Autumn Hollow

Two More Craft Projects

2011-02-17T20:01:00.004-05:00

Here are two more corner shelves in the spare bedroom, on the opposite side of the three original ones. The lower shelf holds the five little songbirds I got for Christmas (they each make the appropriate sound for that bird), and Kevin the fox is sitting on the top one.This is the little shelf I painted to go in the hall bathroom to hold the clock. It's a lot pinker than I wanted it, but it

The Shelf Project

2010-07-04T14:35:00.007-04:00

We had three of those "As Seen on TV" corner shelves in the spare bedroom to hold some stuffed animals. These are cool shelves and work very well IF the corner of the room is exactly 90 degrees. Unfortunately the corner in this room was more like 92-93 degrees, and the popout supports on either side kept coming out of the wall and the shelves would fall down. Good thing all that was on them was

New Lamps for Old

2009-10-08T12:47:00.002-04:00

Well, there's the last of the "big changes" I had on the Master To-Do List.The installers turned out to be a married couple; she put the pendant lamp together while he was the one that got up on the ladder and did the actual installation. While she was on the stairs putting the light together, she saw James' "rocket garden" and they talked about having taken their grandchildren to the Kennedy

There's Always One More Trip

2009-10-04T20:06:00.007-04:00

After we got home from grocery shopping this morning, James decided to install the programmable thermostat we bought yesterday (a Hunter, just in case you were curious). According to the directions, it was simple: take the old one off, label the wires, take the mount for the old one off and install the new one, match the wall wires to the wires on the new unit and fasten them, then put the new

A New Fixture in Our Future

2009-09-27T20:35:00.005-04:00

I am finally ridding us of that nasty pendant light fixture in the foyer.We didn't plan for the awkward thing. When they asked us to choose between the black-mounted fixtures and the silver-mounted fixtures, we thought the only difference was the color. The old house was so dark we wanted something brighter, so we chose the silver.The black pendant fixture we thought we were getting in silver was

New Restaurant Seating for the Birdies

2009-07-12T19:47:00.003-04:00

After watching that slug of a squirrel sunbathing on our deck rails after prying out suet from the suet feeder, I got disgusted. Spent much too much yesterday on a new pole support for the bird feeder, and also bought a new, small squirrel-proof feeder.James installed the new pole and hooks today, and we also put the old assembly back up, making it more stable. It's possible the latter may tip,

Happy Independence Day from Autumn Hollow!

2009-07-04T15:37:00.003-04:00

Haven't posted here for a while, but haven't done any more major improvements on the house (still want to get that light in the foyer changed, though).Here on the table, on either side of the "pick-a-nick basket," as Yogi Bear used to say, are two of the prims I bought last weekend in The Maple's Tree in Gatlinburg, TN. (The "tablecloth" in the basket is a napkin folded up to look like a

Fence Photos

2008-04-10T11:58:00.000-04:00

Told you they were dull. :-)

Please Fence Me In

2008-04-07T17:31:00.002-04:00

Well, it's done. (Actually, it was done before 3:30, but I've just had the time to post about it now.) I don't think photos are necessary, since it's just your garden variety "dog ear" top six-foot privacy fence. If I take photos it will probably be after we have it stained. Besides, you don't want to see outside right now. The yellow pine pollen covers everything with a thin, gritty coating.

Please Fence Me In--The Installation Edition

2008-04-07T11:01:00.004-04:00

We had a bobble on Friday, when they were supposed to come. As I explained elsewhere, they need electricity and water to install the fence (water for the concrete and electricity of course for the saws). At the morning job they had Friday, the electricity failed and they had to use a generator to finish the job. The supervisor told me they would definitely come today, and they have; working as I

Please Fence Me In--Interval

2008-04-03T15:48:00.003-04:00

Well, now we know it's going to happen: the grass is covered with red marks showing where the utilities are buried.

Please Fence Me In--Part 2

2008-04-02T11:01:00.001-04:00

The deposit is down on the fence. They're tentatively supposed to come next Saturday.

Please Fence Me In

2008-03-27T15:09:00.003-04:00

The "fence estimator" has come and gone. Maybe I am naïve, but I never realized a fence would be that inexpensive, since I have never had to get a quotation for that sort of thing. The fence behind the house I grew up in was existent when my folks bought the property and my dad replaced it himself when it was nearly 50 years old and falling down (but we had chain-link and that was easy for him;

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T19:29:00.003-04:00

Easter was so early I didn't get to post my St. Joseph's Day altar.Happy Easter!Foyer things:The rose I bought for Mom on Valentine's Day:Dining room:These goofy-looking chicks are from JoAnn, I think (either that or Hobby Lobby):These more traditional chicks are from JoAnn, sitting on the satellite box:Stuffed animals guard the Easter candy on the hearth:"PLEASE can I have some chocolate?" "

Around the House

2008-03-21T17:36:00.002-04:00

Actually, "behind the house" describes the upcoming project better.We feel it's time to get a fence around the property, or, more properly, the back of the property, since by the terms of the covenants, the fence can't extend past the back wall of the house. (I wonder how negotiable this is since the president of the homeowners' association has a fence that does come closer to the front, but it

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T01:31:00.000-05:00

From all of us here at "Autumn Hollow"! Check out our photos!No, it only looks like we are advertising for KMart. :-)Our miniatures tree in the foyer, with a Peanuts nativity and train underneathoh, and that moose and squirrel:The dining room:The ceppo on the china cabinet shelf, flanked by the Santa collection on either side:I decided to put the feather tree upstairs this year; it goes so well

Happy Thanksgiving from Autumn Hollow!

2007-11-22T11:58:00.000-05:00

Complete with Publix pilgrims:Even Chef Cow is into the act:

New Lamps for Old (the coda)

2007-11-06T11:42:00.000-05:00

After going crazy, especially with the installation of the pendant light, we wondered if we actually needed to swap out the large round fixture for the smaller one in the prep area of the kitchen. We had both thought that the larger fixture had another socket, which would have given us three of them rather than two, but that was not so.However, since the larger fixture did have a larger

(Mis)Adventures in DIY

2007-11-04T16:49:00.000-05:00

It's been another lovely afternoon...LOL.We had nothing to do today. All the shopping was done, we had Betty's gift, no festivals or shows this weekend.So after James made biscuits for breakfast and then loaded up the dishwasher, we first put up the little ceiling fan in the kitchen and the new faux-Tiffany light fixture in the dining room. This took us till three (four hours total), and we are

Hallowe'en House

2007-10-28T00:35:00.000-04:00

I didn't used to be much of a Hallowe'en decorator. Didn't do anything at the apartment, minimal at the old house until I bought the jack o'lantern and the little ghost and scarecrow cheap at Big Lots.Not much compared to some people's lights, or scarefests, or the guy on Mount Paran Road with a front yard full of inflatables.The first two pics were taken today, after I finished the theme by

Fall Greetings!

2007-10-10T15:35:00.000-04:00

We are dressed for autumn! Come up the steps and inside!A colorful garland, a sign of "HOME" above, a wreath and shared initials, greet you.Snug in a corner is my mom's tier table. The horse lamp on it sat in our front window for 54 years. Mom and dad's photos are just next to the red gesturing angel. I like to have the floor vase look as if someone gathered branches outside to fill it.The two

In a Fall Mood

2007-08-23T17:23:00.000-04:00

If summer is wearing on your last nerve, here's an inspiration:Thank God for this to look at when it's 100°F!

Fin

2007-08-02T12:24:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend we went to Ikea and bought the last two pieces we needed for the library, a Norden gateleg table, which James wanted for gaming purposes while taking up little space, and the short, narrow Billy bookcase.Last night James put the table together, then he helped me finish the Billy. We wanted it to be a little taller, but not full 72" height, so we bought the height extension unit

2007-07-04T13:40:00.000-04:00

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY FROM AUTUMN HOLLOW......outside......and in......even Willow!

Wide Open Spaces No More

2007-06-30T23:55:00.000-04:00

Our guest room is...eclectic. :-)The futon is mission style and has a country-type comforter on it, blue and yellow with matching pillow shams. There are a few autumn things dotting the room. The teak table next to it holds the phone, a lamp, and a box of Kleenex. There is a five-drawer chest on the wall perpedicular to the left. The top has a scarf my mom embroidered and holds my beanie baby

Short Stuff

2007-04-27T23:07:00.000-04:00

We went to Ikea tonight...yay! They finally had the five other shelves we needed for the bookcases downstairs. (The Ikea website says they are not in stock yet, so we were quite happy.)I also bought one of the narrow (15 inch wide), short (41 inch) Billy bookcases. Behind our sofa we have two media "bookcases" that I bought at Target several years ago. These are cherry colored, only about 30

A Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T12:08:00.000-04:00

The winds still blows!I had to go to Chattanooga to find a banner without bunnies or eggs.I love these "curly sheep" from Hobby Lobby.Where Easter meets autumn. Unfortunately you can't see "Chickles" well. He looks like he's giggling. The brown bunny is "Rupert" and the grey bunny is "Leonard."The doggerel on the message board states:"Spring is sprung,The grass is riz--And we sure know whereThe

Bowing to the Inevitable

2007-03-28T10:48:00.000-04:00

Isn't the "flower sheep" adorable? He's from Hobby Lobby.My mother crocheted the scarf that is on the table. Bunnies and lambs frolic before the spring bouquet which are in a little juice glass, just as if someone gathered them outside the door and needed a quick container.

Project Library, Part 4

2007-03-18T17:33:00.000-04:00

Well, it's not finished, but I'd say it's over eighty-five percent done.We assembled the other four bookshelves and put them in place. Then James went upstairs to deal with some kitchen projects and I spent about three hours reshelving books. I haven't had such a good time doing hard work in a long time.The history books now have their own bookcase. I want to organize the books by subject at some

Project Library, Part 3

2007-03-17T22:29:00.003-04:00

Two more down.Friday afternoon I phoned Ikea, and the extra shelves that we needed for the pair of bookcases we had earmarked for the paperbacks were not back in stock yet.Things that are out of stock for a while like that make me nervous, especially when you have begun a project in a certain color and are going to keep needing that color until you finish. What if the beech-color bookcases were

Bother...

2007-03-07T08:30:00.000-05:00

About quarter to two last night I was woken up by what sounded like an explosion or thunder in the distance and Willow broke out into a salvo of barks. James slept through it, but I called him, and we got up to see if anything was wrong, but it all looked okay.Well, until James went in the garage this morning. The shelf in there had collapsed. We had put all the supports into studs except for one

Shelf Life

2007-03-04T20:20:00.000-05:00

It was time to do something with all those shelves we had bought and today was the day.James placed the big shelf we bought at Lowe's yesterday in the garage over the ladder and then stocked it with the plastic storage boxes that were taking up the middle of his hobby room. There is still room on the shelf and for now we have placed there as well a box of old computer parts we are saving for

The New Bookcases Are Restocked

2007-02-25T22:31:00.000-05:00

(Or "Project Library, Part 2")Yay!

"Ding, Dong, the Oak is Dead..."

2007-02-24T21:24:00.004-05:00

Upon rising this morning, we got the two dark bookcases and one of the oak-finish bookcases into the truck bed. Unfortunately the second oak bookcase would not fit, so I popped the hatch on the car, folded down my back seats and the passenger front seat. The other oak case just fit in the body of the car, although we couldn't latch the hatch. James and I bungee-corded it in, and I bungee'd the

Project Library, Part 1

2007-02-18T18:03:00.000-05:00

When last we met...James and I went to Ikea last Saturday and bought two 31" wide Billy bookcases with the height extensions. We had emptied the old bookcases, piling the books haphazardly nearby, and moved the shelves out to the hallway temporarilysince he was working this weekendfor transport to Goodwill next weekend, vacuumed the space, then we put together the new bookcases and put them in

Happy Anniversary!

2007-02-18T00:07:00.000-05:00

This is the first year anniversary of our moving in this house.

Lots Bigger Than a Breadbox

2007-02-11T22:48:00.000-05:00

I had to raise myself from torpor this morning. I don't know what is with this cold, but it is leaching away so slowly. I still get hoarse at night and still cough occasionally and am so damn tired.Anyway, it was time to get back to business, since all the holidays are over. We went to Ikea and bought the first two Billy bookcases of the remainder we need to finish the library. These are the two

All In Red With a Hint of Pink

2007-02-10T17:42:00.000-05:00

Valentine's Day decorations, of course.Late afternoon was not a good time to take a photo of the porch: everything is too contrast-y. Some of the winter decorations I replaced outright, like the wreath, and with others I just applied hearts. You can't see it, but both snowmen in both chairs are holding heart-shaped "balloons" (red hearts on wire stems).The snowflakes and mittens are gone from the

One

2007-02-08T14:37:00.000-05:00

Missed an anniversary between being busy and not feeling well: last Saturday was one year that we closed on the house.Now look at it: full of books, a dusting of Christmas magic, and the main feeding point for several dozen birds. :-)

All in the Details

2007-01-25T18:26:00.000-05:00

A welcome greeting:Willow down in the library:I love the border; we bought it from The School Box. What I love the most is that all the books on the shelf, except for the encyclopedia, which looks like an Americana, but just says "Encyclopedia," are actual books. When I noticed Alistair Cooke's America was one of them, I was sold.The sign on the bathroom door is a regulation business "Rest Room"

Wishing for Snowflakes

2007-01-25T18:10:00.000-05:00

I've redone half of the photos, so it's pulled from the queue and redated:Our winter welcome:Here's the foyer with the tinsel tree and the snowflake hangings (a bit difficult to see them against the "antique white" paint) under the mirror, winter plaques and a winter tin and "branch.: The little objects in front of the snowmen and flowers on the blue table are little animal and pine tree

...That Make a House a Home

2007-01-24T18:29:00.000-05:00

Had a short burst of energy tonight after finishing up work and did a few quick things: I had purchased a wooden plaque with a Michael's coupon and the other night painted it a barn red with a bronze surround. Then I lettered on it in black "Welcome Home." I have put this on the door that comes from the garage into the house, with a small garland of autumn leaves around it. I know it sounds like

That Settled-In Look

2007-01-05T23:15:00.000-05:00

In the entry "The Last Place You Think Of", I mentioned we'd rearranged our bedroom to better accommodate getting clothing as well as leaving place for a little armchair.It's a good thing we did since I also need to store the rolling desk where I'm keeping my work-at-home equipment. I got it all out of the boxes this afternoon, but nothing is "hitched up."Tonight when we were folding clothes I

2006-12-25T11:51:00.000-05:00

A Bunch of Photos of the House...

2006-12-12T23:41:00.000-05:00

...in Holiday Harbour.

It's "Bluetiful"!

2006-12-02T19:55:00.000-05:00

We spent the late afternoon putting up the Christmas lights and decorations on the porch. It took a bit of time since we had to put the hooks up to hang the lights for the first time. In the future it shouldn't be so troublesome.James got the stars that are hanging at the left of the porch at Ikea. The blue lights, as you may be able to tell, are LEDs. Talk about brightit is hard to focus upon

2006-11-23T13:35:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the house:Come up the stairs:Check out the fireplace:As you can see, we were watching the dog show:The table before setting:Let's get some dishes out and eat!:

Finishing Touches

2006-11-03T15:09:00.000-05:00

At least that's what it's going to have to be for now, since I went to Michael's this morning and pretty much found it stripped of autumn decorations, and what was left was 50 percent off. Wow, what a clearout.Hobby Lobby was better. I only got a few things in each store, and all of them half price or with a 40 percent off coupon.One thing was a metal cornucopia with a surface of "rusty" leaves

View From the Deck

2006-10-26T00:10:00.000-04:00

Not spectacular, but all ours.

Hallowe'en Foyer

2006-10-21T23:11:00.000-04:00

Much better under incandescent light, and still not clear enough.Love that glass pumpkin on the blue table. It practically glows all on its own.You can't see the little cat figure in front of it as well as you should. I found it for a dollar at Family Dollar. It looks like it was produced for decorating in the 30s or 40s.Hard to tell what that is on the top tier in front of the horse, too. It's a

Cursed Floral Wire

2006-10-21T17:32:00.000-04:00

Several years ago I did a project that required floral wire. I bought a reel from Michael's.A couple of years later I needed the floral wire again, but, although I knew it was somewhere in the laundry room, I couldn't find it. So I bought another reel.Of course soon after I bought the second reel the first turned up again.Today, after scrubbing both bathrooms as well as the dog, going to Wally

Collies and Climates

2006-10-20T23:59:00.000-04:00

While bopping from store-to-store with coupons, I stopped at Garden Ridge to give their fall village another look. We bought something called "Maple Sugar Shack" at Michael's last year, which was mixed in with the Christmas village stuff. I didn't realize LeMax also made a "harvest village."A structure called Pine Mountain Cabin caught my eye as being "the most fall." They didn't have any more in

The Last Place You Think Of

2006-10-15T23:29:00.000-04:00

Do you ever watch any of HGTV's decorating series? Although the designers re-do a remarkably varied assortment of roomsbasements, living rooms, kitchens, dining rooms, children's rooms, baths, even garagesthe majority of the rooms fashioned seem to be master bedrooms. And the story seems to always be the same: Matt and Shari, or Joan Steffend, or Candice Olsen, etc, walk into this beautifully

Improvements at the Hollow

2006-10-04T15:13:00.001-04:00

I took off early yesterday because the construction company was coming by to fix a few things that had gone wrong or were "off."The simplest problem to fix was the space over the bathroom door that still had a bit of blue tape on it; it had not been "spot painted" before we moved in. We also had a railing on the deck that was curling up. It was fastened down with James's favorites, three-inch

No Lion, No Tin Man...

2006-09-08T23:40:00.000-04:00

...but we do have a scarecrow on the landing on the stair:I'd never bought one of these straw bales before and almost regretted it when I took the plastic off. I expected some shedding. But boy, do those puppies shred! I would have had to vacuum today even if I wasn't intending to in the first place. I set up the tableau, then vacuumed around it.This next photo is "stitched together" from two

Dining Room Redux

2006-08-20T22:34:00.000-04:00

Hopefully this is a litte better pic of the curio cabinet. The mug on top with the little stuffed cow inside it is my Ask the Manager mug.Here on top is the cross-stitch I began when we decided to try to buy the house, my "leap of faith." Below is a framed Susan Branch autumn postcard which says "A Little Season of Love and Laughter" with an autumn verse below.The "whole magilla" against the

Two Photos

2006-08-12T01:29:00.000-04:00

These came out badly but I'm too sleepy at the moment to retry.This is a little curio cabinet we found last week at Hobby Lobby on discount. So now it holds an assortment of mugs, a Yankee Candle, two sparrows and a few other things. (In the drawers are dog treats. LOL.) I'm planning to finally use the glue gun James gave me last Christmas and glue some autumn leaves to the rattan.The new "

Finishing Touches

2006-07-25T09:36:00.000-04:00

They're coming to repave the street today; looks like the development company is putting the finishing touches on the neighborhood. Last time we heard, only five houses were left and I saw Elizabeth showing one the other day.

James' Project

2006-07-16T01:04:00.000-04:00

James has wanted a spray booth for ages. At the other house he used to go out on the front porch and spray models. Of course this led to the problems of what to do when it rained (since it wasn't an enclosed porch) or the matter of little nosy insects who came buzzing by and embedded themselves in the paint (not to mention the dust and the leaves).Awhile back, a friend of ours who works at CDC

Happy Independence Day!

2006-07-04T16:41:00.000-04:00

Here's the autumn leaves glasspainted on the front windows:

Three Cheers...

2006-07-02T20:58:00.000-04:00

We finally got a minute and James mounted the holders for both the big flag, which will only go up on national holidays, and the smaller flag which will stay up all the time. I also bought a large red-white-and-blue tinsel star which is now on the front door, and there's a similarly colored pinwheel at one corner of the flower bed nearest the driveway and birdhouse on the brick edge of the porch,

There, That's Done

2006-06-25T17:12:00.000-04:00

We have both James' hobby room curtains up and a shade on the window where the sun comes in during the afternoon. The other room faces east and really doesn't need a shade, especially since the curtains are insulated. It's always amazing to see what a difference curtains make; the room looks more cohesive and complete.It also doesn't echo as much. :-)I tried to find aircraft curtains for him, but

One More Pic

2006-06-25T15:54:00.000-04:00

Here's the Expedit doing its room-dividing duties, from the dining room side, full of cookbooks and games for a Games' Night.I don't like having the knicknacks lined up on top like that, but I haven't found a good shadow box for them yet.

Pictures, We Got Pictures

2006-06-24T20:47:00.000-04:00

Autumn things on the divider overlooking the foyer; see where we hung the America poster?Here is the seashore summer theme in the foyer. You can also see the Autumn Angel I was raving about last week, with her oak leaf wings.The plain old fan in the library......has a different perspective when it's dark! (Looks like a UFO, doesn't it, with those reflections on the ceiling?) Dig that purple

"Round-round, Get-Around, We Get Around..."

2006-06-21T08:32:00.000-04:00

I had forgotten to mention that on Saturday night James installed the two ceiling fans downstairs.The fan in the library is just your plain garden variety ceiling fan with light kit, the least expensive that Lowe's sells (this is the one they don't put on display because they want you to buy the fancier ones ), three speed reversible for winter, white-or-woodgrain blades depending on which

Leave Them Be!

2006-06-17T19:47:00.000-04:00

O frabjous day! We walked into Hobby Lobby this evening and they had started to put their fall flowers out! I ran directly to a beautiful stem of autumn leaves and gave it a hug. They have some gorgeous tall stems of leaves, and also some tall stems with gourds, autumn berries, etc. About three of the leaves and at least one gourd stem in a tall vase with a substantial bottom so it won't tip over

St. Francis Tends His Menagerie

2006-06-10T23:59:00.000-04:00

Our garden statue menagerie. I think this is enough.They mostly have literary names, but there are a couple of media entries:Nibbles is the hero of Elizabeth Taylor's charming memoir about her pet chipmunk, Nibbles and Me. Maeterlinck...what else would you name a bluebird? Cinnabar is from Marguerite Henry's Cinnabar: the One O'Clock Fox. Samantha is from Friendly Persuasion. Pipkin is from

Now You Don't See It, Now You Still Don't

2006-05-19T22:53:00.001-04:00

See the screen door? I assure you it's there. :-)

Upgrades R Us

2006-05-19T22:41:00.000-04:00

I was beginning to get concerned about the Dish Network guy until he called about eleven a.m. looking for directions. He showed up a bit later and set to work.The invisible screens tech showed up after the Dish guy and did two doors and was gone before the Dish man was finished. I looked at him in surprise, because they'd told me the doors take about 40 minutes each to install. He said it is

Taking Stock

2006-05-18T12:06:00.000-04:00

The "basic project" of the house is just about finished. As I said previously, we're down to details. It's a nice place to be. The move was the usual pain-in-the-neck that moving always is, but was helped along mostly by our wonderful friends (and the nice movers recommended by our realtor) with a tip of the hat to the weather staying cold (at least it wasn't 99°F with 99% humidity like the last

"America" Reborn

2006-05-17T23:02:00.000-04:00

I worked on the poster tonight. It was in pretty bad shape: frayed at the edges, bent, tears in the middle, and a couple of bits taken out. It had started out at a disadvantage in the first placeit had been folded when it was deliveredand several years taped to my bedroom wall and then more time in the attic sticking to an oil painting made it worse.Well, here's the result (it's dark because if

An Open and Shut Case

2006-05-12T23:38:00.000-04:00

The garage door openers are up. The guy programmed all the remotes to open both doors, so now we have six remotes! When he finished he showed me all the safety features and overrides, how to lock the remotes from inside the garage, and then it was done.I had intended to tidy up my craft room today while I was waiting for the installer and ended up doing crafts instead. I repaired some of the

No Travel Needed

2006-05-07T17:53:00.000-04:00

We had nowhere to go today.Usually on Sunday there's some sort of errand: milk we didn't buy over the weekend, a coupon or two going a-begging. But nothing today! James did run out to get a double paper deal and some batteries, but that was just a short trip to the Food Depot.So during the afternoon we installed the airplane lamp James's mom, sister and niece got him for Christmas. They had

Wait for It...

2006-05-06T23:04:00.000-04:00

...the big news is......THE LAST BOX IS UNPACKED. Woohoo!!!!!James qualifies this by saying there are still things that are in boxes. But they are actually boxes that are being used for storage, not boxes that were packed to move.

Open and Shut Cases

2006-05-06T21:57:00.000-04:00

We stopped by Bed, Bath & Beyond with a coupon and got another of those collapsible tables for downstairs.God help me, found an autumn cross-stitch kit at JoAnn. This one's a sampler. Lots of detail. At the rate I stitch these days I might have it done in three years...LOL.Anyway, we ended up at Lowe's and purchased the garage door openers. The development people wanted $400 each to put garage

Snapshots

2006-05-04T21:43:00.000-04:00

Okay, you wanted more pics.This is in the hallway; paned mirror, the lilacs, and some little decorations on the storage cabinet:This is on the opposite wall from the mirror, the robin and Susan Branch print:Facing the guest and craft rooms; the "ethereal rabbit" print directly ahead:Guest room:This isn't all that good a picture, but it's the artwork on the stairway going up:Here's my wonderful

Down to the Bits

2006-05-03T10:04:00.000-04:00

So the rockets are finally out of the downstairs bathtub :-) and it's primarily a bathroom again rather than an overflow storage place. I put up the shower curtain last nightit's not like it's actually going to be used, but could be useful if we ever do some grimy yardwork or something like spreading insecticide. Since it's the bathroom next to James' hobby room, I decorated it with the metal

Up Ladder

2006-04-30T23:26:00.000-04:00

Not much done on the house this weekend. I have mounted a few more pictures and this afternoon James installed the heavy-duty hooks in the garage to hold the big ladder. It's now off the floor and the bicycle can be parked in its place. Also have all the heavy-duty extension cords off the floor and the box they were in is gone.All our boxes are gone. Two friends of ours are planning to move (she

Well, Fiddlesticks...

2006-04-28T23:27:00.000-04:00

JoAnn is having a "Daffodil Dash" or something weird like that this weekend. We went tonight with 50 percent off coupons, but what we both wanted were already half off. James got two more plastic totes for the remainder of the model kits (then that will empty the final box). I caved in and bought a 10x20 frame for a triple print I have of pseudo-Thomas Kincade cottages (thatched roofs, flowers,

Small Victories

2006-04-27T22:05:00.000-04:00

Woohoo! The downstairs hall is clear!

No More Plane Walls

2006-04-27T20:48:00.000-04:00

We now have a small gallery of aircraft in the hall leading to the library and thence to James' hobby room.

Is That A Stairway I See Before Me?

2006-04-27T14:38:00.000-04:00

Hurrah! All the fan art is up on the stairway wall! I put it up last night after polishing frames, cleaning glass, and using quantities of poster tape to re-stick matte frames back to their backing. These include two very funny black-and-white Star Trek prints, one with Scotty in kilts with a bunch of teddy bears dressed similarly, another with Sulu with his sword and some teddies in samurai

The Last Box?

2006-04-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

Actually, we've unpacked the next-to-the-last box (there's another in James' hobby room and one in the downstairs bathtub, but they're actually being used to store things right now). Doug! You can come get the rest of the boxes now! John! Your furniture is waiting! I emptied the big box with the artwork in it last night and have positioned things where I want them to go, if not yet up on the wall

Horizontal at Last

2006-04-24T23:14:00.000-04:00

The shelves are finally up in the guest room with stuffed animals and Babylon 5 action figures liberally distributed upon them. The dresser has been moved to its proper place in the guest room with a mirror mounted above and our old radio alarm clock brightening its top. I also put up three corner shelves to hold some of the stuffed menagerie as well.James also installed two narrow blue shelves

The One I Didn't Have Time for Friday

2006-04-23T23:06:00.000-04:00

Here's the whole dining room. You can see Mom's stand mixer on the smaller cabinet. Not sure if you can make it out, but on top, in front, are those cute little Publix salt-shakers of the Pilgrim man and woman, like in the commercials. The cow print, of course. The two plates at the far rear have Thurber dogs on them; I put them over Willow's crate, of course.

China Cabinet!

2006-04-21T14:10:00.000-04:00

Late for vet appointment; gotta go, but wanted to show you the finished product!

Fully Stocked

2006-04-19T22:21:00.000-04:00

Well, spent all my free time washing and drying and the china cabinet is now completely stocked. However, there is no plate rail on any of the upper shelves, so to finish up by displaying some of the serving dishes vertically, I will have to get some plate "easels." JoAnn always had the best variety, so I'll look there first.I put all our Christmas glassware on the top shelf, along with a very

China Cabinet Check A-OK

2006-04-16T22:30:00.000-04:00

It's all assembled...took us hardly any time at all. The main part assembles just like one of the Billy bookcases. The trickier part is hanging the doors and getting them straight.Then I unpacked all the china. It's not in the cabinet; it needs to be washed first after being in the attic since 1951! Sorry to say we had some casualties: a shallow small serving dish, two dessert plates, and a

Different Types of Holidays

2006-04-16T15:29:00.000-04:00

I thought we'd have the ham for Sunday Easter dinner.Instead we went to Ikea. They had a holiday special, turkey and dressing with mashed potatoes and green beans. (James ate my green beans. Yay!) It was just sliced turkey breast, but it was real turkey, not turkey loaf. The cornbread dressing was quite goodhad a good celery flavor and super moist, but there was an extra flavor in it that I

Happy Easter from Autumn Hollow

2006-04-15T23:35:00.000-04:00

Here's the foyer decorated for Easter:Look, the Easter Bunny brought his gifts early!

Rising Damp

2006-04-15T00:19:00.000-04:00

Well, we did something tonight that we had been very reluctant ever to do. We didn't need to do it at the old house.We bought a new hose...two, actually...and a sprinkler.The front yard of the old house was basically all weeds: broadleaf grass, onion grass (when you cut the lawn it smelled like someone was serving hamburgers at the local Wendy's), some kind of vetch, violets, wild strawberries,

All Boxed Out

2006-04-13T08:14:00.000-04:00

Last night we went downstairs and...all together now!...emptied boxes.There was one box that was driving me nuts: it was just filled at the bottom with odds and endsa spindle of CD-Rs, a printer cartridge holder, little things like that. We tossed quite a few things and made several small piles of books, computer supplies, and other objects that need to go upstairs.We also pretty much emptied

Cool and All That

2006-04-10T21:58:00.000-04:00

Had to get out early, but it was worth itthe electrician popped in at the appointed time, tried to pop the breaker, checked out the compressor, then came back and was able to snap on the breaker this time. The air conditioning was finally "booted up."I'm so flippin' short it was hard for me to tell that there was air coming out of the vents, but I let it run and the builder came by and confirmed

A Place for...Sorta Everything

2006-04-09T20:39:00.000-04:00

Not quite yet.On Friday I did buy a little Closetmaid shelf-type thing. It's one of their stackers, but I couldn't find it on their site. It looks like this, but without the door, maple-finished, and only about 18 inches high. I have it in the small space next to my desk and it holds my unabridged dictionary, atlas, thesaurus, and some other reference books.Put some autumn-themed rub-ons on the

Non-Microsoft Windows

2006-04-05T22:59:00.000-04:00

I decided to finish the sidelights around the front door tonight since most of what needs doing is box shifting and I can't lift most of them.There were three blocks on each sidelight that had a leaf in the center. I had frosted around each leaf; now I used the glass paints to create fall colors in the leaves themselves. I then set two leaves each in the five clerestory panes over the door and

The Library Story

2006-04-05T22:45:00.000-04:00

Remember this?The last time you saw the library on March 12, this is how it looked:The side you didn't see was still full of boxesa week before that it had been a challenging tangle: one side full of eleven bookcases of varying sizes stacked against one wall, the rest of the room piled with boxes, and boxes, and boxes (not sure of the count, probably around one hundred).Now that one side looks

After the Pause

2006-04-04T19:23:00.000-04:00

After taking last night off, I'm back to work.We had already put one of my grandmother's old chairs in our closet, for the putting on of shoes and anything else that might require a seat. Today I polished up the other three. (They really need a good cleaning, at the least, to take off the years of accumulated wax and other grime, perhaps with Murphy's Oil Soap, but for now I just polished them

Too Sticky To Work

2006-04-02T21:17:00.000-04:00

The curtains still aren't up. It was too sticky today to do anything that complex. It promises to be a little cooler later in the week, so James says we can do it one night after work. Can't do it Saturday since he is scheduled to work noon to nine.Little things did get done. We had taken the bird feeder pole down due to a storm approaching and left it down because it didn't seem quite stable

All Hung Up

2006-04-01T23:56:00.000-05:00

Well, not quite yet. Have the curtain rods, though, a nice dark coppery color.

On a Frosty Evening

2006-03-31T23:58:00.000-05:00

Not here, at least literally. Here it was almost 80°F=Too Damn Hot. I apparently got home too late to meet the electrician (I told them I wouldn't be home from work that early). For some reason the breaker to our air conditioner will not come on. The builder's rep tried it with a puzzled look on his face. Apparently this hasn't happened on a regular basis. :-) Then he said he'd call the