New Whites in the House

Where does one start when there is a long pause.

Why of course with new WHITES.

I have completed many projects, and yet there is always a long list of those still to come.

This is what you see when you look down the basement stairs.

I moved this little dresser from the living room.

The kids have it packed with board games.

The door is to our pantry.

I did some sewing.

Cute little legs.

Just a hint of blue.

Even though those inner arm seams gave me trouble,

 I am glad to say I remembered how to whip up a chair cover in a couple of days.

I am hoping to use some of these fabrics for pillows and other slipcovers I may need for the room. 

A little table brought in from the garage and given the WHITE treatment.

Great size for a game or snack.

This over-sized footstool is great for putting your feet up or as an extra seat.

Of course I had to give it a new WHITE slipcover.

Too much color going on here.

More sewing in my future, I predict.

I have some beautiful inspiration fabric I plan on using.

The back of the basement is still cluttered, I am working on the storage issue.

I have to say we are really happy with how it turned out so far.

Turn off all of the lights and we have a great movie room.

My sister made mention that we should put in surround sound.

Oh dear.....maybe a project for next month.

These are the basement stairs.

I have one more coat of WHITE paint and then I am going to paint some stripes down the middle.

The hand rails are plumbing pipes.

Mr. M. got the idea from seeing them used in a local restaurant.

They are perfect for sliding down.

 Mr. M. does it with one hand on each side and zips down to the bottom hoping not to crash.

The kids hold on to one railing with their feet on the molding and go sliding down the side.  

Funny thing is, I did not know they did this until I saw them teaching all their friends at a party.

Even Aunt T likes to slide down with the kids.  

Thanks for stopping by.

I am joining;

White Wednesday

Show and Tell Friday

Feathered Nest Fridayhttp://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/2012/04/feathered-nest-friday.html

A Month of Birthdays

So, it has been awhile now since I have come to visit. 

Lots of projects to do.

For many of us Spring is here, or at least for a little while.

I know that I do not really have to start weeding, because this is BUFFALO and there will be

MORE SNOW!

However, the weeds will still grow.

I have started.

I can't wait to get to planting, as I wander around assessing the weed situation, 

I also am taking mental notes as to where I want to add a new plant or ten.

This weekend though, we took a break from cleaning, painting, weeding and raking to celebrate.

THE MONTH OF BIRTHDAYS.

Each month we get together at my father's home to celebrate all of the birthdays during that month.

Each birthday person has a favorite cake made for them.

I made my brothers' a cheese cake with blueberry sauce on top, I used my mother's recipe.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you think about it.

I brought home NO leftovers.

My oldest son said it was his favorite and when will I make it again.

This day of celebration is more a reason to get together.

AND LAUGH.

Oh boy did we ever.

It is a time for my husband and my sister's husband to fight over who gets to take a nap on the couch.

The children play outside if the weather permits. 

 We were so lucky, the temps were in the 70's.

I could enjoy the rest of Spring like this.

Now we look forward to April's birthdays.

I hope all is well with you all.

I will have pictures of the basement soon.

Progress in the Basement

Thank you for your wonderful words while I was sick. 

 Blogger kindness is one of my favorite reasons for blogging.

As I said in my last post, Mr. M. has been working on the basement flooring while I was sick on the couch. 

I did go down and supervise every once in a while, but so far.

IT LOOKS WONDERFUL!!

Look at that beautiful wood laminate floor.  

We bought the flooring at Lumber Liquidators.

I love how the white painted desk looks against it.

We choose wood laminate for several reasons; the basement originally has a cement floor and we did not want to glue, hammer or tile.

That only left the choice of floating floor.

We already have radiant floors and it is warmer than if it was not heated, but the cement was just colder on the feet.

I found out several years ago that I am not really a fan of oak wood.

Our current floor in the main hall and dinning room are heart pine wood, stained medium dark.

In the basement we went with the pine laminate that is lighter.

We chose a lighter color because we do not have a lot of natural light in the basement.

When we started finishing the basement six years ago, my brother gave us two faux skylight panels for the florescent lights.  You can almost see the birds flying, at least that is what we were able to convince our 2 year old son at the time. 

 Nope, not birds, dead flies.

We have two of these multipane doors, one on each side at the bottom of the stairs.

One door leads into the family, playroom, workout side of the basement and the other leads into the storage, laundry area and a door that leads to the outside entrance.

Keeping it real.

In this picture, I am in the process of rearranging everything so we can start laying down the floor.

This is the other side of the room.

See, I do pack a lot of stuff in one room. 

This is that same view of above with new flooring.

100% better!

This picture shows some of the pieces I picked up to go in the room.

This will be one of many firetrucks that will be throughout the room.

  I bought this one at a local antique shop.

I also have a surprise project that is inspired by firetrucks.

I have two of these postcard pillows I bought on sale at Joann Fabrics.

This is the blue that will no longer be on the walls.

I lived with it for almost 5 years.

Nope, can't do it.

I will try blue in little doses, accent pillows and such, but NOT the walls.

The foreground color is what the walls are painted now.

See, blue accents.  

That I can handle.

I have two more wing back chairs and a footstool or two that I have to make slipcovers for.

I am thinking I would like to incorporate some of these fabrics, but I have not figured that out yet.

So, that is the basement progress so far.

Mr. M. is out trying to track down the remaining baseboard molding needed so he can finish the flooring and I can start painting.  He knows the faster he gets the trim up, the faster I start painting, and once I start painting I have I have to finish asap, and it will only take me a few days.

Then the fun part begins, putting the room back in order and all the extras that make the room come alive, shelves, chairs, couches, tables and accents.

I'm in Pain Here

I can say that I have been busy.

Sick that is.

Man, I do not get sick that often, but when I do it kicks my butt.

For the first time since I started my job, I had to call in sick.

That is NOT something I do.

I had a horrible cough, so bad that I found out what muscles are used in your back to cough.

I called in twice.

Totally unheard of!

I could barely move without crying out in pain that is how much it hurt.

I went to my Dr., they were not much help, you have a virus-three ibuprofen and you can go back to work tomorrow.

HELLO, WHAT ABOUT MY BACK?

I know I looked at the woman like she had a couple of horns coming out of her head.

That is how I felt!

So then I did the smart thing and went to the Chiropractor.

She could tell how much pain I was in, she showed some sympathy, did her magic and even though I was still in pain, I felt better mentally when I left.

  Like she was listening to me and really understood what was wrong.

I had a day off and then I did go back to work on Friday like the good Dr. said I could.

Even my manager could see I should not be at work. 

 But, because they were short staffed, I stayed through lunch and then was sent home early.

I was able to rest over the weekend.

I still have the cough but my back is feeling so much better.

It was my first time going to a Chiropractor, but it will definitely not be my last.

While I was busy being sick, Mr. M. was busy putting some new flooring in the basement.

I am in love with how good it looks already.

Have you ever had a bad experience with your Dr.?  Feeling like they really weren't paying attention?

Well, I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend!

Be My Valentine

Valentine's Day

is not

just about

roses

and 

chocolates

It's about the everyday of love.

I hope my darling knows he is my everyday love.

Happy Valentine's Day 

Mr. M.