You know you are working too hard when you feel the need to go to work to get some rest! Sounds backwards, I know, but we have really worked hard at home lately. Of course, this backfired and the ambulance service I work for was really busy...so I'm looking forward to a short vacation next week when we will go to our campground membership and enjoy fun and fellowship with friends in the great outdoors.
In addition to the yard work I've already shown you, we have started some major work inside as well. We have laid new flooring in the family room, which a much needed re-do. We chose laminate because we like the look of hardwood flooring. We have hardwood throughout most of the house, but this room was renovated from the original garage many years ago and had some linoleum that had been there a long time. It was old, brittle, and dry. It had begun to curl around the edges and was pulling up at the seam. We would have loved to put in actual hardwood, but it just was not in the budget. When we began considering new flooring, we had to consider the fireplace, which we still use every winter, and didn't want to have burn marks on the new floor. Those pesky coals have a way of escaping, no matter how careful one tries to be. After talking over many options, we decided to tile in front of the fireplace. Of course, this lead to many more discussions...what shape to lay the tiles out in, what type of tile, what color.....it amazed me how many things we had to consider, and agree upon. And that was just the tile decision! LOL
Everything is coming together, however....and I'm loving the changes we are making. Papa is a Craig's List shopper....and he has found some real bargains....we saved hundreds of dollars on our flooring....and he bought a bay window! We had discussed putting in a new window on the west wall when we did our renovations, because the window was in really bad shape. You know you are losing heat and cool, when you feel the air coming in around the window....and you can see $$$ leaving the house when the curtains blow with the windows closed! Anyway, he only spent $100 on the actual window....and it is perfect! What amazes me still is the way you think you have the expensive parts purchased...but then you start picking up the "essentials" at a "Home Store" and after several trips of $100+, you finally have everything you need to complete the project! Of course, there are those days you are actually working fervently, and you have to make multiple trips to said "Home Store"...but that is the way a big project always goes, at least for us.
I didn't take time to take before pictures, and I'm still regretting that, but after searching through more photos than I can count, I did find a Christmas photo that shows the fireplace area before:
And here is the same area today:
We are still trying to decide whether to change up the brick wall or not. The color of the tile and floor tie in really well with the brick, but I'm still not sure about keeping it as is. Any opinions out there? We are still planning on doing some shelving/storage on each side of the mantle, so that will help to lessen the amount of brick showing as well.
I never could find a before picture of the window. But here is what we have now:
I am LOVING this window! Papa says it looks like it was always meant to be there, and I agree. It will take a few months for the window trim to "age" to the darkness of the rest of the trim, but it won't be long until you won't be able to tell that this was not the original window. I have purchased the cafe rods to use for the curtains. I was hoping to do tension rods, but I couldn't find them short enough for each window. One of the most exciting things for me is that I will now have a west window that I can set plants in! The window is only 9" deep, but it is a nice little ledge for some living plants and prim gathering. I can't wait to get down to the actual decorating! I hope to search for just the right curtains, and then make my own. I have the green checked homespun waiting and ready.
I did take a break and spend some time with one of my best friends, Tina, and her grandson last week. We had to run some errands for the guys, took the opportunity to eat some lunch together and then snuck away for a bit of photography at a local Conservation Area to try to capture the Indian Paintbrush in full bloom. Of course, we picked a day that cool, rainy and W-I-N-D-Y!!! LOL Trying to get "still" shots of wild flowers in the wind is a challenge to say the least. I did get a few decent shots, however:
Here you get an idea of the vast field of Indian Paintbrush in bloom. It would have been breathtaking to come upon one of these stands in the pioneer days when crossing the area in covered wagon. I can only imagine what it might have been like to crest a hill and have a sea of orange stretched out before your eyes. I can just see the pioneer children running through the sea of flowers, arms outstretched, laughter ringing in the air. From what I understand, there are very few areas in the midwest where the native prairie flowers have survived the farmers' plow and modern development. Up close the flowers are brilliant, and sight worth taking the time to see.
Tina's grandson, Wade is such a cutie! I have to admit that except for my own grandchildren he is the cutest kid I know. He had his own camera, provided by his "Mimi" so that he could take pictures, too.
After a while, Wade became tired of the whole affair, but he was still very photogenic.
As busy as life gets, it is always good to take a little time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. For me photography is a stress relief, and good way to capture the simplest joys in life. Reminders that even when life is hectic, and there don't seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish everything, are very special. I challenge everyone to take a couple hours in the coming week to just sit back and enjoy life.
In addition to the yard work I've already shown you, we have started some major work inside as well. We have laid new flooring in the family room, which a much needed re-do. We chose laminate because we like the look of hardwood flooring. We have hardwood throughout most of the house, but this room was renovated from the original garage many years ago and had some linoleum that had been there a long time. It was old, brittle, and dry. It had begun to curl around the edges and was pulling up at the seam. We would have loved to put in actual hardwood, but it just was not in the budget. When we began considering new flooring, we had to consider the fireplace, which we still use every winter, and didn't want to have burn marks on the new floor. Those pesky coals have a way of escaping, no matter how careful one tries to be. After talking over many options, we decided to tile in front of the fireplace. Of course, this lead to many more discussions...what shape to lay the tiles out in, what type of tile, what color.....it amazed me how many things we had to consider, and agree upon. And that was just the tile decision! LOL
Everything is coming together, however....and I'm loving the changes we are making. Papa is a Craig's List shopper....and he has found some real bargains....we saved hundreds of dollars on our flooring....and he bought a bay window! We had discussed putting in a new window on the west wall when we did our renovations, because the window was in really bad shape. You know you are losing heat and cool, when you feel the air coming in around the window....and you can see $$$ leaving the house when the curtains blow with the windows closed! Anyway, he only spent $100 on the actual window....and it is perfect! What amazes me still is the way you think you have the expensive parts purchased...but then you start picking up the "essentials" at a "Home Store" and after several trips of $100+, you finally have everything you need to complete the project! Of course, there are those days you are actually working fervently, and you have to make multiple trips to said "Home Store"...but that is the way a big project always goes, at least for us.
I didn't take time to take before pictures, and I'm still regretting that, but after searching through more photos than I can count, I did find a Christmas photo that shows the fireplace area before:
And here is the same area today:
We are still trying to decide whether to change up the brick wall or not. The color of the tile and floor tie in really well with the brick, but I'm still not sure about keeping it as is. Any opinions out there? We are still planning on doing some shelving/storage on each side of the mantle, so that will help to lessen the amount of brick showing as well.
I never could find a before picture of the window. But here is what we have now:
I am LOVING this window! Papa says it looks like it was always meant to be there, and I agree. It will take a few months for the window trim to "age" to the darkness of the rest of the trim, but it won't be long until you won't be able to tell that this was not the original window. I have purchased the cafe rods to use for the curtains. I was hoping to do tension rods, but I couldn't find them short enough for each window. One of the most exciting things for me is that I will now have a west window that I can set plants in! The window is only 9" deep, but it is a nice little ledge for some living plants and prim gathering. I can't wait to get down to the actual decorating! I hope to search for just the right curtains, and then make my own. I have the green checked homespun waiting and ready.
I did take a break and spend some time with one of my best friends, Tina, and her grandson last week. We had to run some errands for the guys, took the opportunity to eat some lunch together and then snuck away for a bit of photography at a local Conservation Area to try to capture the Indian Paintbrush in full bloom. Of course, we picked a day that cool, rainy and W-I-N-D-Y!!! LOL Trying to get "still" shots of wild flowers in the wind is a challenge to say the least. I did get a few decent shots, however:
Here you get an idea of the vast field of Indian Paintbrush in bloom. It would have been breathtaking to come upon one of these stands in the pioneer days when crossing the area in covered wagon. I can only imagine what it might have been like to crest a hill and have a sea of orange stretched out before your eyes. I can just see the pioneer children running through the sea of flowers, arms outstretched, laughter ringing in the air. From what I understand, there are very few areas in the midwest where the native prairie flowers have survived the farmers' plow and modern development. Up close the flowers are brilliant, and sight worth taking the time to see.
Tina's grandson, Wade is such a cutie! I have to admit that except for my own grandchildren he is the cutest kid I know. He had his own camera, provided by his "Mimi" so that he could take pictures, too. He quickly tired of taking pictures of the flowers and turned to taking pictures of me, taking pictures of him! LOL
I caught this shot of him as he was teasing me, trying to scare me. It couldn't have come out better if we had posed him for it. I love it when I actually get a good photograph.
As busy as life gets, it is always good to take a little time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. For me photography is a stress relief, and good way to capture the simplest joys in life. Reminders that even when life is hectic, and there don't seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish everything, are very special. I challenge everyone to take a couple hours in the coming week to just sit back and enjoy life.
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