While the beginnings of my art training started young with my mom cooking up projects, and awesome grade school teachers, the real fun began in high school. Ms. Socolofsky (or Miss Soco as we all called her) was my new mixed media teacher. My friend Erin and I were in a bunch of her classes and we totally had a blast. We learned tie die, shibori, batik, and lots of other things from our multi talented teacher. I knew my teacher was a weaver, but it wasn’t until after high school that I got to see one of her pieces up close and personal where it hung at the Oregon State’s library. I was blown away, I have no idea how you do this, or how long this takes, but her work was amazing. A couple weeks ago I got a card in the mail for a show of hers at the capital building. The reception was Thursday, but the art will still be hanging in the governor’s office through October 6th. It’s open Monday through Friday 9-5. Check these out:
so cool. I didn’t get a chance to talk to her much, because it was a bit crowded, but I’m hoping to run into her again when my neighbor and I go to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival.
Rummage
So I’ve been working like crazy on the house, yes I know, shocking but true. My dad told me the other day that I need to "hurry and get done" so I could get it appraised. I totally flipped out on him and started crying over the phone and finally replied with a, "I’m spending my life savings on the basement right now so I can’t really deal with this at the moment." and hung up. I am so mature, that’s for sure. But he did take pity on my and came over this weekend to help put up trim in the basement, which is mostly painted now. Brent also came over, and not only helped with the trim, but also chiseled something for me. It has to do with the bathroom and that is top secret remember? One thing I can tell you about the bathroom is that I almost lost my cool in there yesterday. I spent FIVE hours picking old caulking off from around the tub and shower, then I get already to put new in only to have the tube explode on me. Nice. I almost chucked it out the window then decided against it and basically caulked my whole body trying to smear it into all those freaking tiny cracks. Ahhhh.
No, but seriously things are going good.
Matt came over this weekend in a little pickup and I now have my most prized piece of furniture at my house.
This freaking awesome steamer trunk my mom got me for my 22nd birthday. I loved it when I got it, but I haven’t gotten to use it so my mom has been for the past four years. I was taking it out of the house and my mom looked very forlorn, "are you sure you want that." Ha ha, nice try mom. Matt and Brent also fixed the screen door that was suffering from a broken wheel thing. Bj replaced all the ivory/almond colored switched and plugs in the whole house. This makes a HUGE difference. I decided I need one other piece of furniture. I have nothing to hold all my little crafty things (no the huge dresser, bookcases and drafting table are not enough). How sick would this be? Drool, Mulder and Scully had one like that in their office, and there is one in the Mars Investigations office too. Must. Find. One.
Things I did find today:
This lot of stuff was nine dollars. A bunch of enamelware containers and the cool glass one. Well it’s back to work!
The Backyard
I don’t really focus much on my yard because, well, I’ve kinda let it go… a lot. As in not watered it once since signing the papers for the place. I’m not lying when I say I didn’t want to waste the water. I knew it wouldn’t be lush and green, and dumping water on it seemed pointless to me. But the weeds were getting a bit out of control. So my lovely little brother came over Saturday to chop down the dandelions. Thanks Taylor, and Happy Birthday (he’s 16 today!). 
That poor holly tree is so ugly. I think I have to have a couple of trees pruned, like the big walnut on the other side of the yard. And when they do that they’ll have to give Holly a little haircut.
When I look at my yard I actually see it as one of those encyclopedia pictures where there is the overlay. You know the ones, one page has a skeleton, then the next has muscles. Well my yard looks like that to me. I see the big amount of grass, and slope, but over the top I can see the rock wall I want to do, with the patio, and big flower garden boxes mixed with my veggies. I picture that skinny side yard done up all nice with gravel, then pea gravel on top, maybe someday stone. And on that lots of planters growing up all sorts of pretty things that I can see and smell from the basement office. It’s a little depressing to think that with all the money I’ll be spending on water proofing the basement I could totally landscape my yard. But oh well, I’ll have all winter to pull pages from magazines and dream up even more brilliant ideas.
Own It
Okay so it was a long day working today on the house. And after we were all done we went to my mom’s house to chow down on some Thai food and watch some travel channel. Bill flipped it to a program about the Colorado river (to which I constantly yelled at the TV, lies, all LIES!). In between these outbursts Bj and I were reminiscing about our 10,548 mile trip around the United States, in which we crossed the Colorado no less than five times. They mentioned Glen Canyon Dam and Bj was all, "Oh hey, that’s right where we swam." I was like, "Ya, well, but actually behind the dam." "No," Bj said, "In front of the dam." "I’m sorry sweetie, but I think you’re going mental, it was behind the dam." "Do you want to bet?" "Yes I do, I’ll bet you a hundred bucks." Bj: "wait, let me think about this, yes, I’m right, okay I’ll bed you $100." {we shake on it} Bj: "Honey I can’t take your money." "That’s okay babe," I said, "I can take yours." Then I got to thinking, hey, I took a million pictures on that trip, and wasn’t one of me in front of the dam, (where I got Cadillac Desert, incidentally and the
Game over. Memory keepers please note, there are never enough pictures, just think if I had skipped out on this photo opportunity!
For better or worse
That’s the way it is. See things around here haven’t been that spectacular (and by around here, I mean around the cottage), but I’ve not really mentioned that my brother bought a place a mere four blocks away. That’s right, four blocks. And it currently looks like this:
My super cute bedroom. Bj actually spent one night here last week since I was with the little monkeys. I’m a little too freaked out, I need some more window coverings (I have some ghetto blankets over some of the windows), and maybe a bathroom sink.
Hopefully this will be resolved tomorrow. Right now there is a huge garbage truck sitting in my driveway full of yard debris, which is going to the dump tomorrow, then I can load up all this crap. Hope to see even more progress after this weekend.
Another Baby!
Remember
We think maybe she’s going to be a redhead, it’s hard to tell, she doesn’t really have much hair at the moment. Anyway I spent the day hanging out with the girls, working on the (secret) bathroom, and hanging out with the Comcast guy. Now, just have to figure out how to set up the TiVo. What the heck is the point of cable with out it?
26 + 1 day old
Yesterday was my birthday and thanks to my wonderful family and friends I had a terrific day! My mom and I ran a bunch of errands in the morning, we got the whole basement primed, and partly painted, and then it was time for the real birthday fun. I came back to my mom’s house and Bj was waiting for me with some awesome roses:
Sciarrino came upstairs just as I was reading an awesome comment on my blog (thanks Nancy you are so sweet! That made my day extra perfect!) and showed me this:
Ack! I was freaking out, so ultra cool. She went to the Gervis city wide garage sale a few weeks ago and said she got, “a few cool things.” Lier! She got tons of cool stuff and goodies for me!! My mom was downstairs cooking my birthday dinner:
Super yum. Potato corn chowder, you say it’s not a meal, I say, I don’t care, it’s my birthday! And I love it! After dinner I got to open my presents, and they rocked! My mom got me a new friend, her name is Luna:
ohhh isn’t she pretty. Then we realized that the special hardwood floor attachment came with the vacuum so I got to take one back and get the rug attachment, so I have five attachments now, watch out dust here I come!!! I got a sweet art game book from Bill, we might have a quiz later, and I’ll see where you rate on art history. Bj’s mom got me a little clutch, and the winner of the super cool present award went to Sciarrino.
She has been collecting this stuff for me since…. EASTER!!! And it’s proof that she knows me just about as well as I know myself. Check the awesome basket (awesome and huge!), the cool wooden box I showed earlier, both were full of more gifts. Two cool vintage wool sweaters, a collection of ties (those pillows will happen people), aluminum knitting needles, even a set of size 1 in pea green (swoon), an old brown apron for the collection, cool buttons, vintage fold and seal stationary, awesome table cloth, little elephant bank, super long brocade zipper (ohh I think I see a hand knit coming on), and the topper, a small 1940s superman pin. Sciarrino we all bow down to your coolness. Plus I should let her do a guest thrifting spot on the blog to show you all the other cool stuff she’s been finding this summer. And as if that wasn’t enough her and Bj schemed on this ice cream cake:
Sweet! Then Bj gave me a wad of bills (in addition to the dishwasher and microwave he got me for the house already) so we could go have a blast at the fair. The annual treat was as much fun as ever, if not more so for the inclusion of my brother. We saw bunnies:
how cool are those eyes?
I think I might have to get me one of these in my new place, so fluffy! We ate gross fair food that seems good at the time:
Rested our feet after going through the animal barns:
Took the annual portraits:
and went on the swings:
now that’s what I call a good birthday, love you guys!
An ode to my Electrician
Okay let me set up a little scenario for you. I’ve been working on Ribbon Jar all morning and have to run over to my house at two in order to meet with another guy about the waterproofing situation in the basement. I’m grumpy that everything seems to be going wrong, and leading the guy around showing him the whole basement. I go into the storage room where the light switch was accidentally put behind the door (the electrician installed it before the door was hung), and reach for the switch. But it’s not there, it’s right where it should be on the other side of the door. "oh," I say, "Rick’s been here." (all my subs have keys). I finish up in with the waterproofing guy (temporary bid of $6,700 ouch) and head upstairs. I look over and notice a switch under the sink. 
No, it can’t be, I didn’t even talk to Rick about this… See I had a broken garbage disposal, and I was just going to roll with it for a while, but at Home Depot they had one on clearance so I snapped it up and had my plumber install it. Well when I went to turn on the power for the kitchen after the install the disposal just ran and ran and ran. Turns out the kind I used to have took a kind of key. They stopper when turned would turn on the disposal, but the kind I bought took a switch, only I had no switch. So I had to keep the power off in my kitchen and run extension cords to the appliances. So frustrating. So when I saw this I almost cried I was so freaking happy. Not only that, but he gave me two new plugs in the kitchen, and set the time on my microwave (!!!!). I walk around looking for other things he’s worked on. The garage also got an upgrade. Two plugs and a new overhead light. Then in the bathroom (which I can’t go into too much detail about, because it’s a surprise, remember) he had already installed a new fan, but he separated the fan and the light into two switched, so I don’t have to run the fan all the time. I would find this too annoying, like if I was in the bath, and had to hear the fan the whole time. He also installed the light fixture in there. So ya. RICK RULES!!!!! If you’re in the Salem area he works for Keizer Electric.
Introducing Meg
It’s a pink paradise! Go go green sweater, oh ya!
The little monkies
So I spent the last five days chasing these munchkins around. They are as cute as ever, but busier, for sure. Five and almost two. 
Impromptu coloring! I had him color every inch of this life sized poster. Check it out here.
That about sums up my week. Well that plus diapers, whole milk, swim lessons, tummy flashing, boo boo kissing, backyard camping, wardrobe changes, early mornings, a muddy dog, flashlight book reading, binkies and night nights.
I’m really tired, but somehow I think if I had two ones of my own that size/shape/age it would be easier. I don’t know if this is true, but I always think that it would be. I guess I’m a long way off from knowing, but one things certain, I really got nothing done this weekend. I could have plopped them down in front of the telly, but I don’t want to rob them (or let’s be honest, me!) of summertime fun. Tomorrow I need to go back to the cottage and come up with a (revised) game plan. Looks like three more weeks of work. I have another quote for the basement tomorrow, so we’ll see. Two steps forward.
One step back.