EVEN PUNK ROCK GIRLS GET THE BLUES

Even well intentioned comments can hurt, and well, this last week has been a tough one. That's my excuse for being away for a week. One of the girls at work keeps commenting on my appearance, I've already been feeling ugly, since we moved my hair and skin have gone completely hay wire, and though I hope she means well, right now I don't want to hear confirmation that what has always worked isn't working any more and I can't afford to fix it right now. So I've spent the week having pep talks with myself, watching Youtube videos about "mature" skin care and makeup and trying to feel better about how I look. Normally I have pretty high self esteem, so feeling insecure about something so trivial seems to make it worse!

It's raining here today after three days over 85 degrees, and the scariest wind storm I've ever been in. I was hoping to get a pair of ruby slippers out of the deal, but no. The plants are finally getting a good, deep drink of water and the dust is settling. I have a ton of dusting to do before Ms. Jane gets here in just a couple weeks. I also went out to the Quonset today and boy...I need to do some work out there cleaning and decorating.

living room

bedroom

kitchen




I have my work cut out for me. I do love having this space for my friends and family, a place where they can stay and not feel like their under our feet and we're not in their way.

back windows

I don't think I'll need to spend much money, well, famous last words. Thanks to Ms. Jane though I wt need to buy fabric for the windows. Just a few dishes, some bar stools a couch...o.k. it's adding up! and I almost forgot, I have to stock it with Mystic Mint Cookies! for Dad!!! We got rid of so much on our last two moves, things we didn't have room for in our studio, things that we didn't think we needed, now we could use them, oh well, no use crying over it now.

Nicks latest raised bed

On the wedding front...we finally found the Basque! and no Dad it did not involve throwing a lamb in the middle of Main Street and yelling here Basquey Basquey! I can say that I'm Greek and pretty sure there is some Merino in my DNA! The Basque Club owns the train depot and we want to make sure there isn't a problem standing outside saying I DO! The flower seeds I planted for bouquets are finally coming up and the grass is really filling in nicely! I can't wait to be Mrs. Nick! To officially be Corbin and Maddy's step mother and Caydens Yia Yia! That reminds me I need to find and fill a toy box for Mr. Cayden to have at Papou's house.

Who knows, maybe my rose will be in full bloom for the wedding! I can't wait to see what color it is!  I just found out that my brother Stefan will be taking photos for the wedding! Score! Free good photographer who I can black mail to make sure I get the photos I want!! Bet you didn't think of that did you Froggy Bottom? How do you know it's right? Everything just seems to fall into place. Even my hair and skin are starting to get normal again!

Well, guess that's about all. I'm going to try and be better about posting, it makes me feel better when I do.
Have a lovely evening!
xo

LIFE...IT KEEPS HAPPENING

Bruno says he doesn't want to get up today. I know the feeling, sometimes the bed is just so warm and cozy, and out of the bed, a little chilly. This morning is one of those, a little chilly, not cold, not bad, not snowing, just chilly, I hope it's going to warm up a little.





We finally started doing some serious wedding planning this last week. Nick made himself some stompers, you know to make the lawn level? An old pair of high tops some scraps of wood some screws.I've been trying to get the picture on here, It won't budge fron the bottom of the page:( Unfortunately he did his stomping while I was at work, I would have loved to see that. So now we have grass seed down. I spread some flower seeds in one of the front beds for our flower arrangements. I want to wait until the bulbs die back to do the other ones.



Nick knows I love fresh berries so he bought me three blueberry bushes and six raspberry canes. For absolutely no reason! I love him so much. I just hope the weather twerps are wrong about the temperatures this weekend, 31 degrees will throw a very large monkey wrench into our works.

Well, look who decided to get up! He really isn't to much help where the wedding plans are concerned, all he cares about is that he gets to wear a bow tie. We need to figure out the menu, the place, the time, argh! If you want to have a nice wedding there is just so much to do, so many little details. 

Nick and I really do try to live by the saying, use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. This is his hot box, made from old fence boards and the plastic that our new mattress came in. I have a feeling our entire wedding is going to be an upcycled affair. I'm alright with that, that's really how we live.

What was one thing you had, or included in your wedding that you didn't realize would later be very important to both of you? On the other side of that question, what was one thing you thought you just had to have that ended up not being very important at all?

Well, another day off, too many things to get done, and two boys who want to play. Better stop blogging for today.

Fill your day with beauty-

xoxo





WHAT A LIFE

Yum! Fresh strawberries! There's something about strawberries that says summer to me...here it is...mid March and the strawberries in the local Red Apple store are sweet and ripe...and large!

This was just an average sized berry! When I saw these at the market I knew that God loves me!!! Everybody sing...Jesus loves me this I know...look at how the berries glow.

I'm still walking to and from work, it's only 25 minutes, a lot better than the 50 minute bus ride in Portland, and I'm loosing some weight too.

This was the view going to work at 7:30 am yesterday. How beautiful is that? It's been cool and wet and overcast for the last 5 or 6 days here but it's still not as bad as Portland. At least the sun comes out for a little while every day. Coming home I got to see this...

Can you make out the snow capped mountains in the distance? Ontario is really surrounded by a ton of beauty, you just have to look out, not just straight ahead. On clear days this view is truly spectacular.

Nick built me this cabinet the other day, out of scraps of this and that. I love it! It gives me an extra 17 inches of counter space which I desperately need! The other counter is only 3 feet long! I think we will paint it to match the drawer pulls and really funk it up. I like that it looks really weathered.

Poor Nick, yes I had to say it again, the truck project has turned typically Nick and is not going well at all. In fact courtesy of the JERK at NAPA AUTO PARTS it could have killed us. The shocks went in in a wind storm, luckily no one named Dorothy landed a house on him, but it could have happened! Then he found a missing lug bolt...you have to disassemble the brake to fix that...and once that was done and the bolt was in, brakes bled etc. we went to run some errands. The brake fell apart!!! Why? because a guy at Napa told Nick he didn't need a spring (one that was on the brake when he took it apart) and Nick took him at his word. Lesson learned...not everyone here is a decent person! One of these days these older guys out here are going to figure out that people do look at reviews on line, and a bad review can in fact hurt your business.



Well, we've been in the house for one month, yesterday, and we still love it! Plumbing and all. We've made progress turning it from a rental house into a real home, and there are lots more changes coming. An old house is truly a labor of love. Speaking of love I just found out Ms. Jane will be here May 10th! I can't wait! Buno is beside himself! She doesn't know it yet but I just might have a project for her, one that will be a big part of our new home! TEE HEE!

Hope all is beautiful where you are-
xoxo

I DON'T THINK WE'RE IN OZ ANYMORE BRUNO

I've really struggled with what to write today. I don't like negativity of any kind, but, here I am...angry, frustrated and negative!

Why do I feel this way? Because the contractor we were going to hire to help with this plumbing project is a flake!!!! We have wasted, over three days, about 8 hours waiting for him to show up, he was 3 hours late one time, didn't show up another, Nick had to call him to find out he wouldn't be here, was supposed to be here around noon today, at 2 when Nick called he was on his way to a meeting. WHAT!?!? Is this what passes for good business in Ontario Oregon? Do you not realize that people talk? That not keeping your word is just as bad as not doing a good job? If you happen to be reading this in Ontario, RKC Handyman, DO NOT CALL HIM! He might do great work, but will he show up? I feel like sending him a bill!

The really sad thing is that I've had confidence in Nick's ability to do this job from the get go. If he hadn't waited I would have had water 2 days ago!! The other sort of sad thing is that, when I work, cutting hair I talk to how many people? Do you think I'll have anything good to say about you? People ask me all the time if I know a good-insert tradesman here-no but I know a bad one!

Enough negativity! I hate it! On a happier note, I got a little sewing done while I was waiting. I took one of Ms. Jane's napkins, a piece of lacey stuff of my Mom's and made a happy little pillow for the bed. I don't think I've done any hand sewing for at least 10 years, it felt good! Well, at 46, threading a needle is a lesson in patience, thank goodness someone showed me how to make a needle threader out of a piece of paper once.

That picture turned out a little dark, didn't it! Oh well.guess I'll try to get a better one later.

Nick is swearing again, I think the Orks have him, I'm going to try to go save him now.

Have a beautiful one!

A SUNNY DAY FULL OF POSIBILITIES

Bru is not so patiently waiting for spring, like so many of us. Our dirt is still pretty frozen every morning, way to cold to put little seeds in the ground, so we're all staying busy indoors, or trying to. Bru is making sure everything is hunky dory on the couch, cushion tester it's an important job you know!

I decided to clean out my make up drawer, before you judge me, I am a licensed hair stylist, and these are a very important part of my job. How can I convince you how pretty you can be if I don't even try! Going back to work this weekend, I really didn't want the frustration of trying to find things.

We  went to K-mart and I found these great interlocking bins, 9 per package for $9.98! Now I can get ready for work in half the time!! Speaking of work...I haven't even worked a shift out there and already, I've gotten a promotion. I'll be making what I did in Portland and I'll be the "assistant manager". It's going to be more hours than I want, with the wedding looming large and the yard being what it is, what I really need is time! Money is good but time is better. Oh,well.

Nick went to the post office, and brought home a package form Ms. Jane!! I love presents!!! I knew she was sending it but I had no idea it would be this packed with goodies!

Wow, these napkins are just the right shade of blue for the bedroom, and there is a beautiful round tablecloth that matches. We need night stands, I'm thinking a couple of those cheap round decorator tables and this cloth and maybe one batten burg lace cloth. I might take a couple of the Napkins and make pillows for the bed. As I was enjoying the feel of all this fabric and all these fun new things I thought about a blog I was looking at yesterday. I wish I could remember who's blog it was, but this woman refers to her Mother-in-law as her Mother-in-love. I actually cried when I read that, because that what Ms. Jane is. My future Mother-in-love! Thank you for all the goodies! Bru was excited that she remembered to put something in there for him. Well, we're waiting for the water department to come tell us to start laying the pipe. I might have water before I have to start working!! YEA!

Have a beautiful day! I know I will!!

LIFE, MUSIC AND ROCKS

I should be glad all of this is happening now. It could be a week before my wedding! Now my reception in the back yard can be as beautiful as I hoped it will be, I hope.

My kitchen knobs are finally finished and on the cabinets! I think that once I make a few bright dish towels, and re-frame some art work I can call the kitchen finished! So that's two rooms done, the entry and the kitchen. Guess the next room will be the dinning room.

Having great taste and little money makes decorating a home a challenge. I just keep plugging away with what I have and keeping my eyes open for the things I want. I love this china hutch. The color of the wood is so warm, and it has the original glass knobs. I don't really like the stark white wall, not sure what the final solution will be. I keep looking to my fellow bloggers for inspiration. There is so much beauty out there.

Nick finally blessed our new home with music today! He pulled out his old Yamaha and played for about an hour, I can't even get upset that I was trying to take a nap when he did it, it was so nice to hear! Even with all the digging and his hands being so sore. I love when a house is full of love and music, it makes a house feel like home.

My rock painting project started today, finally. I only have a week of freedom from the job type work left. I start back to cutting hair next Saturday, so I want to get as many things done around here as I can.

Hope you all are having a beautiful Saturday, and thank you for spending part of it with me!

HAPPY LEAP DAY

I always think of Leap Day as a little bonus we get every four years. This year I'm going to use the day to finish up some projects and wrap my head around going to Great Clips for a job interview. I'm not really ready to go back to work but the old bank account says I must if I want to finish the house before the wedding.



The dreaded project list just keeps on growing and I'm afraid that if I go back to work nothing will get done. At least the house is only a 15 minute walk from the salon.

At least my kitchen knob project is almost finished. That's one thing I can cross off my list! and boy does that feel good. We're hoping that Nick has finally gotten the plumbing fixed. Ahhh the plumbing. He finally got the kitchen sink issue fixed, when the main shut off in the house started spewing water all over the basement. A call to the city to have the main on the street shut off, 57 strings of curses that I have never heard put together before and of course they don't make that any more. I actually sat down and cried. Poor Nick, hey wants so much for things to be perfect for me! I cried because it's hard to watch someone you love work so hard and get kicked in the teeth so many ways!

I'm so grateful for the Quonset hut. The world best out house!! Well, more plumbing news, as I was writing that last paragraph the water guy turned the water on and the water worked!! No leaks, until that is he pulled away now we have discovered that the pipe from the street to the house is leaking into the basement. What more can happen? I'm going to sign out and go try to pick up his pieces.