Saying Goodbye

Things change.  People change.  Interests change.  There have been quite a number of changes for me this year and some major changes (like a move between states and a new house) have caused some smaller changes.  I'm no longer doing any scrapbooking, though I think perhaps I may get back to it in the future.  I'd doing far less photography and will spend some time this winter deleting a great many of my older photos--not the family shots but definitely the landscapes, wildflowers and weird stuff I thought I might use in some art projects.  And I've decided that my blog has served its purpose and I'm eliminating it, too.  I've posted in a variety of places for a good many years and there's still much to share.  I'm still doing quite a bit of stamping, but there's the extra step of taking photos of the cards, resizing and adjusting them and doing the posting and  that doesn't appeal to me so much these days.  I'll make up for it by doing postings on Facebook so you'll probably see more of me there.

I might fear that I'm losing interest in too many things (which I don't think is a good sign, especially as a person grows older) but I have new interests like wire weaving and I'd like to spend more time doing art journals.  And I should get more family genealogy data into the computer.

So this will be my last posting.  Thank you for your visits, comments and interest and thank you for sharing in bits of my life.  I'll see you on Facebook.

A Big Job DONE

It has been a two-month project but the refinishing of an antique Hoosier cabinet, dating back to the 1920's, is complete.  The top photo shows what I started with on the exterior.  On the interior were at least two coats of white paint that covered a lot of nice stuff.  I stripped, sanded, stained and finished with three coats of urethane and think it's much improved.  One of my objectives was to keep it as authentic as I could so none of the hardware was replaced.  I did leave out a pine shelf that had been added to the tall section because it wasn't original nor well done.  One piece of glass for the windows had to be replaced due to breakage and I wasn't able to salvage a watercolor that was behind the window on the left (but I didn't care for it anyway).  Some features I like are the metal band around the shelf in the roll top section, the spice bins that hang on the right upper door, the wire rack on the lower door and largest section and, of course, that roll top door.  I was fearful I would ruin it so it wouldn't open after stripping, etc. but it came through beautifully.  And I think it unique that it opens from the top down rather than vice versa.  I should mention that the typical metal counter between the two sections was missing so we replaced that with wood that I painted.  We aren't sure that's a permanent solution but it is working for now.  Was it worth all that mess, time, tedious scraping?  Absolutely.  I like it much better and will enjoy having it in the house filled with a variety of antiques from a similar period of time.

My Life These Days

I just couldn't get to a post on the blog yesterday.  These photos will help explain why.  The big truck arrived at our new house at 8 am with all of our worldly possessions and four hours things were transferred from the truck to our house.  For a number of reasons, most of it had to go into the garage (photo 1) and we'll spend many days getting it sorted out and put in place.  We already miss our basement, the shelving in our former garage and the outside storage shed.  But in due time we'll get organized and not even think about what was.

I thought I made pretty good progress yesterday.  All of the kitchen boxes were brought inside by the movers and I got all of them emptied with pans and bowls etc put in a new place.  The newspaper pile shown in the second photo resulted when I was unpacking but my husband was on the phone to get established with the cable, natural gas and electric companies and I was trying to be quiet.  Prior to that I was keeping up with myself flattening it and putting it in one big box as I went along.  But he took over the job of smoothing and before long that pile disapppeared.

We found sheets, blankets and pillows and have the guest beds made so feel free to drop by.  We even got a shower rod installed in the second bathroom so you can take a shower.  Yesterday we went to the grocery store so the cupboards and refrigerator are at least partially stocked and we'll be able to feed you, too.  But a word of caution, we'll probably make every attempt to put you to work and we aren't above trickery or bribery.  All we see before us is a lot of work.  On the other hand, our new couch is arriving today and we will have a comfy place to crash.  And our daughter and her family are coming to help us out for a few days and we expect some real progress will be made with their muscle, energy and enthusiasm.

Despite my sore muscles and dwindling energy, I'm excited to be getting settled into a brand new house, meeting new people and having a whole new area to explore.  Stay tuned.

Happy New Year

We interupt our tour of Peru to bring you this important message.  Happy New Year!!  May 2015 bring you good health, sufficient wealth and many new adventures.

We'll head back to Peru soon.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I hope the day is all you hoped it would be.

Christmas Eve

It has been a most unusual holiday season for us.  A trip to Peru in early December was a memorable adventure - in a good way - but it interfered with our usual holiday activities.  I'm not complaining, it's just that things are different.  The centerpiece pictured above, for instance, is our Christmas tree.  It's about a simple as one can get but it adds a festive touch to the house.  And John hung lights, pine garland and red velvet bows outside so it is colorful on the outside, too.  There aren't many presents to open which is an indication that we have everything we need and that's a very good thing.  And tomorrow we board the train and head to OR.  It will be our first experience in a sleeper car so I'll report on that upon our return.  In the meantime I've prepared some photos from Peru for your entertainment/education.  There's more than 2500 that I could show but I'll try to limit myself.  Have a very merry Christmas.