Repairing Grandpa's Boat

My husband loves to keep busy. In the winter this usually means focusing on coaching the ski team. Unfortunately, we haven't had enough snow this season to keep him on skis, so he has tucked into yet another project. A very different project. One that makes me think of summer although it is months and months away.

His most recent undertaking is to restore two old boats, the Bouncin' Babe and the Bug to their former handmade glory. These tiny wooden speed boats are a hoot to ride in. There is something about being only inches above the water that makes you feel as if you are going a zillion miles an hour ~ regardless of the tiny motor.

The Bouncin' Babe was built by my husband's grandfather in 1953. Sadly, grandpa passed away before my husband was born. The two men never met in life, but they have lived their lives in a very similar way. Anytime Grandpa is discussed you will hear about his industriousness and love of a good time. That pretty much sums up my husband. Always working, and loving every minute of it.


I have a feeling Grandpa would be thrilled to see his grandson working so hard to get these boats back in the water.

Baths in the sink

Ahh, so this is why I got that extra-deep sink that I can hardly reach the bottom of.

Bye-Bye Baby

We haven't seen bottles for over a year

or diapers for the last 6 months

but now it is official.

My youngest is out of the

tiny baby stage.

She is a sweet little bundle of 2 year old thumb-sucking cuteness, but she certainly is not a baby anymore.

My little girl is so proud of being able to climb in and out of bed all by herself. Up-down-up-down. All smiles. She even tried the great childhood joy of jumping on the bed - I wasn't so thrilled with that one.

She loves having us climb into her "big bed" with her - Okay, so it is really still her crib with the side off (I can't fathom spending money on a toddler bed that gets used for only a few months) but it works just the same.

My little girl spent all afternoon moving stuffed animals from the bed to her rocking chair and back, gently talking to them and telling them that it was time to go "nite-nite." So sweet!

And yes - her room really does look like this all the time, but the rest of the house doesn't. My youngest is a bit of a neat-nik. She carefully picks up every stray carpet fiber and closes her closet doors whenever I forget. I'm keeping these photos as evidence to prove to her 16 year old self that she was capable of keeping her room clean at 2 - not that it will do me a lick of good at that stage, but a mom can dream.

Bye-bye baby, but let's wait on learning to drive for a few years, okay?

Ribbon Valances

I love my daughter's ribbon valances. Every time we give house tours (which is very often because our house is rarely the same two years in a row) I enjoy showing her room specifically because of these sweet window treatments.

My original plan for this room was to create a space that she could grow up with - girly enough for the fairy princess stage and grown up enough to avoid major renovations as she gets older. I had a really hard time finding fabric to fit this idea though. Everything seemed to be either bubble gum baby pink or metallic rock star pink. Or, if I did find the colors that I was looking for, they were in an old fashioned floral print that looked as if it belonged on grandma's sofa.

We own an interior decorating store. You would think if anyone could find the right fabric I could, but it just wasn't out there and I was getting frustrated. Finally, I decided to throw out the whole idea of finding fabric and go out and make something with the color combination that I wanted. I think we struck a pretty good balance, although it is hard to tell in these washed out photos.

I have gotten several requests for instructions recently, which I thought would be easy enough considering that the materials list includes little more than ribbons and a board, but because I made these several years ago and I didn't take notes or pictures along the way. You will have to use your imagination a bit. (I'm not-so-secretly hoping that Heather's Miss Bliss will take on the challenge of doing a proper tutorial - Hmmm? Maybe?)

So... The basics. You will need a board, angle brackets, screws, staples, white paint and lots of ribbons.

1. First you will need to measure the inside width of your window AT THE TOP. Most windows look straight but really aren't. Measuring at the bottom or middle can result in window treatments that don't fit properly, so grab a chair and take the measurement where you plan to hang the valance. In the same way, if you are making valances for several windows, measure every window even if you think that they are the same size - you might be surprised.

2. Time to make your template. Get some butcher paper or newspaper, mark the proper width, and cut a shape that you think will look good as your valance. Tape it in place - Is it too long? Too short? Would you like a deeper angle? Is it even on both sides? - If not fold the paper in half as if you were making a paper heart and even things out. Play with shapes - newspaper is cheap and this is an easy way to determine what you want. Once you have found a shape that you like save your template (I'm forgetful so I always write SAVE on my paper along with the date & window location). You will need this later.

3. From the measurement you made in step 1, deduct approx. 1/2 -3/4 inch. (This space will later be filled by the thickness of the ribbons.) and cut your board to length - I chose a board approx. 3/4"x4" because it was handy and fit well in the space I had available. You will want to look at the depth of your window, making sure that there is enough clearance for your shades, and the height you will need to conceal the header of the shades.

4. To determine how much ribbon you will need, there is a bit of thinking involved. For the math minded you could determine the area of your template and then add to it the area of the front face of your board (because you are covering it twice) plus some more (real scientific, I know) for "loss." ***I'm not a math person so all of you smart folks like Jen & Robert will need to look away for a moment. What I did was first go shopping and find several ribbons I liked. Then I lined them up side by side and determined their width as a unit. I divided the width of my board by this number and learned how many units of ribbon I needed. I then multiplied this number by the length of the longest point of my valance. By doing this I was able to determine how many inches of each ribbon I needed. Yes there was waste, but I'd rather waste ribbon than do the evil math problem several times over as I change my mind about ribbon width. Sad but true.

* As a side note, I found that ribbon from craft stores can be very expensive. I got some great deals at the Christmas Tree Shops but the bulk of our ribbon I bought as those weird curtain things that people hang from their doorways (think 1970s) and then I cut them apart.

5. Paint the board white - I actually covered mine in white fabric to make it look more professional, (and cuz' I don't like painting) but really, paint would work just fine. This will make the ribbons' colors appear more vivid and will prevent any raw wood from showing in your final product. Make sure your paint dries thoroughly.

6. Begin wrapping ribbons horizontally along the length of the board. These should not overlap because we will be weaving the dangling ribbons between them later. Use a staple gun to attach snugly but not extremely so on both ends. If your staple gun does not have enough force to sink the staples well, use a hammer to ensure a flat edge.

7. Dry fit your valance. This is your chance to fix any problems before we get too far. Does the board fit nicely in the window? Are your staples flush? Adjust as necessary.

8. Point the ribbons. I like hand sewing so I folded each ribbon into a point on one end and stitched it in place. You could easily do this with a fabric glue like Fray Check, but I'm not a fan of the shiny edges that it leaves - personal preference.

9. Place your board on top of your template and position it as squarely at the top edge as possible. Begin weaving ribbons vertically. Thread the ribbons from the top of the valance and weave them down through the horizontally wrapped ribbons. Pull the point until it reaches the bottom edge of your template. Staple in place. (Do not cut off the excess yet) Begin weaving the next ribbon and position it as closely as you can to the 1st ribbon without overlapping.

10. Once all of your ribbons are woven through, lift the board, or better, have a friend hold it up for you. Do a final check. If you are satisfied with the length of all of the ribbons, cut the excess off.

11. Attach your angle brackets to the backside of your valance. Attach the valance to the window opening with screws. Usually I like to hang valances from three points along the "ceiling" of the window opening, but the header for my daughter's shades was too wide to allow for this so we attached from the sides. It seems to be holding up fine.

That's it. I'm sure I missed a step or two, but I hope this will get you started. Enjoy!

Nursery - Finally!

Well, maybe the title of this post shouldn't be nursery - more like Toddler Room or maybe even Little Girl Bedroom. Either way...

We did it!

My little girl is finally sleeping in a bedroom, rather than in our 3rd floor school room.

So it's a bit late - Just a year and a half - No big deal.

(insert eye-roll here)

I love the way this came together. AND I love that the only thing we had to buy for this room was her rug. Everything else is hand-me-downs that we pulled together randomly. Can't beat that!

• The window treatments and stool came from an old store display - and I didn't even have to resize them, just stuck them onto the headrail of her shades with velcro. Not perfect, but close enough.

• The armoire used to hold our television.
• The rocker came from her brother's room (I swear that paint looked more red and less pink in his room).

• The dresser was picked up used somewhere, but I can't exactly remember where. It was in my room for a bit, and I think her sister did too.
• The light yellow paint that we picked when this room was built was still in good condition, so we left it alone.
• The crib last held her big sister - Can I just tell you how excited I am to finally get this little girl into a real crib?

She could still use some pictures on the wall, but other than that I'm really happy with baby's new room.

She seems to be enjoying having her own space too. So far she hasn't allowed any drawers to be left open, or a single stray item to be left on the floor - not even a tiny thread or dust ball. As soon as she spots anything out of place she will immediately pick it up, walk over to the laundry, garbage, or wherever it belongs and put it away.

I need to have her train her older siblings. She is an amazing little house keeper.

Shhhhh...

5 years ago

THIS was what my life looked like on any typical day . . .

Look how tiny my "big kids" are!

Look how ridiculously small my kitchen is!

Look at that terrible old flooring and the cigarette stained countertop.

You can even see the old office with its formerly-oh-so-fashionable wood paneling.

I have no idea who snapped this picture or what we were doing on that day, but I love the every-day-ness of it. My hair is messy. I'm juggling both kids. The kitchen cupboards are open, and there appears to be a thumb across the right hand side of camera lens. Not perfect, but happy.

It is wild to think about everything that has changed since that day 5 years ago.

Doesn't it just make you smile? :o)

The view from my window

Over the past few days our road and driveway have been in the process of being ripped out so that a drainage pipe can be placed under the road.

The drainage pipe is for the new road that they recent put across the street IN THE EXACT SPOT where we used to catch frogs. What was once wet, is now filled in. That water needs to go somewhere. This pipe is very necessary, but the process is a noisy, dusty mess.

The one good thing about it, is that it makes excellent entertainment for kids.

7 children lined up quietly on my porch happily watching the destruction = a few minutes of peace and quiet for me. Okay, not so quiet with the dump trucks, backhoes and saws all running at the same time, but sorta' peaceful in a way that only makes sense when you have small children underfoot.

Bye-Bye Dirt Pile

Going . . .

going . . .

GONE!

"The dirt pile" was part of our life for a little over 4 years and 9 months. But I'm not counting or anything ;o) I remember snuggling my 2 day old son and trying to nap on the couch while listening to one of our contractors calling for me over the banging and sawing of his framing crew (I had a toddler and a newborn napping at the same time! That contractor was out of luck - I stayed right where I was).

In order to build our addition, a foundation had to be poured. In order to pour the foundation, a hole had to be dug. And when you dig a hole, you get dirt; lots of it. That is how our dirt pile was created. Now, normally the crew would haul away the big pile of dirt, but we decided that we wanted to keep it to use in our landscaping.

We have had a lot of fun with the big pile of dirt in our backyard. We have dug in it, explored around it, climbed it, sledded down it, and wrecked quite a few clothes falling off of it.

My husband lovingly referred to it as his "botanical garden." Well . . . botanical, yes. Garden, not so much.

Finally the dirt pile is gone. It has been moved around to smooth out some bumps, fill in around our grape vines, and build up an area for our new trees. The rocks we found in it were used for my 2 new front stone walls.

We still have a few recliner sized boulders that we aren't sure what to do with. Just give us a little time (say 4 years and 9 months). Our progress may be slow, but the results are worth it.

Construction & Babies

Construction and babies go hand in hand at our house. Each time we add a new little family member, my husband will take a week off to bond with baby and take care of me, but the reality is that newborns (and their moms) sleep . . . alot! He has been left with quite a lot of time on his hands, and if you know my guy, you know that he is not one to sit still for long.

When our oldest came home my husband's project was the barn siding, and for our son he spent time working with our contractors as they put up the structure for our addition.

This baby's project was our stairs, woodwork and hallway flooring. The stairs have been a long term project and are just now coming to completion. It is exciting to finally have a railing! Check out these photos of his progress:

I haven't taken any photos of the woodwork yet, but here is the upstairs flooring as it was going in:

It is easy to tell which one of my kids just loves helping his daddy!  

Cabinet Doors

O


ver the past week my sweet husband has spent all of his "spare" time installing doors on our kitchen cabinets. It is AMAZING what a difference they make to the appearance of our entire house!

Did you know that kitchen cabinets didn't exist before 1903? That is the year that "the hoosier" (a unit with a stove, a pull-out counter top, storage area for bread, and drawers for vegetables, cans or other condiments) was introduced. I have seen these in antique shops for years, and always thought of them as quaint - but never realized that this was almost the ONLY storage most people had in their kitchen during that time. Other food was stored in the basement or cold cellar.

There would be separate cupboards in the house for storing dishes and silverware, but these were very different from what we are accostomed to. They were built as separate pieces of furniture (think china cabinet or pie safe) and were often placed in the dining area.

As technology advanced during the 20th century homeowners began to collect "new" things like blenders, mixers, and a large assortment of what my Memere called "kitchen gadgets." Because of the amount of stuff they had collected, kitchen cabinets became necessary to store all of these new treasures - and were often built by the homeowner or contractor on the spot (This was often not a good thing - there is a big difference between built-to-fit plywood boxes and true custom carpentry). Here is the result as it looked in our house:

Not so pretty right? Well, with a lot of hard work (and living without since last November - yup 11 months) here are our new cabinets!


We still have painting, window trim, and tile work to do, but I am SO in love with these Tiger Maple cabinets that the other details don't really seem to matter!

Thanks Nate, Jon, Mike, and all the other guys who helped out on this enormous project!

Oh, and Nate here is the other photo that you requested for your Dad - Hi Bill!

Kitchen Update

I've been asked to post updated photos of our kitchen project.  The view from far away isn't too impressive yet.  What kitchen looks good with all of the dishes and food on display?  Our custom cabinet doors have been ordered from Walzcraft, and we have been told that they will be finished within the next 10 days (but I'm not holding my breath).  After they arrive we will still need to stain and poly them, so it will be several more weeks until we make any real progress.  After that we can paint the ceilings and walls and tile the backsplash.  I'm really looking forward to seeing the whole project come together.  

Here are some of my favorite features of our new kitchen so far:

Granite countertops - great for rolling out pie crust and durable enough for daily kid craft projects.  We haven't been able to stain them yet.

Cork floors - soft, warm, and able to be cleaned simply with water.  No soap needed.

Plus, both are pretty!

My amazing Brizo faucet that automatically senses when your hand are under it!  I love being able to do dishes without turning the faucet on and off a thousand times.  I also like that the kids can't leave it running.  If you'd like a giggle, check out this promotional video.  I never imagined they could make a faucet look so dramatic.

My office corner!  I have stashed my printer under the counter, so I can do my work where I usually spend most of my time.  No more trecking the laptop across the house every time I need to print a recipe.

My filing drawer.  For years I have LOVED the portability of these file boxes, but I've been annoyed because they always seemed to be hanging around the house all the time.  This drawer is just deep enough to stash two - one for my bills, and the other for school lesson plans.

All of my husband's "hidden" features.  Our outlets are tucked under the upper cabinets, our TV is hidden in the "MacGyver Cabinet" and my microwave is under the island countertop rather than sitting out on the counter.  I just think it looks better this way.  

The enormous spice cabinet that we built into the wall - If you look closely you will notice that it exactly the size and shape of our old basement door. Instead of completely walling off the door, I asked for this space to be built. I still can't believe I had all of those spices hidden on the top shelf of my hall closet before this was built!

They always say that the kitchen is the hardest room to renovate, and now I know why - there are SO many details to think about, decide upon, organize, and implement.  So far I'm really happy with the way our project is coming out.  It will be fun to see how it looks with those cabinet doors!