broad side

I'm researching barn door hardware.

The garden shed / barn out back needs an update. It's an awesome little barn that up until a gardening makeover I had been taking for granted. Now that the weed-bed behind it has been turned into a very pretty little garden, I'm all about giving some much needed love to the shed.

It wants a coat or two of red paint and white trim.
It NEEDS a new set of doors.
The current doors are (apart from falling apart) hinged and beat the crap out of the pretty flowers I plant on either side of them.
So I'm investigating sliding doors and hardware. The doors should be pretty easy - we'll make them out of 2-by and strap them together - good old-fashioned barn doors. The hardware, I'm sort of struggling with. I think I have the entire list together, but I'm not sure. And then, whatever we get track wise, I'm thinking I'm going to paint - because galvanized is just ugly. I'm thinking I'm going to paint it black... so that it stands out.

And I want a window... but that's likely a later project.

We're also toying with the notion of building new porch steps (out of trex) for the front porch.

And we need a new roof.
And windows.
and plumbing.
and electrical.
and a new laundry room floor.
and a new bathroom.

sigh.

Recovery and Random

I'm doing better today. Thank you.

I have housework to do. Lots of it:
- laundry
- dishes
- vacuuming
- dusting
- sweeping
- and mopping
- - - MOVING THE CARDBOARD BOXES OUT OF EVERY CORNER OF EVERY ROOM
- random tidying
- packing up donations (LOTS of donations)

add to that my overwhelming desire to be baking something (anything) and it adds up to agony.
there aren't enough hours in my week to work AND housework. I don't want a maid or a cook either... though one of those professional organizer people would be a boon.

OH - speaking of boons. I watched the last episodes of Carnivale Season 2 last night. I'm extremely un-gruntled. So very much so that I had a hard time falling asleep last night because of it. Just grrr.

I'm throwing together menu ideas for a mexican dinner. Right now it's looking like corn and black bean salad, do it yourself burritos, and home made salsa and guacamole. Simple and relatively easy. I'm making the taco seasoning on my own because what's out there in the stores is lethal. I'm just sayin' My husband will make the guacamole because avocados turn me off. Ew.

If I don't get my pumpkins in the ground in the next two days, I won't have any more reason to worry about it. They're gathering forces for a revolution of sorts... kamikaze pumpkins, threatening to die if I don't take care of them. They're heartless.
They should make excellent jacks o lantern. Heh heh heh.

Many of my boxes of Hallowe'en have arrived, by the bye. I have faces to start painting, a spectre to build, and after a quick trip to the H Depot (because that's where I have the gift cards for) some fog chillers to build. I'm very excited by all of this... and already cursing the fact that it's half way through July and I haven't even started!

Also, the fabric for my daughter's princess dress has arrived. She's requested one for playing in. I've very pointedly been advised that this is NOT for her hallowe'en costume - - she wants to be a horse this year ("and you can be a cowboy mama, and ride me!" me: "a cowgirl, sweetpea" she: "ok, you can be a cowgirl") . It ticks me off, because I know I'm not going to be able to make anything at all like a convincing horse suit - so again, I'll be buying her hallowe'en get up. At least, though, I'll be able to make her a butt-kick princess costume. Now I just have to get around to building it.

Ok, that's enough randomness.

I'm going to go try getting some work done - heigh ho Silver, away!!!

hiccup

there has been a break in my continuity.

i hate it when i get this way.

but the truth is, things are just so "awry" in my real world right now that I have no idea, half the time, when i'm coming or going or if i'm actually sitting still.

progress:

we have primed the kitchen - 2 coats. it looks like it might actually be paintable

plans:

today we will be sanding and priming the dining room and the living room. depending on our progress with these, we may actually be doing the study as well

weekend plans:

we have shopping to do. fortunately our friends at lowes have decided to throw a "veteran's day sale" for us, and much of the paint we need to buy will be on sale - - not ridiculously low priced, but sale is sale. we also have to get the new door knobs and deadbolts (all 3 doors worth) which is not setting well on my imagined bank account. still, has to be done, so it has to be done.

once the shopping is out of the way, it will be back to the painting. i'm actually (probably foolishly) hoping to get color on the walls this weekend

snag:

we think our electrician fell through. something about the house spooked him, apparently (even though he's never seen it) and we're now looking for someone with skill and a sense of charity. it may come to pass that i'll only be able to afford to have someone who can find us a ground wire (we have one, but apparently it's not connecting to any of the outlets) and straighten up the woeful state of the breaker box. we may have to wait for, hold off on, and pretend we don't need the additional outlets in the bedrooms, dining room, and kitchen (where we really, truly, need them most).

such is life.

I am SO sorry

life has been super plus crazy busy this week

my only link to the remotest sense of sanity has been my classical music - - and that's probably mostly just because 95% of the folks on there are dead and their peacefulness resonates through thier legacy.

work - oh yeah crazy
life - oh yeah too crazy
i believe there's supposed to be something else, but the insanity of work and life have swallowed it whole.

ah - - but today the sun is shining and tonight i'm hosting my friends again - - this time for dinner - - and it's a great day for mom to take the halloween photo of the baby for the cards that i have to mail out this week. and the drive home will be pretty... and maybe the weather will hold long enough for me to clean up the front porch and do a little decorating and weeny up the house some and maybe even get in a little play time before the evening sets in.

anywho - the sorry bit - - it's for not being more regular.
i really mean to be...
i will really try to do better...

oof

for a while i was in the swing...
i was watching a netflix dvd at least once a week
i was reading - - a LOT
i was reeling in the amount of time i had to spend with my family

something happened
i'm out of the swing
and feeling a lot like i have a faceful of sand.

i hope this isn't indicative of how ALL the holidays are going to hit me this year...

how to increase the stress level in your life

make a major life committment

work with people who have NO IDEA of what you do
(or how you do it)

change your method of birth control

consume far FAR too much caffiene

live with a teething two year old

maintain three stellar friendships

decorate for halloween

plan a halloween dinner menu for 10

still don't have a costume
(or a free weekend for the rest of the month)

forget an important phone number
(that you - - for whatever asswipe reason dont' have written down)
(anywhere)

in a moment of bliss find the phone number

start wearing makeup again
(and then realise that you haven't put it on yet today)
(and it's 10 minutes before your lunch date)