All done........

The painting that is in the basement.  It took less than a gallon for the walls, as I only had to do one coat.  So I have three gallons of paint left.  I will use some on the spare bedroom downstairs and a walk in closet.  I plan on decorating those in July/August when it's too hot outside in the garden.

I am pleased with the results.  So now I am going to put it all back together.  I will say it has tired me out. It was a lot of work, but I am glad to have it all done before the gardening season starts.

All out of routine.........

I am a person who likes a routine.  I like to plan out my week ahead.  I do not like spur of the moment changes.  So getting sick wasn't part of the plan this past week.

However despite being sick I did manage to get the part of the basement painted that I planned on painting this past week.  It wasn't done until Saturday morning, but it was done.  Part of the issue with this basement decorating is that I can't do it all at once, it's too much for my hands.  Also I went and booked a company to come and clean the carpet and stairs down to the basement at the end of the month.  So I have a deadline; which is not something I normally do.

A bonus this past week, was getting more books read than I planned on doing this month, therefore cleaning out more books that have been laying around.  I will say though, the Jane Austen books are on hold as I can't handle them at the moment.

My goal for this basement for the upcoming week is to get it all painted and finished.  That will then give me another good week or so, to clean out cupboards and drawers down there and finishing tidying up in the laundry room before the end of the month.  That way I can do another trip to the charity store to donate stuff.

Oh and finally we got rid of the last of the snow........I hope I am not jinxing myself by saying this; as it is nearly the middle of April.  Hubby actually got out on Saturday and did the first of the winter cleanup.  It's far from being warm, but it's above freezing so we will take that as a win!

Christmas Tree's..........

Now that it's November everyone is starting to think about Christmas.  

Our daughter puts hers up the afternoon of Remembrance Day, as she is off that day and our Grand daughter loves to have the tree up for her birthday for the 16th of November.

I am holding a Christmas get together on November 30th for a group of ladies.  So the house will be all decorated the week before.  Last year we didn't decorate at all as we didn't come back from the UK until December the 1st from a funeral, so the mood was sombre around here last year.  

We will get our Christmas lights hung up outside if not this week, then next week; weather depending.  I will also put together two planters for outside at the same time.  We will not turn the lights on until the middle of November though.

On our way home on Sunday evening, I saw a couple of Christmas trees in people's windows, and that was November 2nd.

So the million dollar question is when do you usually put up your Christmas tree?

Not in the mood......

I haven't been in the mood to do a blog post these last few days.  You know when you don't have much to say and what you could say wouldn't be of any interest to anyone but yourself?  It's been a bit like that.

However though we have been busy with bits and bobs.  Got all the bathroom put back together and it looks nice and clean.  We have had a lot of wet weather which is making the bathroom look dark and not ideal for taking photos.

The battery in our sump pump stopped working so its been a bit of a process trying to find another one.  Got that sorted now though.  As when the hydro goes off the sump pump has a battery back up, which is essential, as where our house is situated we could easily flood.  Now have a water leak at the water meter in the basement.  Luckily it's only a slow drip, so a bucket underneath the drip will suffice for now.  Talked to the water board and it's their problem and they will come by on the 9th to repair it.  I told them it wasn't a huge thing, so no rush.

Still using the Dyson, and still loving it.  My cross stitch should have been finished and back from the framers, but still waiting on a phone call from them🤨 I haven't started another cross stich project, but did finish off this one:

I finished off my puzzle.  Noah's Ark Under the Sea.

I am going to be busy with hubby these next couple of days, so will check back in by Wednesday or Thursday.  Have a super week.

Good Morning

I did a double take when I first looked out of the window this morning, I honestly thought we had, had snow.  It was only a hard frost but all the rooftops were white, but even the frost on the park was a lot.  The clouds in the sky were also interesting this morning as well.  It was -3 oC when I took this photo, and will get up to 8 oC as a high today.  A lot different from the 30 oC temperatures we were experiencing a week or two ago!!

I only have some touch ups to do in the bathroom.  However hubby has some more work to do on the shower.  The shower has to have all the silicone redone; which was a job we were not expecting to do.  As he is still working full time, this will take him the rest of the week to get done.

Luckily we have another full bathroom in our basement, so can shower down there.  Popping out to Home Depot this morning to pick up this:

The shower has to be clean of soap scum so the silicone will stick.  This one is a bit pricy at over $14 but we are hoping it will work.

Another busy day again for me, but at least the painting is all done.  I will share photos when I have everything put back together.

Have a super day and let me know what you are up to today, I love reading all your comments.

Thought I'd pop in to say hello!

 

I am in between coats of paint in the bathroom.  I am getting on like a house on fire.  

Bathrooms are fiddly rooms to paint aren't they?  It took me ages just to tape everything.  That step makes it a lot easier in the long run.  I will have two coats of paint put on the walls today.  May get two coats of paint on the trim tomorrow.  At the most I will be done by Wednesday afternoon.  Then it will be just a case of putting everything back together.  Not having to paint the ceiling is a huge bonus.  Plus we fixed all the nails pops etc. in the room when I decorated last time.  So this is basically just a refresh this time round.

This is turning out to be a perfect week also to do this as it is cool and dreary, so no gardening for me.

I am also plugging away at a puzzle.  Picked it up at Costco on sale last week, its 1000 pieces:

I put a piece in it every time I pass on by the dining room table.

Well, I had better get on, doing laundry in between everything and a bit of tidying up.  Got a funny story to share with you about my Dyson!!  Which I am loving by the way........will get that posted in the next day or two.

Well I didn't think that through.........

I was out and about earlier in the week and stopped in at Homesense and bought this lovely shower curtain.  

I love the colours and the print.

So warm and bright.

BUT; it doesn't really go with the paint on the walls in the bathroom.  So I am going to have to paint the bathroom 😕  Huh, guess I didn't think that one through.......more work 😉

If this ladder could talk

 I think it would have a lot to say. This ladder belonged to my parents.  I "think" we may have borrowed it from them when we bought our first house in 1982.  So it has to be more than 40 years old.  Why we never gave it back to my parents, I have no idea.

If "Health and Safety" were to inspect it, it would be thrown in the bin.  It's a bit wobbly, and the legs leave a lot to desire.  As for the first step; you try not to stand on it!!

However, it's like a member of the family, it's my go too when I am decorating.  We have other ladders, but I have to use this one.

Do you have that something you can't bare to part with?

Monday September 20th

Well today is Election Day here in Canada.  As usual wouldn't trust any of the leaders with my life.  Full of promises which will no doubt never amount to anything.  Have to say at least they're all the same in that respect.

I will vote, because it is a privilege to be able to vote and that privilege should not be wasted.  I am one of those undecided voters and it will a last minute decision I am thinking.  We forgot to vote early; missed the deadline, so fingers crossed it's not too busy when we go.

Today is also hubby's birthday.  He is a few years past 29😏 We had a get together with the kids over the weekend, so that was good.  I have asked him over and over what he wants for his birthday and what he would like to do for his birthday.  His answer is nothing on both counts.  So it's a nothing day for him!!

I have finally got the last of the trim painted in the living/dining/kitchen, so now have to put everything back together.  I still have to paint the front hall closet and the linen closet.  That is a three or four day job.  One day to take everything out of the closets and remove all the shelving.  One day for me to paint two coats of paint on the walls and for it to dry.  One day to paint two coats of paint on all the trim and put up all the shelving and one day to sort everything out and put back in the closets.

Chaos

 chaos

NOUN

1. "complete disorder and confusion."

That's how everything is at the moment in our home on the main floor.  I am busy decorating/painting the main floor.  We have discovered that we cannot do as much in one day as we used too.  So we painted the ceiling on Monday.  That about did us in.  Luckily, we neither smoke or cook a lot of greasy food, and neither did the people before us, so it only took the one coat.

Due to my hands being bad, I am splitting up the rest of the painting so I do a bit at a time.  I don't like the house being so messy, but what else can you do?  I am using Sico Muse paint, which is on sale until September 22nd.  It is still $52 per gallon which is still expensive if you ask me.  We have one feature wall, which will be the Grey Fin; that actually looks more green with a grey undertone.  The rest will be the Avocado Cream Colour.  If you click here and here, you can see the actual colours on the website.

Our main floor is all open concept.

Dh has made a moveable platform, so we can paint above the stairs that go down to the basement.

This is the kitchen end of the main floor.

It's a big job, but when done it will be well worth it.

This is how I feel........

Must say I am glad Christmas is over and done with for another year.  I know New Year's Eve/Day is a day to celebrate but we never do much on that day.  It used to be the day I took down all the Christmas decorations as I had the day off work, but nowadays with not working I usually have them down sooner than that.  This year everything was put away on Boxing Day.  I wanted the house back to normal and not all cluttered up with Christmas stuff.

I do leave the Christmas cards up until the 12th night; you can read more about that here.  My hubby works for most of the Christmas period as he is in maintenance and the factory is shut down for the Christmas holidays, so all the machinery must be serviced, etc.  So I barely see him for the two weeks.

Our son hosted Christmas this year and it was lovely to see everyone and enjoy a lovely Christmas meal.  Dh and I were spoiled by the kids and I got a Nespresso coffee machine from them, and dh got a sound bar for the tv.  Santa was good to them as well from what I could see.  The kids got lots and lots of toys to play with, so they were happy.

I have taken a couple of weeks off from Appleby Lane and one of the jobs I am doing is decorating the downstairs bathroom.  What should have been a quick job has turned into an extensive renovation.  Dh started back at the end of November.  I will do a post about it all soon as we should be finished with it all in the next week or so.  If we had known what we were letting ourselves in for we wouldn't have started it when we did...........the joys of buying a house from someone who thinks they know it all😒

Oh yes I have eaten way too much, so need to get back into the healthy eating way of life again..........right after I have eaten the last of the chocolate😁

How was your Christmas?

How Wallpaper is made at Farrow and Ball

This was an interesting video to watch I thought.




I haven't wallpapered in years, it went out of fashion, but looking at some of the lovely wallpaper out there I am tempted to start putting a feature wall in each room that is wallpapered.

I do like their Helleborous line, especially that green colour.

You can get some free samples of their wallpaper here.  I may have to order some.

Do you use wallpaper in your home?

Things you notice when visiting other people's homes........

I was reading this article "The seven surprising things house guests notice when they visit your home (and why they DO judge you if it's messy) " which was featured on Daily Mail Uk.

1. Cleanliness and Mess
2. Bright Walls
3. Pleasant Smell
4. House Plants
5. Art and Books
6. Furniture Placement
7. Light Sources

To be honest they are not really a surprise.  

I always notice if people's houses are a mess.  Bathrooms are a pet peeve, as I like to use a clean bathroom.....

A bright wall always catches your attention; don't you think?

The smell of a home can go either way, stinky or overwhelming.  There is a happy medium when it comes to smells in a home.  The smell of something baking is always attractive.

House plants do look attractive if they look healthy, half dead ones don't; I think I would notice the half dead ones before the healthy ones?

Art and books; not thought about that before, if the artwork is a large piece than I guess I would probably notice it.

Furniture placement wouldn't be something I would notice as it's that person's personal preference as to where they want things.

I do notice light fixtures, only because there are some really nice ones out there, but if they don't catch my eye, I wouldn't notice them.  I do however light a decent light source for certain tasks.

What is something you always notice when visiting other people's homes?

Been a few days again......

Last week went by in a flash, and I am not sure why.

I was actually out and about a bit which was unusual for me.

I did a bit of clothes shopping for myself.....which doesn't happen too often.  Managed to use a $50 off coupon when you spend $100 and a $20 off coupon when you spend $20.  So spent less than $80 and got five pairs of knickers/underwear, a thick pair of winter tights/pantyhose, a skirt and a top.  All good quality and will last me for ages.

Had a morning out with all five grandchildren at Jungle Land  I must say I am not familiar with these indoor playgrounds, but if I had young children I would be going with them on a regular basis, especially in Winter when it is bitter cold outside.  The older three used so much energy and even the two babies were kept busy.   There were a number of other children there and lets just say other peoples parenting skills left a lot to be desired.  It also shows which children have learned how to share and which children need to work on their sharing skills!!!

Went to knitting and have now finished one side of my poncho.  Need to get back into it and work on the other side.  Pleased with it so far.

Had a run out in the car on Saturday up into Muskoka.  Hadn't been up that way in a long while, it was the road we used to go back and forward on to take our son back and forward to university, so brought back many memories.  It was bitter cold, but the sun was shining brightly.

For the next three days I am going to be painting our spare bedroom.  I have been "threatening" to do this now since the New Year, so finally going to do it.

I am getting back into doing Swagbucks again and have just cashed my points in for another $5 Amazon giftcard.  If you want to check it out and decide to join up, I would love it if you would use my referral link: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Appleby

I am going to be posting more on how I am earning/saving money shortly.

Been Busy.......

I have been busy decorating our bedroom.  Funny thing is dh walked in as I was painting and said it doesn't look any different colour wise to what it was.  My response was good, then if I have missed anything  you won't notice.  I painted it a pale cream/beige colour.  The biggest change is all the trim.  They were also painted cream by the builder, now they are a bright white.  Trim to my mind shouldn't be any other colour than white.  It makes the wall colours pop.

Someone else in blogland was also decorating and they were saying how much harder it is to decorate the older you get.  I have to agree.  I had been picking away at the trim all the week, so all I had to do on the weekend was paint the walls twice and paint the window trim and a little bit of the skirting/baseboard.  I managed to get one coat of paint on the window and baseboard trim, and one and a half coats of paint on the walls on Saturday.  I finished the walls and trim on Sunday.  I was so tired and my back and hands were hurting so much on Saturday, that I knew I couldn't finish it all on Saturday.

Fortunately I am still at a stage with my back that a good nights sleep cures the aches with my back and as long as I wear my braces on my hands through the nights they too recover,  and on I go the next day.

So we have had three nights sleeping in the spare bedroom which is in the basement.  We have large windows in both the bedroom and family room, so although not the brightest of rooms, they are not too dark.  I must say I am looking forward to being back in our own bed, as I had  a duvet and a bedspread on the spare bed, which is much too hot for me.  Dh loved it and was as warm as toast.......me, I sweated like a crazy person.

So all I have to paint now is the spare bedroom.  Luckily I am not at this stage:

Do you enjoy decorating the rooms in your home?

Update on July goals, as it's the middle of the month.

1. Paint ceilings and walls in basement.  Biggish job, but doable.  I hope to get a good start on the trim, but that all depends on dh, as it's all to put up.  All the ceilings are painted.  Two of the rooms walls are painted and as soon as I feel better the rest will be done.
2. Knit 31 Hexagons for my beekeeper's quilt.  That's one per day and doable. NOT HAPPENING :0(
3. Reduce spending - NOT HAPPENING :0(
4. Have no MacDonald's coffee or muffins Monday through Friday.  It's getting an annoying habit popping out to WalMart to grab a coffee and muffin at MacDonald's.  We do have a gift card for there, so will use that if we go on a weekend. FAIL
5. Don't eat out more than twice this month.  To be fair, we don't actually eat out much at all.  We had our wedding anniversary last month and used a gift card we got at Christmas.  We still have one other gift card to use, but I was saving it for dh's birthday in September. FAIL
6. Try and keep a handle on the grocery spending......with the rising prices easier said that done. So far so good
7. NO buying magazines other than Pretty Patches at the end of the month......this is a hard one for me! So far so good.
8. No shopping online........even harder!! Fail, Land's End had a good sale...oops!

Bit of a mixed bag with a few fails it seems.  HOWEVER; we have finished purchasing all the light fixtures for the basement.  We have picked up the majority of the doors for the basement; which dh sourced and saved us a lot of money on them and on the trim when we pick that up.  I do see me getting all the walls painted and hopefully if dh has time to put them up, the doors as well.  That will leave only the rest of the trim.  Dh is coming up to a busy time of year work wise for him.

The Land's End online shopping is for a wedding we are going too in the new year.

We have ordered pizza a couple of times over the past two weeks.  It costs $11.50 with tax and we pick it up.  With me being sick and it being so hot it was something quick and easy.

How are you doing with your July goals?

Another job crossed off the list.......

Sorry I haven't been around this week, but have been busy with this and that.  My main job for this week was decorating the powder room.  I have to say I am very pleased with how it all turned out.

They may not be the biggest rooms in the house, but bathroom's do tend to be fiddly.  As we do not have a window in our powder room, I knew I could get away with a darker colour.  The colour I painted it was a milky coffee colour.

 At the other end of the room behind the double doors is my laundry room.  Very handy having it on the main floor. Painting all the doors and trim white really makes the colour on the walls pop.

 I had these artificial flowers downstairs , so figured that would add a bit of interest in the powder room.

Now that is done, I guess I should be thinking about the master bedroom...........

Menu Planning and lots of photos:

I actually got my menu plan written out on Monday morning.  I am sort of organized for most of the week, which I count as a success in my books. Now whether I stick to the plan we'll see.

Here are some photos of the front hall, kitchen and breakfast area that we just decorated.

We were given some money at Christmas so we put it towards this rug for the front door.  It's from Pier 1 and despite the fact it looks green in real life they reckon it's blue?  Here is a link to the rug.

This is our breakfast area at the front of the house.  You can see my bird feeders in the front garden. 

Did you notice the oranges in the bowl in the middle of the table?  Well they are my $50 oranges!  You can read more about them here.  I got them when we were selling our last home.

This is looking into the kitchen from the breakfast area.

This is looking the other way and you can see the chalk board on the wall.

It all looks lovely and clean and very neutral, just the way I like it!

February already........where did January go?

Pleased to see February as it means another month of Winter is over with.  We have been so lucky (touching wood) with the weather I have nothing much to complain about weather wise.

Anyway I want to post a to-list for the month in the hopes it will make me accountable and actually do the things I post on the list.

• decorate the powder room - that is totally doable, so I see no problem doing that
• decorate the master bedroom - that is iffy, that job may go into March
• menu plan - that was only partly done in January, so need to work on that
• finish knitted baby blanket for dd, we should know the sex of the baby by this upcoming weekend - we hope
• finish two baby quilts.  One is cut out the other is not
• encourage dh and help him in the basement to get all the framing done and make a good start on the electrics.  There are a lot of bulk heads to make in the basement which equals a lot of work.
• sort out the basement and see what we don't want and try and sell those unwanted items.
• knit a pair of socks - this is proving to be a pain in the butt and I think it has something to do with the yarn I have?
• cut back on grocery spending and use what is in the cupboards - menu planning will help with this
• try and save as much money as I can and not buy anything online all month.
• sort out my blue air miles card, as I want to be able to cash in for groceries not just goods.

We have three birthdays this month.  All cards have been purchased and I only have one that I have to give a present for.   We do have a wedding the beginning of March, but the money is saved up for that and the card has been purchased.

I may add to this list throughout the month and re-post it as we go along

Okay I admit it...........

I am getting old.  These past three days have certainly taken it out of me.  Gone are the days when I could get two coats of paint on the walls in one day.  Mind you despite me painting "three" rooms; kitchen, breakfast area and front hall, I only used a gallon and a half of paint.  It was very fiddly.

I am not sure what hurts the most, my back, shoulders or neck.  I am so lucky though that after a night's sleep I bounce back and everything seems back to normal; whatever normal may be.

Today I will be putting the place back together.  I also ordered three of these lights which should hopefully come today:

I ordered three for the front hall.  They are out of Lowes (Canada) and I took advantage of a sale that was on a weekend or two ago.  They are not the most expensive but they suit where they are going and fit in with the rest of the décor.

Due to all the decorating nothing much has been done as far as organizing this week.  Menu planning has gone by the wayside.  Thankfully I have been popping leftover's in the microwave. 

I went and got this picture framed at Michael's; again took advantage of a 50% off coupon.  We are very happy with how it turned out:

We got the picture from the Drawing For Art function we go to every year, back in 2013.  The artist is George Mocanu.  It's back to hanging up on the breakfast area of the kitchen.  I will get more photos taken of the newly decorated rooms when I get them all back together.