Sunday Happy

If a big ass pile of balloon animals (and balloon swords and flowers) doesn't make you crack a smile, well then, that just sucks for you.

A couple of littles slept over this week and took over the house with balloons. Not only did the kids bring their own balloon kits, but the mr has a crap load of balloons himself that he inherited from my late brother-in- law Richard (he would be so happy to know that the mr uses these balloons to drive me crazy....thanks dude) And to top it off, we stopped over at the loft with the kids to grab a few things and there was as large bag of blown up party balloons that must have blown into our yard. Those also ended up in the car ans back at the house. Seriously, the house was flooded with balloons. It was kinda amazing.

This week has gone by like a blur.   The mr finally got his wish and got himself a couple of fish. One is a gold fish which he named Lefty, and the other might be a goldfish that I named Dead -in- Two- Weeks (yes, I am an asshole). I am not exactly thrilled to have fish for a few reasons, mainly that I have been fish traumatized. Back in college the mr went through a fish faze. He would get a beta fish, name it, feed it, love it, then a week later the thing would jump form it's fish bowl and commit fish suicide. It happened 3 times.  So yeah, fish don't do it for me, but the mr is happy so I deal. Plus these fish are goldfish and the tank has a cool lid that grows plants. We shall see.

There was some other stuff, like apartment stuff that happened this week, but mainly it was a quite week.  We did finally tackle the kitchen pantry which I painted pink,and started putting up the shelves. Now i just need to pick a color tile for the floor and just get it finished already because once that happens the kitchen will basically be all done. And I will be so happy and I will take lots of picture to show you.

And it's Sunday. You got any plans? Doing anything spectacular? I am still not feeling 100% which I blame on the weather. Super cold and crazy warm... the ups and downs really screw with me. (but those warm days were really so nice) Winter just needs to dump some snow and let me be cozy for a bit. (not happening this week) But what can you do? For me, I hope to keep it slow today, maybe do some napping, reading, drinking of too much coffee. Just as long as I order the flooring, I should be all set.

Some of the internet browsing I did this week.

-It's 6 am, I am running at the gym, and I get a text from the mr. It's a link to this, Dyson 360 Eye. Why he was looking at vacuums at 6am, i could not tell you but what I can tell you is no cleaning robots. NO.

-The world after a snow storm always makes me so happy and peaceful. There's actually a scientific reason why the world gets quieter after it snows.

-The More You Swear, the More Honest You Are. Fuck yeah.
 

-I think I might try this for the mr this week. Roast Pasta Before Cooking it.

-I love mustard and am very interested in trying some on this list. THE MODERN PANTRY GUIDE TO THE WORLD'S BEST MUSTARDS

-Saving my pennies for a someday purchase of this Staub Round Cocotte. But this one by Martha is really good too and sooooo much cheaper.

-Muffins are basically cupcakes that people eat fro breakfast, don't be fooled. Why Muffins Are a Trap.

-Walking In America Remains Dangerous. I would be lying if I said I was never afraid of getting hit.

-Bees Have Just Made the Endangered-Species List. It sucks that it has come to this, but it's good that there is awareness and protection now.

-This dude is pretty badass. Sweater Selfies: Man Knits His Way Around The World

Have a lovely day!

-C

Sunday Happy

Number one take away from the past weeks events... I can be anything I want to be, including the queen of the leprechauns or a unicorn that farts rainbows....Anything is possible. Hahaha.

But wow, that was some kind of week for all of us. Now we deal and do our part and hope for the best. Eyes open, minds, open, hearts open.

Besides the constant flow of NPR and up and down temperatures., the week has been somewhat a blur. Painting, cleaning, sanding, repeat. The trim and walls will never have so much love and care for the rest of their lives. And the painting. Remember when I painted the upstairs and decided that I hates the color and had to repaint the it? Well it happened again, only this time is was the downstairs. And funny, after realizing the white was to white and we needed to tone it down just a pinch, we ended up using he paint that we hated upstairs on the downstairs and it looks like a-mazing! Speaking of amazing, you should see the floors! The mr and I busted ass and finally got the floors, upstairs and down, sanded! .And ok, I did sand, but nothing like the mr. He used all the big crazy machines while I used my little hand sander and muscle force. (this guy I tell you, he can is a pro at everything.) So now we have the house almost perfect and we are going crazy and just need to finish it!

On of the last things to do on the list is the kitchen and the pressure is on. I am kinda freaking out over design, function, and stoves. Appliances are all like 50% off for the next 2 weeks and that means it is time to buy. The mr doesn't really give two hoots so I have this crazy pressureto pick and choose and then spend money (credit card money) I am straight up freaking. But these are happy lady problems. I can deal with them

 I cannot go into the house today. I will go there, I will look inside, but the floors are in the sealing process and the mr is the processor so I will not step inside (plus the smell of the urethane makes me sick) So today, it's almost like a fee day! Think we might take a trip to a book store, get some coffee, look at all the cook books, and discuss the pros and cons of stoves. Oh, and stop by Shannon's house cause she is my sister and it's her birthday.... Happy Birthday lady! 

And I just realized that it's Thanksgiving next week.. I think I need to get on that.

Non political internet from my week.

-Lets not be assholes. 6 Ways Being Nice To Others Is Actually Good For You

-Absolutely Gorgeous Photos Reveal The Beauty In A Hard Life

-Been looking at these ovens.  The slide in is great but why is it so much more expensive?

-I think I would be happy as a narwhal. Narwhals Are Craftier Than We Gave Them Credit For.

-This is your brain on nature

-A thing that is for real. Cat Yoga

-I missed it (don't have the channel) but hopping to internet watch it soon: "Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party"

-Make sure all your plastic get in the recycling. Why Seabirds Love To Gobble Plastic Floating In The Ocean

-Why we get Earworm Songs Happens to me all day long

-Artist Charles Young’s Growing Metropolis of 635 Paper Structures. Just really cool.

A few pictures from the week.

Have a great day!

-C

Sunday Happy

One extra hour today! Did you or are you currently sleeping it? I woke up at 4 am which was 5am yesterday so I am hoping that I am going to get in a little nap at some point. That's what is there for right? I love the end of daylight savings, I mean, who doesn't love an extra hour. And also I actually really enjoy that it gets dark out early. Being the old lady that I am, I don't leave the house after 7 but I love the night sky.. Now that it's darker out earlier, I can drink it all up and still be in bed at a reasonable old lady hour. Whoa hoo!

So I am starting to think about holiday stuff, specifically the holiday stuff that could potentially happen in the new house. Then I start to think about all the stuff that needs to be done in the house before any holiday stuff can happen and then my eyes start to bug out and my brain does a wiggle and I forget the holiday stuff and start to freak out a bit.  Then the mr is all "one thing at at time" and "we got this" and I am all like "ok, if you say so" and I calm down. Then I start to think about how soon the holidays are and the whole thing starts over again. So basically I am driving myself crazy.
 

It's been a long week, but some of highlights are

• Got our first winter farm share and have been eating so much celeriac and squash and parsnips
• The upstairs bathroom is all hooked up, like sink, toilet, and tub, and is looking like magic.
• The window trim is going up and all the old trims we saved has been sanded and stained and scrubbed all week long.
• The back porch is all painted and done
• A very large, rounded couch was brought home by the mr. (I can't decide if I hate it or love it)
• I spent a good part of a day in the yard hacking away at the humongous thristle trees (they looked like trees) with a hand saw.

There has been other stuff, but right now I can't think of it. We kinda missed Halloween. We worked all day then decided that the front porch looked to sketchy and dangerous for little kids so didn't give out candy which really bummed out the mr cause he didn't get any Halloween candy this year. Last night I was vacuuming the floor and found a grape.  picked it up, gave it a little dust off and ate it. Is that weird? And I cut my hair. Just a few inches over the bathroom sink while the mr was brushing his teeth. Oh man, I think I might be losing it a bit. What I really need to do is spend some time in the kitchen . I realized that I have been so wrapped up in craziness that I haven't gotten any l really kitchen time in a while. This week I am back to making more time for the kitchen and my camera and trying not to be so crazy. I'll make you a salad, maybe some cookies. And soup. We have been eating a shit ton of soup.

Sunday YEA!!! Little sister Barb is coming over today and doing some helping. I was thinking we would paint, maybe even clean, but I have a feeling her help might just be to hang out, listen to the radio and dance party to every crappy song that comes on.  harass the mr, and just make me happy. Maybe we will get to some actual work, but I won't be caring if we don't. But I need to clean at some point for sure cause he house is a mess right now and it's driving me freaking nuts. Maybe that's what I can do with my extra hour.

Stuff from the world online.

-Need to stay awake for this one. YES! Dave Chappelle is *finally* hosting ‘SNL' in case you were wondering if dreams come true

-A fantastic house.

-This is good because I don't like to clean my coffee cups. It’s Okay to Never Wash Your Coffee Mug

-Girl Scout cookie cereal. Really? Yup, really.

-So many different kinds. The Ultimate Ice Cream Glossary, A to Z

-I never had a cool lunch box (be sad for me) Beyond The Pail: NPR Unpacks The History Of The Lunch Box

-What the FU*K. Hitting the Elevator Door-Close Button Won’t Make the Elevator Doors Close

-How Is A 1,600-Year-Old Tree Weathering California's Drought?

-I needed to know, and now I do. How to Tell a Raven From a Crow

And speaking of birds.Shattered birds in windows

-Swearing Is Much Less Common Than It Seems...not in my family (or maybe it's just me)

-All the pretty plants

and a few pics

Have a great day!

-C

Sunday Happy

The trees are on fire, the sky has been lighting up like a masterpiece and the temperatures have been on the cooler, crisper side. I am one lucky lady to be living in such a beautiful place. If you don't know the awesomeness of fall in Vermont, you should put it on your life list cause it's amazing and will bring you so many good feelings. 

Another super productive week for the books. We finished laying all the hardwood downstairs then went straight to tiling the bathroom which was awesome cause it was my first real tiling project and now that floor is down too. But man did it do a number on me. The one thing the mr always bitches about are his knees, and now I now why. Kneeling on anything, especially cement board, for 5 hours pretty much will kill your shit. I might be a little whinny, but crap on a shoe do my knees hurt. (now I am done complaining) What else........Oh yeah, a large quantities of construction waste was brought to the dump that has bee accumulating in large piles in the back yard..(that was fun) I invented a new sport, storage unit parkor (I am really good at climbing and jumping around packed storage units), and got to see the new little monster baby while doing it. Then my little brother came over for a while to help carry the cast iron bathtub from the backyard to the upstairs. (thanks Paul!)  I even made a point during the week to stay home for just enough time to made donuts with sprinkles while I sat in front of the oven knitting cause I was freezing my ass off. And I ate 2 roasted pumpkins, an acorn squash, and a sweet potato this week. Feeling pretty good about life.

So I don't know about today. We might or might not work. We may or may not run away to the woods.(I need to be with the trees for a while) Most likely both. But one thing is for sure, I will be icing my knees. And drinking a butt load of coffee. And eating the butternut squash I picked it yesterday. I am a winter squash addict.

The things I clicked on and reading doing the internet this week.

-Have you noticed the crazy moon lately? How to See the Hunter’s Supermoon This Weekend

- How We Got ‘Bark’ for Dogs, ‘Quack’ for Ducks, and Other Words for Animal Sounds

-A classic pencil is so underrated. Trace The Remarkable History Of The Humble Pencil

- Incredible Origami Animals.. Like super incredible

-Lots of sweetbread, muffins, and all sorts of baking things in my future. The Best Way to Store Quick Breads and Muffins

-This guy tasted a shit load of butter for his Fancy Butter Taste Test

-Photo Of An Elephant Snuggling An Ostrich because it made me smile and is really freaking cute

- Check out this This Triangular House.. Its pretty crazy cool

-Can We Trust the Cooking Methods on the Back of the Bag? Question everything!

-Bob Dylan Wins Nobel Prize, Redefining Boundaries of Literature.His words are beautiful.

The week in some picture

Have a fantastic day!

Sunday Happy

It is super chilly and dark out and the smell of jelly donuts is wafting in from open windows (it's coming from the donut factory down the street) and I am thinking about grabbing the wool blanket from the packed away winter stuff and crawling back into bed, just for a little while longer until the coffee is done brewing. (4am wake up this morning and I am feeling like a nap is in order soon, even if it is 6am) This is the stuff of the best fall morning. Now if this could be my all day.#lifegosls

The week was a week, but a good week at that. Started getting squash with the farm share which lead to a discussion between me and the mr about what our absolute #1 food we could live off of forever (him, pizza.Me, super roasted kombucha squash covered in nut butter)  I made a sheet birthday cake that also contained about an entire package of oreo cookies for a newly 15 year old Jackson that is making me feel old. There was a dinner here and a dinner there and just a lot of people and family. We haven't spent much time at home or by ourselves this week so I am definitely ready for a quite day all to my lonesome. My brain is on overload.

We ordered the downstairs flooring!!! Come this Wednesday, the mr and I will be unloading 40 or so bundles of some pretty white "utility grade" oak.  We also found some floor tile for the bathroom for dirt cheap at the resourse store( tiny white squares.. nothing fancy but looks sharp) Flooring is for real you guys. Once we lay this stuff it's over. We are good and yeah. (until 2 hours later when we realize we have a million other things to accomplish) But all is good. We have flooring.

So today is going to be a fun one. The mr, my brother and I are going to attempt to move the 10 million pound radiators from the back yard to the upstairs..... Going to be oh so much fun (no, not it is no) Once we move them, I am going to finish painting them and the mr will install them. Whoa hoo! Plumbers are coming soon to hook up the new boiler so we have to get all this shit ready. WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK!

How about you? Got any fun activities planned for this here fantastic fall weekend? Find something enjoyable, preferably outside, and try to stay away from reading all about the politics. We all need a break from that.

Internet stuff that kept me interested.

- Do yourself a favor and go outside. This Is Your Brain on Nature

- Almost finished this book and about to start this one. 

- I like honey crisps all right, but I am a mac girl for always. (and they are usually one of the cheaper varieties) Why Are Honeycrisps So Much More Expensive Than Other Apples?

-Breadfruit came from testicles and other weird myths. THE WORLD'S BEST FOOD-BASED CREATION MYTHS

-How can trees not have secret lives. A Web Of Trees And Their 'Hidden' Lives

- And this. Today in Terrifying Bird News, Pigeons Know How to Read

-This would be my bliss (with an added coffee bar)  Secluded Library In The Woods

-I got my information from Meryl Strep in The Devil Wears Prada (love the movie) How Trends Trickle Down. The circuitous path of ideas in food and fashion.

-Breaking Taboo, Swedish Scientist Seeks To Edit DNA Of Healthy Human Embryos. I am officially scared.

-I think this might be my next knitting project. Purl Soho Pullover

Some pics from the past week.

Happy weekend!

-C