What a crazy week it’s been in our house.
- Our window installers arrived last Thursday and have been here every day (except Sunday) since then. (Try putting a 2-year-old down for a nap when a guy is using a Sawzall in the next room.)
- I’ve been decluttering and passing on still-useful stuff to Freecycle recipients. (Love my local FC group, but it does require some work, sifting through email replies, making pick-up arrangements, etc…)
- Ken had minor surgery on Monday. All went well but he’ll be spending this whole week at home recuperating. (So now I’m tending to the needs of 4 instead of just 3 “dependents.”)
- And on Tuesday evening, Jana, my cousin from Germany, arrived; she’ll be living with us for two years while she goes to college here. Yay! (But as of Tuesday afternoon, her closet was still filled with clothes to be sorted and moved. Eek!)
But of course there’s been fun and making and such going on, too. Keeping me happy and sane, if also surrounded by some chaos.
One thing I really wanted to get done before Jana arrived was switch out the ceiling light in her room. Ever since a run-in with the bunk bed ladder (months ago), the once-upon-a-time square glass cover has looked like this:
So in addition to all my offers on Freecycle recently, instead of going out and buying something new, I posted a wanted for a light fixture. Here’s the “beauty” I got for free a day later:
Hmmm. (In case you can’t tell from the photo, the base of the light is that gold-ish, black-ish, ugly-ish metal that was oh-so-popular 20 years ago when our house was built.)
Spray painted the base – and the “knob” I intended to add on – a bright silver. Too bright. Figured Kristi might have some black paint. Sure enough – in the 15 minutes I had between errands, she hooked me up pre-stirred paint, a rag, a foam brush, a garage to work in, and a friendly encouraging face. So then I had this:
Here’s a close-up of that “knob” thingie. I wanted it to look more like fixtures that are in the stores these days.
That “knob” thingie was actually the top to a rose water perfume holder that I got about 25 years ago! And that has spent the last 15 years in a box in my parents’ crawlspace until the decluttering weekend there when the box was sent home with me. And then I found it at just the right time when I was listing some other box contents on Freecycle… Anyone else needs a “knob” for an out-of-date light fixture? I still have one more. : )
But really, all summer, I’d been hoping to find a chandelier-y fixture to hang in Jana’s room. Well, what did I see in the window of a boutique I’d never even noticed before, on the way to bring Ken to his surgery on Monday? A couple sweet-looking chandelier-y lights, one of which now belongs to me!
I also wanted to get a dresser for her room. Found this sweet little guy at one of the local thrift stores, one day before Jana’s arrival. So no time to paint it, and perhaps I won’t after all… Not sure yet. With the scuff marks and scratches, I figured it was a no-brainer. And it’s the perfect specimen to receive fabric-covered drawer fronts. But seeing it in her room now, next to the swirly-metal-and-dark-wood day bed, and the overstuffed grey leather chair, and the redone ceiling light, and the chandelier globe… it’s kinda growing on me, just the way it is.
Plus, not painting it removes one more thing from my somewhat lengthy to-do list…
P.S. To Ima (and interested others): the dimensions for the Hankie Hem Dress will come just as soon as I can make them understandable for non-Mathletes...
No comments:
Post a Comment