The Turquoise Room

Ok, This:




is the color I have painted the new room
(new for me to use because a grown-up daughter moved out)

(this image is taken from
http://theinspiredroom.net/2010/01/25/colored-walls/
where there are a lot of great ideas)


My new room will be my office/reading room, and also, hopefully, a place for conversation. Daughter's bed will stay, in the form of a day bed piled with pillows for comfy lounging. I envision people reading there sometimes. My new writing desk will be there, too. I hope to get a lot of studying accomplished in my new room.

I am happy to see, in the photo above, that the floors are tan, because that's close to the color of the carpet I plan to put in there. I wanted the color of sand at the beach, only more speckled to hide the inevitable spills and wear that happen at my house.

I will show you more pictures as they happen. So far, the walls are painted.

I do like to paint... especially when my kids are working with me.


They have their own way of making it fun. (Really? A skull and crossbones?) I love these kids so much!

Next, another son is coming the week after next to paint the ceiling and add white crown molding.

I plan to hang a very old (over 100 yrs) door on the wall, sideways, as decoration, so this next week I want to get that cleaned up and ready to bring inside. Since it's been sitting outdoors, it's gotten dirty along the bottom edge. I want to clean it up but leave the weathered paint alone. This vintage door came from the old farm house at the far end of our land that used to belong to friends. We bought our land from that old farmer. They are gone now. The old house, built in 1897, is gone now. But I have a few pieces of it, and this old door is one of the pieces. I think it will look great, weathered white paint against the deep turquoise.

The carpet is ordered and waiting for these things to get done before it is installed.

It is so great that when I mentioned to Husband that I was thinking about turning this room into my office, he immediately agreed!

I will keep you posted as to my progress. I'm really excited about this. I do not get to redo a room very often, so this is a big deal! I am having a lot of fun with this!

new joys. constantly.

429. ripe, sweet pear, brought fresh this morning from the farmer's market, juicy goodness glistening in the sun

430. the luxury of a pedicure

431. bright pink nail polish

432. fresh paint, making a room new

433. subscriptions to online comics bringing me smiles every day

434. seeing a friendly dog downtown that reminded me of The Never Ending Story.

(She looks kind of like that big white friendly creature in the movie, doesn't she?)

435. Learning together with my midwifery sister-students. There is something special about being with these women. Hanging out with them nourishes my soul.

436. Adirondack chairs right outside my door, waiting for the break when I take a cup of tea, or a tall glass of water, and rest a few minutes

437. warm breezes after a run of fall-cool days. This feels better!

438. street musicians spreading music and good will all through the neighborhood

random beauty

422. small, red barn in bright yellow field surrounded by a deep green bank of trees, colors all sharpened by misty rain

423. Wedding colors: deep purple and apple green. very pretty, very fun!

424. these cupcakes! by Cupcake Zoo

425. gazebo at river's edge

426. finding new shops to browse while we wait

427. everyone being flexible when the weather turns wet. Flexibility is a great quality!

428. little girls in pretty, dressy dresses, all shined up for a special occasion

long day, short poem

bright half moon
deep black sky
long hard day
good sweet night


(Some days just take more work than others, and it is really good to see them end. Rest looks very inviting!)

Random Pleasures

407. the cherry on top!

408. sun-bleached curls gleaming on little children

409. baby laugh, all bellyful and chuckly, and you can't help but laugh with!

410. creme brulee

411. long braids on sweet girls

412. eyes that shine all happy

413. rain splatters on the window

414. love's caresses, soft and gentle

415. sun breaking through

416. tiramisu

417. late day sky of purple and orange

418. being with friends

419. inside jokes, when all you have to do is look and you both break into knowing smiles

420. breakfast out

421. having a baby fall asleep on you, knowing that you are their safe place right then. Such trust and comfort. What an honor!

(more of my list of joys and thank yous. Because no matter what, there is always much to be thankful for.)

What I've been working on today

Today I have a project. I'm refinishing this:


This is my dad's old workbench.
It's full of splatters and gouges and love.
When we were little, sometimes he'd call out,
"Who wants to come help me in my workshop?"
and if we chose, we could go down in the basement and "help" him.
We held the board while he cut it, helped him read the numbers on the tape measure,
or handed him things.
Sometimes we just watched.

I watched him use the plane and I was amazed. I could never get that thing to work like he did! When Dad used the plane to smooth a board, great blond curlicues of wood would come out of it, and he would let me play with them. When I tried, not one thing came curling out.
That plane was like magic to me!
I loved that tool!

There used to be a vice attached to the side of this old desk, and there are chunks cut off the edge where the saw was sharp and the board was clamped too close to the tabletop.

When we worked with Dad at his workbench, we learned about measuring
and cutting and teamwork and life.

I always liked this desk. I like the strong, graceful turn of the legs,
and all the memories piled up in it.

I was mighty happy when he said I could have it!!
I mean really, mighty happy!

This afternoon I was refinishing it outdoors at my house.

I didn't take a good "before" picture of the whole thing, but here you can get an idea of what the top looked like with paint spilled and holes drilled and the corner
sort of cut off at a little bit of a funny angle.

It's had quite a history!

Here is the section of the top that I worked on already. The cuts and scratches still show, but the beautiful grain is beginning to shine through. Some of the paint splashes came off, but some were untouched by the refinisher I was using. I love that it still looks rough, used, and laden with rich, sweet stories, yet is much cleaner and just a little bit smoothed out.

But just a little bit.

Isn't it a pretty shape? I've always loved it!

and...

It is going to be my new writing desk!

I am excited!

Eventually, today's strong winds put a stop to my progress. The refinisher was evaporating too fast. I got the first step done, and I am going back to finish it later, when the wind dies down.



(This is another post related to:
http://seedlingsinstone.blogspot.com/2010/09/on-in-and-around-mondays-chair.html
just so you know.)

Birthday Happiness

(adding to my list of joys and thank yous)

392. So many friends wishing me a Happy Birthday on Facebook!!

393. Husband taking me out shopping for a birthday treat.

394. A surprise party given me by my wonderful family.

395. Birthday cheesecake! With chocolate drizzled over the top. And raspberries. Yes, indeed!

396. The fact that they put the right number of candles on that thing! Wow!

397. Blowing all the candles out in one breath! (So... I get my wish then, right?)

398. Ribbon streamers hanging from the ceiling!

399. Balloons! (I like balloons.)

400. Being surrounded by tiny girls wishing me "Hoppy Booday".

401. Birthday coupons, such as...

402. Free Birthday Coffee! And...

403. Free Birthday Ice Cream! And...

404. Free Birthday Dinner Entree!

405. Celebrating my birthday for days, weeks, as long as I want!

406. "Belated" birthday greetings, otherwise known as "extended" birthday greetings!

406. Friends who tolerate my endless celebration.
They even encourage this nonsense! I have such great friends!