sewing update...

"The girls" were a HUGE hit with Sofia.  :-)  She has instructed Nicholas to NOT touch her "Blybe" dolls -- and -- she brings them to her room at night and puts them in her doll furniture bed(s).  She loves the brown haired doll more than the doll in this picture -- which is fine with me because they have different body types and I need this one for proper sizing for sewing.

I have almost finished the collar on Sofia's Halloween costume.  I will post a picture of my progress on that in a few days.

Hope everyone is staying dry on this rainy and windy last day of September...

want to play?

For those of you who don't know what you're looking at...  These dolls are my latest obsession.  The military action figure is from a collection of Nicholas' latest obsession.  I've been waiting two weeks for the dolls to arrive in the mail -- all the way from Thailand.  Today, Nicholas was home from school with a cold when the mailman came to the door with the package.  I signed for it and he sat with me while I opened it and unwrapped "the girls".  He was fascinated by their color change eye mechanism, and, examined that for awhile.  I left the room to do some work on Sofia's Halloween costume and when I came back, the military guy was just standing there looking at "the girls".  Hmmm... I think he likes them, too...

another tree related post...

Those happy tree planting guys came by this morning and left this for us!

This was not one of the trees that the official "tree people" tagged.  When they were tagging the trees, I took the orange plastic ribbon off of one, split it in half, put half back on the officially tagged tree, and, then told Sofia to tie the other half around the pathetic looking tree that was in this spot. (Please keep this secret between you and me -- don't tell "them" what I did, okay?)  I really didn't expect anything because the "tree people" that are in charge have their lists and their clipboards and their pencils and whatever else tree people need to do their job.  I'm just guessing that they didn't like the looks of that other tree either.  Do you think they'll go across the street and replace that dead pine tree -- the one you can see in the background of this picture?  Or, would that be just asking too much?

prep work...

The supplies we purchased this past Thursday will be delivered next Saturday.  Since the weather is cool and overcast today, Rick decided to do a little prep work -- Ozzy thought he would help too!

Okay, it has taken about 5 minutes and the spindles are off.  Guess Rick can relax for the rest of today!  :-)

expect nothing...

Let me just say upfront that I am not a pessimist.  I am a realist and I expect to have to work really hard for what I have or to have good things to happen.  But, today...

1)  Rick and I ventured into the land beyond Home Depot and Lowe's.  We went to a local building supply store in search of railing and decking for the back steps.  This job has been put on the back burner a number of times simply because we could not find the supplies we wanted.  Not sure of what we were in for, we were pleasantly surprised.  First, the store was immaculately clean.  Second, the sales people were friendly.  And, third, but most important -- the sales people were KNOWLEDGEABLE.  Our sales associate and, my new best friend, Andy, worked with us for about 1 1/2 hours so that we could have everything we needed to do the job right.  He shows us the breakdown of supplies and then the price.  It is about twice what I thought we would have to spend.  Andy, my new best friend, tells us to "hang on" and he works some numbers.  Okay, the price is coming down, but not far enough yet.  Andy, tells us to "hang on" again, while he goes out into the storage building.  He comes back in with some supplies that are lower in price.  Andy has now saved us over $300 -- PLUS -- the supplies are being delivered to us for free.  Andy has also saved me the hours of aggravation I would have spent trying to find the perfect supplies for the job at the best price.  Did I get rockbottom prices -- no.  Did I get the quality I want in the supplies at a very good price without aggravation -- yes.  I am happy.  :-)

2)  I am thinking that Nicholas will be home from school already when we get home -- but he is not.  There are 3 messages on the phone answering machine.  Two are from Nicholas and he sounds out of breath and a little upset.  Uh oh... I am thinking that I had a good thing happen, so, now here is the "bad" thing that is balancing it.  I check the caller ID menu and both messages are from the school office. ??  I look on the kitchen counter, and, there is Nicholas' cell phone.  I call the school office and find Nicholas there, unharmed.  He missed the bus.  I ask him what time is the next bus.  He tells me that there is another one to bring him home in about 10 minutes -- but -- if I want to come and get him he would be happy.  Yes, you guessed right -- I ruined his "happy".  The decision was good.  He arrived home, a little late, but otherwise no worse for the wear.

3)  I check the mailbox and find this coupon for a Christmas play at a Princeton theatre -- it's not the Nutcracker, but it is 50% off ticket prices for a performance on the first Sunday in December.  Sounds like a good idea.  I go online and check seating -- and with the help of Miss Sofia and Rick we find 4 good seats together.  Everything is good.  I go to check out of my shopping cart and I can't put in the coupon code.  Sigh... I figure it was too good to be true.  But wait -- they have live online help at the website.  I try that and the online help guy tells me to call in to purchase the tickets -- he says the website is having problems and I will save on the "website" per ticket fee by doing so.  I call.  The phone person takes my information and gives me a total -- it is $40 less than I would have paid if I had purchased the tickets on the website.  Hooray!

After all the chaos from the past 2 weeks, I was in dire need of "the happy ending"!  Maybe I can relax a little now.  Hope your week ended on a high note also.

P.S.  The saying is:  Expect nothing...and you shall receive everything!  :-)

swirling dervish...

dervish (dur-vish) ~ noun. One that possesses abundant, often frenzied energy: "[She] is a dervish of unfocused energy, an accident about to happen." (Jane Gross)

Yup.  That's describes me to perfection this past week -- but I'm outta gas -- so...I think I'm done.

Oh, what about the picture?  Just reminding you guys to get your flu shots -- yes, we got ours.

queen of halloween...

Watch out Martha!



Another "queen" is on her way!




And, sew... the transformation begins...

yes, bartholemew...

...it's that time of the year again!

I look at this covered version of the pool more than the open version of the pool. I believe we need a heater to stretch our swimming season. Anyone know where I can get one for a reasonable price?

-----

f.y.i. -- Bartholemew is the name of the plastic shark. He has been our pool mascot since our days back in NY. I don't know why his name is Bartholemew. He belongs to Nicholas, so you would need to ask him about that.

if you're looking for the quiet...

You are definitely in the wrong place! Remember this...?? Well, let's see if the men who carry shovels and play with big machines can follow the instructions their graffiti counterparts left for them. I need to get out of here for awhile. The smell of burning asphalt makes me dizzy(er) than usual. I'm just happy the temperature is only about 60 degrees, low humidity, with a little breeze.

pretty, foggy...

...morning.



We haven't seen fog this thick in quite some time. I don't mind it at all.

bee bop sunflower hop...

We have the most amazing sunflowers this year! Some are over 10 feet in height. Some have over 10 flowers on one plant. Some grow in mostly shade. They are almost magical. We need to spread the goodness to more than just our little corner of the world. I will put the seeds from these plants aside to dry. If you are loving the sunflowers and need some seeds to plant in your own corner of the world, just let me know and I will put you on the list (I don't have a list yet, but, I would love to make one -- perhaps on the back of one of my envelopes!) Bee, bop...do you think Larry would approve? :-)

hello...hello...

Where are you guys? no comments...no emails...no return phone calls...

The one-sided conversations with Sofia's dolls are just not doing if for me.



I'm going to have to start talking to strangers...and we all know that would not be a good thing!

only because it's red...

I opened the can of paint and the cover went "splat" -- paint side down onto the drop cloth. I patted myself on the back for preparing the area and having a drop cloth in the right place at the right time. The actual painting was pretty uneventful. A few little spots on the ceiling that were easily removed. A few other spots on the tape and adjoining wall(s) which are going to be painted a dark gray anyway.

I made it all the way down the wall, and...then...I stepped in the "splat"! Oh well -- I didn't need that sock anyway.

The red wall looks great! Now, it's time to move on to the white woodwork, and, ceiling. :-)

this is where I've been...

...armed with RED paint and squeezed behind some furniture in Nicholas' room.

Ya know, Martha did a "good thing" by switching paint manufacturers. I LOVE this paint. It goes on like a dream AND there is no paint smell. Apparently she has her own formula and it is "low VOC". Good job, Martha!

"the lovely wall"...

Once upon a time, there was a girl who dreamed of having a lovely home. In her home, she dreamed of a lovely wall complete with a mirror, a console table, and, a built in bench seat with light fixture. This wall would be in the front entry area for all guests to see upon entering her lovely home.

May 2007...



The builders of the home, Mr. T., and his brother, Mr. T. had a different dream which did not include a lovely wall in the floorplan of the lovely home. When the girl requested the wall, they said "no, no, no...". They built the lovely home, but not the lovely wall. They were mean and selfish. They made the girl cry. The home was not "lovely".



and so, time passed...

...until one day, a young man came riding by upon a (saw)horse. He asked the young girl, "why do you weep so"? She replied..."my home is not lovely". He scrunched up his face, scratched his head, and, thought to himself -- "she's bananas". But, relying on many years of experience, he did not say what he thought out loud. He replied "I will go get my trusty assistant and we will build you the wall of your dreams. You shall weep no longer."

She smiled and said "You must build it just like the one here in my Martha Stewart magazine, because, she is the boss of everything". The young man and his trusty assistant agreed to do as the young girl requested.

...and, so a little more time passed as the wall was built (November 2008)...

and, by December 2008 -- just in time for Christmas -- the wall was complete.

...but something was not right. Where was "the lovely" the young girl sought after? Alas, more time would pass, until...

...yesterday! :-)

now, be serious...

This is our "day before we go back to school" face...



This is my "naa naa you have to go back to school tomorrow" face...





They say you lose alot of what you learned in school over the summer vacation. Let's see if I can still count to five...



Hooray, I'm sooo happy...(not!)



Hooray, I want to be just like my older brother...(not!)



Bye, bye summer vacation...



This is my "I think I'm gonna miss you guys" face...