Jennifer's Junky Life ~

House Update :: Laundry Room

Mark began work on the laundry room this week. I'm really looking forward to being able to use it.

There are no windows in it yet - and it'll be awhile. But we're planning to have a lot of them in there, as well as a window or two between the wall of the laundry room/kitchen to let more light into the kitchen as that west wall has only one window in the kitchen.

I haven't finished filling up my retro mid-century hutch that I have in the kitchen but it's getting there. I hope to have it finished up today and then I'll get a picture up. It's just one of those things that makes me so happy. A dust-free place for all of my vintage dishes!

Our dogs had puppies this winter. Our male Aussie, River, and our female Siberian Husky, Willow. Unfortunately, they were born on the coldest night of the year and in spite of being in one of our little outbuildings with heat, three of them didn't make it.

(Yes, that's the top of a pineapple! Our compost is just to the left of this photo.)

We had originally thought there were only four but in the morning, we found a fifth one that we didn't know about. We were lucky to get Willow, the female, into the building in time for her to give birth. She put up a huge fight being put in there. The dogs use that building for shelter but she didn't like being closed in when it came time to have her puppies. She tore the place apart! I mean, like a wild dog. But we knew it was for her and the puppies own good that they were in a warm place when the time came - and she is not house trained so it wasn't an option to have her in here.

I always knew I wanted at least two dogs, so they would have companionship - but somehow or another we now have three! For now anyway...

Her name is Meadow and she's so cute. She's a good mix of her parents, light colored and has blue-grey eyes.

We had hoped when we went to get Willow and River, respectively, that they each would have had blue eyes but they didn't. There were no blue eyed Huskies and the blue eyed Aussie puppies were already spoken for.

The little male (the brown one) is being picked up tonight and going to a good home. I'm so happy with the family we found for him - I know he'll be in good hands.

I always say I'm not an animal person... and I'm not totally (okay, maybe a little) but I care about all of our animals more than I ever thought I would and I was really worried about sending little puppies out into the world. We wanted to have one litter and now we'll get our dogs fixed this spring/summer.

I can't believe it's Friday already. Another week has flown by. I'm 35 weeks along in my pregnancy. It's really starting to feel like it's getting down to the wire!

House Update

I'm itching to do some painting lately. I haven't painted since last summer - except a little retro end table and the baby's dresser which I started (and have mentioned before but don't feel like hunting for the post to link to) but now have to repaint because I don't like the shade of red. I only have one coat on and it would need two more anyway for red so I'm going to prime it and start all over and go with something light. One of these days...

(Getting the mail on a sunny winter's day. View down the driveway.)

I can't wait for spring to get outside and get serious about all of my projects again... if my baby is good, that is. It'll be a whole new ballpark with a new little doll around here. Two months to go! I picked up a bunch of little necessities this weekend. Still need some stuff but it's beginning to feel a whole lot more real with all of the baby stuff we've been gathering and I'm getting so excited. Sometimes I still can hardly believe it's real.

(The field at the front of our property.)

Mark promised me flooring when the baby comes. He told me recently if I can get everything cleared out as much as possible on the first floor, he'll start laying flooring! So, maybe by next summer we'll have our floors and then we can paint or stain them. Undecided between a pale grey-white color floor paint or a really dark stain. Still. We've been going back and forth for years - leaning toward the really dark stain but I'm worried it'll darken it up too much and I want our house to be light and bright. So, we'll see!

(River, our Aussie, always comes with me to get the mail.)

(View looking back toward the house.)

Mark salvaged all the wide pine wall boards from a cabin he was working on last year and they'll be perfect in here. I wanted pine because I want them to get dented and worn over time. I love the character of pine floors.

We've also been talking lately about finally putting some bigger windows on the front of the house. I can't wait for that - just to have more light because the front faces mostly north. And because it'll pull the house together a little more. (All of our windows are salvaged and we used what we had when we built, not necessarily what we wanted, but we knew it was only temporary.) The bigger windows would also be salvaged. We have a whole slew of them sitting around here.

I'm enjoying winter (one of my favorite seasons) but this is one of the first years in a long time that I can't wait for spring and warm weather.

Organizing, Purging, Garage Sales

I love January about as much as I love Mondays. And that's a whole lot! It's a new start. A new beginning. And I always think it's a great time to organize and rejuvenate the home.

I've been going through the sitting room this past week, when time allows, and have been purging the kid's toys. Our sitting room is an open room adjacent to our living room and until the basement gets finished off, it's also the kid's toy room/play room - and it's been a cluttered mess for some time.

{Photo from last fall - dreaming of spring.}

We don't have a toy box. Since we moved in, over four years ago, the kid's toys have been in a cardboard box and little things like Legos, toy cars and trucks, animals, etc... have been sorted into vintage containers (metal tool boxes, wire baskets and bins, and the likes) but they're all just sitting on the floor and look like a jumbled mess even when everything is sorted in the right place.

I can't wait until we have some shelving in the basement where we can sort these bins to keep them more organized. It's a goal this year - along with finishing the laundry room (adjacent to the kitchen) and working on the boy's room which is sealed off to the inside of the house but open to the wind.

I got rid of all of our (modern) Fisher Price Little People at Christmas time. We had a lot of them but I've never liked the style of them. I'm so partial to the vintage ones, which I collect, so I gave them to my sister and my sister-in-law for their kids.

I'm giving all of our old plastic tools to my sister who lives here and I'm still wondering why we need as many toys as we have! - yet I don't know what else to get rid of because it seems like everything else actually gets played with. Except the Barbies. Nikayda has never played with them that much, probably because she's never had a sister. My sisters and I spent hours playing house with ours.

I brought a lot of stuff to the thrift last summer when I was going through stuff but now I've started sorting things in boxes and setting them aside because I would rather have a garage sale than bring everything there. It's been a few years since I've had one and it's such a great way to earn a little cash - so I can turn around and use it for thrifting and garage saling. It's just that I'm not sure how ambitious I'll feel this year with a new little one. I guess it will all depend on whether she's a good baby (like Nikayda) or a fussy one (like the boys). And this time around, I'll have a willing ten year old to help me out so it might be fine.

It's Overcast and I Don't Have Grass...

but I ran outside to take pictures of the three quilts I picked up last Friday while out garage saling.

The kids and I headed to the town north of us for garage sales on Friday morning and then decided to run to a town about a half hour away because of an estate sale listing in the paper. Found a few things there but the best finds were elsewhere...

On the way out there, I took a wrong turn which ended up being a very lucky turn because I came across three vintage quilts at a completely different sale. Each listed at $3.00 a piece. I immediately grabbed the top two but then swiped up the third after only the briefest of hesitations. I also was able to score them all for a total of $6.00!

I simply asked if she would do a group price since I was taking all of them, and that's what she'd offered. I often do that when buying multiple items at a sale and let them take the lead. Oftentimes the seller will offer much less than I would have comfortably suggested. It's all part of the game and I love it! (Of course, there is always the chance they'll say no. In which case, you have to be ready to walk away or pay the asking price, which I was prepared to do in this case. Although, I've walked away many times, knowing I can find a better price on something in particular if I keep looking.)

I could tell these quilts were relatively clean and free of odors and that was all that really mattered. I figured if they were too tattered or stained, they could easily become cutters for projects. But I was elated when I got home and really checked them out because they are all in great shape (considering their age)!

The lavender wedding ring quilt is my favorite and also the most 'tattered'. But I'm using the term loosely because although there are little rips and tattered edges on some of the sections, and one small (about 1/2") hole (third photo), I think it's in good enough shape to look great draped over the foot of Nikayda's bed. It's backed with a pretty mint green fabric. All of the outer edges on the quilt itself are in great shape. We both love the colors and prints of this one! All of the different feedsack prints are just gorgeous.

The other two quilts, I don't particularly love but I do like them. (I'm more crazy over the bright colored quilts.) The second one is in a geometric pinwheel pattern (above). (I'm not overly familiar with quilts but that's what the pattern looks like to me.) This, too, has some great feedsack prints in it. A few of the seams where the feedsack fabrics were sewn are torn but I think they could be easily repaired. Although, I'm not planning to bother with them. It's lined with a yellow soft flannel fabric. It's quite dinghy. I'm hoping to soak it and brighten it up.

The third quilt, the one I didn't immediately pick up appears to be a bit older than the other two and is very dinghy and has light-med. stains throughout. (I tried to brighten it in these photos.)

It's slightly tattered throughout but in overall good shape. The geometric pattern really pops in photos -- more so than to the naked eye. In fact, I didn't even notice the distinct dark and light contrast of the pattern until I'd photographed it. I actually really like it in these photos. It's different than other quilts I've come across. If I can get them soaked and cleaned up, I'll probably use the second and third quilt in Alba the Argosy when we get her fixed up. We're hoping to work on her this summer now that Mark's home. I'm looking forward to it!

NOTES: These photos were taken in the backyard. Mark's been working on getting grass growing in the front. Then, we'll start dealing with the back. -- I never thought I'd be this excited over grass. I can't wait to have it though!

As you can see the back of the house isn't sided yet. He's planning to do it this summer. And, then hopefully we can finally paint it! I get really antsy and anxious living under construction but when I look back at pictures over the past few years, I'm reminded that there is progress each year. We went straight to our 'dream home' instead of building a 'first home' so we both knew it would take many years to get where we want it to be on our budget...or lack thereof. (Most of our windows are second-hand for now until we can get the ones we want.) I love where we live, just not all the unfinished business. One day at at time!

Saturday Afternoon :: A Sisters' Picture

My mom wanted to get a picture of all of us girls since we're never all together at one time. Here are the outtakes from that...

First, we had to shoe all the nieces and nephews out of the area.

Our house isn't big. It's just a regular sized family home. A lot of people have commented that it looks so big but it only looks that way in pictures. I've never wanted a 'big' house. The outside especially looks big in pictures because it's up on a hill, although very little, and we have too small (second-hand) windows on the front. I thought I'd post this because I think a lot of people have this misperception that our house is big. In fact, my sister, Emily, upon walking in the door exclaimed how 'cozy' our house is. That was one of the best compliments I've ever gotten. I want my home to be cozy and welcoming. She was surprised because, like everyone else, she had thought it was really big from the pictures I've posted, but it's not at all. It's an open floor plan so it definitely appears larger in pictures than in real life. I think it's just right! Below, adjusting clothes in preparation for picture taking.

When we went to try to take a sisters' picture inside, we had a hard time finding a spot to stand. Originally, we decided to try this corner in front of the computer for the best indoor lighting.

But, first things first, everyone had to check their hair! (Priorities.) Check out Molly's big baggy green sweater. I laughed because she bought it from Salvation Army and, apparently, I'm dreadfully out of fashion... These big sweaters that some of us older girls wore in the '90's are a huge fashion hit right now. I'm pretty sure I had that same sweater back in 1992 when I was about her age!

 

 

I made the mistake of standing on the end and slightly in front (instead of behind Amanda). Not flattering! :) Needless to say, I made sure to find my way into the middle during the next round! I may be halfway to my goal weight but I still need to suck it in when I'm with all of these little girls. L to r: Me, Amanda, Heidi, Gretchen, Jeanie, Molly, Kaitlin, Emily and Sara. (Amanda and Sara are both expecting.)

For better lighting, we then decided to try an outdoor shot. But, boy, was it freezing! Our winter heat source was the chosen spot for the perfect back drop.

Here is my mom telling me to get my butt in the picture because it's so cold. But I was having more fun taking pictures of everyone getting into place.

 Someone has always gotta be talking when they're trying to get a picture!

 

Then we decided to try some all crouched together, except we forgot to tell Mark just to get our faces so he had full shots of all of us crouching.  It was hilarious. I tried cropping them but they didn't come out quite the same. haha.

Below, I love this one.

Mom wanted one of just us girls for a Christmas card (and then she'd take one of all the boys) but I'm not sure that she got one! I just realized these close-ups, that turned out the best, have her in them.

When we started, we were laughing how when we were younger someone would always start bawling when it was time for pictures. With so many kids, it never failed! So we were waiting to see who would cry this time. And, you know what...? We weren't disappointed! I'm pretty sure one of my sisters started crying. But now I can't remember why... Maybe it was just because of the cold. Or maybe not...

Saturday Afternoon :: Sisters and mom at my house

Friday night, Kaitlin, whom none of us ever hardly refer to as 'Kaitlin', and I stayed up until almost 3 a.m. visiting in my kitchen. (We all call her Keeks and sometimes Kiki.) We're both night owls and she's the sister I feel is most like me. We have a lot in common. Below, Making lunch. I stole this one from Keeks.

I love that I got time to actually visit with my younger sisters this weekend. I treasure those moments.

I talk to all of my sisters on the phone or by texting from time to time, some more than others, but there is nothing better than night time visiting when you can have a conversation face to face with no interruptions (little kids around). Those moments when you're building bonds that will bind you together for the rest of your life. Those moments mean so much. Especially when they happen with a sister who is fourteen years younger than you. I love getting to know my sisters as they get older!

I have, and probably always will have, a soft spot for the twins (Kaitlin & Gretchen) and Molly. They were the 'babies' (along with Danny) when I moved away from home for the first time. I cried the whole twelve hour drive to Minnesota when I left Michigan because I was so sad to leave them. My sister, Amanda, rode with me and probably remembers that. I've always loved babies and little kids and my little siblings were the hardest to leave behind knowing they would change so much every time I saw them.

We can still get emotional when we say our goodbye's, or like this weekend, even our hello's. I love my sisters. Every one of them has their own personality and with so many, naturally some of us are a little closer to one another than others but we all get along well and have so much fun when we're together. And, I know we're lucky in that respect. Below, Will (Sara's) talking to Danny on Keeks' phone.

And, now I'm all sidetracked. Where was I...? Saturday...

Saturday afternoon, everyone came over to my house for the day. My mom, Amanda and Kendall, and Molly all stayed at Sara's house this weekend. Emily and Kirsten, Heidi and Adrian, Kaitlin, Gretchen, and Jeanie stayed at my house. Sara's Jane stayed the night Friday night so the cousins could have a slumber party. (Nikayda, Kirsten, and Jane are all close to the same age and they had a blast.) Below, Adrian with Nikayda.

 

Mom made Maurice Salad (my Aunt Maria's recipe on p. 52 in the Magnolia Lane cookbook) for all us and I made a White Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese for the kids for lunch. All of the girls had brought bakery so there was plenty of that to go around. Below, talking to Uncle Danny on the webcam.

It was my nephew Paul's 6th birthday on Saturday so we celebrated that along with my sister Jeanie's 12th as hers was also this past week.

I was busy snapping shots of everyone around and missed the part where they blew out the candles.

For supper, we headed back to Sara's. I'll post those pictures tomorrow. Below, Gretchen with Kendall who had just woken up from a short nap. These poor toddlers didn't get much for sleep this weekend! She wanted her mommy when I was snapping this one.

We took a sisters' picture while everyone was here. I'll have those outtakes this week as well!

Whipping through the house

I'm just checking in real quick. I realized that I never posted yesterday. My mom and sisters will be here tomorrow. (My mom and some of my sisters are staying at Sara's and the rest will stay here.)

I've been cruising around trying to get rid of the final clutter from the first floor. When I talked to Sara yesterday, she said she's feeling ready and I was laughing because even if they weren't coming for another week or two I wouldn't feel ready. There's always stuff I want to get done when I've got so many boxes all over and construction going on. You just want more done than what can get done anytime someone comes. But that's a good thing because it really pushes me to get a lot done in a short period of time (because I procrastinate and save it all for the couple of days prior to their arrival).

I can't wait for the day I just have 'normal' cleaning to do when company comes. At least it's feeling closer to that point each time. And, I'm feeling much more confident that I'll make my goal of having this house in order by the end of this year. (That doesn't count the basement. My goal is for the first floor and second floor but I plan to purge the basement (where I have all of my Whimsical Junk projects) next year.)

Next week, Mark's planning to lay the slate tile in the entry way. I can't wait to have a floor in there I can wash! I shudder every time anyone steps on that plywood floor. And you have to walk on it to use the bathroom. (I wear tossus (slippers) all year round in here at this point.) And, then I'm hoping to figure out the tile for the bathroom. It's a little room and I don't want that dark slate in there because it will really darken the room up. I dream of having tiny glass tiles -- but I'm pretty sure that's somewhere down the road and not anytime soon. I might have to figure out something else for now.

I'm off to get more of this stuff cleared out from the living room!

Pieces of me :: Floor Reality

So, I've mentioned that we only have plywood floors...

The living room.

The entryway prior to our new shoe cubby.

The sitting room (the kids have been having slumber parties on the floor).

Nikayda's room (and her shoes that I want in my size).

She still needs a place to hang her skirts and dresses.

The painted plywood floors are a glossy pale grey*. I plan to use this color for our permanent floors unless super dark stain wins out in the end.

Another little peek at our reality. Have a great weekend!

*Paint color is 'Certainty' 33D1 in gloss (Label reads: B2, E4, L12).

So much for that!

He already knows how handsome I think he is but I told Mark with every window he's trimmed out this week, he's been getting better and better looking by the minute. And, it's not even fancy-pants trim like I want {eventually}. I had no idea that getting plain ol' trim on my windows could do that.

Quick update: The kitchen is trimmed out, except for the laundry room and pantry doorways. The entryway window (above) is done, and Nikayda's doorway and one window in the sitting room are done.

Progress. I love progress.

He's working tomorrow so things will be on hold for a bit. I'm clearing everything out of the kitchen/dining areas so he can paint those floors this weekend, though.

We painted the plywood in the eating area last year (I think) but never got around to doing the second coat so it's wearing away. And, the kitchen itself has never been painted. I'm getting a bit giddy at the prospect of having these glossy painted floors that I'll be able to wipe down every week.

I'm pretty sure I've had dreams of clean floors for over nine years. (We lived in rentals most of our marriage prior to this house -- and I never felt like any of those carpeted floors ever truly got clean no matter how many times I cleaned them and because of it I'll most likely never have carpet. germ freak...) Below: the metal cupboard that a friend gave me. I love it and it's perfect here. Mark put it up today. I already put the dresser in the sitting room in preparation for floor painting so it looks a little bare right now.

I wish there was time to get the tile in the entryway (and the living room plywood painted, too) before my mom and sisters come but it will have to wait until after they've gone. I'm just happy to know things are moving along this fall. And, I'm getting excited that they're coming. Surprisingly, I don't feel the least stressed out about it.

I'd never stress about them coming, but I usually stress about all the things I want to get done before they come. When my mom and dad came this spring there was still so much to get done on this first floor as far as clearing out boxes and clutter (because they'd never seen my house before!) that I was still flying around when they walked in the door. But I got so much done that time that the last of the clutter I need to clear out now feels quite doable. It feels good.

That doesn't mean I won't be flying around trying to get more stuff done next week (like the loft. and my bedroom) but it feels good not to be feeling like I have a 'to do' list a mile long hanging over my head.

Wow! I didn't even realize how relaxed I felt this time. Sure is a nice change. And, a good measure of how far we've made it on the house since we first moved in.

Come to think of it...I probably do have a long 'to do' list hanging out around here somewhere...but I'm feeling oblivious to it right now! Ah well, I like it that way. I'll hang on to this feeling as long as it lasts (and savor the fact that there isn't as much to clear out anymore).

(Photos: Excuse the crappy night-time lighting and the construction. Nevermind waiting for the tile in order to take pictures. Thought you might like to see what's been going on. And, also because I'm happy to report for the first time in four years I didn't have to trip over everyone's shoes when I had to use the bathroom today. (It's directly off the entryway.) I'm going to be moving that dresser and figuring out another solution for our coats since the dresser no longer matches the decor in there.)

On a side note: See that aqua chair up there? It used to be a sludgy dark green. And it belonged to my paternal grandparents. It was then our kitchen chair when I was a kid -- we had three originally. I saved it from the burn pile. (Imagine.) I have two of them (the other is still sludgy dark green and sits by Mark's side of the bed serving as a night stand). I also have a picture of my dad sitting in one of those chairs as a baby and it's on my business cards. My sister, Emily, painted it that bright aqua many years ago when the girls were painting their bedroom that color. I hated it at the time. Ironic because I pretty much don't hate it anymore.

Pieces of Me :: Reality

Living under construction is not necessarily my cup of tea. After we lived through survived a remodel while living in Michigan when we lived near my parents, I swore I'd never do it again. And, truth be told, I still say that. I definitely have moments where I feel like I'm going to go crazy. But, you know what? We do it. And, I'm thankful for our home. Very thankful for it. I love it here. Even under construction, I feel like this house is bright and cheery -- unlike every single one of our rentals prior to this. And, I love being nestled in the woods like we are. (Below: This wall in the kitchen is where my shelf was hung. The one you've seen many times. This summer, Mark moved that window on the left over a bit when he started working on the laundry room (the doorway where he's headed) and the wall still stands empty because I want more of an urban industrial type shelf here or a huge midcentury cupboard with glass doors *dream*.)

I didn't exactly willingly sign up for this one, though. (The construction, that is.) But it worked out for us to get this piece of land when we did and we couldn't afford to live in our rental and work on our house at the same time, so we jumped right in even though the house had a long way to go. I was just as excited as he was, but super nervous about living in this again.

This being our first 'home', we built it as our dream home with the intent that we'd never need to add on (and, most likely, we'd never move). That meant sacrificing a lot things in the process...albeit temporarily. But, for us, we knew that 'temporarily' could mean many, many years. For example, we put in all used, second-hand windows -- many of which are not in the best of condition but they let in light. (A lot of them aren't easy to open.) We were able to salvage a ton of them with Mark's jobs. And, we're both grateful for them, stubborn ol' windows though they are.

Mark, when he had his sawmill which he's since sold, made most of the lumber for the framing and even the ceiling beams in the living room and loft from trees felled from our property. And, we're making do with plywood floors until we can afford the flooring we want (wide planks in the living spaces and glass tile in the bathrooms).

Last fall, he sold his sawmill so we could pay our property taxes. Due to the economy and how little work he had last year and the year prior, we had no choice and he plans to buy another one someday.

So, lots of sacrifices.

But, in the end, I know I'm going to love this home. I do love this home...just not the construction, and the fact that I feel like I'm constantly cropping out untrimmed windows and unfinished floors when I take pictures. (Below, a couple of old fridge baskets being used for our library books and our school books. These are the untrimmed living room windows.)

Mark's working on finishing the windows in the living room. And, I hope soon (within the next month or so) we'll have all 'new' shiny painted plywood floors (not to be confused with the wide planks we dream of)...and maybe even the slate tile put in the entry way now that we have the cement board. (And, as you can see by that link, things never get done when you think they will. I still haven't had the opportunity to clear out the entry way for him to start on -- and now I've got the flu (day 5 -- I've heard this one lasts about a week) so it's being pushed off further.)

It's all a bunch of baby steps when you're living through it and you're married to the carpenter. There was a time in the first year or two where I could honestly say nothing was worth the stress of living in this. (And, I'll be honest with you, I still stand by that.) The first couple of years were tough. But it's since gotten better...little by little, as things get done, I'm able to say now that it's all going to be worth it in the end. I often have to put on my rose colored glasses to see that, but I keep them close by at all times just so I can.

(Photos: Night time pictures - little pieces of our reality.)