Hmm...let me explain

Well, this is sort of a post to explain how I am doing the painting, since some people are suggesting I do it certain ways! Just kidding, I don't mind really! :)

First of all, there isn't really trim (crown molding) around the ceiling. We have fake crown molding, which is really just a white strip around the ceiling the width of medium width masking tape (1 1/2, or so). Of course if you look at it closely, it doesn't look like molding, but it provides an... um... awareness? of there being something up there... You know, that didn't make any sense! In other words, it keeps there from being a stark line of contrast between the nasty, white popcorn ceiling, and the colored walls. SO... what I was talking about, was that I need to paint that 2 inches or so with semi-gloss trim paint, let it dry, then put the masking tape up there, so that when I roll the paint, it won't mess it up. I probably will cut in around the top too, as it's not that far from the ceiling. I generally cut in around all trim, but I have to tape it too, because I'm bound to get paint on something!

Then there's an, oh 3/4 inch wide section behind my door that I have to do with a brush, and that is going to be a pain to tape and paint... what were the builders thinking?!! I was thinking as I was priming, that there really ought to be a better way to do this! I mean... really! I haven't a clue how it could be easier to paint, but I wish it was!

I did sand the spackle spots. I'm not sure what grit it was... I think it might have been 80... I don't know, but it was coarser than the 120 grit that was also in the garage. I usually prefer to just scrape all excess spackle off and then not have to sand, but it was really bumpy, so I couldn't get by with that.

I hadn't thought of putting another coat of primer on the spackle, that might be a good idea.

Well, I've got painting and schoolwork to do, so I'd better get going! quickly! I'll try to post an update later.

Sloooowwww!!!

This is taking forever! :) I got my room completely cleared out except for my mattress, and I got the walls dusted. I had to take out all the screws where things were hung on the walls, and the outlet covers, and vacuum it all very thoroughly. Then there were nails popping out on the baseboards, so I had to punch those back in, and spackle them and the holes on the walls. This is what it looks like now:
I'm waiting for the spackle to dry, then I need to start rolling the primer. I don't like having an extra step, but the paint on there now is really bad quality, so it needs to be thoroughly sealed before I put the new paint on. If it's not sealed, all the problems with the old paint will eventually wear through, and then all that work would be ruined...so, primer! I was hoping to get the primer done this morning so I could paint the trim around the ceiling and get it started drying. Dad said I needed to let it sit for, I think, 4-5 days before I put tape up there. Well, we'll see how the primer goes, I might still have time, like tonight, to paint the trim.
Hopefully I can get all this done, reasonably fast, because my stuff's all over the house! There's furniture and boxes in the living room, my bedframe's in the hall (and my mattress will be too, when I move it), and my bedside table is in the garage. I hope there's enough room for Dad to pull the car in... :( He didn't want to leave it in the driveway, because we've been having so much rain and possibilities of hail.

And somehow, in the middle of all this, I need to keep working on my science book. We've decided that instead of trying to get my math book finished this summer, I'll work on the science. I'm sort of behind grade on that anyway, and I can go through it fast and still be able to comprehend it. Whereas the math...um...well, let's just say, I need to really pay attention to it!

Well, I'd better get some lunch and get back to work!
And anyone who's reading this, please leave comments (and please leave your name!!!) And who all has looked at my profile that I have 16 views on it?!! Or did someone go back to it several times??? Whatever... it doesn't really matter, I was just suprised!

Okay!

I'm finally starting on my room-repainting project! Today I'm getting some stuff cleared out of my room. I started on the bookshelf, but I had to stop for lunch, so I haven't gotten very far. Here's a couple pictures of my room as it is now:
This isn't a real great picture, the flash washed out the color of the walls, they're nowhere near that light. And my room is not the cleanest it's ever been, but that gives you a good idea of what it looks like most of the time...except it's usually messier! :0




Here's another picture, showing you the bookshelf, and another shot of the color, but it's not right either. Suffice to say that it's green and it's going to be brown, and we won't worry about specific shades!

Well, I'd better get back to work on it! Maybe I'll have pictures later of my progress (if there is any)!

Quote

Quote for the day:

"You shouldn't be the same height as a footrest, if you don't want to be used as one." ~ Me.

Finally a post!

Finally I have time to post! I've been really busy recently with my cousins coming to visit, plus a baptism and picnic last Sunday. But that's done with, and my cousins left yesterday, so I can get caught up. And speaking of caught up, I'm working on catching up on my sleep. And I don't think I'm done yet! After staying up late Saturday (we went over to someone's house for dinner); going non-stop Sunday (church, stop at Costco, lunch, 1 hr., baptism @ 4, picnic, and stop at Target); cleaning frantically on Monday, then (talking, playing Apples to Apples, and staying up late); then on Tuesday staying up till midnight playing Dutch Blitz... I'm very far behind on my sleep. Let me tell you that once you start playing Dutch Blitz, you can't stop! We played again Wednesday morning before they left!

It was really fun to have them here. And I discovered that Rebecca and I both have the same problem playing guitar... we can't strum so that it sounds like anything! I couldn't be any help, of course, but it was nice to know that I'm not the only person who can't figure out how to play the supposedly easy to play guitar! So, I couldn't help her, but I did give her some picks because all she had were "light" picks, which, of course don't work real well on steel string guitars.

What else have I been up to? Well, since I got my room all clean for company, I really should paint it sometime soon... not this weekend though, I don't think.

I finished my shrug and wore it on Sunday. Here is a picture of it: It works really well with the dress I made it to go with, the only problem being that although it has a lot of holes in the lacey pattern, it's rather hot to wear.

Hmm... not much else going on. I need to be working on my cross-stitch, but I just don't really feel like it. Plus my finger starts hurting if I stitch for too long.
I really should get some knitting done too... ahhh! too many things to do!

Note on Kipper

Just a quick note. Some of the Kipper DVDs are a little more like popular cartoons, weird characters and adventures. We own: Cuddley Critters; Friendship Tales; Pools, Parks, and Picnics; and Water Play. These are all very good. This website mentions a few of the Kipper DVDs and the problems with some of them.

Kipper the Dog

Since I'm writing while hearing this in the background, I might as well write a short review!
First of all, this is about the only kids cartoon I can stand! :)
It's a very calm, relaxed cartoon, nothing to give kids nightmares, and not noisy enough to drive parents (or older siblings) crazy. The DVDs contain several adventures featuring Kipper and his friends: Tiger and Jake (also dogs), Pig (a...you guessed it...pig), and Pig's little cousin Arnold, who is also a pig. The cartoons are based on books by Mick Inkpen. What is very cute about this cartoon is that the animals all have British accents! The only thing that drives me crazy is my little brother (almost five) acting out Kipper! So, if you don't mind your child talking with a British accent, and acting out Kipper stories, I highly recommend these DVDs. There is also Kipper's website that I found. There are coloring pages, and games relating to Kipper. Enjoy!

Crocheting: I'm almost done with "Short & Sweet". I finished the sleeves, then decided that I want the whole thing to be longer. Luckily, it is not a problem at all to add more, and there are even specific instructions for doing so. Wow, instructions? For something like that... when I had to fill in the stuff they left out of the pattern as I went? So I need to do about four more rows on that, weave in all the loose ends of yarn, wash and block it, and it will be done! And if that sounds like a lot, it doesn't really take that long. At least... I crochet fast, so it won't take me very long. I do hate weaving ends in though... ugh.

I really need to be working on things for the county fair, which is in October. I have a cross-stitch piece (Stoney Creek's Lord's Prayer) that I'm about 3/4 of the way through. I'm definitely going to finish that, but I was thinking about finishing this, but I've barely started on the border...so that's definitely NOT going to happen! I think I'll get this little chart done instead. I haven't even started it, but it will be fast to stitch. And the little beaver is cute!
And of course, I'd like to get some other sewing done as well. At the moment I only have an idea of one thing to make, so if that's all I can come up with, I can get that done in 3 1/2 months. Baking... well, that doesn't have to be done until 11-12 the night before we take stuff to the fair...right? :) Well, maybe not 12, and I need to find some new things to enter.
So, recipes and sewing ideas... and a name for this blog... are what I need to come up with. Oh yeah, I've got schoolwork to do also...

Pictures and progress

Well, progress and slight disappointment. Progress is on the jacket/shrug thing that I'm crocheting. It's called "Short & Sweet" and it's really been neither. Maybe if the designer had worked on the directions instead of thinking of a cute name for it, it would have been done already (short) and a whole lot easier (sweet)!!!

Here's a picture of it without sleeves:










And the disappointment is the garlic that I dug out of the garden this evening. The tops had died down so it wasn't going to grow any more, but I expected them to be a bit bigger than this:









I guess the three in the back are a bit bigger, but they look more like pearl onions than heads of garlic. Maybe it's because I planted grocery-store garlic that had sprouted. Maybe it can sprout, but not grow very much?? Whatever the reason it was a bit of a disappointment, and I think I'll buy sets to plant next year.
On a good note, all the rain we've been getting the past few days has been good for the rest of the garden, especially the lettuce which I thought was a goner.

Very Short Post

Random quote of the day:
"I'm reading a book that's getting to be a bit of a yawn... I'm going to keep at it though... hope it gets better."~ overheard at Costco yesterday.

It just struck me as funny for some reason.

Picture??

Picture!!!! It posted properly!!!

Hee-hee!

Am I good at this or what? Links, headings - I've got it all figured out! See? The "Blogs I Read" wasn't in there and I put it in. Properly too! Okay, I'm excited! :)

We'll see...

We'll see how this goes. I'm definitely going to have to make my own layout. These ones are okay, but I really want something different. So I'll see what I can do, and this will change eventually...when I have time.

I thought this would sign my name at the bottom... I guess not. Or maybe I just didn't see it.