Still Here, Squirrel! Just Distracted

I apologize for the lack of blog posting.  It's been a bit of a whirlwind here as we are getting everything ready for Bethany Christian Services Homes for the Holiday Tour.   I am usually sharing projects and recipes on the blog but I want the projects to be secret until the tour.  Because honestly, why would you buy a ticket if you'd seen everything on the blog?  And it's pretty sketchy to share recipes when I'm not doing much cooking and no baking.  Today though, I will attempt  to get everyone caught up with my 

super thrilling life,  better known as my trivial little life.  But not with our projects.  You'll just have to wait until tour to see what has been keeping us so busy.

Like the dog in the movie, Up, I am easily distracted.  Squirrel!  Please bear with me as I jump from subject to subject.

There are Christmas decorations everywhere in the Stone House, and not necessarily in a good way.  Piles of stuff covering every flat surface.  Though some of the piles are pretty.

It isn't just Christmas here, everyday matters continue to occur, laundry still piles up, we still need to eat and we go to our jobs.  Max came home on Friday evening for Thanksgiving break.  I brought in the Mountain Dew and other groceries.

Squirrel!

 Max made dinner for Kassie on Saturday night.  Max and I set the table.  That sounds easy however; first we had to clear the table.  It was a foot deep in Shiny Brites and other Christmas debris.  The wheat dishes were my Grandma's "good" dishes and Max is next in line for them.  He's become quite the cook.  It was a good thing to clear off the table.  It's time to use it or lose it, better known as throw it on a tree or shove it in the attic.

 Since Max is home, I am trying to cook meals.  Hubby and I have been working on projects and then looking at each other and stating the obvious, "I'm hungry and no one made dinner."  Last night for dinner we had lasagna, salad and bread.  I made the lasagna in the morning so it was ready to put in the oven later.  An actual planned meal is really nice.  Pork roast tonight. Yay me!

I'm not sure if Hubby is happy to see Max or the meals...

Squirrel!

Yesterday I picked up my laundry basket liner from CW Happy Creations.  It's so great to outsource a project when you're trying to do it all yourself.  Thanks Cheryl!  I love it and I love that I didn't make it.

Some things are beautiful and happy here.

And honestly, some things are not happy and beautiful here.

Some piles are rather ugly.

And there are other kinds of ugly:

1. Our washing machine is dying.  Hubby and I don't really have the time to shop for one, we don't have time for a machine that doesn't work and who want to buy a washing machine at Christmas time?  Blah!  We paid someone $75 to tell us we need a new one.  It is loud and could die any minute.

2. Danny needs to have his wisdom teeth taken out while he is home for Christmas.

3. Max needs to have four wisdom teeth taken out at Christmas break.  It needs to be done by an oral surgeon.  The consultation is today.

4.  Sam gets little leave this year for Christmas.  He is graciously allowing other soldiers take it who live farther away.  Sam's lack of leave and Danny and Max's wisdom tooth extractions are  making the Mt. Baker family day a little tough to schedule.

5. Our sweet dog, Hawley is in his twilight years.  It has been a week of noticeable decline and problems for our guy.  

6. I am laying awake, thinking about all that needs to get finished instead of sleeping.

6. The Tired Sore Throat.

Squirrel!

Let's end on a pretty note because there are all kinds of pretty here too.

1. Things are getting finished.

2. Sam and Max will be home for Thanksgiving.

3. My parents host Thanksgiving.  I still have my folks and am so blessed by them.

4. My friend, Shelly comes here on Mondays and helps me.  And we have piles of fun while working.

5. All of our guys will be home for Christmas.  They all want one day on the mountain to ski and board together, with Hubby and I bringing up a tailgate lunch.  I love anticipating this day.

6. Beginning on Thanksgiving day Hubby will have six days off work.

7. We love Bethany and feel honored to help such a great organization.

Squirrel!

If I don't get back to the blog, I'd like to wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Aren't we blessed?

Christmas is Coming...

On Saturday I went to Island Chicks in Anacortes with Shelly and Karen.  It was a beautiful show and we had buckets of fun.  We shopped, lunched, snacked and shopped some more.  And most importantly, we left inspired by the show.  I was also inspired by my friends to purchased a tutu.  We stopped at the Pearl Button, crammed into one dressing room, and decided we were tired of our boring wardrobes.  

Things got a little crazy...

 The necklace worn by the dress form was tiny rolls of sheet music, threaded and then the ends were dipped in German glass glitter.  I want to make 3 yards for a garland but I do know that time is running out.  Honestly, I don't even know where I would put it but it was pretty.

 We made one last stop at Marshalls, where I was tempted to purchase the over sized champagne bucket.  I love the shape of champagne buckets and this one was a beauty.  But sometimes a girl has to walk away.  Shelly was a tad excited for me.

 The *Home for the Holidays Tour is quickly approaching.  We are living in a very messy house with piles of Christmas covering every surface.  Work in progress, for sure.  I am trying to take good care of Hubby and I because a cold or flu would be fairly catastrophic at this point.  

Thursday evening is the museum gift shop open house and sale.  It will be a fun evening with a great sale.  Really, our best ever, so invite your friends and come to see me.  I might wear my tutu...

*Tour is December 7, 1-5 p.m.  Tickets ($20) are available at Colony House and Grandiflora in Lynden.  

I'll post more details later.

Pinterest Fail or Success

Oh Pinterest!  I love thee.

While there are many, many lovely ideas on Pinterest, there are some ideas that just do not work.  And there is only one way to find out which Pins actually work, trial and error, my friends.

I decided to bleach Christmas trees last evening.  I had two ziploc bags full of trees that I had picked up at garage sales.  Pinterest gave instructions to place the trees in a container of bleach and Ta Da they turn to a lovely vintage white.  Or a sickly green.  Or a peachy orange.  

Or hopefully, a pretty winter white.  Unfortunately, there is no way to predict the outcome.

Have you had any Pinterest fail or Pinterest success lately?

The fact that I am bleaching trees is beside the point and totally WaCkO as I have many more things that need to be finished here at the Stone House.  I know.  I. Know.

Random Again

I finished reading I'll be Seeing You by Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan this weekend.  The authors wrote the book via emails.  When the book went to be published they still had not met each other.  I think that added some depth to the story as the characters in the story hadn't met each other either.  I had a pen pal when I was growing up  and later we met.  There is something lost in the emails and texts that fly around in today's world.  Anyway, I enjoyed the story and I look forward to the authors next book.

 On Saturday I did some junkin' with Chris and Shelly.  It is very difficult for me to ask a seller if they have any wiggle room on a price.  If someone tells me no it takes me months to get over it and try again.

I found eight place settings of Gorham's 1929 Beaumont silverware (stainless not solid silver)  in a thrift store.  I kept going back to look at it.  I decided to have a conversation with the shop keeper about the price.  Oh my, it makes me uncomfortable, but I did it!  He came down, I came up, we agreed on a price.  Any guesses?

Do you ask dealers if they have wiggle room on their price?  Painful subject.

 I love the silverware more every time I look at it.  It came without a monogram but was designed to be monogrammed.  I definitely want to get it monogrammed.  I'm guessing the monogramming will cost more than the actual silverware.  Oh well...

 I also bought a brand new Rowenta iron at an estate sale.  I go through irons and love the thought of a back up iron.  I actually iron, as does Hubby.  Remember, he's the guy that irons our sheets when I have a bad cold.  The receipt from the Bon Marche was in the box, $89.99.  I paid $5.00.

Isn't junkin' fun?

We are very busy with projects here at the Stone House.  At this point I think we need to stop.  The home tour is December 7, gulp.  I just keep finding more to do and I should just start cleaning and putting up the Christmas decorations.  I'm starting to have nightmares where I am not ready and people are showing up.