My Mom

This is one of my favorite pictures of my mom. She looks so awesomely happy here and this is how I want to think of her. She is one tough lady and she's putting up a good fight. I just told her that it's "okay", that Bob and I would be okay and that we loved her. She spoke her first words to me since we have been here in Peoria, she said "I know, I know". Told her she was a great mom and that she needed to go do what she needs to do.

I'm sure it will be awhile yet so I will have a chance to talk to her some more. We never were too big on sharing feelings outloud, so I'm sure it will be hard. I hope I don't come away from this with regrets.

What do you say to someone you will not see again in this world?

I wish I knew her when this picture was taken, I think she was probably alot of fun.

Life dealt her some shitty cards in the game of Love. I believe she only truly loved one man. He came to the hospital today. He didn't ask to see her, he was here more for Bob and I but I wonder if he should have seen her. Her vanity would have made it difficult for her but if I were in her shoes, I think I would have like to have seen himone last time. I don't think he would have handled it well at all. He always cared about my mom, she just wasn't the one he wanted to spend his life with anymore. I know he's hurting too.

This picture was taken the same day as the one above.

Today, this is my happy place...

sitting in this boat, observing this young couple and sharing a few laughs.

SERIOUSLY?

From the City of Peru, I receive an electric bill for the Church with the address of 1830. Even during my trip to the local library I was able to find out that where our parking lot sits now, there used to be a house. It makes perfect sense to me that the Church would have the address 1830, I mean, if you take away a house, they don't reassign house numbers, do they? I think not.

So, when I first moved in, I put out a mail box with the handwritten address of 1830, just in case. I don't receive mail at the Church, everything goes to the parish house. Shortly, after I put up the mailbox, my postal carrier "informed" me that my address was not 1830 but instead 1828. I wasn't the least bit concerned as I do not get mail at the Church and I think she's wrong, so who cares. I left the mailbox up and never gave it another thought. A few months ago, I noticed "someone" took a marker and scribbled out the "30" of the "1830". Oh whateva!.....again I ask, who cares.

WELL, two days ago I was leaving the Church to go to work when I noticed that "SOMEONE" took a black marker AND WROTE 1828 ON THE FLIPPIN' WOOD DOOR!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously?

I really still cannot believe it. Now, mind you...the door definitely needs to be refinished, so in the big scheme of things...what's the harm? BUT SERIOUSLY? WHO WRITES ON SOMEONE'S DOOR WITH A MARKER? Now, it's not that I'm mad, I certainly am not mad but what gets me is the principle of the act itself. PLUS, I just think she's WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! AND she NEVER, EVER delivers mail to either 1830 OR 1828, so why does she even care?????

Then, I started thinking....there's people out there,

lots of them...

I know quite a few, in fact...

that simply MUST have things just the precise way that they believe they should be. There is just no other way. She must be one of "those" people and I guess her business is addresses, a business she must take very seriously, so perhaps every day she passes that Church door with the "WRONG" address on it, it must drive her

A B S O L U T E L Y C R A Z Y!

Like the door must be calling out to her every day, except Sundays....

"YOU WHO!!!!!! LOOK AT ME, I'M WEARING THE WRONG ADDRESS ON MY DOOR! HA HA HA HA!!!!! TAKE THAT SILLY POSTAL LADY....WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT????"

Well, I guess she sure showed my door who was boss.

Here's a thought at 3:30am...

I have this card, it's old. I bought it probably two lifetimes ago. It's still in it's cellophane wrapper. I'm up at 3:30am for no explainable reason and I reach for this card. While I knew the gist of it, it's been a long time since I actually read it. I thought I'd share...

"Take surprise in each sunrise and comfort in each moon.
Move often, carrying your Home with you.
Climb mountains. Stroll beaches. Drive cars on busy streets
and sail bicycles
down
big
hills.
Love among the Hate, when love is what you truly feel.
Suck strength from your anger, and then let it go.
Scream at the ocean.
Run when the sign says walk.
Question authority and accept Change.
Fill your soul instead of your pockets.
Have lunch on busy sidewalks.
Dance alone in your kitchen.
Talk to everyone you meet, including the soldiers in your head.
Watch closely. Read something. Listen hard.
Smile in every mirror. Grow with each tear.
With a heart and a brain, loneliness is unacceptable.
HAVE FUN! without maps or directions.
Cherish Happiness. Buy it if you have to, but always give it away freely.
Wear short skirts and long dresses.
Wave at the uniformed and the unsavory.
Keep them guessing, and praying and hoping and laughing.
Struggle. Fight, Try, Reach, Build, Learn,
Crawl, Invent, Rally, Fall, Get up again.
And if the heavens should happen to open,
offering transportation to even the smallest of dreams,
Ride the nearest cloud."
I think that's what Mother said, as she floated by in white.


An interesting collection of words I think. Some things to consider. But perhaps, no more thinking tonight, as I have to get up in 3 hours for work.

Living/Dining Room...mostly Dining Room

Here we have the "Sunday School" set up that is now the site of my dining room.

We promptly removed the awkard "mini wall" that is in front of the lecturn. Down came the suspended ceiling and we even removed the arch. Now, personally I like arches. It's much more my style of architecture, but I opted for columns to keep the lines clean. This mish mash mutt of a house really didn't have much of a "period style", that is why I decided to just start from scratch.Here you can see the "transoms" I designed between the kitchen and living room. I didn't feel the arch would flow well with this look. Plus the dining room ceiling was a foot lower than the living room so I decided to use that to play with the design of the columns. As I began to consider the columns, I wondered if I should have given them more "shape". Once they were ready for paint I struggled with how to do them, what color for example. I found this idea in a decorative painting technique book. It was called Faux Venetian Plaster, the process was fun and I loved the look but it just wasn't coming together for me. Something just wasn't clicking. So I walked away from it, as I learned long ago...eventually, the perfect solution would come to me. I was looking through a magazine at work, yeah...because I do that, and I found this picture. There it was...The AH HA moment, the BIG CLICK! This is what the columns need to look like. Of course, I was completely dumbfounded as to how I would make this happen but a fellow rehabber said it would be easy. (For him maybe!) Regardless, I know I can get this done, afterall, I know people.
Allow me to introduce you to my Dining Room. Dining Room...Reader. Reader...Dining Room. Picture this ...a large round table, comfy chairs, good food, good drinks and good company. I know this will be my favorite room, I love how the windows surround you.The ceiling had some issues with taping during the drywall process. So I faux painted it to help disguise the obvious lines. I have some touch up to do but overall I was pleased with the result.

The paint color is Behr's Sahara Shade, it is a vibrant color but with the dark walnut floors and white trim it should be amazing. The unfinished pine flooring is down in this room now and is just waiting to be stained. But first, I need to get the kitchen done so I can get all the kitchen cabinets out of the living room.

The Office

Moving on to the Office, no particular order here. The Church was using the Parish House for Sunday School classes before we took possession, can you tell?

This is the very first picture taken moments before absolutely any demo...

We demo'd all the way to the studs.....

Putting in windows...

This first picture is looking out my bedroom doorway into the office.

The walls are painted with Ralph Lauren Suede in Adobe. I love the finish of the walls but take note that it is near impossible to touch up the paint if you have any sort of "accident".

I'm really happy with the way this room turned out! I can't wait to accessorize!!!


This is just a sample of the floor color that will be throughout the house. It is not completely finished in the picture. There is no polyurethane on it yet.

Found this cool backsplash idea while surfing the net. Why, oh Why, do I have such good taste and such a small, small pocketbook. I guess this would have to go in my "dream house" file.




I'll file it right next to this picture, which would be my dream deck.

"Pets" and Projects

This little chipmunk (look closely) is my unofficial pet. I love how he's just laying there flat on his belly.

This is the only artistic project I have made time for since moving into the Church. I needed a gift for my Book Club's Christmas party. Being somewhat broke, I grabbed a chair out of the basement and painted it. I put a quote on it that said "Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house. -Henry Ward Beecher"

It turned out pretty nice, Christine has it at her summer home and still tells me she loves it. I can't wait to be able to "repurpose" the rest of the "junk" in the Church basement.

Inspirations

The plan is to do this stone wall. Of course, due to pocketbook restraints, I have to improvise. I'm going to take 12x12 slate tiles and cut them into strips. I know it's a lot of sweat equity but isn't it awesome?













Last year at the Kitchen and Bath Show in Chicago, I actually saw this bathroom. I'm planning to recreate this countertop of glass with the river rock under it. I'm sure this vessel bowl is a small fortune, we carry several adequate ones at our store.

This is what I hope to do to the porch. Right now it just looks like a crack house.

My Dream Gate. Enough said.

Kitchen Updates

Here's where we are with the kitchen. These pictures didn't turn out very good, probably because of the time of day that I took them. I need another coat of Behr's Iced Espresso on the main wall and the soffit. The rest of the walls will be white. I'm contemplating some sort of graphic but it hasn't come to me yet. The dark wall will be almost covered with Thomasville white cabinets. the opposite wall will be Kraftmaid Dennison Maple from their Ascentia line, as will the the island. The wall cabinet in the corner will house a built in microwave complete with trim kit, under that will be the new home for my Keurig coffee maker that I have yet to purchase.

The Kitchen

The Kitchen as is looked when the house was purchased on October 31, 2006.

Sometime later, this is how the kitchen looked after all the plaster came tumblin' down.

New kitchen windows!!!

Goof ball brother doin' what he does best.

Here a friend and his son are helping out with the electrical.

It may be hard to believe but I actually did some of the work too! Friends do wonder, since I'm always taking the pictures. I really enjoyed mudding...kinda like frosting a cake. Wow, my hair was long....but I digress.

The drywall up, mudding done, now it's sanding time...I left this job for the boys.

Kitchen-pre priming.

Kitchen primed and luan on the floors.

I have to take some new pictures this week to update where we are today.