A Busy Christmas Eve Eve

First thought:  I need a new calendar.  2011 is coming to an end rather quickly.  I already have appointments set for the new year, but I have no next year's calendar on which to solidify them.  If I had a 2012 calendar, then I could rid my bulletin board of all the loose appointment cards that clutter it up.  And speaking of days of the week, The Boy has neglected to keep track of them since he began working.  Yesterday was trash day, and the truck passed us by, without a bin at my curb.  How in the world are we going to fit all the Christmas Day trash in the bin, on top of all of last week's daily refuse, while we wait for next Thursday's truck?!

Okay, enough complaining about the future and the past... let's move on to the present.  Today is Christmas Eve Eve, the busiest day of the year.  The carpet needed a good vacuum, so that it could be shampoo'ed.  I had to shampoo it because Kitty decided to use it as a litter box, because she was thrown off by the baking soda that I sprinkled in her real litter box.  (Whew! Who knew that run on sentences are just as tiring when typed as they are when spoken).  While shampooing, I noticed that my brush heads were not rotating.  So I proceeded to take the machine apart, with the intent to fix it.  However, all that really happened was that I stared at all the mechanisms that I know nothing about, before putting it all back together again.  So the machine will spit water, and suck it up, but will not scrub the fibers, which really irks the OCD side of me.  I'll give you one guess as to who will be shopping for a new carpet shampooer when the tax refund comes in next year.

Since Christmas Eve is the day we choose to enjoy our big holiday meal, today will be spent baking pies, breads, and cookies for dessert ... chopping and slicing carrots, celery, cheese and pickles for the snack tray ... and vacuuming, straightening, and deodorizing the house.  It's 12:30 pm... I'm on my second pot of coffee, and I haven't yet showered and dressed for the day.  I've had to re-vacuum the hallway, as my daughter stepped in the flour that I spilled on the floor, and left white footprints on the carpet.  I still have to season the turkey for roasting tomorrow, and cover the table with cloths and festive candles. While waiting for the oven timer to buzz, I'm blogging to you.  Busy busy busy. 

So what is the moral of this story, kids?  Appreciate your Mama, 'cause holidays don't just happen, they are created by the Wonderful Wizard of Ma's.  And don't you dare peek behind the curtain... all you'll find is a tired old woman, with bedhead, in pajamas and a pumpkin splattered apron, pulling all the strings!

Merry Christmas!          

Time Traveling Through Genealogy

I confess...

It's been quite some time since I've written a post, here, or on any one of my other blogs.  I haven't been Tweeting, and my face has hardly appeared on the "Book of Faces".  I can't even begin to tell you how many afternoon episodes of Law and Order I have missed.  Although, I have kept up with the laundry, and have thoroughly cleansed the bathrooms and kitchen, I must admit that several items in my home are blanketed in a layer of dust.

Yesterday, at the suggestion of my Punkin, it occurred to me to wonder if any of you have been wondering if I've fallen off the face of the planet.  Well, the truth is, I have, sort of.  I have fallen out of the present day, and have spent the past month wandering through the misty fogs of several other time periods.  I started my journey in the recent decades of Connecticut, and Virginia.  I followed a few trails leading into Georgia, Maryland, and New York.  I spent the nineteenth century dazed and confused in the little villages of County Cork, Ireland, and currently, I have found myself in 15th century England.

How have I managed to achieve these adventures without leaving my desk chair?  By immersing myself in online family ancestry research.  As I know I've mentioned before, my paternal grandmother had spent decades of her life tracing our family bloodlines, and discovering such gems as former American president, George Washington, several royal houses of Europe (Kings of England, Scotland, France, and Portugal), Charlemagne, and even Julius Caesar.  She's put together eight (or nine) volumes, for family reference, of lineage charts, copies of her documentation, and certificates of lineage from National and Worldwide Historical Societies.  As much as everyone in the family is impressed with her findings, I seem to be the only one who literally has to hold on to something heavy to keep myself from floating away to seventh Heaven, or dangerously attempting back flips, over it. 

So, I have become the next generation's amateur genealogist.  At this moment I have my hands full of several projects.  I'm putting together a volume of lineage for my Hubsy's maternal line.  I am reworking my grandmothers charts, and I'm tracing my maternal grandmother's line.  I recently assisted my best friend in building her lineage chart, and The Boy has asked me to trace his father's lines as well.  Whew!  I know, it's a lot, and yes, I burn myself out, some days, but I am in love with this work!  Several people have expressed to me that I should do this for a living, and I couldn't think of anything I'd love more, but I wouldn't even know where to start... except...

...Maybe if any of my readers would be interested, or know someone who might be interested, in having a little genealogy research done... drop me a line, and we'll try to work something out.

The Best Things Are Free!

After spending weeks refurbishing an old run down dining table, it has become one of my most favorite things... that I acquired free of charge.  In honor of my new blessing, here is a top ten list of some other things that I've collected ... at little or no cost to me.  The best things in life are definitely free!

shaving mirror

1) This is a wood framed tri-fold shaving mirror from either the 1930s or 40s. About fifteen years ago, an old man in my community had passed away. After his family had taken all they wanted, my husband was hired to clean out the rest of his belongings, and I went along to help. The family had left so many things behind, and as we cleaned up, we also spent the afternoon learning so much about the old man. Although I had seen him everyday, walking his little dog, I had only met him once. He had stopped to talk to the group of kids playing in the courtyard (my daughter included), and we struck up a conversation. I knew he was a Jewish-Italian-American, that he had been in the Navy, and that he had gone through WWII. What I learned that afternoon was that he was quite distinguished, and had collected some very fine things throughout his life. I saw the hospital photographs and court documents, after he had been the victim of a hate crime. I took with me some beautiful antique furniture, an Italian newspaper from 1944 with articles about the war, and two old Time magazines, each dedicated to the murder of a Kennedy.  I also took with me a new and deep respect for the man I never really knew.  I talk to him sometimes, and thank him for all the things he unknowingly passed down to me.  I think he appreciates that I appreciate them.

bar cabinet

2) This is the solid wood cabinet that I also acquired from the old man.  It has been used as a dining room buffet, a TV stand, among other uses, and now it serves as a printer stand.  It was originally intended to be a bar cabinet, but we don't drink very often so it stores batteries, plastic grocery bags, miscellaneous electronics, and pet supplies.

Uncle Charlie

3) This is a faux carved wood wall hanging, depicting one of my most cherished ancestors:  Emperor Charlemagne (aka Uncle Charlie). We know about him from school, of course, but we know about our relation because of my grandmother who spent her life researching our family genealogy.  This carving had hung on her wall for as long as my brain can remember, and when she passed away several years ago, it was handed down to me, to hang on my wall for the rest of my life.  Those are two reasons why I love it dearly.

The Guardian

4) This black stone lion was brought home by my husband about seven years ago. He found it in a vacant apartment, abandoned by the previous resident. He came to me just around the time that I was studying the art of Feng-Shui. I named him The Guardian, and wherever we live, he is perched on the porch, beside the front door, protecting us from negative energy. I painted his eyes, to give him a sense of life... and his toenails, to give him a sense of style.

painted mirror

5) Here we have a four foot long, heavy as hell, silver framed mirror that likely hung in some restaurant restroom. It was collected by my late father in law, who was a retired apartment maintenance man, who likely found it abandoned in a vacant apartment. He gave it to me nearly two decades ago, and I gave it a face lift. I sponged the frame in pale yellow and blue, and then stenciled on some ivy in mixed greens, and some leafy vines in blue. 

crystals

6) Aaaah, some of my most prized possessions. These three crystals came into my life nearly three decades ago, when my ex-husband found them while cleaning and painting his bosses daughter's apartment. They became the very first stones on a long and beautiful path into a world of deep spirituality, and an interest in ancient Celtic mysticism ... crystal healing, candle and incense burning during prayer and meditation ... which led me to a deep respect for the natural world, and it's sciences.

sofa

7) This sofa was an unexpected gift from the universe! Seven years ago, I had spent weeks trying to find one just like it ... searching newspaper ads, Craig's List, used furniture stores, and thrift shops. They were all either too expensive, or already sold. Just when I was ready to give up, this sofa appeared on the curb in front of my neighbor's house, while they were moving out. I introduced it to my carpet and upholstery cleaner, and it took up residence in my living room. It couldn't be more perfect for those long Saturday afternoon naps.

kitchen cabinet

8) This white kitchen cabinet was a gift from an old neighbor. She was an employee and a resident of the complex where we lived after arriving in NC. We only knew her for about six months before she found a new job, and moved out. Before leaving, she offered us this great country style kitchen cabinet, among other pieces. It was already white, with pine surfaces, but I painted the door and drawer pulls in Hunter Green. We used it for a microwave stand, and food storage cabinet until we moved to this rental house. The kitchen is much too small, so it became a TV stand and bookshelf for my daughters. We have since moved and it has returned to its original position in the kitchen.

Bamboo Shelves

9) When we moved to NC, the apartment beneath of ours was the designated "guest suite". A short term rental unit for residents to house their out of town visitors, like a big beautiful hotel room. Well, when some of the student residents began using it for all night parties, the management decided to turn it into a regular unit. All of the model furniture inside was offered up to the employees. I jumped right on it. I walked away with this bamboo and glass entertainment unit, a long white wicker dresser, and two matching white wicker nightstands. Yay me! Yay free!

Table

10) And the piece de resistance ... without any further adieu... (I have no idea if I've spelled those correctly, but the spell checker didn't highlight them, so I'm going with it) ... the dining room table that was found on the curb after some neighbors vacated, about a month ago. Has it been a month already? Yeah I guess it has. I sanded it, I stained it, I coated it, and turned it into the beauty that it has become. If you'd like to see the photos of the table in it's original state, just look through the recent previous posts (on the right sidebar) for one called "Trash To Treasure".

If you have a cherished freebie, post a pic in the comments!

From A Trashy Table To A Treasured Piece

There had been a pile of trashed out furniture on the curb in front of a recently vacated house for a few days. I kept trying to get a view of it, but every time we drove by my husband would speed up and say something like, "nothing to see here, folks". Well, I did catch sight of a huge dining table, that just reeked of ugliness, but also of pure potential.

The finish was dirty, chipping and peeling. There were several water marks and scratches. It was a medieval monster, but after a thorough examination I convinced Hubsy to help me lug the thing home.

It took up residence on our back porch, which slowly began to resemble the set of This Old House, with sawhorses, orange extension cords, sanders and sandpaper, foam paint brushes, plastic sheeting, a pile of old rags, and various cans of wood finishes. Feeling much like Norm Abram, I set to work. (Yes, that's a Christmas coffee mug, that I use year round).

Hubsy disassembled it, and Punkin and I began to scrape and sand ... and sand and sand. Even Hubs and Princess joined in occasionally, while The Boy watched. It took a solid week to remove the old finish and get down to the beautiful bare wood. And that's when Hubsy really began to believe that we could make something out of this thing.

Using a Colonial Maple stain, something we had left over from our coffee table years ago, I started adding some color to each piece. Believing that the table top was a solid piece of oak, like the base, we were surprised to find that it was covered with a pine veneer, which was peeling in several small sections. So, we peeled up the loose sections, and sanded down the uneven edges. During a brief lapse in brain function, I filled in two of the spots with wood filler, which didn't take the stain well. While the peeled and sanded sections took the stain differently, but nicely. Oh well, a mistake I can live with, because it was still definitely not the same table that we had hauled home. The sides of the tabletop were a beast of their own.  Again, I had used a wood filler to seal some gaps, and it didn't stain well. I ended up having to paint the sides in a brown color that matched the darker knots in the pine. It soaked up the stain like a sponge, and needed four coats of poly ... but it came out beautiful in the end!

In order to make room for the table, we had to turn our office space back into a dining room. In order to do that, we had to rearrange the furniture in the living room to make room for the computer desks. Then we had to paint and patch the walls in both the living room and the dining room! 

Next week will lead me into a whole new project. We've had to take down Hubsy's Star Wars collection from the living room, so now I have make room for it in the bedroom.  Of course, when I rearrange the shelves for that collection, I'll have to patch and paint!  ... and then...