I hope I’m not making anybody miserable showing off our lovely Easter weather, I just had to share my joy that colour is once again abundant outside. We’re having a mixture of warm, quiet days and stormy, grey, rainy ones, but all in all, it’s improving. I feel I lack some inspiration / originality with my photos, I’m going to have to think about that a bit. It’s easy to just click away at all the pretty things, but I’d like to get that little extra something! (well, I just had oatmeal cookies with my tea out there, but that’s not what I meant)
First, I forgot to give my boards (for the painting wip storage thing) their last coat of paint the other night, so I had to do it early morning (6 hours’ drying time). The garage is too cold and messy, so I’m doing this on my dining work table in the living room. Which means, cats are going to investigate – so I had to sit and watch (until I quit, locked them in the kitchen and went for my shower).
Then I wanted to try matching the wall colour where I’d filled in holes. Most of the holes were only pin pricks from nails, but you know, even if you wipe, some filler gets onto the wall (structured wallpaper). I was a bit scared to use black in my mix, so I definitely did not get it in first attempt even if I tested on a small portion elsewhere – must have faded a bit there. Each time I tried a new layer, I made the circle slightly wider, to blend it in a bit, right? Not. So I ended up with multiple large splotches on the wall in varying shades of “cream”. I’d like to renovate the room whole house and just paint it white, but that was not today … Of course we all know that most colours dry up a bit darker, so I was having a hard time containing myself from trying new layers and also anxious to know when I’d hit the mark. Perhaps it dries a little faster if I keep an eye on it? I did, just in case. To the point of burning my omelette – which I had to go eat in the bedroom would you believe it, because the cats were very much asking for a third breakfast if I tried to sit down.
Molly can’t sleep without rearranging the entire sofa. I didn’t have the heart to wake the old girl and tidy up before taking a picture. It looks like this all the time. Now you know.
Anyway, I eventually broke out the black and it went a bit better. I can’t match the gloss, but it would be nice if it’s not the first thing you notice about the room. I even resorted to using “glazes”. And now it simply has to be good enough. Most of it will be covered in pictures anyway, which was the whole point of the board exercise: To be able to store, dry, hang various small paintings out of the way, to be able to move and rearrange without making new holes every day, and make it slightly decorative as well.
The idea is to hammer nails into the boards instead of the wall, basically. And not have to measure the height every time, just the three options, take it or leave it. I couldn’t find my box of little nails for the purpose, so I have yet to show you the finished result.
G casually asked me if the house is going to end up looking like hippies live here. I didn’t have a definite answer. It’s very much a Danish thing that you should conform, the norm is good enough and no reason to want or be more. While I’ve never really conformed, I have felt restrained at times, both physically (tiny house) and otherwise.
Well, I’m fed up with being less than me. It has nothing to do with feeling better than others, simply that I want to be all of me. Not just some parts of me, the acceptable ones, the managable ones, the inconspicuous ones. And if being me right now involves turning this tiny house into a workshop with looms on the wall and arranged for storage space rather than a modern show home, so be it.
I actually thought kale was an annual thing, but these have never looked better! Looks like they’re going to flower – does anyone know if the rest can still be eaten? (if not, I’d like the space for the orange cosmos that Mary Jo sent me)
Going to be a headachy day (and then some) for me today, probably not a whole lot getting done. Or perhaps I won’t be able to contain myself to begin my project “new picture storage space”. Got the lumber yesterday, next step sand and paint.
It’s 6.30 am as I type this, G is going to some guys out thing with the neighbour (no, not a drinking thing), so unless the headache works itself into a migraine I will need to find entertainment for myself. We usually do house projects over the weekends. Perhaps I’ll molest some wood and build a loom?! Yes, you can have ants in your pants even if you’re feeling poorly. 😉 Then again I may just try finishing my holey sweater. So I can start a new one.
Would you believe it my sewing pile has grown again? And yesterday I added 4 pairs of jeans that need hemming, found at the Red Cross shop in town for 45 kr./£5/$8/â¬6 each. But I’m not going to look at that today. Sewing needs a special kind of extra energy …
And that’s my Sunday in spe. Will be interesting to see how it really turns out! I may have some kale for lunch.
(And before anyone is impressed with my morning skills, the headache woke me up around 5)
Normally I aim at having 7 links in each of these posts (don’t ask me why), but I’ve either been surfing less (good for me) or my bookmarking skills have declined. I could put in a link to my Amazon wishlist and keep you entertained for hours, but somehow I think that would be a fruitless effort. Reminding me of this quote, which will count as today’s 7th item:
“A person will sometimes devote all his life to the development of one part of his body; the wishbone” – Robert Frost
Well, a lot anyway. I’m in a decluttering kinda mood, and beware who tries to stand in my way!
I totally tidied the spare room, so that it’s now kitten safe to leave the door open again. I’ve also persuaded G to finally get rid of three old computers that are just sitting there in a pile of his stuff. I’ve been having a whack at an ancient clothes repair pile for two days and it’s GONE, although it was tough going. My new plastic sewing machine isn’t nearly as good or strong as my old sturdy Pfaff, so it nearly got permanently attached to a pair of jeans. I’ll be doing jackets and jeans on my old treadle Singer from now on (1927 model), the driveband was slipping, so I haven’t been using it. But now I’ve made a new one, couldn’t be bothered waiting for a bit of leather, so it’s now a nice, blue polycord. I didn’t succeed melting the ends together, so had to stitch is using grizzly thread, but so far it seems to run ok!
Mind you, I don’t actually enjoy sewing. I just think it’s a waste to throw out a jacket only because some large dog stood on your pocket until it ripped.
I’ve rearranged the linen closet to also include the tablecloths I rarely use, giving me a huge drawer downstairs for paper rolls that were getting squished on a shelf. Leaving me with a shelf for??! Incidentally the sewing pile gave me another two shelves for storing weaving yarns.
My desk is the tidiest I’ve seen it this year, bills are paid (well, I do tend to do that on a regular basis), all sorts of little notes have been transferred to my bullet journal and next up is a system for storing my paintings in progress – I’ll show you when that’s done!
A long time ago, last week to be precise, I finished my meditation blanket, I just haven’t had the time or weather to take a nice photo. It isn’t what I dreamed in my head, but it’s been a great learning experience. And it’s absolutely useful and shiny. I will have to do some projects where my handpainted yarns come into their own, though, because they are mostly hidden here.
When I was done taking blanket pix in the wind, the sun decided to peek through for a brief moment – gone by the time I made it back to the clothes line.
And that’s all for me in a while – things to do! I think it’s about time I got back to the paints and the yarns, I feel all motivated now that I’ve been so efficient. I know if I keep up the house thing for too long I’ll just keel over (may be a tad too late in fact – but then I still have books to read, even if I ALSO finished all my library loans!)
