Paint Smackdown Part II

Why oh why are there SO many choices?

I chose jet black.....satin finish......high end paint.

Left with my dignity intact.

And now the sun had gone and the rain has returned and my project is thwarted.......

In other news the Laundry Room Project is done....... standby for before and after pics.....

Paint Smackdown

I am off to buy paint.......

This is what happened last time I tried to buy paint.

So light a candle, say a prayer, cross your fingers......whatever it takes.....I am not going down this time.

This time...... I need black paint.......

NO PROBLEM PEOPLE........NO PROBLEM......

How hard can it be to get black paint?

D I M

Some DIY........ this weekend I am going to DIM.....Do.It.Myself.

One of the rooms I love the most in my house is the Laundry Room.

It is also the room I hate the most when "everything" gets dumped in it.

So this weekend I am gutting it, throwing a little paint on the walls, sorting, chucking things, re-organising.....

I am excited. 

I love taking on home improvement projects. 

It grounds me...gives me purpose...we often do it as a family but Allan has papers to write and marking to do so he is only available for consultation (and intervention in dire circumstances!).  The kids will pitch in, I am sure,.....with commentary and advice if nothing else!

Starting a project and finishing it is a great feeling of accomplishment. 

I am sure it won't look gorgeous all the time and we will revert to our old "dump it in the Laundry Room and close the door" ways soon enough.....

But this weekend victory over the Laundry Room will be mine

My "after" photo's will not rival these beauties (due to my lack of a large budget, a crew of professionals and an interior designer....to name a few reasons) but I am sure I will be happy nonetheless.......one can dream....

Seasons and Possibilities

As it feels a "Season" of our life is coming to a close, which grieves me, I am very comforted by the Spring, the changing of the garden outside and all the possibilities it holds.

I carry a diary, I have Google calendar on my laptop, a calendar on my iPhone........but all I need to remind of the week it was when we bought our current home is for the Rhododendron to bloom.  As we took that scary plunge into home ownership I clearly remember standing on the sidewalk taking a picture of the house (long before we moved in) and those Rhodo's were in full bloom.  Each year I enjoy the memory of that as the bud turn into flowers.

I just finished this book

It was a good read and it is, in part,  about vegetable gardening.  Our little veggie patch is doing quite well - after the water-logged misadventure that the start of last year was we are delighted with the progress so far.....in just two weeks everything is thriving.  We have had some lovely warm weather which kick-started everything (in fact the lettuce and spinach are finding it a tad warm). 

 These little pea shoots and carrot shoots (which we will have to thin out this weekend) were just seeds two weeks ago......and here they are pushing through the dark soil to the bright day.

The Garden of Happy Endings....... I am taking that as a sign for myself today that this garden and this "season" will end well.

And I just realised it is supposed to be Wordless Wednesday........oh well

Love in Action

I was so blessed yesterday by the love and hard work of my husband and kids.  I was really able to just enjoy the day without feeling I had to help.....I just let myself be taken care of (not a strong suit of mine usually).

The family was up early and the kitchen was a hive of activity and the smells.......so yummy.

The baking and cooking went on until our guests and my parents arrived and an amazing brunch was served in the glorious backyard sunshine........and I stayed out there in the backyard either eating or reading or drinking tea, chatting.....just being..... until the sun went down (proved by the slightly red tint to my arms and chest today!). 

A gift of a day.  Thank you Allan, Lindsay and David for your hard work and to my parents and Jb and BB who shared it with us.

Warm Maple Walnut scones

Beautiful Table

Beautiful Day

Amazing spread shared with family and friends

My beloved family who worked so hard!

Even cheerful cleaning up!

Don't Blink

When you have small children "old" people tell you how fast they will grow up, how fast the years will fly by... yadda, yadda, yadda......

You smile politely and nod......tired from midnight feeds, sick kids, snotty noses........

You actually wonder if these "old" people have lost their minds and are suggesting you actually enjoy these sleep deprived years of chaos and craziness.

And then sudden things happen.

You look up and your kids are walking, talking, peeing in the toilet.

You give yourself a congratulatory pat on the back and enjoy an uninterrupted latte.

5 minutes later (as you are beginning to give the "old" people's words a bit of respect) you see your children walking through the school doors, playing soccer, dancing on a stage, riding bikes, doing chores, going away to summer camp, flying off to France or Alaska, cleaning their own rooms, texting you, long boarding, surfing, dating, cooking, making their own decisions.....

At this moment there is a GIGANTIC slight twinge in your heart.....this did happen awfully fast.......

And then you look at your diary and realise that in 6 weeks you will have 2 teenagers in highschool. Well almost - we do have the summer as a buffer/transition for my heart and mind.

You want to run out "there" and find those "old" people who told you this would happen and ask them why they they didn't MAKE you understand. You try to bat down the rising panic that your kids days in your home are numbered.

Literally you can count the days......on a calendar......soooooo terribly freaky.

Suddenly those kids who used to creep downstairs early on a Saturday morning to eat cheerios cuddled under a blanket on the couch and yell  "Ola" at Dora........sleep later than their parents and watch creepy sci fi shows.

It's like being hit in the face with a wet fish.....only it stinks more.......and hurts more.........

I have loved every age and stage my kids have gone through.......some a tad more than others....and it's not that I don't love that they are this age and stage.  It just feels like it happened oh too soon, too quickly and although I am sure only a mad woman would want to hold on to the teenage years, I do find myself wanting to hold onto my kids for a bit longer before we build them a house next door to live in launch them into the world.

Two teenagers in highschool.......how the years have flown by.

"Old" people are right.

Wordless Wednesday - Blooming