Oct 10, 2007
Stitching the Night Away
Yesterday when I was searching for something on the net, I found a neat website. It's called Stitching the Night Away. I saw they had a blog, so I took a peek. Lo and behold, there's a Just Nan chart giveaway! Look HERE.
Oct 8, 2007
Monday Update 10/8/07
~Unpacking~
Last week, I tried to concentrate on getting things in order with my new house. Let’s just say that the previous owner didn’t take much care in cleaning. After cleaning the stove, S says it looks like a new stove (even though it’s probably 20 years old). I thought the chrome drip pans were corroded from being old. Nope. It was cooked on food! There was so much that they were black with a little silver showing. A couple treatments of oven cleaner and they are SO shiny!
I wiped down the ceramic tile on the walls of the kitchen and wiped out some of the cupboards so I can start putting things away. The drawers in the kitchen are/were bare wood so I decided to paint them white to match the cupboards. I used the Kilz primer/stain blocker. What I didn’t realize is I needed mineral spirits to clean up. When did it dawn on me to read the label of Kilz? After my hands were covered in the stuff. Yikes… Where did I pack the mineral spirits? Frantically, I searched for MS. Ahhh…. There you are, my savior! The alternative was to drive to the store looking like I was in transformation to a ghost. Kilz is a real pain to clean up after! Since I have two more drawers to do, I bought the disposable paint trays and a couple more sponge brushes. It’s worth the $2 not to have to clean up anything but myself. How do I manage to get paint all over myself??!
Most of my hanging clothes are put away in the closet... Only because the rack I had them hanging on collapsed and I was forced to clean up the mess. I am still going through them to get rid of ones I haven’t worn in the past 2 years. Can anyone say: Freecycle??
I even managed to unpack one entire box for the bathroom and one for the kitchen. Woo Hoo!
S helped me out by moviing the Christmas decorations from the garage to the attic. He also repaired the roll top desk that was damaged by brother movers. With that fixed, we were able to re-arrange the furniture in my office aka 4-season room and hook up the rest of the computer components.
~Exploring the Neighborhood~
S and I have taken a couple of long walks around the neighborhood. It makes for a very nice walk. Within walking distance are 2 large parks, tennis courts, public pool, skate park, and basketball courts. If I’m really ambitious, I could also walk to the shopping center.
~Adding to the Collection~
No, I'm not talking about my stash collection! I found this Baby Brownie Special at the Friends Forever Rummage Sale last weekend. I bought an entire box of camera "stuff" for $1.
Kodak manufactured these from 1939 to 1954. Mine has a date of 1941 stamped on the inside. This tiny bakelite camera (3 1/4" wide x 3" tall) camera takes eight images on a roll of 127 film. It gives edge distortion with center of the image remaining in focus. See this cute little pushbutton shutter to the side of the focus free lens? You can't see it very well, but there's a nifty little braided handle that goes across the top. The BB originally sold for a whopping $1.25!
In addition to being a bean counter, I'm also a photographer. I have a small collection of old cameras that I display in my home. Well, I did until I moved!
~Weather~
The weather was unusually HOT and HUMID this weekend. It was so hot that the Chicago Marathon was cancelled a few hours after it started because people started dropping like flies. Unfortunately, one runner died. I’m not one for extreme heat or cold, so I stayed inside most of the time.
~School~
I finished up my beginning Excel class, a week before the "semester" ends. I would've finished before the move, except the instructor decided he wasn't going to grade assignments turned in early. He wanted to grade the online assignments at the same time as the on-campus assignments. By the time, he changed his mind about it I was in the midst of buying and moving. Glad that he came to his senses in that it's unfair to hold students back who want to work ahead. He even commented on how rare that was.
Last week, I tried to concentrate on getting things in order with my new house. Let’s just say that the previous owner didn’t take much care in cleaning. After cleaning the stove, S says it looks like a new stove (even though it’s probably 20 years old). I thought the chrome drip pans were corroded from being old. Nope. It was cooked on food! There was so much that they were black with a little silver showing. A couple treatments of oven cleaner and they are SO shiny!
I wiped down the ceramic tile on the walls of the kitchen and wiped out some of the cupboards so I can start putting things away. The drawers in the kitchen are/were bare wood so I decided to paint them white to match the cupboards. I used the Kilz primer/stain blocker. What I didn’t realize is I needed mineral spirits to clean up. When did it dawn on me to read the label of Kilz? After my hands were covered in the stuff. Yikes… Where did I pack the mineral spirits? Frantically, I searched for MS. Ahhh…. There you are, my savior! The alternative was to drive to the store looking like I was in transformation to a ghost. Kilz is a real pain to clean up after! Since I have two more drawers to do, I bought the disposable paint trays and a couple more sponge brushes. It’s worth the $2 not to have to clean up anything but myself. How do I manage to get paint all over myself??!
Most of my hanging clothes are put away in the closet... Only because the rack I had them hanging on collapsed and I was forced to clean up the mess. I am still going through them to get rid of ones I haven’t worn in the past 2 years. Can anyone say: Freecycle??
I even managed to unpack one entire box for the bathroom and one for the kitchen. Woo Hoo!
S helped me out by moviing the Christmas decorations from the garage to the attic. He also repaired the roll top desk that was damaged by brother movers. With that fixed, we were able to re-arrange the furniture in my office aka 4-season room and hook up the rest of the computer components.
~Exploring the Neighborhood~
S and I have taken a couple of long walks around the neighborhood. It makes for a very nice walk. Within walking distance are 2 large parks, tennis courts, public pool, skate park, and basketball courts. If I’m really ambitious, I could also walk to the shopping center.
~Adding to the Collection~
No, I'm not talking about my stash collection! I found this Baby Brownie Special at the Friends Forever Rummage Sale last weekend. I bought an entire box of camera "stuff" for $1.
Kodak manufactured these from 1939 to 1954. Mine has a date of 1941 stamped on the inside. This tiny bakelite camera (3 1/4" wide x 3" tall) camera takes eight images on a roll of 127 film. It gives edge distortion with center of the image remaining in focus. See this cute little pushbutton shutter to the side of the focus free lens? You can't see it very well, but there's a nifty little braided handle that goes across the top. The BB originally sold for a whopping $1.25!
In addition to being a bean counter, I'm also a photographer. I have a small collection of old cameras that I display in my home. Well, I did until I moved!
~Weather~
The weather was unusually HOT and HUMID this weekend. It was so hot that the Chicago Marathon was cancelled a few hours after it started because people started dropping like flies. Unfortunately, one runner died. I’m not one for extreme heat or cold, so I stayed inside most of the time.
~School~
I finished up my beginning Excel class, a week before the "semester" ends. I would've finished before the move, except the instructor decided he wasn't going to grade assignments turned in early. He wanted to grade the online assignments at the same time as the on-campus assignments. By the time, he changed his mind about it I was in the midst of buying and moving. Glad that he came to his senses in that it's unfair to hold students back who want to work ahead. He even commented on how rare that was.
Oct 3, 2007
Where is ....
... the box with the siverware in? Where are the bathtowels? Have you found the boxes with food in it yet? My underwear?!!
Oh yes. The fun begins!
Yesterday, I left the keys to the townhouse on the counter (per landlord's request). I am *finally* done there.
I have started unpacking, moving stuff from one room to the next so I can get to *that* box back there, only to move it back so I can get to things in the other room. What fun I'm having now! LOL
I've already had a mishap... I was cleaning under the cooktop of the stove (had to use oven cleaner 3 times!). I used a bucket of water to rinse the rag I was cleaning with. Dumped the entire bucket down the sink drain. Turned on the garbage disposal and at the same time looking around to see where I laid the rag. Yup! It was being eaten by the GD!!! Yikes... (I thought GD was sounding muffled. LOL) After shutting GD off, I fished out a mangled up rag. I'm sure that's not going to be the last time that happens...
Within 24 hours of purchase, my house went from this:
to this:
And this:
to this:
See little Celeste by the mattress on the floor?
Up until last weekend, I was sleeping on my mattress in the middle of the living room. S and I managed to get my bedroom set up, as well as the living room somewhat organized. I'm working on the kitchen... it seems like it's taking forever!
More pics of my house can be seen HERE.
Oh yes. The fun begins!
Yesterday, I left the keys to the townhouse on the counter (per landlord's request). I am *finally* done there.
I have started unpacking, moving stuff from one room to the next so I can get to *that* box back there, only to move it back so I can get to things in the other room. What fun I'm having now! LOL
I've already had a mishap... I was cleaning under the cooktop of the stove (had to use oven cleaner 3 times!). I used a bucket of water to rinse the rag I was cleaning with. Dumped the entire bucket down the sink drain. Turned on the garbage disposal and at the same time looking around to see where I laid the rag. Yup! It was being eaten by the GD!!! Yikes... (I thought GD was sounding muffled. LOL) After shutting GD off, I fished out a mangled up rag. I'm sure that's not going to be the last time that happens...
Within 24 hours of purchase, my house went from this:
to this:
And this:
to this:
Up until last weekend, I was sleeping on my mattress in the middle of the living room. S and I managed to get my bedroom set up, as well as the living room somewhat organized. I'm working on the kitchen... it seems like it's taking forever!
More pics of my house can be seen HERE.
Oct 1, 2007
Creative Shopping
I belong to a Yahoo Group specifically for the city I live in. Members can list things they have to sell.
-- Chapter One --
I had an electric fireplace in the basement of my townhouse. S really didn’t want to move it and “encouraged” me to get rid of it. I really liked it, though! (LOL) I had to see his point, though – My new house has a real fireplace... why did I need an electric one and where would I put it? *sigh* So, I listed it for sale on the group.
Had three bites right away. The lady who bought it, drove from 25 minutes away. She was adamant that she wanted it (without seeing it) and wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to sell it out from under her. LOL No problem...
As we’re loading it in the back of her SUV, she tells me she has to get it home and unloaded before her DH got home because he didn’t know she was getting it. Ha – Sounds like my Mom!
-- Chapter Two --
On this same group, someone posted an upright freezer for sale. $25 less than what I sold the fireplace for, plus they’d deliver within city limits (Can’t beat that!). Went to look at the freezer. Called back the next day and told him I’d take it. I was glad they offered to deliver… The poor guys. They ended up taking the door off the basement and the handle off the freezer in order to get it down the basement stairs. Had to use a butter knife as a screwdriver because all my tools were still at the townhouse. LOL They were so nice about it, too. Told me if I had any problems with the freezer to let them know. Oh, also gave me a 10-day guarantee that it worked fine.
-- Chapter Three --
After the move, I decided that I wanted a different bed in the spare room. I listed a c-frame futon bunk bed frame on the group. Within a day, a woman drove 40 minutes to get it.
-- Chapter Four --
S and I went garage saling on Saturday and we found a bed. $15 cheaper than what I sold the futon frame for, plus the bed included mattress, box spring, sheets and blanket. The people even threw in a hunter ceiling fan that didn’t sell during their sale.
How’s that for frugal shopping?!?
-- Chapter One --
I had an electric fireplace in the basement of my townhouse. S really didn’t want to move it and “encouraged” me to get rid of it. I really liked it, though! (LOL) I had to see his point, though – My new house has a real fireplace... why did I need an electric one and where would I put it? *sigh* So, I listed it for sale on the group.
Had three bites right away. The lady who bought it, drove from 25 minutes away. She was adamant that she wanted it (without seeing it) and wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to sell it out from under her. LOL No problem...
As we’re loading it in the back of her SUV, she tells me she has to get it home and unloaded before her DH got home because he didn’t know she was getting it. Ha – Sounds like my Mom!
-- Chapter Two --
On this same group, someone posted an upright freezer for sale. $25 less than what I sold the fireplace for, plus they’d deliver within city limits (Can’t beat that!). Went to look at the freezer. Called back the next day and told him I’d take it. I was glad they offered to deliver… The poor guys. They ended up taking the door off the basement and the handle off the freezer in order to get it down the basement stairs. Had to use a butter knife as a screwdriver because all my tools were still at the townhouse. LOL They were so nice about it, too. Told me if I had any problems with the freezer to let them know. Oh, also gave me a 10-day guarantee that it worked fine.
-- Chapter Three --
After the move, I decided that I wanted a different bed in the spare room. I listed a c-frame futon bunk bed frame on the group. Within a day, a woman drove 40 minutes to get it.
-- Chapter Four --
S and I went garage saling on Saturday and we found a bed. $15 cheaper than what I sold the futon frame for, plus the bed included mattress, box spring, sheets and blanket. The people even threw in a hunter ceiling fan that didn’t sell during their sale.
How’s that for frugal shopping?!?
Moved!
I spent all day and night Thursday cleaning the townhouse – It’s way cleaner than when I moved in...
On Friday, I moved the fish and aquarium. Much to my dismay I had to hold funeral services for EIGHT little fishies that croaked within an hour of moving. Wouldn’t you know the pretty, colorful ones were the ones who went to the big aquarium in the sky. :(
Yesterday, the last of my things were moved from the townhouse apartment to my “new” home.
Adios! Good riddance to flooding townhouse and nasty, evil neighbor lady!!
S and I also managed to get my bedroom furniture in my room and arranged in working order. One of the dressers is a long one with a huge mirror. Six years ago, I bought the furniture before I knew where I was moving to. At the townhouse, the mirror was too tall to be installed so it was stored up against a wall for the last six years. S put the mirror on the dresser for me – Boy is it tall!! It works out, though since there isn’t much room in the bathroom to get ready. I’ll just do my hair and makeup in front of the big mirror!
We also arranged some of the living room and the computer room. Things are still stacked everywhere in every room, but at least people can walk through the house without having to step over boxes to get from room to room.
My goal for this week is to get the kitchen cupboards wiped out, lined with contact paper, and filled with some dishes.
On Friday, I moved the fish and aquarium. Much to my dismay I had to hold funeral services for EIGHT little fishies that croaked within an hour of moving. Wouldn’t you know the pretty, colorful ones were the ones who went to the big aquarium in the sky. :(
Yesterday, the last of my things were moved from the townhouse apartment to my “new” home.
Adios! Good riddance to flooding townhouse and nasty, evil neighbor lady!!
S and I also managed to get my bedroom furniture in my room and arranged in working order. One of the dressers is a long one with a huge mirror. Six years ago, I bought the furniture before I knew where I was moving to. At the townhouse, the mirror was too tall to be installed so it was stored up against a wall for the last six years. S put the mirror on the dresser for me – Boy is it tall!! It works out, though since there isn’t much room in the bathroom to get ready. I’ll just do my hair and makeup in front of the big mirror!
We also arranged some of the living room and the computer room. Things are still stacked everywhere in every room, but at least people can walk through the house without having to step over boxes to get from room to room.
My goal for this week is to get the kitchen cupboards wiped out, lined with contact paper, and filled with some dishes.
