2 days away from home....

...while my new hardwood floors dry!

I will be heading back home tomorrow morning as they have promised me that my floors will be ready to be walked on...and, that the fumes will have subsided enough for me to be able to breathe comfortable.

So, in the meantime, I have been hanging out at Dave's house. The first night here, he made me a delicious pasta dinner....(A girl could get used to that!) And then tonight I made a panko crusted salmon to add to the leftover pasta.

Through all of my craziness.....we are certainly eating well! : )

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One of my fellow bloggers, Clara, asked me about American Idol this year.  I normally post more about the show as it proceeds....but, I guess that my flood has trumped reviews of the show!

However, I have been watching it religiously....and, thoroughly enjoying it!

I think that it is a great (and, eclectic) group this year....with lots of talent. My favorites are Haley, Pia, and Paul.  Somehow, Paul ended up in the bottom three this week....but wasn't eliminated.  I guess that not everyone is a fan of his Rod Stewart whispery voice?! I like it....but, then, I am 62 years old and prefer softer sounds to blaring rock and roll these days.

Did I really just say that? 

Oh, Lord, I am getting old.

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Well, it's off to bed for me....I need to begin thinking about what tricks I will play on friends tomorrow for April Fool's Day!

I guess that I'm not really that old if I can still enjoy being a bit foolish....right?
: )

The Grandma Test

One of the Girlies sent me this cute story today so I thought that I'd post it for all of you grandparents out there!  Enjoy!   : )

I was out walking with my Grandson.
He picked up something off of the ground and
started to put it in his mouth.

I took the item away from
him and I asked him not to do that.

"Why?" my Grandson asked.

"Because it's been on the ground; you don't know where it's been,
it's dirty, and probably has germs," I replied.

At this point, my Grandson looked at me with total admiration and asked,
"Grandma, how do you know all this stuff?? You are so smart."

I was thinking quickly and said to him, "All
Grandmas know stuff. It's on the Grandma Test. You
have to know it, or they don't let you be a Grandma."

We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but he was evidently
pondering this new information.

"Oh....I get it! he beamed, So if
you don't pass the test you have to be the Grandpa".


"Exactly," I said with a big smile on my face.

dust: n. 1. Fine, dry particles of matter.

oh yeah.
(The whole house looks like this!)



Day 31 of the Great Flood of 2011 Clean up.
 : O

Paint fumes and other delights

The painters were here again today trying to finish up as much of the painting as they could.  They are heading back to Athens, Georgia, in the morning and will return after my hardwood floors are done.

These painters are absolutely hysterical.  They are two young guys and they totally play off of each other.  Of course I can "banter" with the best of them....so, I give it all right back to them.  Lots of laughter among the paint fumes.

Actually, I am thinking that the laughter may be because of the paint fumes?
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Hardwood floors will be put in starting tomorrow morning.  It will take about 4 days from start to finish and I will probably have to move out for at least two of them.  No problem.... in that I can just hang out at Dave's and breathe fresh air over there.
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Well, my bracket challenge went downhill after this weekend.  I had Kansas winning the whole thing and they didn't even make it to the final four.  Same with UNC. 
Oh well, there is always next year.....
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We went to see "The Lincoln Lawyer" today starring Matthew McConaughey.  He was perfect for the role and kept the movie interesting.  Lots of twists and turns....I would give it a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.....mostly because it is not my favorite type of movie....but, it was quite enjoyable.

I would have rather gone to a "chick flick"...but, there weren't any playing!
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My ex, two sons and one grandson went to Spring Training down in Florida this weekend.  I can't wait to hear all about it.  We have always been a big baseball family....so, I am sure that it was lots of fun for the four of them.   Hopefully, little Owen was able to keep up with the big boys!
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Two more of my girlfriends recently turned 60 and had a big party Thursday night to celebrate!  The theme was (of course) getting older....eating the "early bird specials" and playing bingo! Great food, lots of visiting...and, even though I didn't win a single bingo game, I had a good time!

I guess that this was preparing us for things to come?!
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The painters left all of the sunroom windows open so that the paint fumes might not be so bad.  I am amazed that we haven't had any surprise guests....like the birds and squirrels that frequent my backyard.

Now that I have written that, I am having second thoughts about leaving the house exposed like that....so, I will end here and go and shut some windows...as day #30 comes to an end....

Plastic, plastic, everywhere!

Day 29 of the "Great Flood of 2011" clean-up continues!

*sigh*

You've got to laugh at the truth in this....

:  )

Noises, etc., etc.

The buzz, buzz, buzzing of electric saws....the loud thuds of cases of tiles being brought into the house....the banging of hammers replacing trim....the loud music being played on one of the worker's ipods....the sounds of tiles being cut to fit into the empty spaces on the floor....the swooshing sound of the thinset being smeared on the floor and then the light thud of each tile being dropped into it.....the kitchen cabinet doors and drawers are lined up in the living room waiting to be painted....the refrigerator rolled out into the living room, dust, dust, dust everywhere....and, a "temporary" kitchen set up in the basement away from the activity going on upstairs.

Another day in paradise. : )

Slowly, but surely....looking good.....

The tiles are 2/3 done and I am liking how they look.  I am so glad that I stuck with the original tiles that I chose.  It took some getting used to....but, together, they look great!

They are by no means finished....and the grouting will replace the "spacers" that you see in the pictures....but, slowly, but surely, I am getting my house back.

Yay.

I'm sitting here upstairs eating a bowl of soup and a "side" of popcorn....

and thinking about expectations and perfection and priorities and other such words that are coming to my mind......while my new tile flooring is being arranged and measured in the kitchen.

After looking at quite a few million tiles at several different flooring establishments, I finally made a decision. Since the flood afforded me the opportunity to change from my 25 year old 8 inch pinkish  (yes, I said "pinkish"!) mauve tiles, I tried to look for something that was a bit more updated. A decision was made on a 16 inch textured tile that incorporated the taupe and beige tones in my kitchen as well as coordinating with the black accents that were used to tone down the pinkish mauve.

I had three sample tiles to place on 500 square feet of flooring (kitchen and sunroom).  This wasn't very much to go on....but, I threw caution to the wind and had the contractor order them.

They finally arrived today and as a case was opened for me to see.....I realized that these tiles did not really look like the samples that I had gone by.  They were basically the same feel, but these had a lot of creamy, pale yellow running through them. It made quite a difference in the individual tiles.

After a few moments of silent angst, the contractor asked me if I was okay.

"Yes," I responded, "I just have to get used to this look that is quite different from what I had expected."

He asked me if I wanted to send them back and start all over again.

At this point I told him a resounding "no".  "It will be okay," I muttered....as I began to put things into perspective.  This is a floor.  This floor will have a rug, a couch, a little table as well as a round dining table and chairs and stools.  My art work will be up as well as all of the little touches that make this my home.  The floor is just background....and, it will be an interesting and pretty, brand new floor.

My expectations of some sort of "perfection" were initially keeping me from letting go of what I had thought and anticipated....and, instead I found myself  taking a chance on what it could be.

So, as I sit here eating popcorn and soup (don't knock it until you try it!) I am feeling content with my ability to be a little less cautious (rigid?) and a bit more adventurous as I embark on this journey of replacing old with new.

And, who knows?  I may even leave some of my pinkish mauve accessories out  for old times sake.

Still living in confusion....but, I am getting used to it!?

The house is still in a state of disarray....not much has been done in the last two days....and, today isn't looking any different.  At this point we are waiting for the carpeting and the tiles arrival.  Patience is getting more and more difficult...as the floors are stripped bare, furniture is gone, dust is rampant, and plastic sheeting is covering most everything else.

BUT, it is an absolutely, amazingly beautiful day today!  The sky is blue, the sun is shining, birds are feasting on my newly filled feeder and the temperatures are warming up.  I am looking forward to my walk outside in just a few moments. Ah....

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Talking about confusion....I am so disheartened by what is going on in Japan.  The whole nuclear problem seems to be unclear and panic is taking over.  It must be frightening for the people over there to be in such a state of limbo where they are not sure of anything right now. I can't even begin to understand their predictament...but, my heart goes out to them.

No matter how small, our donations are so very important right now.  Again, here is a safe site to make yours:  
https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=0&5052.donation=form1&df_id=5052&s

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Missing my kids and grandkids today, as always.  I might have to plan another trip to visit them all soon.  I know that I will be up in MD the end of June to be with Celia and Dylan....and, I just returned from MN where I was with Owen and Audrey.....but, I need a "grandkid" fix really badly right now.  It's so hard being a long-distance grandma....
*sigh*

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Dave is mesmerized by the college basketball games going on all the time right now.  He is having a love affair with the television! Didn't we just finish football season????

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em....so, I  got into the spirit of things by inviting family to join me in the ESPN Bracket Challenge.  I called our team: "Grammie's Got Game".  The winner of the whole thing gets $10,000 and bragging rights.  Of course, I don't expect any of us to be even close....but, it is fun anyway!

Right now, I am actually tied for first place on our little team. Not bad for an "old lady" huh?! I am going to "milk" that for all that I can while I'm up there!
Of course, I'm not discussing that  I am ranked # 193,039 in the tournament as a whole..... ssh.

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Well, I think that it is time to get myself moving, take my morning walk.... and take advantage of this gorgeous day!  :  )

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Wishing you all the....


...today and always!

A few pieces of my pottery.....

Thanks for asking about my pottery, Susan! 

Here is a small sampling of some boxes, platters, bowls and plaques that I have done. All work is hand-built and hand-painted...(It is hard to tell the sizes of these pieces in the photos...sorry).  I am getting ready to begin work on some new inventory soon!  : )

 

House update since "The Flood"....

 

Floors still torn up downstairs and in the Great Room...."Durock" sheets nailed down in kitchen/sunroom as we wait for the tile order to come in.....and the hardwoods, which will have to sit in my bare room for a few days to get "acclimated" to my home. : )

I'm getting used to the workers coming in and out every day as well as the sounds of hammering, sawing, buzzing....and, any other noise that you can think of that is loud.

I will say that, as usual, I have enjoyed all of the people who are coming to work.  Because I work with my hands as a potter, I so appreciate their handiwork and skills. I always tend to get very close with the workers in my house, which many would say is not such a good idea.  But, I feel like we are a team....and, thus, I treat them as "teammates".  And, that includes homemade cookie baking.... : )

With that being said, I am anxious to get my house back soon.

Looking forward to "normalcy"....whatever that is!

Happy Anniversary Claire whoever you are!

While at the park yesterday we saw this graffiti on the wall nearby:

Whoever Claire is....she is a lucky gal!

I tried to convince Dave to write something sweet about me on the wall.

He just laughed.

These random cell phone pictures don't do it justice as I couldn't really see what I was capturing....

 

Picture yourself in the middle of downtown Birmingham adjacent to the railroad tracks on a warm, beautiful early spring day.

All around you are people of all ages, colors, sizes, etc. just enjoying this little oasis in the city.
Some were walking the paths while others were setting up picnics on the massive grassy areas.
Children were riding bikes on the trails....with the really adventurous ones riding down the bowl-shaped
sunken areas made especially for this fun.
A man walked by us grasping a bunch of brightly colored balloons as his wife and little boy followed along
getting ready to celebrate a birthday.
The playground areas are scattered around the park and we could hear the children's laughter.
Others had chosen to take off their shoes and run freely on the grass with total abandon...as their parents sat on benches or blankets watching them nearby.

A little red trailer was parked on the premises offering to sell  a juicy hotdog to anyone who was interested.  A small area was set aside for those who wanted to sit and "dine".

This downtown park spans several city blocks and was newly built on an area that was pretty much a junkyard and an eyesore before.  Local donations have turned it into a safe haven for all to come and enjoy. There are streams running through it along the grass and under wooden bridges.  We passed an herb garden just starting to pop out of the ground.
As the warmer weather begins to be an everyday thing, I can't wait to see the fledgling plants, flowers and trees begin to show their beauty.

Today I felt proud of my little city as Dave and I walked on the trails taking it all in and doing some good "people watching"!

It was a nice feeling and a great way to start our day. : )