But we have managed to get some small projects done around the house. While Jake's parents were visiting back in July, they helped us out with a bunch of things. Rose did a ton of weeding and mulching, which greatly improved the garden situation. Rose also tested out a pink room paint color for us. She used a sample jar to test out whether we could do the pink room over in a dark red. Too dark. Hmmmm....We still need a solution to the PINK of the pink room.
John installed a new faucet in the downstairs bathroom. This project was not without its frustrations. After John completely installed the faucet we bought, Rose heard a slight leak. Upon further investigation, it turned out that the faucet itself had a leak in it. Argh! So a complete dis-assembly, and a second trip to the hardware store. But who's counting. Actually, it may have ended up being five trips to the hardware store on that one. But we have a lovely new leak-free faucet.
But because the world has an equilibrium of leaky faucets, we just discovered this week that the basement utility sink faucet is leaking. Ah, leakage equilibrium attained.
In other small improvements for the summer:
*We put carpet on the floor of the under-stair nook, where Carter has a bed, and where we park Jake's folding bike and Lucy's stroller.
*We installed a new toilet seat in the upstairs bathroom. While doing this, we discovered that there are two slightly different colors -- there's "almond" and there's "biscuit," and they're not the same. Also, toilet seat technology has evolved. We have a seat with "quiet-close" and "quick-release" functionality. Wow. We opted NOT to get the self-heating one. Ew.
*We got rid of a TON of random metal (fence posts and downspouts and the like) through freecycle. Awesome! We love freecycle.
*Jake (with the help of our fabulous next door neighbor, Lisa) got our gutters cleaned out. They were so full of tree muck that they were starting to bow out and pull out of the fascia boards.
*We got a dehumidifier for the basement. I can't believe how much water this thing takes out of the air! It makes the basement a more pleasant place for working on bikes and working out. This is good. And we've had such a wet summer, that I think it's also good for keeping the fieldstone walls a bit drier than they might be otherwise.
The garden is now giving us tomatoes, and the herb area is full of basil and sage (and others, too, but those are the big ones). We also have an apple on the apple tree!
I've been trying to fit in some crafting time when I get the chance. I've managed to make some little things for Lucy, like a tag blanket (I think this appears on Flickr a while back). I've also cut up some scraps of pretty fabric that she likes; we hide toys underneath them and she's thrilled to find them.
Today I made a few items that please me very much. The first is a simple can o' toys. I noticed that Lucy loved getting into the containers on the counter where I keep her baby products and hair stuff and whatnot, so I figured I should make her one of her very own. I just decorated an empty formula canister and filled it with fabric and some of her legos and other toys. She LOVES digging through it and dumping the can.
I splurged on some fancy fabric last week, and I've been looking for just the right thing to do with it. This evening I decided that the beautiful Mary Flanagan hand-dyed wool felt would make really lovely soft blocks. You can see the prototype (the purple one in the background) that I made from scrap fabric, and then the real one that I made with the six colors in the "Aqua" series: Mason Jar, Spring Rain, Deep Sea, Juniperberry, Evergreen, and Emerald Bay.
I'm very pleased with it. Soft and wooly. I may make more with another color set, too.
That's all I can think of for now. No promises as to when the next post will be, but we'll keep putting up Lucy photos so you can see how she grows. She'll be nine months old tomorrow! Wow!
No comments:
Post a Comment