Archive for November, 2008

Free Parking

November 29, 2008 at 12:31 pm · Filed under Family Fun

We went to Chicago last week. John found a great hotel deal ($109 per night for a suite! with free breakfast! And free cocktail hour!). Unfortunately, parking was not included. The charge? $48/day. My excessively frugal (read: cheap) husband was not going to pay that without having a little drive around to see what else was out there. He drove around the block a few times, hoping for a cheaper garage option or a meter for overnight with garage parking the next day. What he found was even better —- street parking. He found probably the only spot with a missing meter in that section of Chicago —- FREE parking!
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We could even see the van from our hotel room. We left her there, untouched, for 2 days saving us $96! Well….until we hit Michigan Ave.
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Let’s just say we left our money in Chicago. And it was worth every penny!

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Gnome Knitting

November 29, 2008 at 12:19 pm · Filed under knitting ·Tagged , , , ,

Yes. I really do get stuck knitting many of the same items. When I make one and like how it turns out, I get all excited to make another. And another.

After making Oli’s cave gnome, I just had to have more gnomes in my life. So, in one afternoon, I made a mini gnome:
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And later that week, I made a doll-sized gnome:
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I think there are a few more gnomes in my life in spite of my just having started knitting another pair of socks. I may just have to squeeze in another one or two.

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Trash Picked Treasure

November 20, 2008 at 6:56 pm · Filed under Discount Decor

This chair was part of last-weeks bonanza.
rocker
It doesn’t look like much but has the added feature of being a rocking chair. There are springs beneath the chair seat and they are firm and in good shape. Honestly, I wasn’t planning to keep this piece since it was not my style. But Mojo saw something in it and begged to keep it. It became our joint project. The first step was attacking the old upholstery. I stripped it off and re-stretched the seat webbing. You can see how saggy it is in this photo:
rocker2
Then, I cracked out the black paint. After a few coats and few days, I took Mojo fabric shopping. She pounced on some blue ball fringe and then found fabric to match. I did the sewing and Mojo helped with the stapling. In the end we have this:
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A chair that is way nicer than I would have imagined. When it was all done, my daughter and I just looked at each other and nodded. What a team we make.

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Fairies

November 18, 2008 at 12:51 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , ,

I finished these last week.
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While I was working on one at an indoor playground, another mom came up to me. She told me this story.

There once was an old lady who had been sick for some time. While she was on her deathbed, she called her husband to her side. “Dear”, she said. “I must confess that in all our years of marriage, I’ve kept one secret from you. Go to my closet and bring me the box hidden on the top shelf.”

After much searching, her husband returned with the box. He opened it. Insider were two knitted dolls and a bundle of cash.

“What’s this!?” he exclaimed.

In a faltering voice, the old lady explained, “When we were first married, my mother told me that when I get angry with my husband, instead of arguing, I should just knit a doll.”

The husband, seeing that there were only two dolls in the box, was touched. He had tears in his eyes at the sweetness and love of wife who could be angry but twice in their 50 years together. “But, dear, what is all this money in the box? There must be thousands of dollars here”

“Oh, that” she said. “That is for all the other dolls that I sold.”

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Faux-Hawk

November 17, 2008 at 12:59 pm · Filed under Family Fun

John took the boys for haircuts on Saturday. While the stylist was finishing Oli’s hair, she combed it into a mohawk for fun. His eyes lit up. So, she added lots of gel and mousse to it and perched him under a dryer while she worked on DNA’s hair. He skipped into the house jubilant over his hair — wondering if it would last long enough to wear to school on Monday.
mohawk
Whatever products were used on his head sure were durable — he woke up Sunday still sporting his radical hairdo. I’m sure it would have endured until Monday if I had let him go that long without bathing. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll pull out some gel in the morning and have at it.

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A good wife

November 17, 2008 at 2:16 am · Filed under Cooking

A good wife drags the long-abandoned cappuccino machine out of the back of the pantry. She wakes early and carefully measures out freshly-ground expresso beans and milk. She endures the ear-splitting shriek of the steaming milk to present her husband with this:
coffee1
A hot, steaming cup of love.

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Multi-Purpose

November 15, 2008 at 11:07 pm · Filed under Family Fun

Laundry baskets have more uses in our house than just for, say, laundry. They also make cozy nests.
laundry2

A great place to snuggle up to watch a movie.

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Trash-picked Treasures

November 13, 2008 at 9:15 pm · Filed under Discount Decor

Last week was a trash-picking bonanza! There are several houses in our neighborhood that recently turned over. Much useful furniture was sitting at the curb along with two wool rugs (separate houses)! The house across the street from us had boxes and boxes of glassware and china collectables set out. My husband, who hates to see useful items tossed into a landfill, dutifully filled the van and drove the items to Goodwill. The first piece of furniture I tackled was this simple bench.
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A piece like this is about the easiest to re-do. The fabric top is attached with screws from underneath. The old fabric (and cushion) were ripped off leaving a plywood base. I recovered the base with foam (I keep a big roll of bonded dacron on hand for my projects — a few layers of it did the trick) and stapled some cranberry linen on top. The legs were lightly sanded and received two coats of black oil paint. I didn’t bother to prime them. After a total time investment of maybe 30 minutes over 3 days, I now have a very useful little seat for the kids.
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As an aside, this vintage telephone table was one of our finds.
ttable
It’s kitschy-ness called out to me. Alas, it really doesn’t go with my decor. I’ve tried to sell it on craigslist but no takers. I’m giving it a few more days on my porch — either for inspiration to strike or a buyer to emerge. Then, it’s loaded in the van, and joining all its former kitchenware at Goodwill.

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Chicago Socks

November 13, 2008 at 8:59 pm · Filed under knitting ·Tagged

When we went to Chicago in August, I let my kids pick out sock yarn and promised them Chicago Socks. These are DNA’s.
dnasox
I started them soon after returning but kept putting them down. I don’t know what my problem was since I easily finished them this week once I put my mind to it. Oli’s have been finished for almost two months and they are getting lots of use. Next up is Mojo’s pair. Hopefully soon.

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Art Sunday

November 10, 2008 at 1:50 am · Filed under Family Fun

Another Sunday afternoon at the art museum. Today had the added bonus of beautiful music by members of the local symphony. We filled our eyes and ears with beauty.

The project was an abstract one — basically look around you and just draw your own interpretation of what you see. Given those directions, we were able to have some fun. We have Hercules fighting a hydra (statue), a beautiful fall tree out the doors, a dragon (seen in one child’s mind), a statue, and the view from the main hall.
artnov1artnov2artnov3artnov4artnov5

After we came home, the kids pulled out their instruments and made some music. While our efforts are a far cry from the true professional art and sound we experienced today, it’s a start. Thank you Art Museum for more wonderful inspiration.

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