November is smiling and so am I

Well, so far so good (she says on day 3).  The snow is fast disappearing and the sun is shining warmly.  Looks like the weekend is going to be good too.  Temps not much over 50* but full sun so I'll take it!

I didn't get to Rowley to spend time with Isabelle, her Mom and Tave.  Got as far as Brunswick and the rest is history or so they say.  Ended up at the docs instead yesterday morning and all's well that ends well.  And the warning light that showed up on my dash was merely tire pressure needing a check.  Maybe it was just a way to get me to pull over and do an assessment of my own situation.  Done and done!  I CAN still drink coffee and that is a relief to say the least!  "They" are saying it's good for you again .. who knows what "they'll" be saying a year from now.  For now I will continue to drink my 2 cups in the morning and occasional iced coffee in the afternoon.  Or when it works out a White Mocha Java with my honey at Rock City Coffee.

Meanwhile the living room is getting torn apart.  Much to Brad's initial dismay, I'm sure, when we have a garage and basement full of "stuff" that needs sorting, chucking and/or disposing of properly.  There comes a day when you look at something and decide you just can't look at it any longer.  Kind of like the dirty kitchen window that I decided had to be cleaned and ended up with a bruised knee and dirt in my face.  Another story .. just remember, what you could climb on in your 40s you might not be able to climb on when you're 50. (kitchen stool to be precise)  Of course it's easy to put the garage and basement out of my mind when I'm not looking at it all day and don't have to sit in it every Sunday morning and think "why haven't I gotten rid of those drapes?!"  I know, I shouldn't be thinking about drapes Sunday morning .. but really, if you could SEE them!

So while I let the water get up to steam temps in the steamer that I've rented after spending an hour stripping just 2 small strips of paper Tuesday afternoon I will post my ramblings because of course I have nothing else to do.

It felt quite good to get the chair rail torn off the wall yesterday.   Pounding the top piece up and off with the hammer and ripping the bottom piece off with the crowbar .. a satisfying feeling of accomplishment and wouldn't you know, Brad got home just in time to carry it all down to the burn pile for me.  Gave me a little feel for what it must be like when you can take a sledge hammer and tear a wall down!  Can I, can I?  Ooooo please honey bunches?  Also glad Brad could pull the piano out from the wall for me .. I tried, really I did.  Pammy how did we move that thing from one wall over to the other anyway?!  I must weigh a ton. (just noticed my typo and had to leave it .. yes I DO weigh a ton, but I really don't think the piano does)

It was over 18 years ago that we put this paper on the bottom half of our living room walls and bought our new furniture.  Brad put a charming chair rail up that I could set odds and ends of old tools on.  We have painted the top half since then but I'm needing a drastic change. I'm sure there have been some who have been secretly aghast at my choice of wallpaper and furniture fabric which I must admit I was a little timid about at first but kept going back to so with Brad's approval took the plunge.

You have to admit they do have all the same colors!

It grows on you and I loved it immediately.  Needless to say there aren't too many springs still holding up in the sofa and there are spots that are wearing thin on both the sofa and recliner so they are on our "to replace" list.  I think I've found the sofa I want in NEUTRAL!  I do feel for our friends and family who have to SIT on those flat springless seats.  I avoid them although the sofa is still good for a nap or two, and the recliner seems to be the best seat in the house for our dear friend Barbara Jean. MY favorite chair is here in the kitchen next to the wood stove.  A leather recliner Brad got me back in '98 that everyone seems to prefer over any other seat in the house. 

Since I'm going on so much about furniture I'll have to mention our two small wing backs that Brad's Mom bought us way back in the mid 80s.  Springs?  Well, I do believe there are still more in these chairs than there are in the sofa, but they've seen better days and I keep them covered up with cotton throws.  Nellie chewed the fabric off the arms when she was a puppy and claimed them as HER chairs.  She also chewed the material off the undercarriage .. how cute is that?  cough.  Do chairs have undercarriages?  It costs just as much to reupholster as to buy new, but the frame is still solid and they do hold a special place in my heart, so I'm going to look into that and slip covers.

I think that water must be good and hot by now so wish me luck ... maybe I'll share a picture of the sticky mess I'm going to end up with.  This should be interesting.  The last time I was in this mood Pammy came over and we stripped the paper off the kitchen and foyer.  Don't know why I didn't take pictures of that mess, maybe because we were having too much fun making it.  I'm thinking not though ..