Monday, July 16, 2012

Good, Bad, and Fun!

When a friend emails to say that she's noticed a "slow down" in my blog posts and she hopes "all is well" - it is! - I'm overdue for a post. What with trying to get the house put together, attending a few newcomer get-togethers, and meeting neighbors, the days just fill up.

Good News
On the home front... some of our living room furniture is being delivered Tuesday! We ordered it May 25. On July 17 we'll receive our sofa, love seat, a chair and two end tables. We're still missing pieces in the living room and bedroom, but at least we can put away those bag chairs! Now I can shop for area rugs and lamps.

Not much progress in the sewing room. After deciding on half a dozen ideas, and then tossing them out, I've finally settled on having the closet "done." For $313, it will be customized with two sections of 14-inch deep, 23-inch wide shelves, and two more rows of shelves across the top. Reason asserted itself before I purchased shelves for the rest of the room. After the July 29 closet installation, I'll put things away - folded fabrics in the closet? - and then decide what's needed in the way of additional storage.

Martha Stewart fabric bins/drawers in the color "lagoon" are a must. They'll be for scraps organized by color, and look pretty on white shelves or in cubbies.
Today I picked up my new Gidget II sewing table. The insert for this Bernina hasn't arrived yet.
 

Bad News
T-Mobile cell phone coverage here is horrible - no reception marks, or one mark at best. My cell phone is my primary phone. Calls I accept in our house usually cut-out and drop off. Because of the poor reception, I asked T-Mobile to release me from my contract, which doesn't expire until May, 2013. After waiting two weeks, I phoned them to learn that my request was denied. If I choose to break my contract, it will cost $200. Steamin' mad about all this. There won't be an I-Phone in my hands for months!

Fun News
All the oak and walnut furniture pieces we brought with us are turning white!
bench
sofa table, floor quilt rack, wall-mounted quilt rack
five-drawer chest purchased at an estate sale
All tolled I have seven pieces I'm painting white, and it's taking most of my time - at least four to five hours a day. I can't really say it's "fun," but in the end, it will be worth the time. Thanks to advice from Ron at Home Depot, I'm gettin' the job done. If you ever want to paint furniture, here's what's worked for me.

Instead of starting by sanding the wood surfaces, buy a bottle of this. Use a small rag and a circular motion to apply this clear liquid to all the surfaces. Let it dry for an hour.

Then paint. My favorite paint brand is Behr. I chose the color "Candlelight Ivory" in a satin sheen. The gallon I bought has primer in it. Ron said to invest in a good brush and he picked this one for me. It's working beautifully and clean-up is easy with water and a little Dawn dishwashing liquid. Ron suggests that after cleaning the brush, while it's still damp, store it in its packaging.

So I've been painting...

...and painting...

...and painting.




I'm aiming for a Thursday finish.

More Fun
It's good to be quilting on a Bernina again, but after attempting to use the BSR, I've returned to free motion quilting without the regulator. I need to take some time to figure out how to use it. In the meantime, I'm anxious to finish quilting this Circle of Geese foundation paper-pieced quilt

The Great Granny Along hosted by Bee in My Bonnet has captured my attention. Blocks are scrappily easy. Just the sort of piecing I like. Sewing is at your own pace, so it's not too late to join in!
12-1/2" unfinished Great Granny block
In between these things I've been bike-riding, and gone places in the golf cart! We listened/danced to music outdoors in the square, attended a couple socials for newcomers to The Villages, and I took my first line dancing lesson! Life is good and fun! Linda

9 comments:

  1. You sound so busy but I'm glad to hear you're having some fun too! Too bad about the phone service, no way to appeal their decision?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your life is indeed full at the moment. Glad to know you are enjoying it. I love how you transform your furniture, they look so different. I don't use my BSR either (after having it for at least 6 years). To be honest, I think the Bernina instructions are "crap". I don't know many people who really use it. But maybe I just have to go and take a lesson!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Boy, that's a job, alright! I *love* that brush. I've got one with "Mom's!!!" sharpied on the handle - even my hubby knows better than to touch it. (He's fantastic, but he is a paintbrush murderer - and knows it.) Thanks for sharing the tip about the sander/deglosser stuff - I'll have some furniture reviving to do, too, once we get into a house.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow a very busy life you have right now....regarding your phoe coverage, Leah had issues with her coverage and after getting no satisfaction from her carrier contacted The Telecomunications Ombudsman and within days was released from her contract!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a fun time you're having (apart from the phone - not nice at all). It must be wonderful to decorate a new house from scratch. Most of my furniture has been accumulated/inherited/purchased/lent over the years and is such a hotch potch. Your home is going to look gorgeous with all those white pieces. Love the deglosser - I hate sanding :-)) So glad all is OK. I was becoming concerned too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. All sounds fun-except for the phone trouble! I'm glad you are able to move forward and be productive. The furniture painting is looking good, you are painting white...all my new stuff will be black, lol
    Yea for the granny quilt along!
    :-}pokey

    ReplyDelete
  7. It would have been okay for you to tell everyone that I'm the one who "complained" about no blog posts! I always look forward to them and while I'm here at work it makes for a fun break. The furniture looks wonderful as I knew it would. Thanks for the post.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Pace yourself, my dear!! Make it fu! It's all looking great. What fun to start over, all fresh and new. As far as the phone service goes, I'd push it. The squeaky wheel and all that. Aren't those granny squares fun? Did I already tell you I tried just one and now I'm up to 32? Mine don't have that extra round, so need 42 for a twin. Am almost there!

    ReplyDelete
  9. goodness! you have been busy. love your granny block. it is fun picking the rounds.

    ReplyDelete

I reply to comments! If you are a no-reply commenter, or your profile appears as anonymous, I will reply to you directly on this blog post. Please check back!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin