Totally Random Tuesday

 

We’re getting the last step of our floor refinishing today … touching up the baseboards and trim.  Once the caulk and paint are dry, we can put the last pieces of furniture back into place. 

 

Our new bed gets delivered this Saturday … the headboard, unfortunately, won’t be delivered for another 3-4 weeks.  I’ve got the bedding … and the fabric for a coordinating wall quilt.  So the bedroom will look brand new.  We’re moving the queen-sized mattress to the spare bedroom, but we’ll use the existing bedding … the comforter is a full/queen sized, and it was really much too large for a full-sized bed.  Hopefully it will fit the queen-sized bed nicely.  We’ve got a new headboard for it coming, too … in a few weeks. 

 

Am I the only one who has trouble with coming up with post titles?  Maybe it’s because most of my posts are random musings with no theme. 

 

The triple-digit temperatures are returning … and no realistic chance for rain.  What a summer this has been.  I’ve been faithfully watering our potted plants, but I’m not sure that it’s done much good, other than keeping the plants alive.  The buds on my hibiscus literally fried from the heat.  About the only flowers that are still blooming are my verbena and my daisies. 

 

DD reports that Holly appears to be fully recovered from whatever ailed her last week … she’s eating, drinking, and playing like she did before she got sick. 

 

I’ve been watching NCIS on DVD when there have been breaks in the Olympic television coverage … I’m now half way through Season 3.  I’m hoping to get caught up before the new season begins this fall, but we’ll have to see how that goes.  Hopefully our library system has all 9 seasons. 

 

Tomorrow is August 1 … it’s hard to believe that July is just about over.  Time flies when we’re having fun! 

 

Weekend Wrap-up

It seems like it was just a couple of days ago that I was doing a Weekend Wrap-up … yet it’s time for another one.  How time flies when we’re having fun. 

We had a fairly quiet weekend, which was a welcome relief after the chaotic week we had here at Chez Nana.  Things are pretty much back to normal (of course, normal is a relative term ). 

I was able to spend a little time with my needle and thread on Friday afternoon … and Season Two of NCIS.


Saturday morning found us putting our furniture back into place … most of it, anyway.  There are a few pieces that will remain sequestered in my sewing room … allowing easier access for touching up the baseboards (they were removed and reinstalled, so there are a few nail holes that need some wood putty and paint).
Go figure … I tried and tried to get an accurate picture of the floors, and of course I get one that turned out pretty well when trying to take a picture of the furniture back in place.

We got some much-needed rain Sunday morning … while it wasn’t nearly enough to do much good (we had about .15” of rain in our gauge), it was rain!  The last time we had ANY rain here was on June 14 when we got .17”, so we were thrilled to see it rain … and when I saw the drops accumulating on the deck, I had to take a picture to record this rare event! 

 If you click on the photo, it will open up ... and you can see the rain drops! 

I spent more time quilting on Saturday and Sunday, but instead of watching NCIS, I watched the Olympics. 
I’m not sure why the picture on the TV looks so foggy … it definitely wasn’t IRL.  I tried 2-3 shots in hopes of getting a better shot of the screen … but this was the best I could get.

I didn’t get a picture of Holly, but we got good news this weekend that I just have to share … it appears that she’s doing much, much better … she’s eating, drinking and playing like normal. 

Friday Fragments

 

 

I’ve been getting up even earlier lately … all those years I swore I was a night owl … I would never ever have dreamt that I’d be getting up before the sun is.  Thankfully I enjoy the peace and quiet in the morning.

 

 

I was finally able to get a photo that comes reasonably close to capturing the look of our new floors. 

The floors are a little darker than they show in the picture, but this is close.  Once we get our furniture back in place (tomorrow), we’ll be back to normal.

 

 

I’ve got a couple of quick errands to run this morning, and after that, I am free for the rest of the day and am hoping to spend some time with my needle and thread … I haven’t quilted all week, and I have some catching up to do.  Especially since I wasn’t able to do any quilting on Threading the Needle Day! 

 

 

My laptop seems to have gotten awfully slooooow lately.  I’ve cleaned the disk, done a “defrag”, and scanned for spyware.  So far nothing unusual has shown up.    I’m not a very patient person, so waiting for stuff to load is annoying.

 

 

We’re back to double-digit temperatures, but I wouldn’t say that it’s cooling off … the highs are still going to be 5-8 degrees above normal.  And the rain that was forecast for yesterday?  Not a drop. 

 

 

Why is it that now that we have a king-sized bed coming, that queen-sized bed seems even smaller? 

 

 

Our “grandpuppy” Holly is a very sick little girl.  DD noticed that she hadn’t been quite herself over the last couple of days and took her into the vet yesterday.  After a bit of a bounce-back yesterday afternoon, Holly took a dramatic turn for the worse early evening, and their vet met them at the clinic.  I was shocked when DD told me that the bill for the after-hours office visit and meds was less than $65. 

 

There's No Place Like Home ...

At least not yet!  Our hardwood floors are finished, and we’re not longer being displaced, we still won’t be home today!    I’ll be watching the Ts this afternoon, and DH is going to a coin show this afternoon - about an hour from here.

We just LOVE the way our floors turned out.  I was going to post the before and after, but I didn’t take a very good before shot … because I aimed at the slider, it made everything dark … so the floors looked much darker than they really were.  They were oak with  no stain, just finishing … which was waaaaay too light for my taste.  I tried taking a picture this afternoon, when we got home, but if I aimed the camera at the outside light, everything was too dark again … if I aimed the camera away from the outside light, everything was too light.  I tried later in the day, toward sunset, but then I needed the flash which lightened the flooring too much.  I just couldn’t get a photo that did justice to the stain color.  I’ll keep trying … maybe one of these days the lighting will be just right to be a good picture.  But, regardless, they turned out beautiful … and the color is perfect!  All the displacement and inconvenience was worth it!  

We had a nice drive to Hannibal … the drive up is a 4-lane limited access highway that might as well be out in the middle of nowhere in  Missouri … we went through 2 very small towns, but other than, it’s all farmland … so I was surprised at the states represented on cars that we encountered:  Texas, Ontario, Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas and Alabama … and of course, Missouri, Illinois and Iowa (the highway runs all the way up into/through Iowa to Wisconsin to Minnesota … and Iowa is only about 90 miles from Hannibal). 

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

It’s Hump Day … and time for the Hodgepodge!

 

1. The Summer Olympics officially begin this Friday night...will you be watching? If you could see just one event in person which one would you pick?

Yes, I’ll be watching … I love the Olympics!  In the Summer Olympics, I love the swimming and diving events especially.  So if I could see just one, it’d probably be one of the high dive events … that’s as much as I could narrow it down. 

 

2.Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?

I can’t remember a day where I did absolutely nothing (even my laziest days involve some quilting … since it’s so enjoyable and relaxing for me), so a lazy day is still a productive one.  And they make me feel rested and restored.

 

3. July 25th is 'officially' Threading the Needle Day...can you sew? On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being not at all and 10 being Betsy Ross-like, how would you rate your skill with a needle and thread?

One of the greatest legacies my mom left was love of sewing (right after love of reading).  She made sure that my sister and I learned to sew.  The first thing I remember sewing was an A-line skirt (have I given away my age yet? ha!).  I sewed all of DD’s dresses when she was a little girl.  I’d say that I’m probably an 8.  I won’t be threading the needle on Threading the Needle Day … the house is such a mess with furniture moved all over the place to accommodate the floor refinishers, so I don’t have a spot to sit and quilt … otherwise, I’d definitely be celebrating that day with a needle and thread!  

 

4. 'Threading the Needle' can also mean to walk a fine line between two things or issues (think awkward social situation). When was the last time you had to 'thread the needle', figuratively speaking?

Probably when dealing with people of differing political persuasions, especially if those people happen to be family, and especially if they happen to be quite outspoken in their opinions. 

 

5. Kidney, pinto, black, or navy...your favorite bean?

I like them all.  I love kidney and pinto beans in chili.  I always use black beans when making taco salad.  And I use navy beans in my white chili. 

 

6. Have you ever hosted a garage sale? Was it more success or bust?

Yes, and I’ve sworn never again … too much work with too little to show for it.  Instead, I give away what I can and take the rest to Goodwill.  I do get a gift receipt from Goodwill so I can claim it on our taxes, so we do profit a little … probably as much as if I had a garage sale. 

 

7. What makes you roll your eyes?

Probably when DH tells some of his corny jokes … he’s got a strange sense of humor, that’s for sure.   

 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Today is our last day of being displaced.  We’ve run all our errands and done all our shopping.  It’s supposed to get back up to 107 today, so it’ll be too hot to do anything outside (oh if only it were cooler, we’d definitely visit the Lantern Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis.)  So … what to do in the 6 hours before the floors are dry enough to walk on?  We decided to drive up along the river to Hannibal, MO. 

Checking In

 

Just a quick check-in here at the Bread Co.  … we’re still “displaced,” but we should be able to get back into the house earlier today than we did yesterday.  The job yesterday took longer than they anticipated, so we weren’t able to get back into the house until close to 8:30 last night (we had to wait until the stain dried … there’s so much hardwood that there is no way to get anywhere else in the house without walking on hardwoods).  We’re very pleased with the stain color we chose and can’t wait to see how it looks with the finish and the baseboards back up/appliances back in place. 

 

Yesterday we shopped for mattresses and bedding.  We hit the jackpot … our mattresses will be delivered on Saturday … I can’t wait!  The only thing I need to get are towels in a brick red for the master bath.  Today we’ll go shopping for fabric for my next quilt (or two).  DH has brought a book, so I’ll be free to shop as long as I like. 

 

It’s going to be another hot one today … and tomorrow.    And that’s not the heat index, either.

See that rain in the forecast for Thursday?  Don’t go holding your breath waiting for it to happen … there’s a 30% chance of rain, which in these parts means 0% (even in non-drought conditions). 

 

Weekend Wrap-up

Once again, another weekend has come and gone.  Even though I’m retired, the weekends seem to fly by.
 
I had a very quiet weekend … the only thing on my schedule was going to DD’s to care for her cats and to water the plants they put in just before it got hot and dry.
 
On Friday, I watered the new plants I put in the landscaping along the east side of the house and noticed this:
I should have laid a quarter next to the crack to give an idea of how big of a crack it is … I did measure it, and it’s 2” wide at the widest and 3” deep.  This is on the east side of the house, where it gets only morning sun … and is not the only one either. 

I mentioned, already, that my sweetie thought to check to see if our library had NCIS on DVD for rent … and brought home Season One.    I had an NCIS marathon this weekend … and quilted while getting caught up on the NCIS team.  I’m ready for Season Two now.

Sunday we spent our evening moving all our furniture and cleaning out our coat closet and our pantry in preparation for the floor refinishers to arrive tomorrow morning. 

While I didn’t take this picture (DD sent it Saturday from her cell phone, hence the less-than-stellar quality), I had to share a picture of my new grandpuppy. 
Her name is Hollie, and she’s a Bichon/Yorkie mix puppy.  I hope to get to meet her face-to-face over the next couple of days.  Speaking of DD, they returned from their Colorado vacation late Saturday evening.  I can’t wait to see them (and Hollie)! 

I’m sure that by now all of you are aware of the horrible tragedy in Aurora, CO.  A fellow quilter Quiltingranny is hoping to be able to help those who had to respond to this horrible event by providing hand-made quilts or blankets and has asked for some help in putting out the request.  You can get more information at her website.