My absence from the blog has been one of uncertainty.  In the past year so many different ideas have flooded my mind but I am hoping that this new year will bring me back again to share what I have learned and am still learning from everyday life.  To be healthier.

My last few years have been physically challenging for me as I have had so many surgeries and  had to adjust to the consequences of them.  The afterlife of learning to live without normal body functions, etc.  It's an adjustment.

My main focus has been my eating habits after coming off  colonoscopy.  So many changes in the way my body handles food and which ones I can eat and which ones I have to skip.  I find that eating out is a terrible experience for me for the most part.  The menus are filled with unhealthy food and so I try to find the least damaging to my system and how it works now.

And so to keep this somewhat short, I would like to share some of the healthy food choices I've discovered and find so delicious.

When it comes to smoothies, I love them, but it seems I never have what it takes to make them.  If I buy fresh fruit it sometimes sits and spoils before I use it and the same with vegetables.  For the most part I buy all frozen now as I can just heat them up or throw them in my Vita Mix.

Here is one I made the other morning.  I had not gotten up till 10:30 am and was like "Wow!"  There was so much I wanted to do this day and half of it was already gone.  I wanted to deep clean my bathroom. wiping down everything in site and I knew by the time I got showered, dressed and made my bed, dishes etc. it was going to be a job.  I needed to eat before I started so I made my usual morning breakfast which I literally need to do.  I normally make oatmeal by using 1/4 cup oatmeal and then I add dried cherries, dried cranberries, walnuts or almonds, flax seeds (tbls) and cinnamon.  But as I was making it I was thinking about the time I was eating up and would have to sit and eat it, and then I decided to throw it in my Vita Mix with a cup or  more of Almond Milk. ( I no longer drink regular milk, unless it's lactose free).  It was a warm drink but very tasty.  I think it would be a better drink if it was ice cold.  It would be a great breakfast drink to have on the way to work and be healthy and hold you till lunch.  I don't add sugar because the cranberries and cherries add sweetness to it, but one could add honey if they needed that extra sweetness.

Hope you will give it a try.  I should have taken a picture of it, but I will do that next time.

This is my idea for 2017.  Leave the old behind, find new ways to solve food problems that are healthy for anyone, not just me and share them with you.

Here is my list of ingredients for  my smoothie.

1/4 cup oatmeal, reg or instant, no matter
handful of cranberries or cherries or both.  ( any fruit you like would work)
handful of almonds or walnuts chopped
1 tsp of flax seed (optional)
cinnamon
Almond milk

Hope if you are looking for things like this you will give it a try and let me know what you think.

Here's to a healthy, happy New Year for everyone.

Here it is, March and I have not posted.  It is very obvious to me that  blogging is not my thing.  I wish it were, but if it were I would be posting and I'm not.

I think I have a lot to offer to people when it comes to life's troubles as I've experienced just about all of them in my 68 years of life.  I believe I should share only if someone is in need and not push my opinions and beliefs on others.  I have learned many lessons.

In the last few years I have had so much to deal with that I have taken the time to mentally meditate and sort through the "stuff" that weighed me down.  Why am I not sociable?  Where has my sense of humor gone?  Why can't I find it?, Will I ever find an avenue of making some extra money to get me through the rest of my life?.  So many questions.  I have learned through meditation that the only thing I need to do at any given moment is address the current "now" situation I find myself in.  And I find that at just about every given moment I am happy.  I have shed the worry and of all my questions and given them up to faith.  Faith that some higher power will protect me, will provide what I need and see me through the ever changing world around me.  And it has worked.

I am finding myself coming out of my shell that I put myself in as members of my family and friends have passed on to another realm.  The hurts, the pains, the grieving was all too much and I silently and unconsciously or consciously tucked myself away.  The only people I was in touch with were my family and a few and I mean just a few close friends.  And they were scarce.  I seemed to ignore a lot of people because I could see turmoil in their lives and I had had enough of my own to want to be near or around or in theirs.  But, at the same time, I was an observer.

I watched how other people dealt with their issues, I watched as love seemed to carry them through, I watched as others were struggling with human stress or not.  I offered opinions when I thought I could help, realizing that they have to decide for themselves if the opinion is helpful, and not up to me.  I shed myself of everyone else's life and concentrated on my own.  It is good.  I am blessed by what I have and the family I have helped to raise.  They are all good people and contributing to make the world just a little better and a lot nicer.  I consider this my biggest accomplishment in life.

One area of my life that has made the biggest change is my line dancing.  Even though I have been line dancing nearly 4 or 5 years, (not counting) I barely know anyone there.  Sure I know their faces and a lot of names and see them every week, but have made little to no effort to really befriend them. This is now changing.  It is changing because I have spent the years watching their interaction, and their dancing, but mostly how they treat one another.  They are probably the nicest group of people I have ever encountered.  I see them hug each other each week as they greet one another.  I have never in the years heard an argument or seen a negative reaction to anything in the environment around them.  They are not just kind, but generous of spirit, always willing to help one another learn.  I am proud to be a part of this group.  I will stay with them as long as my legs will hold me up.

So this is my  current state of affairs.  I am happy, I am loved, I am full of hope that my life will continue to grow and provide me with what I need.

Tomorrow is Easter.  A new beginning for all of us.  I am wishing you all a Happy Easter spent with the ones you love.  Rejoice.  The world is anew.

2016 is a new year and so I hope to come back to blogging.  So many things in life seem to get in the way and it takes so much time to work them out in my mind that I put off things that are always plaguing me to do.  Like art, and figuring out how to get my pictures from my Samsung into my Mac computer.  They do not sync automatically, and I need to figure things like this out so I can continue this blog.  It is a priority on my list of things to do this year.

Also, I hope to open and sell some items on EBay.  I have an account but have no clue how to upload and put items for sale.

Hopefully, this year is going to bring me a business in selling the furniture I have been refreshing.  I have several pieces here at the house to do and am running out of room.  I can't post pictures yet as like I said I have been unable to figure out how to get them here but soon.  Hopefully this week and maybe even tomorrow.

Since I was up all last night except for one hour,  and it is late right now, I will cut this short and get some much needed sleep so I can "get things done" in the morning.

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to actually read this.  I've been away a long time but I feel I have a lot to offer coming up.

Here it is a year plus ago and I have been trying to find my niche in this world.  Here I was given this coffee table by a friend.  She knew I was looking for one and her Mom passed away.  I really didn't like the dated look of it so I transformed it by using paint.  It really is just white paint put on and then rubbed off to expose the wood underneath.  I did sand off all the old finish first.    

There are several more projects that I have done but cannot seem to get the pictures from my phone into this computer.  I will try to update as I learn how to do this.

Well Spring has finally sprung here and my birdhouses are done although I have no place currently to hang one of them.  So, the renovated house I mounted on a copper pipe I had in my garage and stuck it in the ground.  I will have to cement it in soon before the birdies decide whether to live in it.  Was testing to see.

In trying to figure out how to mount the birdhouse I decided to go to the hardware store and purchase a flange to screw into the bottom and would fit my pipe.  I couldn't get over the price of the flange being galvanized at $9. 69. plus an adapter for depth.  It was too expensive so I decided to brainstorm something else that would work and be free.  I took two blocks of wood (scraps), cut them square and drilled a hole through the center to be the same size as my pipe to have a very tight fit and not wiggle.  Then I attached each one to the bottom of the birdhouse and voila, it was about an inch or more deep and worked just find.  Here are some pictures.  The flanges I'm taking back to the store.

Now, as for the other birdhouse, I am trying to figure out where to hang it as I have no trees in my yard.  Probably will go on my garage off a hanger but haven't decided yet.  Here are a couple of pictures of it.  I did put in a real glass picture window in the back of it.  Hope they will nest in it regardless and enjoy their upscale home.

Another project I decided to do on Mother's day was to make these cute hummingbird perches.  I saw them in a Birds and Blooms Magazine a while back and remembered them.  So easy.  I only see a couple of them a year here but am hoping I can attract more.  This gives them a place to rest near a feeder if it should ever become crowded.  Ha.  I can only hope.

Wishing all your creative endeavors turn out the way you like.  Thanks for stopping by.

Now that I've stopped working on my first floor apartment (at least until I can open my doors and windows again to let the fumes of the products I use out) I seem to have taken up birdhouse renovations.  Fun.

I forgot to take a before picture.  This is actually a during picture.  Originally this house had no base on it, and the roof was all looking pretty much like the front as you see it here.  So, being as the bottom of this was pretty much rotted out, (it was found in a pile of leaves headed for the trash) I decided to rescue it and give it a new lease on life for another year or two.  So I built the base, painted it with exterior paint and added a few embellishments.  Here is the final result.  I have not put it outside yet, but probably should as this is the nesting season for the birdies and it did actually have a lot of nesting material I had to clean out so I know they did live here.

Do you think the cat sitting by the door will frighten them away?  Personally I doubt it.  We shall see and I'll let you know.

Meanwhile, I've taken on another one.  This one comes from another one that was pretty distraught.  I had purchased it years ago at the Tulip Festival and I remember paying $40.00 for it which just about blew my mind that I would actually pay that much.  Well you can't tell yet what the final house looks like, it was just beautiful.   Again, I didn't take a before picture.

So today I plan to finish my embellishments and some paint and stain to finish it off.  The front will have a more distinct door with doorknob and planters and the back I decided needed a picture window. I know it looks crooked but I haven't trimmed it in yet.  I actually have a piece of glass in there so the birds can see out.  This one they might not inhabit but again it will be interesting to see if they do.  So I will trim out the window, put some more embellishments on and show the finished project later on.  Hopefully, later today.

Hope you are enjoying your creative side and thanks for stopping by.

Today I went shopping for a piece of furniture that I could use for a desk or table for my arts and crafts but came home with this instead.  Everyone who comes into my house asks why I don't have my large screen tv in my living room so when I saw this and liked it, checked the price and it was right on target so I bought it, came home and assembled it and my daughter and companion came and carried the tv downstairs and I managed for the first time to hook it all up and the VCR too and then watched a movie to be sure it worked and it does.  Yea!  So often I am technically challenged but was able to complete the set up and watch the Country Music Awards on the big screen.  I've been watching on a small 29" and that now is in my bedroom.  More information than anybody needs.  Anyway the piece was made by Sauder Co. and I have had them before.  They go together really easily if you follow their directions and look really much more expensive than they are.

My blog will probably take on a different tone now that most of the work is done on my lower floor.  It is now fully functional although there are still small jobs that need to get done.  I am waiting for warmer weather so I can open windows and doors and paint and work outside on my deck and not have to deal with fumes inside.

A few more pictures for my  friend  Janet who doesn't do Facebook but who helped to finance my recent reno and help me with final finishing touches.

This vase I purchased at the Salvation Army Store for $1.99.  I think it is beautiful.  The dishes above I purchased to go in my kitchen.  Something to ad some pattern as my everyday dishes are plain white.  Above that is a new faucet I had to replace in my master bath due to leaking of the old one.  Above that is a coffee table that a dear girlfriend gave me.  It was her mothers who recently passed away.  I sanded off all the dark old finish and it came out this light color with some weathered streaks in it.  I find it goes really nicely in my room.  I need to put a finish on it yet, and haven't decided whether to whitewash it or just a clear coat.  I'm afraid the clear coat will make it dark again and I really want it to stay as light as it is.  Any suggestions I will listen to and consider.   Please leave me a note if you have an idea.

Spring is finally here or very near.  The ice on the side of my house is almost gone.  Will be working outside cleaning up soon.  Am anxious to get out in the fresh air and enjoy some sunshine.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you are enjoying your days and doing things you love.  Feel free to leave a note.

A little trip to Florida to visit a friend and to get away from the projects this old house keeps giving me.

Had an amazing time with girlfriends.  Trip to the beach in Delray,  Lunch at the beautiful Sunset House and gardens and eating at BoneFish Grill a couple of times.

Purchased two orchid plants in one pot for $3.50 at Home Depot.  Brought them home and they are alive although the flowers and stem are not going to survive as they got banged up.  I'm hoping it will grow new and strong with some tender loving care.

Took the train down and back and met some really interesting people.  Round trip cost in coach was about $250.  The trip takes 30 hours from start to finish if on schedule.  We were only an hour off schedule both ways.  Not to bad and only about an hour and 45 minutes in between connections so I only had about 45 minute wait at Penn Central.

Although I left in the middle of the week, the train was full and I didn't have the usual two seats to myself that I can usually spread out on and actually sleep well.  But my sleeping partners, one woman and one man were good.  No problems, no snoring….. lol.  A dinner date with one of the people I met in the dining car at night was wonderful conversation and cute to look at too.  Thank you to Scott for that.

Home now and back to the projects.  Wish spring would arrive and warmer temps so I can get my projects outside to work on and finish.

Thanks for stopping by again and hope you are experiencing good weather and good friends as I am.

I am not quite finished although my countertops are in.  As you can see I still have this built in cabinet to refinish.  Needs paint and doors (stuck in my garage because of the snow.) or I could leave the shelves open which is the trend these days.  Haven't quite decided yet on that.  Currently being used as storage for things I can't fit in the cabinets.

The benches are actually upper cabinets that are 18" tall, which happened to be the same height as my chairs.  I still need to make cushions for the tops.  The base of the table came from an old table that was left by my tenant.    My friend Sam has come back in a different capacity.  Friends only and he has accepted that that is the way it will be or not at all.  He pickled the top of it and it looks really good I think.

He also built me the second drawer down that fits perfectly.

I am undecided as to whether to paint the inside of the cabinet white or the color of the walls.  The color it is is what the kitchen was before the flood.  It appears the same as the new color but is actually a few shades lighter.

Hope all your decorating and projects are going well.  Thanks for stopping by.

I ordered  my countertop today from Home Depot.  I couldn't get a sample but it's a solid surface in a white quartz finish with beveled edge.  I actually went to order it yesterday because I had a coupon for 18 month payments with no interest charged but the coupon wasn't good until today.  At first I was upset because it meant I would have to come back today.  Well when I came back today, not only was I able to use the special no interest financing but I also got an additional 10% off because it is a special order.  I ended up saving $108.00 which is great.  No pics to show but progress is being made.  When all is said and done I'll post the pics.

On another topic I ended a potential relationship with a man I genuinely liked and could have helped me tremendously on my house because he kept pressuring me to do things I did not want to do.  I had enough aggravation about it to say goodbye.  I will miss him as we like to do all the same things and have very similar tastes, but I'm not going against my gut feelings and so it is.

I found this motivated me even more to do some other things I've been meaning to do but haven't.  I'm anxious to go back and do some artwork and spent last evening at a journal club meeting doing just that and enjoying the camaraderie of the instructor and other friends.

Time to back up a bit and change course.  Thanks for stopping by.

Well my countertops are in the waiting.  I am undecided between granite and laminate.  Seems like a no brainer but it's not.  I have to consider the fact that this could all happen again and with the crazy weather patterns and excess snow this year there could be some flooding in the spring.  Heck, they're talking localized flooding today when it starts raining.  It won't be that bad but the possibility exists that the spring could be devastating.  That being the case it would seem laminate would make more sense.  And, they make it to look like granite.

On the other side, the granite could be re-used in the event of a flood, but the kitchen layout would have to remain the same and since it's such a small space, I think it's reasonable to say it will stay the same.
Now, the granite I picked that I like had to be one of the most expensive ones because that's the way my father taught me to look at things.  Quality.  He was definitely into quality.  Only bought the best.  Me, well I don't buy the best but that's where my taste lies.  In the best there is.  So whenever I pick something and then check the price it is almost always the most expensive.  Thanks Dad?  The granite I picked is $69.00 a square foot and because it is a "small job" there is an additional $150.00 (penalty?) placed on the order.  Where is the justice in this world.  Greed is everywhere.


For anyone interested in the color paint I chose in the kitchen,  I went to Lowes and found a paint chip to match my color.  It is called La Fonda Teal number 5007-88.  That isn't the actual color I used as I bought Behr Paint at Home Depot but I brought this home and it matches right up so can be used.

Next time I'm at Home Depot I'll see if I can match up the color there and come up with the "real one" but this one is close enough to be called the same.

Meanwhile, to keep me busy I took the "Cushman" cabinet I bought at Sonny's and cut it down.  Now I have a corner cabinet for the tv to sit on and a corner table.  Paint is still needed and I'll get to that soon.  Here's a picture of that.

Hope you enjoy seeing my progress?  It's slow for sure but it's coming.  P.S.  That corner table is the perfect height for next to a chair or sofa.  How does that work?

Thanks for stopping by.
Peggy

Happy New Year to all the bloggers out there.  I never know if I will write again but always hopeful that I will.

Almost finished my kitchen in 2013 but not quite.  The holidays and trying to make gifts for people really took me away from the construction, but am back on track and with only a few things left to do, although time consuming, should end my reconstruction within the month of January.  Hooray!  Then I can go upstairs and work on my other unit.

My cabinets are installed but have makeshift countertops.  My appliances are in and working great!  I am able to cook and eat downstairs now which is good.  Too many trips up and  down stairs to get the needed supplies etc.

Here are some pics.

I used cabinets in the kitchen nook as benches to make a booth.  I am not done.  Right now there is cardboard on the top to sit on but will be replaced with a sturdy base wood and then cushions I will make.  I'm looking for a table with pedestal base like you would find in a diner but that will take time.  The little round table went through the flood and is in good shape but is just a bit too wide for the space.  Unless you are skinny like me you won't fit.  I will fix that.

Am researching my options for countertops.  Have a sink riding around in my car as it is too heavy for me to lift and bring in.  It's a cast iron Kohler sink in white.  I love white, what can I say.

So here's to a new year, finishing projects, and returning to some much wanted art projects.

Thanks for stopping by.  I appreciate your comments.

Finally, my place is coming into a livable space.  I recently received my new sofa and new chair.  I need to put in some artwork and personal items to make it comfortable and inviting and slowly I will add these things.  It has been such a long journey and I am glad to see it coming to a close.

My kitchen is still in reno phase but getting there.  I now have the appliances in but the cabinets have not been installed yet.  I do have them.  i do not have my sink or countertops yet and it was interesting to find out  yesterday that  according to Lowe's home improvement center, I cannot order a solid surface countertop as I do not have enough square footage required.  You have to have 25 Sq. Ft of countertop in order to get it.  I do not.  I stand at approximately 20 sq. ft.  Somehow that doesn't seem fair to me so I will check out some on line sources and see if I can do it from another place.  I have not checked Home Depot yet but think for some reason that it will be the same.  Maybe not if I can convince them it would outdo their competer and be beneficial in terms of me promoting their service.

As soon as I get a little further along I will post some pictures of the kitchen and then, when all the rooms are together I will do a before picture of flood damage to the present.  What a difference.

While I'm here, there are some more hints about when you renovate.  Here is a picture of what most of my electrical switches looked like.  The holes were too big for the switch plates to cover so I had to go back and fill in the space and then paint over.  Such a nuisance as it takes so much extra time and also when the boxes are installed they need to allow for the depth of the sheetrock.  The boxes were so deep set that I had to loosen the screws in order to "pull" the switches out to lie flush with the switch plates.  Most of the holes were cut too wide and not vertically long enough so the parts of the switch that are supposed to be on the outside of the wall were inside and in order to bring them out I had to trim the sheetrock at the bottom or top.  Again, I'm not sure I explained this well, but if you are having someone do this for you, you need to make sure they allow for the depth of the sheetrock and install the boxes closer to the surface.  Pics here.

Thanks for stopping by and good luck in any home improvement projects you may be involved in.  Don't hesitate to write me a note if you have a question I might be able to answer.  Glad to help if I can.....

So I made a mistake.  I did not look at the tube of caulking I was using to make sure it was the right kind.  I thought all I had bought was the paintable kind.  Not the case.  As you can see by the photo, the paint refuses to adhere to the caulking.  After 3 attempts, I realize I  now have to cover it up with something to make the paint stick, but if water won't stick and paint won't stick, what will?  A friend on facebook told me to use primer.  My daughter (who once did this too) says primer did not work either, at least for her.  She ended up putting the right kind of caulking over the top of it and said it then worked.  Oh, the thought of recaulking all my baseboards and some door frames does not really excite me.  

Today I am going to finish putting the second coat of paint on the walls and will go back when done and see what will work here.  

This is where my washer/dryer will be placed.  Have yet to purchase.  Thursday will be the day for that.  All set to go.

This is the wall where my stove will be.  Centered with a cabinet on each side.  

This is as far as I am at the moment.  

I am devoting the rest of this week to working and finishing up as my appliances arrive this coming Monday and I am actually feeling excited about that.  Once in place I will go get my cabinets and order the countertops.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I like it.

If you are renovating, don't forget to check your caulk.  This will be a nuisance refix for me.  Don't let it happen to you.

Thanks for stopping.

This is my 10" power miter saw also known as a "Chop Saw".  Since my use of these tools has been at different times in my life and only for short periods of time I did not know how ,or ever have to change a blade on one.

While using this saw recently, it started to smoke like crazy while cutting wood and I couldn't imagine why.  Didn't think too much about it really.  Well I was telling someone who has used them a lot and he said it was because the blade was dull and needed to be sharpened and/or changed.  OK, so I went a bought a new blade.  A really good one as I don't want to change them often.  They are costly.  They come with different size and number of "teeth" on the.  Some for general cutting and some for special materials and some for fine finish work so you get nice clean  cuts.  I didn't buy the most expensive but I did buy a really good one for fine cuts.  I was told that there should be a tool to use to take the bolt off and it should be somewhere connected to the saw.  My friend could not find it.  While at the store I asked someone to show me where it would be as they have that same saw there.  He did show me and in fact there is a tool attached in the back side of the saw for this purpose.

Now the problem was that I was not strong enough to hold down the button that locks the blade in place and use the tool to loosen the bolt.  It was nearly impossible because of their location.  But, I posted on Facebook that I was going to have to "rely on a "Man" to help me.  Ugh!!!  I hate to have to even ask.  One of my guy friends told me to put a 2X4 under the blade.  (lodge it) and so I decided to try that and it worked.  It held the blade tight enough so it wouldn't turn for me to loosen the bolt and change the blade.  The same for putting the new one on.  I never would have thought of that on my own so I am writing here to help any other "women" who might be undertaking these projects and come into this problem.

That was the whole point of this post.  To hopefully make someone elses frustration go away.  The new blade cuts like butter and the edges are so fine they feel satiny.  LOVE the new blade. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope I have been of some help.

Yesterday I went to a friends house for a little art journal play and to see some of my friends.  What a lovely day.  As my grandmother would say..... "It was grand." 

Anyway, the above pages are what came out of the play time.  I am pleased with it.  We were asked to pick a symbol that meant something to us and I picked the music Treble Clef for a couple of reasons.  First, I love music.  Whenever I am struggling with something or even when I'm not I"m almost always listening to the radio or music of some kind. I find it healing in many different ways. Even when I'm sleeping I have the radio on  because if I turn it off I tend to dream nightmares.   I am trying to get away from it though and dealing with whatever comes up as quickly as possible.  Second, a recent relationship brought a different experience with music into my life and I so very much loved it.  The relationship ended but left me with a desire to pursue more areas so I have been learning the guitar and it seems the more I practice the more I like it but it is really hard at my age.  My fingers are not quite so nimble at 66.  I hope I continue with it though as since I do like it so much I believe I will.

Still working on the house.  Last week was putting down my baseboard molding and found that my saw was smoking very badly.  One of my friends (guy) told me my blade was dull and that is why so I went and bought a new blade and will be putting it on hopefully tomorrow.  I have never done that before but got instructions and I think it will be easy.  The price of the blade was not cheap though but I bought a really good one so I won't have to replace again on this project.  Once the baseboard molding is down I will be cleaning the walls of all the sawdust. (my workroom is the room I"m working in)  It's the only space available.  Then I will be painting the second coat of paint on the walls and have 2 coats of paint to put on the windows.  Then I can shop for the appliances, cabinets, sink and countertops and I will almost be done.  I still also  have to have a drawer made for a built in cabinet in the kitchen.  Seems it will never end but I'm shooting for the end of the year.  Pictures will be coming shortly.

Starting an art journaling class tomorrow with Brene Brown.  I feel I need to do things while working on the house to keep  me balanced emotionally and physically.  This work is taking a lot out of me mentally so the art is a reprive of sorts.  I will be writing and working with watercolors and am so looking forward to this experience.  Perhaps pictures of that will be coming too.

Thank you for stopping by.    A new quote I love for inspiration..... "What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing."  Aristotle.

Finally!  Yesterday I was about 2/3 done and was so frustrated I was laying on the floor on my back and crying and asking God why he won't let me get this floor done, and what is it that I am supposed to learn and don't, etc....... on and on.  When I was finished crying my phone rang and it was my bbf and she said "How are you?"  Well how did she know to call me at that moment?  I told her of the month long endeavor and the difficulties I have had with this floor.  Anyway, today I got up and I didn't even plan to work on it but tried to get this one piece in that was giving me so much trouble and it went in and I just kept going.  I am done with it!  Of course there is much still to be done.  My next job is the baseboard molding and I have to replace a piece of a door frame molding and I have to  patch some of the wall where I took the molding off, it peeled some of the paint and top layer of some of the sheetrock.  Nothing is ever easy but provides me with challenge after challenge to keep me engaged to this house.  It's a good thing I love the after.  The after always gives me great satisfaction and makes me proud of my achievements.

So onward I go.  I thought it was Thursday and found out after it is Friday so I'm taking the weekend off and going to play and on Monday I'll give myself a new challenge or "job" and see how far I get.

Thanks for stopping.
Peggy

This project is such a slow go.  I had to go and buy more flooring and have to wait a couple of days for it to adjust to the same levels of humidity and heat as the rest of the floor before I can put it down.  Today might be that day.  I haven't decided yet.

Cleaning up my life.  Participated in our Village Wide Yard Sale and unloaded many things I love but they were projects and I'm tired of projects.  Have freed up room in my house and time to do things I like better.  Once I get the downstairs apartment done I can go upstairs and start over up there.  The projects are endless and will never be completely done but I do enjoy them when I'm in the mood.
That's the good part.  I can do them when I feel like it.  No pressure.  I have the rest of my life.

From a personal viewpoint, I have closed the chapter on my lost relationship and am moving forward.  Feeling good, contemplating going back to work somewhere but not necessary just yet, and signed on to a web dating service and already have someone who appears to be interested and we are at the "getting to know" each other status to see if we will meet. 

Art doesn't seem to have time in my new life.  Other than music.  Music seems to have taken up the slack.  I have 3 guitars now and am learning how to play them.  It's not easy at 66 as my thinking isn't so fast or memory as good.  Have to repeat several times before I "get it".  I think it's called practice but I don't mind doing it.  Maybe someday I will actually be able to play a song?.................

Time to check out my other blogs.  Thanks for stopping by.