God Bless Lowes

This past week was quite eventful.
I became a Grandmother on Thursday. Little Liam did not come into this world easily.
My sisters and I were in Madison Wednesday Night until 2 in the morning.
We simply could not leave until we were sure that Linds was okay.

So I went to work Thursday on 2 hours sleep (2 hours of just dozing actually) and then Hubby had a doctor's appointment as well. He called me from home to say that with this new medication he is on, his muscles are really locking up and he wasn't sure if he could actually get down our front stairs.

He did make it down them, but it was scary and difficult for him.
You see, last fall, before Hubby got sick, we had put up new stairs at the front of our house, but never got to put up the railings. So Hubby has been having to lean on the window ledge as he comes down the steps.

Well, it's almost spring now, and after this terror, I decided that this would be the weekend that I would do something about railings.

I looked at the railings that Hubby bought and have no clue how to assemble such a thing. However, I COULD install a simple hand rail. But I would need hardware with a very long arm on it because there is a space between the side of the house and the steps.

I started out at Menard's. Their sales people were not very helpful. All they would do is point in a direction and go back to what they were doing (acting like they were busy). I didn't find the hardware I was hoping for, so we went to Lowes.

We went to the hardware section and I explained to the sales person what I had in mind. I told him I wanted to keep it simple doing this. He showed me what they had, and it was basically the same stuff Menard's had.

He said he could order me a longer arm, but I told him I really didn't want to put this project on hold. I asked him if they had any brackets that would work for a project like mine and he showed us a few that might work. And then he lead us to the iron hand rails and started explaining how easy these were to install.

I listened to him explain and understood most of what he was saying, but then he pulled out some base posts and I was completely lost, wondering how I was going to mount those to the house. So I became frustrated and was about ready to just walk out.

I said "Thank you, but that's just a bit much for me. I need something simple that I can do TODAY to solve this problem." The look on his face somehow made me continue "You see, my husband has cancer and he is having a very hard time getting in and out of our house. I need to install railings NOW and they need to be something simple that I can do."

Frank the Sales Guy looked at me and said "Well I can come and install them on Tuesday if you like."

My Mother-in-law and I both looked at each other and then at him "You'd do that?"

Well it IS Lent. I try to do a good deed as often as I can, and It really sounds like you could use a good deed."

Then he said he would also buy the parts and I could pay him back - so that I would get his employee discount on the parts! What a guy!

He called me when he got home from work and said (like a true Wisconsinite) "Hi! This is Frank from The Lowes. Can I come see your steps?" He looked at the steps and said he is sure he could do this job in about an hour. He'll be back Tuesday.

God bless Lowes! And God bless Frank from The Lowes! There really ARE angels among us!

The closer I get the more confused I become!

I have spent a great deal of time thinking about what I want to do with our new bedroom.
The first step is figuring out what colour scheme to go with.

I figured the easiest way to figure out what colour scheme to go with would be to shop for a comforter first. If I find one that I really love, I can pull out background colours in the comforter for the walls of the room.

The problem? The more I look, the more confused I get!
I have looked at a million Burgundy Comforters in many patterns.
I've bookmarked about a dozen of them, but I just can't push that "Add To Cart" button.
Why? Well, one big issue I have is that I don't want the same pattern as the comforter on all of the accompanying pillows. Why can't I mix and match on Overstock.com? If I could, I would have bought one by now and be one step closer to doing our room!

I would LOVE a Burgundy Paisley Comforter. And they have a few of them. But I think I would like to go with Burgundy PLAID pillowcases instead. I'm a freak for texture when it comes to decor. If I'm gonna do it, I want it totally done up!

But I suppose I'm jumping the gun anyway. There is just so much going on these next few weeks. Tomorrow is Hubby's benefit which out to be a lot of fun. But still, I know I will need to bring tissue!

Marty and Kim said they are doing this benefit not to raise money to pay bills - they want to see the money used for something we wouldn't do normally. To fulfill a dream.

Hubby and I were talking this week about doing the back yard as well. We have been talking for years about buying one of those pavilion tents and some yard furniture. Hubby LOVES hanging out in the back yard. And I must agree that doing up the back yard would bring him much happiness. So we'll be focusing on both projects in the next few months. It will be a tight budget, but I know we can do it.

At least Hubby and I agree mostly about how we envision the back yard. Except I would probably put paver bricks beneath the tent and around the fire pit. Less mowing obstacles.
And I really wish I hadn't seen a photo of an outdoor fireplace last week. That would be SO COOL. But also SO EXPENSIVE!

Baby steps, Bren, baby steps!

Youtube Hurts

One of the greatest Internet Innovations ever is Youtube.
I couldn't even count the many hours I've logged combing through videos of various subjects. It has always been fun to start with one video and then see what other offerings are listed on the same subject (by the same artist, by other artists, whatever).

But now they've "Improved" Youtube.
That is, if you consider slower-to-load videos an improvement.
If you consider having to watch a fucking Volvo Commercial before you get to watch the video that you chose to watch an improvement, go to it, cowboy!
If you like selecting one song and then being bombarded with continuous play of that very same song title repeatedly, then you might think Youtube has taken a step in the right direction.
If selecting a playlist that promises to show you over 45 songs by your favourite recording artist and finding that the link is broken is something that you look forward to, then Youtube has a real treat for you now.

Youtube was great the way it was. Why did they have to mess with it?
How could they possibly sit around a meeting table and all agree that all of the above features would be positive? What a bunch of shit!

I think I'm gonna start visiting the less popular video sites instead and simply say goodbye to Youtube. (What sucks if that right here I would normally post the video of Patti Smyth singing "Good Bye to You" but I don't want to torture anybody with a Volvo commercial!).

You know it's Gonna Be a Bad Day When.....

SO I'm getting ready for work this morning, and my hair is just not drying they way I had hoped. I spend 10 minutes styling it, and what I am aiming for is THIS:
But my hair has decided to look quite flat instead, so as I am trying to achieve this look, I came to the realization that although I am aiming for the look in the photo above, the look I am ACTUALLY achieving is more like Kicking Bird in Dances with Wolves!



And although that Hair Style looks adorable on Graham Greene, it just isn't what I was aiming for. Luckily, with a little product and a good brush, I was able to turn it completely around and have a good day after all.... without the up-swoop.

May all your days be great hair days!

Ain't no Circus in THIS Town!

I started out my day thinking about finishing our Master Bedroom.
As the day progressed, I started thinking about how much I really hate having a cat litter box as the focal point of my bathroom.

When we rescued our kitten two summers ago, I had to put a litter box in there because I was afraid she was going to do her business in there box or no box. But as time went on, I notice that this one actually gets the least use. So it's time to take back my bathroom!

At first, I started thinking about what I would put in its place. It had to be something substantial so that the cats would walk in and say "Well I guess there's no doing my business in here any more!"

So I started thinking about what I would like in there. I started with a simple diagram:
And something like this would be quite easy to build. But then I remembered that Marty has borrowed my saw.... And I'm motivated today! SO I started surfing the net for something similar to my diagram, and of all places, Shopko had what I wanted!

I called my local store and they had one left because they were on sale. The sales lady asked if I would like her to set it aside for me and I said yes!

So now, in place of the litter box, I now have this:
Only mine is in a cedar colour. And it was half price! And yes, I did stop and buy Faux Fur to make a cushion for on top. It is so soft! I just love it!

Can't Sleep. The Clowns Will Eat Me

I woke up early this morning. I hate that! This is the weekend! A person is supposed to be able to sleep in on the weekends! But NO! I have to wake up early without the ability to just roll over and go back to sleep!

But it's not all bad. I was pondering what I want to do with our new bedroom. Thanks to the joy of internet, I have made some clearer decisions.

There are two major issues with the ceiling in that room.
#1 is that there is a big chunk of plaster missing. The advice I've received regarding this is that it would be just easier to put up drywall over the entire ceiling. EASIER? Are you joking? Sure I could get helpers to put the drywall UP, but I know that I would be left to put up 3 coats of skim-coating plaster over it all. That's a lot of effort for a gal my age. I would absolutely kill my back spending 3 weeks in an odd position whilst trying to put up even coats of plaster. Too much work for a gal like me.

Problem #2 is that the former landlord had felt that the easiest solution to the ceiling problem was to install a dropped ceiling. GROSS! I tore all that down with the help of my son Andy. Except there is a metal strip remaining all around the room on the upper walls. My fear is that removing this may cause more plaster to fall from the ceiling. So it's there to stay. And now I need to work around that.

But I've got an idea that may solve both issues.
First I need to fill the gaping area where the plaster fell. The beauty of my plan is that it doesn't need to be a pretty solution because it need only be level with the rest of the ceiling.
I am going to go to Lowes and by some paintable wallpaper and put up a Faux Tin Ceiling.
I'm thinking more along the lines of the second image here - but of course it all depends on what Lowes has for paper. And metallic paint.

The solution to the second issue - the metal strip surrounding the upper walls will be disguised.
I am going to buy some 1/2" x 6" wide lumber and attach that to the walls and ceiling all the way around the room which will actually make it look like the ceiling was raised in the center.
This 6" edge will also have the wall-covering on it.

Yes, this still sounds like a lot of work - but it is FUN work instead of tedious work. It's gonna look very cool if it turns out the way the construction crew in my head says it will.


And of course I am also changing my mind about wall colours. I've found some awesome home decor web sites lately that are just packed with ideas. And I'm thinking about going with a soft stone colour on 3 walls, and the third wall as a darker slate gray. I'll be picking up paint chips today to make a better decision on that. But I can then print and hang many of the interesting pictures that I have been collecting off of the internet for the past few years. Many of them are stone bridges, ruins, black and white and sepia pictures. I want them to pop when I hang them.

And then I will need to shop for a berry coloured comforter and sheets.

I will post pictures when this project gets under-way. It'll be a while before I dive in. My new Grandbaby is due any day now, and the benefit for hubby is just two weeks away, so it's best that I wait until all of that happens first.

Lets hope March is an awesome month!

We totally have a theme going

The latest fad at my workplace is Friendship Bread.
That's the stuff that just keeps on growing and growing.
A friend gives you a bag of yeasty batter and you take it home and care for it for 10 days, and before you know it, it is time to bake two loaves of it - which turns out quite yummy if you have the right recipe. But you also find yourself with 3 new bags of batter to try to pass on to friends. If you have a shitload of good friends, you can keep it going forever.

I was foolish enough to actually keep one bag and pass on two during the first round.
For the second round, I thought I'd be smart and just bake a ton of the stuff and only keep one bag of new batter going.

Well, it turned out that I am the only one in the house who is eating the stuff! So barely a quarter of it was consumed, and the rest ended up in the trash.

Yesterday, I baked my third and final round of Friendship Bread. No more! There's a quarter on the dresser, I'm through wit ya! Elvis has left the Friendship Bread building.

Last evening, I baked 2 loaves of the stuff, and for some reason, (probably because I was cooking dinner AND baking bread instead of just sending good Friendly Vives to the oven), the loaves decided to collapse in the center, resembling a butt crack! So, I brought one loaf to work and said "Hey! It's Friendship Bread. If you can't share your Butt Crack with Friends, who CAN you share it with?"

Thankfully, everyone enjoyed that loaf and it is gone!

Now, I know that all of my coworkers have lost interest in the Batter portion of Friendship Bread. It takes a lot to remember to mush the batter in the bag daily. And if you don't do that, the yeast dies and the batter just ferments and doesn't bake well.

Whilst baking, I called and left a voice mail message on one sister's phone, hoping I would find a taker. I then called my other sis and asked her if she would be interested in a bag of Friendship Batter. Hey! They escaped the last two rounds!

"No way!" was Big Sister's response.
"How about if I just bake another loaf? Would you like a baked loaf of Friendship Bread?"
"Isn't that something like the story about the Chicken and the grain of wheat?" was her response.
"I just want to get rid of the stuff!" I laughed, "But I guess you're right about that."
So, no, she wasn't going to adopt any Friendship Bread, baked or unbaked.

But luckily, my other sis called back and said "Yes! I'll take a bag! My daughter will take a bag. And my son's Girlfriend will take a bag."

I was so happy I did a little dance in my kitchen! No more Friendship Bread Batter to tend to!
Awesome!