th year of home schooling, so that puts my daughter in the 7th grade.

Middle school is where the "rubber meets the road" in my book. If you notice there is a bright and shiny new book in the stack titled "Pre-Algebra", that alone is enough to send those who are faint of heart running to hide. Not my girl, she's also chosen to tackle that other big book in the stack titled "Biology". Now this one is a high school text and she is ready to jump into it.

One way I always describe home schooling is that it is a life style choice. We work hard, but my girl can study in the way that best suits her needs. If she decides to spend an afternoon reading and writing about spotted frogs-we shift the schedule and she can do that. Or if she gets tangled in an idea or concept we can take the time to untangle her and renew her enthusiasm and not let her become lost in disappointment and confusion.

The lifestyle aspect comes in because we choose for me to stay home and home school her-it's a choice we all three make. Its a choice that affects other parts of our life, I can't work more hours, my art studio stays empty, it is a ton of work and at times my daughter and I get tired of each other. It's a choice we keep making, because we see a bright and shiny kid who loves to read and learn and explore the world. She feels she can make a difference and I can't think of anything more important that I could spend my time doing than helping her accomplish her goals.

Back to work.

Pondelicious

Here at last is our completed center courtyard pond! From brick/concrete pad to luscious outdoor environment. We are delighted with the result. It is now inhabited by 2 tadpoles, 3 goldfish and one small Koi. A couple more Koi will join the family this week. I am still searching for outdoor furniture to finish it off and would like to climb up on the roof to take some photos from above.

For more pictures of the process see posts from June and July.

A Tree in A Tree

Last fall we noticed this tiny red cedar tree growing in a large maple tree in my parent's yard. This past weekend we were visiting and I snapped this picture of the two trees. The crook in the maple is about 15 feet off the ground and the little red cedar is happily growing in it's cozy home.

My parents live on a farm so during the dusty, dusty summers dirt and rain accumulate in the tree and little cedar has survived.

My dad tells me that red cedar tree seeds will not germinate on their own-but must be eaten by birds in order to soften up enough to sprout.

This easily answers the question of how the little tree seed made it into the maple tree's nook as this is one tree on the farm that no one parks their car under!

Studio 11

I have a complete floor in the garage loft-which is good because now I won't fall through if I have a creative stroke of genius. Half of the loft is to become my 11th art studio (the other half-family storage).

I've had a numerous spaces over the years-some more successful than others. As I think back some of the studios seem like mere figments of my overactive imagination and in reality actually were kitchenettes, living rooms, dining rooms and other various and assorted spaces that I claimed a corner in.

In graduate school I had a "real" studio in a house owned by the university. We fiber art grad students had spaces in a 4 bedroom ranch across campus. All critiques took place in the common area-the former living room. Generally these were fairly civil events-not the estrogen induced scenes that some think occur when 8 female artists are under one roof. Though there was one "studio mate" that I regularly wanted to throttle on principle alone!

The artists that were heavy into dyeing and caustic materials had spaces in the basement and those of us who had weaving or painting habits had bedrooms. I could never get use to the space though-it felt weird like "little Suzie's bedroom"- my urge was to decorate it rather than work in it. I spent much of my time looking out the window.

Over the years I've discovered that the space least likely to be conducive to art making are those that are shared with my office. For me stacks of file folders and bills are a major distraction. Those "real life elements" pull me off my purpose...just asking to be straightened or paid or read.

I had a great space in our last house (thanks loving hub!). It was beautiful...almost too beautiful. It had great light and white, white walls. Just gorgeous. I am still a painter/ fiber artist/sculptor, but now my tool of choice is an airbrush. My painting is intuitive and not particularly neat-well let's just say it-not neat at all. I am the queen of over spray. So those white walls and the office combo scene and a number of equally impressive procrastination alibi kept the production down.

So I am not finishing the new space much, except to possibly put in a ceiling and wall to separate the storage area. I am digg'in that window and can't wait to get a table up there-I think the lace curtains gotta go though.


Since the space is accessible only through a pull down stairs I am wondering if I can pull them up from the studio...hummmm..privacy!

A Pond is Born

The courtyard pond is almost complete! I am thrilled. Here are the pictures of our journey. The layers are: sand, cushion (carpet pad), then the liner. Now the landscaping-YUM! my favorite part.

Here are the steps:

1. Dig the hole: critical point-make sure side are level.

2. Lay in 4" of sand-tamp until your arms hurt-then tamp some more.

3. Add a layer of material as a cushion for the liner-I used old carpet pad. Check for stones and roots sticking out that could puncture through the liner.

4. Position the liner, add water-jump in and adjust liner as water fills to eliminate huge folds

5.Trim liner not less than 1 foot-(this pic shows about 2')

6. Haul in as many flat rocks as you can manage. Surround the edge adding in boulders and other rocks. Build a waterfall.

7. Add plants and more landscaping materials and ENJOY!

(click on photo to enlarge-

then hit back arrow to return to the blog)

Surviving the Move

We are actually living in our new house! Sleeping here, unstopping toilets here and lov'in it. The last few days and hours of the move were-lets say challenging!

I just could not finish packing-we obviously had MUCH more storage in our old house than we realized. My hub was shocked at all the stuff-most of which was not his.

His latest brainstorm is to open the new garage and put a "FREE" sign over the door with the hopes that it will be emptied out. He thinks that all the important stuff has made it in the house, the rest is just extra. Point well taken.

Now...back to unpacking-a much more fun job.

Disturbing The Peace

Dear New Neighbor,

I know that we have not met yet because we have not moved in, but I am sure that you will understand that it was not our intention to blast the neighborhood with our alarm system for what seemed a never ending period of time on this lovely Sunday afternoon.

I'm also sure you will understand that our floor finisher did not intend to fill the house with so much dust that it set off our hard-wired fire alarms which could be heard for several miles away.

I am equally sure that you will understand that we did not know that the security system including the fire alarms was set to activate- as were not told this.

I'm certain that it is easy for you to believe that we were not given a code or a key to the security box that holds all the shut-off switches and that we were not aware that if it that alarm when off that there was a huge siren speaker off the back of the garage that would send that unbelievably loud screech through our lovely neighborhood.

And I also feel confident that you will appreciate that I was finally able to get a hold of the security company who did not have a code for the system and couldn't disconnect it even when I offered to fax them a copy of my contract on the house.

I also am VERY SURE that you are very happy that a security technician took pity on me and actually came to the house and disconnected the entire system with just the removal of a wire or two-(I think because he wanted me to JUST stop talking and calling.) And oh yes, he found the key to the alarm box, locked IN the box.

Finally, I am completely certain that he will charge me and arm and a leg for his service which will somehow make the universe nice and balanced again-since there are at least 100 people who would like to see the "For Sale" sign go back up on our house, including the bride all her friends attending the bridal shower taking place 2 streets over!

Most Sincerely,
Your New Neighbor

P.S. We are actually very quiet people and Oh Yeah, the concrete slabs in the driveway are not from digging a fallout shelter.

Packing Surprise-Santa

While packing today I came across one of my all time favorite Christmas decorations:

My Grandma's Santa.

He was given to my daughter by my Uncle Bud.

Santa is from the 1950's and I can vividly remember seeing him on the table by the very cool silver glitter Christmas tree that featured colored spotlights. So nice!

Check out those white boots-sweet!

Okay, Back to Reality-Mud Pond

My rose-colored garden glasses were quickly replaced by a large, dark pop-up rainstorm. The humidity has been about 80%, so something had to give.



My partially dug courtyard pond was quickly filled. It rained about 1.5 inches in 1 hour! Serious rain, horizontal rain with more predicted for tonight.

Maybe we will open a spa, specializing in mud baths.

The Enchanted Garden

This is my new garden-it is a hidden garden full of beautiful flowers that I do not know the names of.


After sorting out the weeds I am struck by the beauty of these delicate plants that have been waiting for me to arrive. The previous gardener had a magic touch and I think she left some magic behind.



Later I will think about broken air conditioners and a leaky roof and other things-

For now I will sit deep in my garden and look for beautiful fairies and pixies dancing under the leaves and imagine the dreams my daughter and I will share as we grow this Enchanted Garden together.

(click on photos to enlarge,

then use the back button to return to post)

Organizational Purgatory

It is now 2 weeks until we move into our new house.

So I need to begin packing in earnest-for real- the we are really moving sort of packing. I practiced packing when I moved quite a bit of "stuff" into a storage unit a couple of months ago. But as I sit here now I am reluctant to enter into the deep dark recesses of the real packing zone.


You see I have been in Organizational Purgatory (OP) for several weeks and I am afraid to go further.


Organizational Purgatory: (OP) a condition that affects all people who are moving their stuff from one location to another. OP is characterized by thinking that you are organized and everything is under control, but you can't find things-or at least not important things that you need in a hurry because someone is waiting on the phone for the info. or you need to make a major life decision or the roof is leaking and you need the number to call someone. People with OP can frequently be heard saying "I just had it! I know I just had it in my hand!"

It makes me sweat and swear.

Within one week I lost my good watch, then I borrowed my daughter's and lost it and finally I went to the Big Box Store and bought a $4.95 watch that I still have.

There is no cure and you can't go back-so I will go forward... Hey, has anyone seen my glasses? I'm sure I just had them.

The Target 161-What a Concrete Cutting Machine!

(click on photo to enlarge)

Yesterday the concrete in the courtyard was cut. This is the Target 161 Saw-notice the saw blade -That blade means business.

After they were finished the slab looked like a birthday cake cut into perfect pieces. Today they carted these big, heavy pieces through the house. There were piers every 4 ft!! A hot, heavy job! More work to do-they are not finished yet. Word is we need another dumpster!

House Hunter 101: The Quest for the WOW House

I was not prepared for the Home Hunting experience. I had been in training for 10 years as a HGTV "House Hunters" junkie and a voracious reader of anything real estate.

This was my first home purchase and I wanted to be prepared-I didn't want to get caught with my wallet open. Well, lets just say my education was a bit lacking.

It took me 16 years to get my husband to even look at another house. He's very loyal.

We've lived in our current home 16+ years, its a beautiful 1957, Mid-Century Modern Gem. I love it , but I was ready for a Home of my Own. My good hub purchased it before we married-so it has always been a bit of "his" house for me. It is also located on a high traffic street which for a country girl doesn't really work.

As we began our search, a pattern developed as many of the homes we saw or viewed on the internet acquired a nickname. Right out of the gate, I knew I was not having the TV experience:

The first house we looked at: The Very Scary House-empty but occupied by 2 squatters and 2 very big, mean German Shepherd dogs. Ohhh---not so good.

The Wood House- nice home, but when it rained you had to run home and turn something so the sewer didn't back up into the basement? No thanks.

The Forget-About-It House- Bad, bad vibe + a very confusing floor plan. I don't think I want to know what really happened in or to the house. It's still on the market.

Others: The Lake House, The Window House, The Mayflower House, The Country House, The Sunflower House, The Purple (yes) House and The Plunger House (you can draw your own conclusions)...

The WOW House: The eventual winner-When I first saw the virtual tour of this most unusual courtyard house on the Internet, I couldn't stop saying WOW! My poor daughter was shocked. The house had strikes against it-it needed work and it needed more work and it had a minuscule master bath...but when I saw it -it was a TV moment.

I'm not a person who goes around with a "dream house" image in my head-I just didn't have one. But, when I saw that house-I knew. The WOW house is a piece of art.

But, since being cautious is my middle name, those strikes against it were big. I kept looking. But the WOW House never left the top of the list. Every other house was compared and fell short against it.

After much self-induced drama I decided it really was the one. I think my hub and daughter had known for a while, but they gave me time to think it was my idea.

So its ours, signed sealed and delivered which is A Real Life Moment!

Tools are Cool

It is amazing to me how many skills are accumulated in life through sheer necessity. There you are trying to get out the backdoor and the handle is falling off. So you run and get a screwdriver and figure out what the problem is, you "fix-it"- end of task. Or how about when the brake lights on the car go out and you need a new fuse or when your kid's handlebars are wobbly.

I learned to fix things at an early age. I am fortunate enough to have a Mom who had a toolbox, before it was Cool to have Tools. Now, I'm not talk'in those pretty pink handled delicate tools-I mean the "real deal". She has a neat little toolbox in the closet and she uses it.

Since I grew up on a farm I learned early on that the best times to break things was during the winter. If you got in a little bind during harvest-forget it- you need to figure it out yourself or wait until it rains. Then the real handy guys were out of the fields. Farm life is like that in general- somebody in the family can figure it out.

I like the self-reliance and determination that I aquired growing up as a farm kid. Oh, I do call and hire repair people-but only when I have to, but in general I will give most anything a try.

I recently fixed a toilet that had been bothering me for 16 years----

I didn't say I was fast, just persistent.

Piers for Tears

1530+ bricks have now been carted out of the courtyards through the house and the demolition of the courtyard concrete pads has begun. What appeared to all to be 417 sq. ft. of innocent 4" deep pads, that could easily be removed with a sled hammer and muscle-turned out to be 4-5" pads with reinforced wire inside and 10-11" round concrete piers that extend into the ground 1-2 feet. The 4X4' pads have one pier on each corner and who knows how many are on the larger pads.

Upon this discovery I called my mild-mannered Geotechnical Engineer husband and said:

"I need a Geotechnical Engineer!"

In all our years of marriage I don't think I ever actually needed his professional services! Of course his professional reply to my dilemma was "What?!!?" So I put the contractor on the phone.

It's good to have an engineer around.

We were all perplexed-Why so many piers on garden patio pads? The new concrete demolition expert was not perplexed, so we hired him.

Next week he is bringing his cutting/ digging equipment through the house into the courtyards to cut up these pads and piers. Then it all gets carted through our guest room and living room across hardwood floors...oh my!

Day 1: The Adventure Begins

Today begins our family's adventures in the house we fondly refer to as the "Wow" House. "Wow" House is a Courtyard or Patio house built in 1970, featuring a 525 sq. ft center courtyard and a 250 sq ft. courtyard between the master and guest room. Imagine a 58' by 58' ft. square with the center cut-out, and that is pretty much the footprint of the house.


Lucky for us, the owners built it, loved it and did no major renovations during the 37 years they lived there. So, we are not faced with any cruel or unusual upgrades to undo. But it needs work...a lot of work.


So the adventure begins.

Step 1: Since all materials from the courtyards must be moved, carried or carted out through the house, we start there, before the floor refinishing. Plans include a pond in each courtyard- that is after 1500+ bricks are carted out and 6 concrete pads are broken up and removed.


So Stay tuned