Don’t Bed On It

  See, this is where our differences kinda make for a humorous situation. *sigh*  We need a new mattress. Our old one, a king, has hills and valleys probably where we do…. and it’s time. 

This is my husband’s idea of comfort.

And this is mine…

  So we went mattress shopping today. I got there before him, so I explained our issues to the saleswoman and she gave me a tour of the five mattresses she thought we could make work.  One mattress was too soft, one of those temperpedic things… and I swear I was getting seasick laying in it. Something about that slow molding memory action makes me feel like I’ve got a hangover.  Then there was the sheet of plywood very firm mattress, which made my shoulders and neck hurt instantly when I rolled on my side, which is how I sleep.  I knew that would be the one for Mike. There was a mattress that felt heavenly, but it cost just about $5,000… and that’s plain ridiculous.   There was a middle of the road, however, and I hoped I’de be able to talk him into it.  It actually has some of that memory foam on the top of it, but not enough to suck you in.

   Mike arrived and of course liked the plywood rendition, kept going back to it infact, but the middle of the road version appealed to him too… and so that’s what we bought. 

   Hmmm… we arrived at a compromise quickly and with ease.  Could this be the beginning of a new era?  

Don’t bed on it  🙂

Chickening Out

  I don’t really have an explanation, not sure where it’s coming from,  just not my normal thing.  For some reason, chickens have been on my mind when planning the decorating of This Old House.  I’ve had alot of animals over the years – dogs, horses, rabbits, cats, fish, fire-bellied toads and even a rat for a brief while. But never chickens.

  I went into Homegoods last night looking for outdoor cushions, certainly not poultry…  and there she was, the perfect chicken for my kitchen.

These wrought iron spacers were made for us to fill in the gap between the loft railing and the fireplace.
Poor image quality, sorry. Downstairs bathroom pedestal sink and toilet installed.
Mancave Flatscreen installed… I had to laugh this morning when I walked in to see the boxes from our current house that contained the electronics packed up by our tv/computer/electronics guru-guy.  He wrote “ManCave” on the box so he would know where to install it.  
Throne installed in the master bath.
 Finishing touches all weekend, final coat of Tung oil on the floors Tuesday,  Thursday is move-in day!

Aunt Karen

The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment:

 ” Please ask your parent to tell you a story with a moral ending”.

 The next day, the kids came back and, one by one, began to tell their stories.

 There were all the regular types of stuff, spilled milk and pennies saved.

 William was the last boy to tell his story.

 “William, do you have a story to share?’

 ‘Yes ma’am.  My daddy told a story about my Aunt Karen.
 She was a pilot in Desert Storm, and her plane got hit.  She had to bail out over enemy territory, and all she had was a  flask of whiskey, a pistol, and a survival knife.

 She drank the whiskey on the way down cause she knew the bottle was gonna break, and then her parachute landed her right in the middle of 20 enemy  troops.
She shot 15 of them with the pistol, until she ran out of  bullets,killed four more with the knife, till the blade broke and  then she killed the last of them with her bare hands.’

 ‘Good Heavens,’ said the horrified teacher. ‘What did your daddy  tell you was the moral to this horrible story?’

William gave her a look like it oughta be obvious, and said..

‘Stay the hell away from Aunt Karen when she’s been drinking!’

Floored

  Stained and Tung oiled, two coats left to go…and then… WE’RE IN!!! 

 The adirondacks got a new coat of paint in a light green hue…
Now that the brickwork is finished, the old patio furniture was dragged out of the shed, scrubbed and moved to This Old House….
Although the garden was thrown together in haste, everything seems to be pretty happy except the cucumbers and lettuce…..they might whimp out.
The barn/garage is nearly complete…
Look at how fast these baby robins are growing…
My kayaks sit outside while Mike devises a rack for them in the garage.  I’m really looking forward to getting back out on the water.  It’s Summer!

A Roll in the Hay

   Walter has been haying the fields behind This Old House for many years. We’ve asked him to continue the tradition because we don’t have harvesting equipment or cows to feed.  He has both and so he’s happy to oblige.

 The fields have been in a state of neglect for years and are in need of a good dose of fertilizer.  Walter plans to bring in six to ten loads of chicken manure later this year to fortify the soil once again. 

  One of my favorite scents in the whole world is freshly hayed fields. The sound of the tractor putt-putting across the field could lull me to sleep.

You thought this was gonna be a whole different kind of post, didn’t ya.
  

Can you hear me now?

So… the Census Bureau had been leaving messages on our tape for a few weeks. I ignored it because  Hey, I Filled Out The Form Correctly and Mailed it In On Time.  But after the fifth message I thought.. ok maybe it’s important and I oughta call.  I did.   Here’s how it went.
Census Bureau:  (in heavy Southern Drawl, not that there’s anything wrong with that)
Hello, US Census Beareau, how can I direct your call?
Me:  Well I don’t know. You have been leaving messages on our tape, I’m thinking someone wants to talk to us but I don’t know why.
CB: OH, ok ma’am, what is your name?  (heavy accent here, but I got what he was saying)
Me: My name is Karen ________ and my address is _____________________________.  I’de like to warn you that I am hearing impaired and it appears you have an accent. I am already having difficulty understanding you, so could you speak alittle slower and more clearly.  I apologize for any inconvenience.
CB:  Sure, Ma’am… (rapid speak here, and not any louder) Blah blah blah and we’de like to Blah blah your blah blah blah blah.
Me:  I’m sorry, I was not able to get most of that. No offense to you, this is my handicap, but since your accent is very heavy and you are speaking softly and very FAST, I don’t understand what you’re asking. Can you speak slower and alittle louder.
CB: I’m very sorry ma’am.  Can you blah blah blah…blah blah the number of blah blah … and verify that?
Me:    Again, the same problem. Can’t understand you. Is there anyone in your office who perhaps is not soft spoken and can speak slower, or who does not have an accent?  And please, no need for an apology, this isn’t your fault, it’s my handicap.
CB: Ma’am  ( this is the only word I fully understand in this whole conversation….and it was repeated about fifty times)   we just need to blah blah blah blah blah.    Blah blah blah… blah blah. 
Me: *sigh*  Right. I know you need to do something, I just can’t hear “WHAT” that something is.  I’m going to put my daughter on, here she is.
Daughter takes phone.
Daughter says they won’t ask her the questions, only the heads of the household can answer legally.
I take the phone back.
Me: Listen, whoever you are, can you e-mail me and I’ll be happy to answer whatever questions you have?  
CB: No Ma’am, blah blah talk to blah blah.   Blah Blah Blah blah ?  
Me:  Still the same problem Dude. I am going to say something and then I’m just going to hang up, ok? I am hearing impaired. Sometimes when someone has a heavy accent in any shape or form that I am not accustomed to hearing on a regular basis, I’m not able to decipher what you’re saying. No matter how many times you say it.  I can’t read lips over the phone either.  If you are not able to get whatever it is you are looking for through e-mail, and you aren’t willing to take the answers from my daughter who is sitting right here with me, you’re sh*t out of luck.  Unless you can find someone to contact me from your office who speaks louder, slower, or with less of an accent (not that there’s anything wrong with that) you’re not going to get your answers.  I’m hanging up now. Have a good day.
The next day someone called who spoke louder and slower. We had no problem conversing, and they got their answers.  What was so important?  It was just a verification of our information, the information they already had.
 Ask me about my conversations with DELL when I need computer assistance.  Ha!

He’s All That

  We don’t always see eye to eye, and sometimes our taste in things couldn’t be farther apart on the spectrum. One of us is a natural navigator, one of us can’t find his way out of a wet paper bag.  He’s super organized and I’m… well… not.   

  When it comes to being parents we’re both on the same wave length. I couldn’t have chosen a better father to our children and it’s one of the things I am most thankful for in life. 
~ Happy Father’s Day ~
 

Happiness Is…

… discovering that our “new” old house has already been approved by several bird families and they have taken up residence even as the crew continues their noisy work nearby.  There are many bluebird houses in the fields and a few near the garden. All are inhabited.  But this really surprised me.

   I saw this little shell yesterday under one of the big cedar shrubs we planted at the back of the house, thinking it had been blown under there by the wind…
but we soon discovered upon closer inspection….
……a nest of baby robins. 

It’s the little things, you know…..

Mirror, Mirror on the wall….

 This was my awesome (cheap!)  find at a funky local antique warehouse, now hanging in the downstairs bathroom ( no sink or toilet yet, but HEY, we have  an awesome cheap mirror!)  and accompanied by sconces I found online.  In the process of restoring and moving into this old house I have really come to appreciate the warmth and charm in old things, especially home furnishings. The fact that you can do it for a very reasonable price makes it even more rewarding and the hunt is half the fun.
Where have I heard that before?

Some of you have asked if we’re on target for a July 1st move in. It looks as if we’ll push it back a week, move-in date the 7th, because the floor finishing is quite a project.  They’ve just finished “nailing”  and are going over it with a sanding machine.  There are several more steps and drying time in between.

Seeing Red

 A funny thing happened on the way to the hardware store (for the 100th time) on Friday.   I stopped at the house to see how things were going.  You might remember the RED issue.  Well apparently it ain’t over yet.  Yes mom, I’m using “ain’t”  because sometimes it just “fits”, kinda like a few other words I use on  very rare occasion…. *ahem*

 So…. I moseyed on into the family room with my usual cheery demeanor and  saw this new development…..

 I thought about it for a few minutes, picked my jaw up off the floor and spat out the sawdust  and I thought about it alittle more…. You see I don’t want to be unreasonable because there are so many worse things in life than hating the spindles in your family room.  But the CIRCUS came to mind, you know what I’m sayin?    Especially since… we have big bold furniture coming with big bold RED… and The Man knows this because he picked it out with me and I chose big bold red so that he would finally have the red he’s been longing for and he deserves that after all the hard work he has put in on This Old House.  
I am not ashamed to admit when he walked in about 15 minutes later I begged and pleaded and promised a favor or two or 300,  and now it looks like this.