2Homes*2Lives

I taught myself some simple crochet a couple of weeks ago. Have been wanting something to do that was pacifying and enjoyed it so much I told my students in my classes they would all be crocheting a scarf. One red-haired boy on the basketball team had a fit saying it was too feminine. He went to the counselor to try and drop the class and was told too bad, you signed up and are stuck in the class. I told him he could do a scarf for his coach. He wasn't buying it, but has adjusted, though he still thinks crochet is for girls. Yesterday I borrowed my husband's cordless screwdriver. What a shock to find out how easy my job was. I put up a coat rack in a couple of seconds. Instead of using a stud finder (yes, he has one of those too) I knocked on the wall, but it went up slick as could be....which reminded me of all the times I asked Bob to put up things for me and he acted like it was such a chore. I now understand the male mind a little better. Power tools are for men because the...

Did the individual photos for the yearbook, then everything in the house seemed more pressing...you know how that goes...caught up the laundry, worked on bills, cleaned up my husband's trails through the house, sorted more piles of things, put up curtain rods, and watched the final Dancing with the Stars..was glad Drew won...they were all good in their own way...best season yet for the show...should help them get more stars interested in appearing on it next year.--- Have decided after all that wallpaper stripping and painting that the boys bedroom/den lacks warmth, so am going to wallpaper again!!! Our daughter is in her new bedroom and loves it! Light chartreuse walls with pinks, purples and other girly colors. Guess I didn't mention...our daughter is now 27...she was born with brain damage and is about 31/2 yrs. mentally. I wanted this bedroom to be an environment and she is loving it. Will post pictures soon as the yearbook gets done, which it will in time. I'm a huge ...

Woke at 8 a.m. This weekend has to be all about working on our school yearbook. My students took all the photos...now it is for me to understand the online software to get it published by the end of this month. I knew this interest in the house was taking time I should have been spending on the book and today found even more ways to procrastinate. Bob was expecting a call from a buddy so would not let me tie up the phone line with the computer. I drove to town for gas at Sunoco and a 20 oz. cup of hot English Toffee latte. Nothing else seemed open in town so stopped at the local hardware. Spoke with Wes, son of the original owner. We traded opinions on the state of teaching, wearing clothing that is comfy but not stylish, and our kids. He's a smart and opinionated guy, but loosey-goosey fun-loving! He runs a summer hot air balloon launch and a mini Woodstock near town. We often say the town should be named after his family as most of the buildings, with the exception of the funeral...

Photo credit: Eric Sucar, The Daily Messenger / AP Excerpts from article by: BEN DOBBIN, AP Autistic Team Manager Makes Hoop Dream Come True High School Senior Scores 20 Points in Waning Moments of His Only Game GREECE, N.Y. (Feb. 24) - Jason McElwain had done everything he was asked to do for the Greece Athena High School basketball team - keep the stats, run the clock, hand out water bottles. That all changed last week for the team manager in the final home game of the season. The 17-year-old senior, who is autistic and usually sits on the bench in a white shirt and black tie, put on a uniform and entered the game with his team way ahead. McElwain proceeded to hit six 3-point shots, finished with 20 points and was carried off the court on his teammates' shoulders. "I ended my career on the right note," he told The Associated Press by phone Thursday. "I was really hotter than a pistol!" In recent days, McElwain's phone has hardly stopped ringing. When his ...

Our minister up north in the summers gave the best sermon I have ever heard, called "The Begging Bowl". He said that we plan our lives with day planners, etc. in increments of 15 to 30 min. a slot and don't leave time for miracles. That monks in monasteries used to go out with begging bowls and whatever food or money they were given provided for their daily needs. They never knew from day to day what the begging would bring, but always had faith in it. He said today, we all need to save time in our lives for the unexpected miracles and if we are not looking for them they will pass by us unnoticed, unappreciated, and wasted. He said he kept an empty bowl on his desk to remind him of the miracles that would fill his bowl every day. I live my life with that begging bowl on my desk, but also in my mind. Every day is an adventure and the tougher things get, the more I let go to allow miracles to flow. Last night as I was moving furniture back into the bedrooms I worked on, a ...

This will be brief... Returning to the work week I discovered teacher conferences are this week. The good news is that we have Friday off ,so a three day weekend coming up...Whoopee! Finished the dread second bedroom last night. After painting the room all light blue on top of old wallpaper, watching the seams open up, 12 hours steaming the wallpaper off with a rental machine from National Rental, plastering cracks, 2 hours sanding, washing down the walls, two coats of primer and one coat of top coat I cannot believe I am not done! The color is too light. But I need a break, so will put in the rest of the furniture and put on one last coate of slightly darker taupe. on Friday. A teacher friend with exceptional taste just painted her kitchen a medium taupe. and I think with luck it might be the color I want. I would not be so worried about the color, but I am not one of those hire people to paint every season...these walls will stay the same color until we leave this house. I know what...

I started wanting a French Country look, then it expanded to more of a European theme with the Scotch poster, Italian red & green as accent colors, and the French chef. The hardest part of the whole thing was getting the check wallpaper on straight on the old walls. It now looks almost like fabric on the walls. The only thing left to do is to tile a backsplash behind the stove and main cabinets area shown above and put in new counter tops.

Taking current photo of finished room and will add it asap.... Putting up new red/green plaid wallpaper and wall board. Bargain lamps found at Walmart for $7.40 ea. Walls with old wallpaper coming off...

This is our tiny home layout. The two bedrooms at the bottom are currently being worked on...I am determined to be DONE with them today!! The next room to be worked on will be finishing up the Master Bdrm., then the laundry rm. (top of white rectangle entry hall off gray deck), and then the tiny bathroom which needs to be demolished and totally redone.

To have my two favorite designers helping me on this house we live in, or the cottage, would be a dream come true. We have no cable during the winter months as we are just too busy, but have satellite in the summer months and I I am glued to HGTV anytime Kenneth Brown or Candice Olson are on... Kenneth Brown's show Redesign is an American Icon of a show. His low key colors and smooth contemporary designs make any room he does an environment that is calm, masculine and just plain cool. While his sketches leave a lot to be desired (a kid's crayon drawing would be as good!) he clearly has each project pictured in his mind. His soft-spoken personality often does not challenge the owners preferences as much as I would like and sometimes he has to prove his ideas will work. If they know of his reputation they should trust him anyway. Kenneth is a west coast designer with all the polish and finesse of a couture designer...he has class dripping out of his handsome tanned hands and blo...

Candice Olson of Divine Design on HGTV inspires the romantic side of me in decorating. Watching her go through the process of redesigning a room is like a trip to the candy store...it truly is devine! I love her fashionable design sketches that are amazing works of art. Unlike Debbie Travis who bombards a neighborhood with her wham bang wildly colorful overdues (though I love Debbie's personality) Candice works almost behind the scenes coordinating the effort. For one, she takes her time, spends money on things that count like quality drapes and lighting (expertly accomplished by my favorite electrician Chico). She uses her own carpenter and male seamster as well as taking into consideration the needs of her client's. The only problem is that she is based in Toronto, Canada and does not cross the border south. Favorite episodes are the private bath for the couple with children that turned into a classy retreat complete with a chandelier above the tub , stencil painted and gild...

The Midwest Lemonade husband Bob made today was a hoax and I fell for it. He told me he only used lemons and water. I knew it tasted too sweet, but he bought Sunkist lemons and they are fresh... found the lemonade can in the trash...said 28 g. of sugar! That's ok....Bob doesn't know I am doing this blog!

Ambrosia Porcelain When I was a child a babysitter gave us a box of candy with a tiny clear glass pitcher. I'm not sure why I love that so much, but it sits in my kitchen to this day. I felt the same way when I came across the Ambrosia Porcelain site where I am ordering one of their one-of-a-kind pieces called"curious pots" (the small bowl with the bird perched on the side) They're very small, about 2.5" - 3"in diameter, and are $39.00. Other than being shown in the picture, this item does not have a page yet on the site. But everything on Ambrosia Porcelain's site is so adorable you will want to place an order on the spot. Add to that the folksy nature of the two owners with artistic and musical backgrounds, Linda Gale Aubry and Miriam Aubry, and your impulse is to hop a plane to visit them in their studio. I think they best describe my attachment to their work in this quote from the site... "Remember the cup that you always reached for, and the bo...

No, this is not a picture from Iraq. This is me this afternoon sanding the plaster patched walls in the second bedroom for the boys bedroom/den. in a dust cloud. Plans changed for tonight...not babysitting the grandsons as the other grandma is available and willing... so am waiting for the dust to settle in the bedroom. Took a shower and decided to blog until heading back in there to wash the walls with a damp sponge and then put on the primer when dry. The walls aren't perfect, but hey this house is old. When I first met husband Bob he already owned this 20 acre farm. We came here after our first date on a Sunday because he wanted to check on a sick goat he was nursing back to health. The house smelled musty and our voices echoed from lack of furnishings. Most of the walls had dark paneling on them and ceiling lights instead of lamps, so it seemed very dark and dingy.There were empty beer cans climbing the wall next to the refrig.! He had a wooden church pew for a couch. We watche...

Our summer home in the north with a view of the lake as far as you can see is like going back in time. We live on no schedules. Plans for the day are made spontaneously. The weather is never really what they predict as we live on the shoreline and the temps off the lake change things. The electric goes out after a bad storm and I have seen magnificent storms brewing as they come across. We also have spectacular sunsets as we face the west. We've owned this place for over ten years. It is still a work in progress. More on it as the season draws near.

Our winter home after a snow looks like a cabin in the woods. We've had the flu this week...you know, the sore throat kind complete with chills, headache, and a nagging cough. Most of my weekends I'm indoors anyway. This one is a long one. Was home two days off work and have this Monday off for President's Day. Slept most of Friday away. Saturday will be sanding plaster fill, washing walls, priming and painting one of two bedrooms I've been working on. Our daughter gets the larger bedroom, while the grandsons and our son, when they visit, get the smaller bedroom/den. Her room is already painted a soft chartreuse and the other room will be a soft taupe if I picked up the right color at Lowe's. Once the rooms are put back together will post photos of them, plus other rooms finished and working on. Will resurface to post on Sunday, as watching the two grandsons at their house on Saturday night. Have a great Saturday. Marilyn

It would figure that in my childhood we lived in only two homes. This is the 2nd one and it holds the most lasting memories for me. Funny how every inch of that house not only can I picture in detail, but it's as if scenes from movies play out in my head as well, of a time spent there... one moment in time forever burned in my memory. The house became home to two different families since our parents sold it. Our grandfather designed and built the home and it's my wish that oneday it will be back in the family. How, I am uncertain ,and at a cost far above the original sale. Still, one can dream.

De sign*Sponge... Check out Grace's highly popular blog . She's received numerous awards and well justified recognition. I check it almost daily for the latest in all kinds of design...She is at the front of Contemporary Design and keeps her posts current and varied. Great writing style. I know you will want to go back over and over, as I do .

Two homes, one up north for the summers and the other a state away the rest of the year. No connection between them. It's easy to forget the other exists as the lifestyles are so diverse. Right now I have undertaken to do extreme makeovers on both residences, as cheaply as possible, as environments are becoming increasingly important to me. Come to think of it, Two seems to be my magic number... Two children, two grandchildren. Two brothers, one sister but together we make two. Two wonderful parents I constantly thank God for.... Two occupations: my day at work teaching school and at home trying to address daily issues as they arise. Two husbands...well, sort of...at home, my life partner husband Bob with the gorgeous blue eyes is my mentor, friend, comedian, and all. And my "work husband" who mirrors my husband's personality as much as I mirror his wife's personality. Two bosses, two secretaries that keep me up to date (Ginny and Kathy are the best secretaries in...