Feelin' hot, hot, hot.

It was 92 degrees here in Newport News on Thursday. Friday, the high is supposed to be 97. Humid, of course. And on Thursday afternoon, our air conditioner went kaput.

Right now it's 2:00 Friday morning, and the temp in the house is 83 degrees, even with fans in the windows and ceiling fans abuzz. The a/c guy is coming sometime in the morning. Think good thoughts for the speedy recovery of my air conditioner! Tonight is unpleasant, and tomorrow will be worse!

(I know the world hummed happily along for thousands of years, pre-air conditioning...but that's not a world I would ever want to live in...not if I had to live in Virginia, anyway!)

Scrappin' stuff.

Here are a few more layouts I did yesterday.

This one contains the Christmas card photo I sent out last year. I think the Basic Grey background paper is just perfect for it!

I started scrapping nine years ago in 8.5x11 (vertical), then moved to 12x12 after a couple of years since I needed more room on the page. I was using lots of photos and journaling a ton then.

After five years of 12x12, I wanted a new page shape to work on, so I moved to back to 8.5x11, only horizontal, or landscape format, this time. I've done my last two years' albums in that format.

In January, I hit a clearance sale at Michael's and found some very nice linen 8x8 albums that looked like they would hold a lot of pages. This inspired me to make the switch, for my 2007 album, to an 8x8 format, just for a challenge, and also in the hope that someday my wall of albums won't be big and heavy enough to crush me and leave me lifeless, although I think I may already have enough albums to accomplish that!

So I did my first two 8x8 layouts for my 2007 album yesterday:

If ever a piece of paper thoroughly evoked a child, this is it. Love the scribbly flowers, and when I saw them, I immediately thought-- Marissa!

This was fun...I used a gorgeous piece of Basic Grey paper that ended up barely showing at all...ain't that always the way?

8x8 is definitely a challenge. I like to use multiple photos and write a lot of journalling, and it's going to be hard to cram that all in. But the albums themselves will be so much easier to enjoy than the massive 12x12s full of pages, heavy as a Gutenberg Bible.

I found another unexpected benefit to 8x8, too...I can't remember if I mentioned taking down my scrapping area in January or February. I'd had an 8-foot piece of countertop for years, mounted to the wall, with plastic drawer carts underneath and shelving above. It had been moved to three different homes over the years.

When we put it into this room when we moved in last year, I became increasingly unhappy with how it looked, like a set-up that should be in a garage, not a nice bedroom. So a few months ago, I pulled it all down, boxed up all the contents of the drawers, tossed the carts and countertop, and got a nice computer desk and flat monitor, so that I could also get rid of my old mammoth desk and monitor. Just trying to make my study look more like a real room and not the cave of a hobbyist squatter.

At the time, I wasn't sure I'd ever scrapbook again, but since the desire has come back over me in the past couple of weeks, I wasn't sure where--or how--I'd work, since the work surface was gone and the supplies were in the cupboard.

I did my beach album sitting on the floor. It worked okay, but was hard on the back. Since I didn't have every single thing I own at my fingertips, I had to pull out what I wanted and just go with it, which was actually nice.

Working last night, I realized that an 8x8 page fits perfectly on my computer desk, in front of my monitor. I couldn't work on a 12x12 page here, but 8x8 will work great, and I have a little room on the sides to hold a few supplies as I work.

So I may end up going even simpler with my style, since I have fewer opportunities to pull stuff out, but maybe scrapping will become fun again when I'm less overwhelmed.

That's my saga. Funny how a hobby can just take over your life. I needed some breathing room, and I think I've found it.

Bouquets and house stuff.

I was gazing at a bouquet of roses I clipped and set on the coffee table yesterday, and it got me to thinking about my wedding bouquet. Or more specifically, about my florist, Rosalie Kurtz, who did such a wonderful job for our wedding, and gently steered me in the direction of affordable flowers, which is a rare trait among florists, I believe!

My bouquet was pretty standard: cream roses, white and pink daisies, pink carnations, baby's breath, ivy. We had pink and burgundy tulips with the daisies and ivy in the altar arrangement, and brass bowls of daisies with candles in the middle in the windows. Our colors were burdundy, mauve and cream, very early-nineties.

Looking at wedding bouquets online, I see so many gorgeous things that would have been wonderful for our wedding, esp. this peony which is exactly the right color. If we'd gotten married in June, instead of May, we could have raided all the family gardens for a plethora of peonies. Wouldn't that have smelled wonderful!

My aunt Molly has fond memories of the lily-of-the-valley she and her sister picked from Grandma's garden for her early May wedding. My mom had daisies, which I think were mandatory for late-sixties' weddings.

It's fun to think about what you would do over if you got married all over again, but my standard bouquet certainly served the purpose. What flowers and colors did you have in your wedding bouquet? Write a post and share!

In other news...Todd took before-and-after pictures of the house last weekend, and it just makes me laugh, because after all his hard work, is a difference even apparent?


The front of the house was quite dirty, and all the white trim had mildew spots on it that developed over the winter, so he scrubbed and washed all the whole front of the house. Then he painted the garage door and shutters. I had thought the paint chip I picked was a very dark blue...turned out it exactly matched the unfaded back side of the shutters, which was only three or four shades lighter than the shutters. So my hoped-for dramatic difference didn't really materialize.

However, when we look at it, we see the difference--it's all sparkly clean, and not so faded and sad-looking. Todd did a great job!

Sweet and Adorable.

Look at this cutie pie! Hard to believe she'll be two years old next week.


Yes, I am still scrapping, wonder of wonders. Feels nice.

I'm going to add her weight/length stats as soon as I get them.

I dislike doing "new baby" layouts, because the hospital isn't really conducive to good light and nice photos, and for the last four kiddoes, I haven't been able to be there to get newborn pics, so I have to rely on photos that aren't mine. I hate that!

Anyway, I still need to do the baby layout for my niece Anna, who will be three this month, and re-do the layout for my niece Gianna, which I did four or five years ago and seriously dislike...and then I'll be all done with newborn photos. Sigh! I don't like newborn layouts, but I sure do like newborn babies. I wish I had one to hold and sniff (and then give back) right now!

Beach memories.

I've actually been scrapbooking for the past couple of days...I did a 8x8 album with pictures of the various beach trips we took last summer, with each of our nieces and nephews when they came to visit.

This book is so simple, it makes CM-style look complex, but I'm okay with that. I just pulled out the white inserts that came with the album and used those for my pages I'm still not happy with how my handwriting looks on a page--I like my handwriting, but I've gotten so used to "perfect" computer journaling that my handwriting just doesn't look right. Also, I always run out of room and end up with weird spacing.

ANYWAY...here's the link to a few more random pages at my Two Peas gallery page. It runs like a slideshow; just wait for a moment and the next will come up. I left out all the pages with blocks of handwriting, 'cause they look so messy!

Weekend activities.

We had a very productive day yesterday. We took off for some yard sales in the morning, and I found a white wicker stand, probably a bathroom piece, to put next to the front door. It's a little smaller than what I wanted, but the price was right, and I think it looks rather cute.

I also got the baskets with silk greenery and the two baskets on the third shelf, from various yard sales yesterday. Also a tiny ceramic bird that's sitting by the birdhouse basket.

So some of our yard tools and all the little bits that go on the various garden hoses can sit in baskets on the shelves and look nice--we really needed something nice-looking to hold all that stuff.

The other great find yesterday was an old retractable clothesline that Todd put up for me in the back yard. It fit perfectly between one of the deck railings and the closest pear tree, so when I have towels or jeans that take forever to dry in our little HE compact dryer, now I can take them outside and hang them up. It'll be great!

When we got home from yard saling, Todd tackled the front porch and the siding on the front of the house, which was dirty and mildewed, and I sat here giving him instructions:

Pretty sweet deal, eh? No, I did actually putter around while he was scrubbing...I cleaned the birdbath, moved pots around out of the way of the spray, clipped and deadheaded flowers, put out the sun tea pot, etc. But I did sit a little bit, too! The shady spot under the front maple is just perfect, don't you think?

This morning Todd put a coat of new navy blue paint on the shutters and garage door before I ever stirred out of bed, which made me feel guilty but relieved. I'm assuming the shutters at least, will need a second coat, so I may get drafted into painting duty yet. They look much better...nice and dark and unfaded.

Tonight I think Todd will be climbing up to wash the second story front, while I stand on the ground below praying he doesn't fall! He's very careful, but I'm the type that sees disaster around every corner.

Tomorrow we'll be taking a lovely morning trip to the beach...can't wait!

The winners!

Sorry to be a little late with the giveaway drawing--we were out grabbing a bite of dinner.

Now, if my lovely assistant is ready (see the smile of impatience? He was getting ready to go fly his RC plane before dark sets in)...

...the winner of the vintage scraps package is...

...Penny H., AKA Little Pen-Pen!

And the winner of the cottage goodies package is...

...Gwen S., AKA La Tea Dah of Gracious Hospitality!

E-mails are winging their way to you lovely winners, so I can obtain your addresses and get those packages in the mail!

Thanks to everyone who entered and visited, and special thanks to Kim for conceiving the whole fun idea. I hope everyone comes on back to visit again--it's been great "meeting" you all!

Inspiration Friday.

Some of my favorite blogs do an "Inspiration Friday" with pictures of home decor ideas that have gotten their blood racing recently.

Last week, I picked up a few stacks of mags at the thrift store and spent a blissful Saturday afternoon ripping out the things I wanted to keep. Since our focus right now at our house is on the porch area, here are a few porch and deck ideas I liked:

I need something cute to put next to the front door, and this ladder is SO cute!

I don't have enough room on my narrow front porch for all this stuff, but I love the mishmash of items, and all the red. I'm afraid if I had a lot of stuff on the front porch, however, it would look less "country cute" and more "white trash chic." You have to have the right house and neighborhood to pull off that look, don't you think?

Our back deck is not detached, but we do have a large expanse of bare deck with benches around the edges. I love the way this deck looks!

And then part of our back deck is covered, with nothing much on it. I'd love to make a little room like this back there!

A couple weeks ago, I spotted a metal baker's rack at the thrift store that I thought would be perfect to put next to the front door as a combo potting shelf/display area, a lot like this. But the rack was so outrageously priced, I couldn't bring myself to buy it. Anyway, this stand is really similar to what I had in mind, though mine would be heavier on the "decor" and less utilitarian looking. I just have to find the right rack!

One day left!

Yes, one day left to sign up for the Cottage Charm Giveaway. I have two prizes to give away, in honor of my blog's two-year anniversary, so follow the link and check out the pictures, then leave a comment to be added to the drawing. Thanks to all fifty-odd of you who have signed up so far--it's been great "meeting" all of you and checking out your blogs!

If you're in the mood to sign up for some more treats, and in the mood to find some wonderful new blogs to peruse, please check the official Cottage Charm Giveaway participant list at One Woman's Cottage Life. Kim's blog is a treat in and of itself, so be sure to devote some time to reading about her home projects and great ideas.

I'll be drawing one name for each prize at 6 p.m. EST Saturday, so you still have...oh, 27 hours or so to sign up if you haven't yet. Good luck!

WIP.

So many of the other blogs I read have pictures of WIPs (Works in Progress). It makes me feel bad that I've been such a creative slug for the past few months.

But at long last I do have a WIP...this is a big printer's type tray that I picked up in Williamsburg last fall. I have just the spot for it: at the end of our upstairs hallway, which is very narrow. The end wall is only a few feet wide, and the door to my study opens right off it, so there's no clearance to put a shelf or anything with any depth on the wall, or else you'd smack into it as you turned the corner into my study.

So this is perfect. I've had it sitting here until I was ready to tackle it, and now I am. I was going to re-paint it because it's a little skeevy, but then I realized I could just line the backs of the drawers to cover up most of the skeevy, and then the rest would just look "shabby," which is merely a slightly more acceptable version of "skeevy."

I have boxes and boxes of tiny treasures from my childhood and later years, which have been on various tiny shelves over time, but have been boxed up for quite a long time as my homes got bigger and tiny treasures seemed harder to display.

So this is a great way to display some of them. I'm using pages from old books and shabby-looking scrapbook papers to line the drawers. It's a project where I sit and stare at it for a while, then add a couple things, then sit and stare at it a few hours later, and move things around. When I get it the way I want it, I'll take a picture, remove everything, hang it up, and then replace everything, using the picture as a guide.

It definitely looks like I'll be needing a few extra-tiny treasures for the many extra-tiny spaces. Those will be fun to keep an eye out for!

Portsmouth.

Todd took the afternoon off yesterday, for our anniversary, and we drove down to Portsmouth to explore a little and have dinner.

The "Old Town" area of Portsmouth is very cool...there's a small neighborhood of very old homes, and a charming downtown area that has undergone--and is still undergoing--a lot of renovation.

I have really gotten out of the habit of taking pictures when we go out and do things, so I made an extra effort to get a couple snaps yesterday.

In the background of this one, you can see ladders and drop cloths--many of the storefronts are being remodeled, and there are still quite a few sitting vacant, but the effort is definitely being put forth to bring back this downtown area, and I think it's working.

This old movie theatre is on the National Register of Historic Places, and it's so great to see it still running and doing business. The marquee is especially nice lit up at night.

Above, a close-up of the box office.

A few steps further down the street, there's an iron gate in a brick wall, and if you peep through, you can see the lovely tiny cemetery behind Trinity Episcopal Church. This is my favorite little spot in the neighborhood.

And here's the tower of Trinity Church. There are lots and lots of old gorgeous churches in Portsmouth.

Here's another shot of the Commodore from across the street.


This is our "go to" restaurant whenever we want to do something out of the ordinary: the Bier Garden. The real allure of the place: umpteen-zillion imported beers on tap, which is sadly completely lost on us, as Todd doesn't drink and I don't care for beer.

No, we go to the Bier Garden for bratwurst and soft pretzels with spicy mustard and Black Forest cake. And German potato salad and sauerkraut and red cabbage and vinegary green bean salad. Mmmmmm.....!

Our first visit there was with a batch of friends, and we sat in the covered courtyard and listened to the rain falling hard all around us, while we remained (mostly) dry and the fairy lights twinkled along the railings. But sitting inside is nice too--the building is quite old, and the restaurant is a nest of small candlelit rooms with old brick walls.

Here's the beautiful tower of the Catholic church down the street:


The shopping was less enjoyable than expected--the one shop I particularly wanted to visit had closed since the last time I was there in January. So sad!

But we did find a garden shop that has expanded through its building, into the courtyard behind, into the building behind that, and into several buildings next door. Here's part of the courtyard:

This shop ran mostly to heavy cement urns and fountains and statuary--the kind of stuff I love, but which would look absurd in our yard. But I did find a gorgeous small cement pot with a weathered glaze, and three ceramic bird pokes.

After dinner, we went to see Spiderman 3, and enjoyed it. So it was a low-key celebration, but fun. We hope to take a Big Trip this fall for the real celebration...we just have to decide where to go. Right now the choices are northern California or rural England--which do you suggest?

We chatted at dinner about what we remember from our wedding day...the answer is--very little! I honestly don't think much about our wedding at all, and although I wanted a nice wedding, of course, even then the day itself was much less important to me than just getting married. I was more concerned about having a great marriage than having a great wedding. I still feel that way.

My main feeling about our wedding is happiness that we were surrounded by all the people who cared about us, and that so many of them pitched in to help make it a great day. My mother and father and aunts and grandmothers created the meal and helped get it all set up...my mother made my dress and the bridesmaids' dresses...my mother-in-law baked a fabulous wedding cake...my pastor kept us calm and relaxed...my sister-in-law played her flute beautifully during the ceremony...all our friends were there, and my friend Bev braved a broken ankle and hopped down the aisle with ribbons on her crutch as my bridesmaid...it really was a time when we were supported and helped by everyone who loved us, and I can't think of a better way to start a marriage!

Fifteen!

I had to flip through my box of wedding snapshots to find this one...maybe I should have them reprinted before film becomes completely obsolete! It might be nice to do a wedding album someday, too...ah well. Maybe for the twentieth!

And how young do we look? Yikes! 22 (him) and 21 (me) in case anyone wonders.

In fifteen years' time, we have lived in four states, six apartments/rentals, and two houses. We've acquired four siblings-in-law, two nephews, and six nieces. We have traveled and we've sat on the couch and watched movies. We have gained weight and lost hair--and what's left is turning grey. We are different from the couple who walked down the aisle on that beautiful May morning. Thankfully, the basics have stayed the same: we still love to talk and laugh together; we still get excited when the other person comes home.

I was listening to my John Denver album last week (hey, I never said I was cool) and heard these lyrics: "The kisses that I live for, the love that lights my way, the happiness that living with you brings me...it's the sweetest thing I know of, just spending time with you." That sums up the past fifteen years better than anything I can think of...I love you, sweetie!

Flowers.

Another tiny bouquet from the garden, arranged in a mini teacup I've had since I was a child. I'm addicted to tiny bouquets! And now that I have a few more things blooming besides the Johnny jump-ups, I can make slightly more complex, but still tiny, bouquets. This has summer snapdragon, pansies, tiny petunias, pinks, and some lemon verbena and vinca way in the back.

I know where the addiction comes from, too--my aunt Molly and my mother. My aunt Molly has always had a gorgeous cutting garden, and would often bring lovely bouquets to summer birthdays and celebrations. And my mother, who is also a terrific gardener, loves all things tiny. Every time I ooh and aah over a tiny flower or bouquet, I can hear her in my head oohing and aahing right along with me.

While I was out snipping, I took a picture of my stone turtle, who is slowly but surely being obscured by a blanket of gorgeous thyme:

And I'm giddy with excitement about this development (hint, look at the bottom left):

Yes, it's my lavender, getting ready to bloom! It didn't bloom at all last summer, so I've been waiting eagerly to see if it would bloom this summer. I planted another variety, with silvery leaves, that doesn't seem ready to put out blooms yet, but at least this one will! Can't wait!

Hopping off the treadmill.

I got my last published piece back today, along with a couple complimentary copies of Paper Crafts' You Go, Girl!--their latest idea book.

I have a small "BFF" frame on page 143, with my favorite picture ever of my nieces Gianna and Evelyn. Check it out if you happen to see it!

This is the first time in...I guess maybe five years?...that I haven't had any projects whatsoever pending publication. I haven't submitted anything since last summer, and now I have nothing to look forward to seeing in print.

It's sort of sad, I guess...I do miss getting the checks and seeing my work in a magazine. But doing the work on spec, with no idea what would get picked up, if anything, and needing to use "latest/greatest" products on every project--well, it does get old. You tend to forget how wonderful it is to pick up absolutely anything you want to use and make something "just for you" with it.

I've let my scrapbook resume lapse, and although I still get most of the e-mail submission calls, I'm just not feeling the urge. I'm trying to be okay with that. I had a lot of ego bound up in publishing and teaching, and without that, my ego is sort of running around like a lost puppy! But it just doesn't feel like the time is right to pursue "scrapbooking as career" anymore. (How many more "quotes" can I use?) I've been burned out for a long time and just kept trying to push past it, which just made me more burned out. It's silly to do that.

But I never say never, so maybe someday I'll hop back on the treadmill and start submitting again. For now, it's nice to do other stuff.

My Meez.

All the rage at Two Peas...create your own Meez:



Minus glasses and about a hundred pounds, she actually does look sort of like me! I almost went with the "reading a book" animation, but this one was just so happy and also true to life.

I updated Nose in a Book last night.

No comment.

An auction adventure.

So I had a very interesting auction experience last night...we went to an estate sale in a community center up the road. Lots of gorgeous old oak furniture in excellent shape. We were semi-interested in one of the beds, and I had spotted a few other things that looked interesting, so we stuck around. There were not many buyers there, and the people running the auction seemed fairly clueless. Turns out it was their first one ever!

Stuff started selling, and it was absolutely going nowhere. I had seen this darling set of dishes from maybe the mid-sixties--it was pale blue-green with a silver edging and three sketched daisies set off on the side. Six place settings, cups, saucers, a darling teapot, serving dishes, and it looked like none of it had ever been used. It wasn't exactly my style--or era--but it was so CUTE!

So when the auctioneer got an opening bid of five dollars on it, and nobody else was bidding, I bid ten dollars and got the whole set.

Then this fever kind of took over me, because so much of the stuff was going so cheap, and I just kept bidding on odds and ends. Got some pictures, a huge weird print that Todd dislikes, a collection of ceramic tchochkes (why?)--oh, just a bunch of stuff that I probably would never have bid on but for the fact that for once in my auctioning life, there was almost no competition! The dealers there mostly wanted the furniture.

About halfway through, one of the dealers came up and asked me if I'd be willing to sell him the set of dishes. I told him to check with me at the end of the auction, because he was buying tons of furniture, and we thought that we might be able to cut a deal with him if he bought the bed we were interested in.

I kept thinking about the dishes--I had nowhere to put them, they didn't really go with anything I owned, but I wanted them because they were so pretty and shiny. I thought if nothing else, I could put them in a box and hold onto them for another ten years and sell them when mid-sixties china hits its peak as it's sure to do.

The dealer didn't end up getting the bed we wanted, and the bedroom set with the bed sold for $750, so we certainly didn't get it. And I just kept buying ridiculous stuff.

At the end of it all, the dealer's wife came up to me and asked me what I'd take for the set of dishes. She said she wanted them for herself, not to re-sell. We agreed to $75. She was thrilled, and I didn't have to figure out what to do with those lovely dishes.

The total for all the crap I bought came to $70. So I made $5 on the deal!

Then I went home and weeded my boxes of crap down to a small handful of stuff that I actually wanted to hang onto. I honestly don't know what possessed me, but I have to say...if you're going to lose your mind at an auction, it sure helps if you buy something you can re-sell to cover your madness!

I ended up keeping a wicker chair, several very old photos in frames, an old print, a huge weird old 1950's print that I may just get rid of, an ironstone tureen, a floral china platter, three blue willow china cups, and a couple embroidered pillowcases. A ridiculously small haul for $70.

Now I have three boxes to take to the charity store. And a lesson learned about auction madness.

Miscellany.

What do you think I should make with the fabric I found at the thrift store yesterday? There's not much of it, just two pieces maybe 16 or 18" wide and 45" long, but it's enough to do something. I think I need a cute swing for the front porch, and then I could make cushions for it with this.


Y'all, my wonderful new upholstered Chairy still stinks. I mean, it STINKS. Like chemicals and damp. I've had the windows open and the ceiling fan running for days to try and air it out, I've taken the cushions and set them in the sun for the afternoon, and I've tried Febreeze, which, if anything, made it stink worse (chemicals reacting with chemicals?)! I'm ready to call Bassett and complain, but I wondered if there were any other remedies I should try. I don't know, maybe my nose is just too sensitive. To think I could have just gone with a thrift store chair if I wanted something stinky--!

Thanks to everybody who has signed up for the Cottage Giveaway, which I can't link to apparently, but which is below if you scroll down a little. I'm finding so many new great blogs to read--what a pleasant bonus!

It's not easy being green...

What color are you? Why is there never a "rainbow" option? 'Cause I like them all!

GREEN

You are a very calm and contemplative person. Others are drawn to your peaceful, nurturing nature.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!