It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to!

Me at about three years old on the right, with my little sister Margaret. We were best buds.
So I was going to start my birthday post with a "You know you're old when..." type of thing, and discuss the random arthritis in the third knuckle of the third finger on my right hand, breaking out the hair dye every four weeks instead of every six, the noise my knees make when I ascend stairs, having a freaking teenager (gasp!)...etc...but then I got an email yesterday from my father, announcing what would have been my paternal grandfather's 100th birthday on June 11th. He even accompanied the email with a couple of pictures, which made me get all sentimental, so I'll include them here. Who wants to hear about my arthritis anyway? I'm only 42...I need to stop my bitching.

Grandpa Ed at my Uncle Steve's christening....I'm guessing he would have been about 48 here? Not sure. I'll have to ask Dad. He died when I was a freshman in college...October (November?) of 1984. I wish I had a better shot of him. He really had a Clark Gable look about him...same little weird mustache above his lip and everything. That must have been a "look" back then.

Oh my...now this picture is a RIOT. Grandpa Ed is the one with his hands in his pants, and the suspenders. Do you see me? Far right...arms crossed across my chest...I even look a little annoyed...this was probably Dad's seventh try with the self-timer to get us all in the shot. It looks like Atticus got cut off over on the left anyway...lol. Dad's down in front, with the orange turtleneck. I figured out that my parents are about as old as I am today in that picture, give or take a year or two. How's that for strange? It makes me feel old.

Speaking of Mom, I am especially missing her today, too. This is my first birthday without her, and it's sad. She was always the first to send a card, and give a call. It's sad to think about my mailbox at my new house that she never got to see, and the card that won't be there today from her. She's in the back row, third from the left, standing next to my great uncle, Fr. John. She looks so young and happy there, so that at least makes me smile. I'm looking at that picture again and thinking Oy what a motley crew! Hee!

My grandmother is smack in the middle of that shot...all fluffy white hair and all. I miss her too...she's been dead for about 13 years or so (she was 90), and she pops into my head with the smell of fresh fruit, or like the other day when I was shopping and I saw some apricot nectar (juice) at the store. She always had some in her fridge, and would give me a small glass of it when we went to visit. I think I was the only kid who liked it. It is thick and syrupy and sweet and fruity. I haven't had it since.

I look at that photo and remember all of the family gatherings we had at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Coxsackie. "The Pines Guest House." It was a boarding house when my father was growing up--great stories from those years. Now my uncle owns it, and there are still people renting rooms after all of these years. We were a close family for so many years, and Grandma was the tie that bound us all together. We've all grown and gone our separate ways, but still try at least once a year--usually twice--to all get together and celebrate "family."

Well this post went off on a tangent. I guess when it's your birthday, and you get older, you start to recount the milestones and the memories. Happy Birthday to me. :)

Cats and Carpets

Would you just look at these two? They're passed out on the bench in the kitchen.
Neither one of them even flinched when I ran to get the camera and started clicking. I think it's so cute the way Tess curls up with her arm over her eyes. She does that a lot.

They are such good kitties. I love to watch them play together, and watch Puff groom Tess. He's such a good boy.

I know, the title of this blog post is "Cats and Carpets" and these aren't really carpets, but "Cats and Rugs" just didn't cut it in the alliteration department, so I took some liberties. Forgive me? This is my new LR rug that I picked up at Tuesday morning the other day--was it Tuesday? Heh. ANYway, I fell in love with the fern pattern, and the colors are nice and subtle, AND upon closer examination, I saw that the tag said "Indoor/Outdoor" hose-off-able rug! Hee! If one of those adorable little kitties has a little barfy accident, I'll be able to clean it right up! Yay! Of course, now that I've actually purchased the rug, and put it in the room, I'll have to seriously get cracking on slipcovering that darn couch. *sigh*

Then as I was rolling up the big LR rug at the store, this zebra rug caught my eye and I just HAD to have it! It's a jute or sisal, and it's awesome! The red chair isn't looking so hot with it, but the new sofa I'm getting from a friend is going to look SMASHING with it, so I'm not sweating the red chair right now. Maybe I'll move that up to my sewing room. I need a place to relax when I'm working too, don't I? (Yeah I'm good at justification.)

I opened that window for the first time the other day, too, and I love the way it looks even though the storm window is still there. I don't want to put the screen in that window...it'll dull the light. I have enough windows I can open and put screens in. This room is actually great for playing my flute right now. I bet the acoustics will go ka-put when I put the sofa in there though. Oh well. I'll enjoy it for now.

So there you have it. I was feeling remiss in not posting more pics of the house. I'll try to be better as the projects get done!

Fusion, Baby!

Big project of the week: spray the old (four years?or more?) plastic Adirondack chairs with Krylon's Fusion spray paint. What a transformation!! They went from dry, chalky green,

to awesome shiny new hyacinth blue!

I was planning to paint these myself, but BF got excited when I walked through the door with three cans of spray paint, so he grabbed them and the Windex and ran out the door before I could protest. ( I love spray-painting stuff!!)

After cleaning the chairs with the Windex, he sprayed 'em up, and they look SO great! I can't believe it, really. They look brand new! If it weren't for the little blue spray spots on the grass (ha!), you'd never know that they were painted and not new. Seriously. Even my sister was amazeed! Kudos to Krylon. That Fusion paint rocks.

P.S. Don't tell BF his picture's on the internet. He'd kill me. I can't get a shot of the guy without him hiding his face. I only got these shots because I told him I was shooting the chairs...silly man. He should know better. Thank God he shaved the other night...those whiskers were makin' him look like the hillbilly he is (his words--cracked me up).

Baby Bird Part II

Could that little fella' be ANY cuter?! I don't THINK so! I still have no idea what kind of bird it is. Any ideas? I can't believe how big he got so fast!

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Small Things

My new refrigerator, freezer on the bottom.
My ice maker! Wa-hooo! (Oh, and a big wa-hoo to BF, who hooked the crazy thing up!)

Unpacking my decorating books and stacking them up "just so."

The view from my LR window.

The turkeys who are a daily part of that view. Here they are this morning!

My awesome kid on wacky sock/outfit day. Whose idea was this day, you ask? Yep. Hers. I hope her friends (and teachers...apparently there was a class-wide email event) follow through! LOL! Note the pack-mule-esque look she has going on there. Three bags: lunch, sneakers, school books.

These are some of the small things that make me happy, and I am thankful for all of them.

Swamp Thing

Morning mist...so pretty.
Back yard newly leveled and seeded.

Ok, so there are some drainage issues on my acre here at the edge of the lovely field. The town has come and put in two big grates with drains down one side of my property, and they even took down a hill of sand in my back yard to level it out for me. I guess it pays to bake brownies and flash my pearly whites in the morning! Ha!

But I still have an area to the right of my garage that BF likes to call the swamp. It's not quite THAT wet, but it's damp enough to produce some of these swampy looking plants. Anyone have any ideas what they are? The green leaves are now quite large, and I think the flowers are gone now. I haven't taken a look in a while. I don't know why, but all of a sudden I'm having flashbacks to "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

Morning Visitors

Say hello to Tom Turkey! How cool is that? BF woke me up at 7:30 this morning to see this guy standing practically on my driveway! He was there with his two girlfriends. Usually they stay out in the field, and the pictures I get look like Nessie the Loch Ness monster...tiny little heads peeping out of the grasses once in a while. This shot was so exciting this morning!

I've seen the females this close before, but not the male. He's so HANDSOME!

And here are the deer! They were out there too! And much closer than they usually are. It's difficult to get a clear picture through my LR windows, because they have that old wavy glazing, which I love, but which is not so conducive to clear focus. I couldn't get them all in one shot, but when the deer were out there, the turkeys were too, off to the right of this shot. Ah, nature! I love being so close to it!

Oh, and the baby bird is doing very well...his momma keeps feeding him and sitting on him, even though we brought a washer and dryer in through that door the other day, and created all sorts of disturbance. Nothing phases her! I can see her perched atop the overhang through my bedroom window. There's a vista from every room in this house, I tell ya'!

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. Today is supposed to be a stellar day in NY weather-wise. High 70's and sunny. Can't beat that with a stick!

Floors Before and After

This is my LR floors before sanding and refinishing.

And here they are after--complete with dust balls! LOL! I have to Swiffer twice a day, but it's worth it. I'm in the market for some good rugs, though. No hurry. I love the floors. I had them stained with Minwax's Dark Walnut, and finished in a satin topcoat. Two of the undercoats were semi-gloss, and I was getting scared they were going to be too shiny. The guys assured me they knew what they were doing, and they did! Yay!

This is the before of the den floor...it was in the worst shape of them all, I think.

And this is the after. I love the way the stain really brought out the grain in the pine. As you can see, I'm still just barely moved in. MOST of the furniture is here, and most of the kitchen stuff is put away, but I've only unpacked four boxes of books. There is a LOT to do. My apartment still has a bunch of stuff left in it. I have until June 1 to be out of there. Oy, the stress!! And I'm really tired of going back over there to do laundry. Hopefully I'll get the washer and dryer over here this weekend.

Right now, though, I have to go sew two pillows for delivery this afternoon.

Baby bird

Look at that little baby! Isn't he cute? He's right above my back porch between the rafters.

And here's the momma about 3 minutes later...lol. She was staring me down. I'm pretty sure she's a junco, but I'm not positive. She flies away every time I open the door, so I can't get a good look at her. I just love the softness of the nest. I'm wondering where she got the cotton batting! It's so cute with the green moss....looks like a nice soft home for her baby. I think the baby was born today, because I haven't heard any tiny peeping until this afternoon.

It's a nature wonderland here. Every night the field is host to turkeys and deer. Mornings too. I've got binoculars by the windows so we can view them up close. I'll have to get some pictures of Mr. Turkey fanning his feathers. He looks just like the pictures we drew as kids, and like all the Thanksgiving pictures you see of turkeys. Live ones, that is. :P Oh! Here come the deer now! They're on the other end of the field, so I won't be able to get a good pic. I'll get the turkeys soon though.

I'm off to Kathleen's final concert of the year. Chorus and band. She says it's going to be their best one yet. Yesterday she ended her track season by winning a 4x400 relay by FLYing by the girl who was ahead of her. It was great to see...and a great way for her to end the season--on a high note.

I didn't get a good picture of her passing the other girl...but in this shot, Kathleen is running hard to catch up to her. I just noticed the guys behind her checking out her running, too! Funny!

First Semi-Formal Dance

Is it just me, or is 7th grade a little young for a semi-formal? Oh well. Kathleen was really looking forward to it, and she looked absolutely gorgeous tonight. After I gave her a manicure and curled her hair I said "Kathleen, I just can't believe how beautiful you are!" I know she's my kid and all, but WOW, she's as sweet as the day is long, and just oh so pretty. I made her dress for her, which she really loved. She said "The best thing about you making my dress, Mom, is that noone is going to have one like it!"
We designed it together, and somehow I constructed the thing. Don't ask me how. And don't look too closely. But if you blur your eyes, it looks pretty darn good! Hee! Let me tell you, there is NOTHING like silk charmeuse. Everyone should own a silk charmeuse garment. It feels divine. I may make myself a cami out of the leftovers. It's such a great color. She even planned ahead and had the orthodontist put blue bands on her braces so they'd match her dress! He thought that was pretty clever.
She's at the dance now. I had my first "slow dance" with a boy when I was in 7th grade at the very same school. I can't believe she's there right now, maybe having her own first dance with a boy. *Sigh* Where does the time go?
This last shot, I told the girls I was going to take three "America's Best Top Model" pictures, and I just counted out loud "ONE"....click......"TWO"....click.....you get the idea...and this is what they came up with. Kathleen's been watching WAY too much of that show if you ask me...lol.

Oy..what a mess!

Ok, so I haven't moved in 8 years. But seriously, how is it possible to collect so much STUFF in 8 yrs time? It's funny, as I'm packing the boxes, I'm thinking to myself "I may never unpack this box again." I might just leave it in the garage on a shelf and forget about it. That's how OVER my stuff I am right now. It's all just frivolity and silliness....and every last bit of it collects dust. I'm thinking that the time for editing is NOW. It's time to slice through the chaff, and get down to the nitty gritty--display only what I love, or that which has some sentimental importance.

In the mean time, I'm enjoying the emptiness of the new house, before I get all of my crap moved over there. The floors are gorgeous, and everything is freshly painted. I've thought that I should just move a chair and a lamp over, and maybe my bed, and call it done. :) Ok, so I guess I haven't gone TOTALLY overboard yet. I'll move it all over, but it's going to be a new me over there on Wood Ave. A cleaner, tidier, more organized me. I swear. Really. Honest.

New House

Wow, I guess it's been a while, eh? It's been a very busy time for me. I have bought a cute little house three miles from where I am right now, so Kathleen doesn't have to change schools, and I've been over there painting and painting and painting and...well...you get the idea...lol. I had the hardwood floors refinished and stained in a dark walnut finish, and I LOVE them. I had them use a satin topcoat, so that they wouldn't be TOO shiny. Today I can put furniture on them, if I so desire. We've been moving stuff over and keeping it in the garage for now. I'm still not packed, so it's been interesting, to say the least! I'll try to keep posting shots of my befores and afters so you can see what's been going on. If I skip a few days, know that I am working my butt off trying to get moved!! I'm also finishing up Kathleen's semi-formal dress, which is really coming out great, if I do say so myself! Pics of that will be forthcoming as well. My apologies for such a long absence!

Kathleen the Speedy Queen!

Yesterday was Kathleen's first track meet. She's in "modified" track, whatever that is. She only competes against middle school age kids, I think, although some of those girls running yesterday were definitely older, and the high-schoolers were running races too. I was confused. One thing I do know--this kid can RUN! I can't get over how long and leggy she is. BF says she's fast because there's no wind resistance due to her being so darn thin...lol...I thought that was pretty hilarious. I don't think Kathleen found it quite so funny. Go figure. ;)

She ran in two events. She came in third in the 100m dash, and last in the 200. She said she didn't really know how fast to go in the 200, because she didn't really know how much energy to save up for the end. I think this first meet was good practice, because it all looks confusing to me! I don't even know how they knew where to go and when, there was so much going on. But I did manage to get some action shots! I just love the shot above...something about the line of her arm, her blowing hair, and her friend's smile and pose...they didn't even know I was taking their picture.

Here she is running the 100M dash. She's on the far left--you know, the skinny pasty kid...hee!

And there she is bringing up the rear in the 200M.
She said she's scary white, and I told her that a friend of mine dubbed me "Casper" in high school, so no worries--it's just heredity. Heh. At least she tans in the summer, unlike her mother. I just burn, peel and freckle. Nice.

I'm just so proud of her for being motivated enough to join track. She's really enjoying it, and she said that just being in the meet yesterday made her want to do better next time. I told her that the spirit of competition was definitely a good thing--it raises you up to the level of your competitors or beyond, , if you're doing it right...lol. Oh, and in case you're wondering, she gets her athletic ability from her father. I'm not taking any credit for that, no-sir-ee-bob.

Impossible!!

Seriously. How is it possible to go from this--

to this-- in the blink of an eye??
My baby turns 13 years old today, and I made sure to tell her that she's the best thing that has ever happened to me. I couldn't have ordered up a better kid if I'd tried.

It's funny...I have a lot of pictures of her up in trees as a little kid. She didn't climb them...I would just prop her in there and say "hold on! say cheese!" LOL.

Happy Birthday, beautiful girl.

Stars On Ice

This past Sunday we went to see Smucker's (don't even get me going on where that apostrophe should be) Stars on Ice. Sasha Cohen is new to the group this year, I guess, and she is really great. The whole thing was WAY more entertaining than I thought it was going to be. It was a three hour show, and it flew by. Sasha did a no-skates ballet thing with two of the other skaters carrying her around that sounds weird, but was really beautiful. Oh, and you know how I have "boyfriends" in every walk of life? (Well--like on tv and movies?) I have a new one! My new professional skating boyfriend is John Zimmerman!I know, right?! He's a little pretty, but holy heck, when you see the man lift his partner over his head and spin her around, and those muscles workin'....helllooo! All of these guys are such unbelievable athletes. It's amazing to watch them work. It doesn't hurt that they're easy on the eyes, either. ;)

We finished off the evening with my sister, her husband, and my darling niece at a great downtown Albany micro-brewery, called The Albany Pump Station. Click here for a little history on the place. The website is pretty discombobulated...so finding a picture of the place was tough. It's an old brick building right near the river, and every time I go inside I imagine myself converting it into a home. It's that cool inside--and there's a fireplace in the DR! AND they have great beer (Kick-Ass Brown--YUM!), and some pretty good food. I had a turkey burger, and whatever they spiced it with was great.

Stay tuned for next week's house reveal!! I'm buying one, people! It's really happening!!