Vacation time is over!

We officially ended our Christmas vacation today. If yesterday was a do-nothing day, today had to be a do-something day. And what did we do? Why work on our bathroom, of course.

A refresher: Our bathroom is gutted. We need to fix it. Refresher ended.

As Dug was looking at the bathroom wall that the sink plumbing had to go through, he realized that the built-in spice rack shelf thing in our kitchen had to go. (See picture above.) The shelves were literally up against the bathroom wall, effectively closing off the between-stud area.

Unfortunately, our walls are lathe and plaster. Not too conducive to specific area removal. The lathe (little wooden boards running parallel to the floor and ceiling) are the "ribs" of the wall. The wet plaster is smeared all over it, making sure it gooshes through the gaps in the lathe so that when it dries, it's holding on tight. It's a sturdy wall and has a great texture, but that's where the pleasantries end. If you try to break off a piece of plaster, it breaks in highly irregular pieces. If you pull a piece of lathe free, it removes the support for the plaster and it can just fall off the wall. Any sort of trauma, even hammering nails, can cause the plaster to let go of the lathe and become unstable. So if we wanted to just remove this one piece of the wall, the violence of the act effectively destabilizes the entire wall. Huge cracks appear. It's not a pretty sight. So what could we do?

More demolition! I, for one, love demolition. It has always been a dream of mine to go to Pleasure Island with Pinnocchio and destroy stuff with all the bad boys. I think it would be worth it, even if I was turned into a donkey. Dug, on the other hand, hates demolition. It's messy and it is destructive. He prefers cleanliness and building. What is that they say? Opposites attract? In the words of Bethany, "Fo Sho!"

So to build the bathroom, we needed to tear some more stuff down. But with Dug around, it has to be in an orderly fashion. Which is probably best. If I was left to my own devices, we'd probably have the authorities knocking on our door, condemning the place. With Dug at the helm, not only would the entire process be systematic and organized, but at the end of the day, we wouldn't have much mess to clean up either. He's a clean-as-you-go kind of boy.

(He's right, you know. It is easier to clean as you go. You just do a little at a time. Where with me, the end is a huge disaster that takes forever to clean. So props to the big guy, I was able to make dinner about thirty minutes after we finished. But my way is soooo much more fun!)

Before:After:
The picture has those jagged edges because it is a blending of nine photos! I wanted to get the entire area but I couldn't get back far enough. Isn't Photoshop cool?! Notice how much more you can see compared to the "before" photograph.
So that's what we did today. Sounds a little counter-productive, but you've got to do what you've got to do. I think it's a bit of wisdom we can all take to heart: Sometimes to fix your bathroom, you've got to knock down 1/2 your kitchen wall.

The Christmas Bug finally bit!

Holy cow. I thought I would never get excited about Christmas. I normally start the holidays with the beginning of Advent, the fourth Sunday before Christmas. This year, because I was the auctioneer for our church's Christmas auction held on the first Sunday of Advent, because Dug had a business trip in Oklahoma starting the first Monday of Advent, because I was sorta in charge of our home schooling co-op's Christmas party held on the first Wednesday of Advent, because while Dug was gone, my children and I left our house to spend time with our Lute-friends on the First Wednesday and Thursday of Advent, because of all of this, I didn't unpack any Christmas decorations. Because I didn't unpack any Christmas decorations and my house was devoid of any and all holiday items, my mind felt no need to change the status quo. I felt nothing. I was empty of holiday spirit.

And then I needed to sweep my dining room.

From my vantage point I could see the dust under the purple chair in our living room. I moved the chair to sweep all the lost toys and dirt, when I noticed the dust behind the end table. So of course I needed to move the end table...I'm sure you can see where this is going. At one point, all the furniture in our living room was scattered about with no "place" to call its own. I knew Dug was wanting to get our tree sometime during the weekend, so I figured I would at least put the furniture back in such a way that would accommodate the future Potter family tree.

Since the house was now clean and the furniture was expectantly facing an empty "holding spot," I thought maybe I could attempt the dive into the cubby, an under-stairs storage area. The upside: the cubby is very organized. The downside: Christmas decor is in its deep, dark recesses.

I couldn't stop now. I had to go in.

I opened the two little doors and began. Out came the lamp shade, the bag of unknown electrical wires and the box of unused home decor items. I removed the extra rolls of paper towels and packages of napkins, but left the two huge speakers and stacked stereo equipment in the corner. I'd rather shimmy around them than move them. Stepping one foot into the narrow space, I grabbed the box of the broken 5-disc DVD player and heaved and hoed until it joined the lamp shade and paper towels on the couch. I stepped back in and when my eyes adjusted to the darkness I saw them. The little hand-drawn holly leaves and the words "Christmas Decorations" whispered "Merry Christmas" to my soul...and my soul heard.

With a slight smile I lifted out each of the three boxes. The kids and I opened them all and pulled everything out. It looked as if a tornado had spun through Santa's house and then dumped all its spoils on our floor. This was Christmas!

Finally!

Choice Goods Wednesday!

I love Choice Goods Wednesdays. I get to tell you about something I love. Today's a little different than previous weeks. For one thing, it isn't a kitchen item. It's a little home decor accessory. I'd like to introduce you to my carved wooden rounded box with handle and latch. A bit wordy in title, I know, but what else am I supposed to call it? A hundred apologies for the bad picture. It doesn't do it justice.
I love boxes. I just don't know what to do with them. I can't stand something as useful as a box used only as decoration. I want everything to have a purpose. Happily, this box has one.

With TV's, stereos, DVD players and all the other home theatre equipment, many homes are overrun with remote controls. We used to have six, but we have narrowed them down to three in recent months. Still, I think random remotes lying around are an eyesore. Enter the beautiful box. When not in use, it is a perfect storage solution for that pesky, yet indispensible techno clutter.
I love it! Isn't it a great idea? Of course you don't need to get the identical one as me (Ross Dress for Less - $9.00 and I would really prefer you didn't) but get something that screams "you"! Applique a shoe box, grab an opaque large-mouth vase, find a cute drawstring bag and hang it from a hook on the wall, then dump them in. Take a stand against techno clutter! I did and it makes me super happy.

My carved wooden rounded box with handle and latch...it's choice!