shhhh...

it's a nice, quiet morning at home. everyone is still asleep (except for one of the neighbor's dogs who is never asleep or has learned to bark while sleeping), it's cool and damp outside, i have a great big cup of coffee and my podcasts updated on my ipod.  i do believe now i'll go hide out in the nook and do some tiny drawings. 

neurotic families 'r us

i know D loves me, but i think he does not like it when i spend the afternoon with my mother.  it's not that he doesn't like my mom, it's not that he doesn't like me for that matter, but something about our relationship lately turns me into a seriously insecure teenage girl, and then he has to hear about it.  oops!  here is a short list of other things that my husband evidently does not like, but is always so cool about them that i rarely realize how much i'm annoying him;

1. all the painting supplies in the bathroom.  i like to paint things.  specifically, i like make retarded little watercolors, and lately i've taken to slapping acrylic paints on a variety of surfaces (wood and fabric and mailboxes), and all this means is that i use our downstairs bathroom to clean my brushes and tools.  D does not enjoy finding paintbrushes in with his toothbrush, and doesn't understand why i leave the sink spotted blue and red.  does he complain? no.  he likes to ask me what i'm doing though, and then say helpful things like, "don't you think you should do that in the kitchen?" followed with "could you wipe out the sink?" 
2. all of the wall painting supplies in the kitchen.  it's not enough to get watercolors and acrylics all over! no, sometimes i need to paint walls and then do annoying things like leave my rollers on the kitchen counter.  i suck!
3. he's kind about it, but i know for a fact that having a knitting project going on in the living room, an embroidery project in the family room, and a stack of books taking up part of our bed isn't his idea of a good time.  because of that, i am working on making sure that i finish more projects than i start, and at the very least corralling them into a basket when i'm done and putting them out of the way.  

he's never a jerk about this sort of thing, though.  and i hate to say it, but i think he has some good points and thanks to him, i'm trying to be more conscientious about the space i take up in the house.  i was a single, crafty lady for a long time, it's hard for me to keep all my stuff in once place!  i'm getting better, though.  honest!

it's a no camping summer for us

getting married and moving took a lot out of us, both financially and emotionally.  i'm not complaining! for the most part, we're having a good time this summer and honestly just getting into the swing of home-owning and renovating.  my oregon family, though, is out on the big summer camping trip this weekend, and we are not.  sigh. 

instead of being in tents and being with our people, we are sticking close to home. for the most part!  the girlchild and i are headed to the island to hit up a birthday party the park, and do some back-to-school shopping with my mom.  the boychik is going to apply for a job today, or else i'm going to strangle him.  i'm hoping today to also have something made with ice cream, and maybe see the beach.  my ratty old summer shorts are clean for a change, so i suppose i should take a shower and get ready for the day.  at the moment it's me and the cat on the couch, listening to some john doe and drinking coffee.  it's not a tent, and there aren't cousins scrambling around and shouting, and i haven't missed a camping trip for YEARS but we'll survive.  dear oregon, we miss you! we'll be thinking about you this weekend. 

home owners, in a way

everyone knows we just moved a few months ago, right after getting married.  what you might not realize is that my in-laws technically bought the house and are now our mortgage holders.  this month we finally sat down and figured out what we need to do to become honest to goodness home owners.  well, my in-laws have been figuring this stuff out, and tomorrow they finalize the paperwork with their attorney.

we thought we were pretty on the ball; while we have not been saving every penny coming in, we also haven't been throwing any huge parties or spending money on tattoos or hot rods.  talking to our folks tonight we were hit with kind of a big expense right out the door that we were not aware of.  i don't think anyone was, to be honest, and while D and i wanted to hyperventilate (OMG they want how much? when?!), the in-laws were calm and collected and assured us that they could and would wait another month for rent money.  we wanted to show them what our budget was and where our money is going every month, but you know what they said? "don't worry, we trust you.  and we know where you live." 

have i mentioned lately how much i love my in-laws?  being in this house means rent is a bit cheaper, the house is ours, our credit ratings are improving, and next year when the boychik graduates from high school, we should be in a position to be helpful parents. that feels good.  it's terrifying, but ultimately for the best.  there's no way a bank would help us out at this point in our life, and this just puts us forward a year or two (or ten).   

living room curtains

part of our "home renovation" planning has been based on two things; trying to temper my love of all things color, and trying to keep the cost down.  truth be told, i really like making stuff, so keeping things somewhat inexpensive isn't too hard.  the yellow wall cost us $15, and guess what? my husband loved it.

one of the things about D that is so frustrating, is that if you ask him hypothetical questions, like, "how would you feel about the color yellow in the kitchen?" he will not give you an answer.  he will simply insist, over and over, that he doesn't know, that he would have to see it to give you an opinion.  if you ask, "would yellow walls make you want to kill your wife?" he still won't cop to a yes or no.  he claims he simply cannot "see" something before he can actually SEE it.  he will sometimes say, "i might like that," but that's as close to an answer as you can get with him.

i had what i thought was an awesome idea for curtains for our living room the other day.  i did a few drawings, showed him where things would go, and showed him some photos i was using for inspiration.  what did he say? you guessed it, he said he thought it sounded like my idea would work, but he would have to see it before giving deciding if he liked it or not.  i feel like we've been together long enough that him saying that is my green light.  in any case, that's how i use it! so today i started making our living room curtains.  (more after the jump)

i might not be the best wife

today on a whim i totally painted one of the walls in the kitchen a bright, sunshine-y yellow.  without asking or consulting with my husband at all.  the girlchild agreed with me that the color was awesome, so i bought it and now it's up there, no take-backs! 

unfortunately for D, he married a woman who loves color.  if i had my way, i'd buy a bright orange futon cover for the upstairs, to co-ordinate with all my random stripey pillows and the technicolor afghan.  the upstairs part of our house is just so...neutral.  which is okay, because it means it's super easy to liven up with a coat of paint, or a bright orange couch! if D had his way, our house would be outfitted in woodland colors, lots of soft greens and browns and varying shades of "shrub."  personally, i just can't live like that. 

i don't think he'll divorce me for today's color shenanigans, mainly because i bought a really soft blue for the bedroom.  he won't be able to argue with that! (i hope.)

daydreaming

the decemberists are doing a series of posters for every town they visit for their current tour.  every one of them i've seen has been lovely; whenever i get a little facebook message about a new one, i start daydreaming about buying some to frame and hang up in the house. 

 these are just a few of the ones i'd love to get my hands on! putting them up here i realize that they all have similar colors.  i've really been enjoying warm, orangey-yellow tones lately.  as if you couldn't tell.

before i go rushing out to buy any posters, though, i need to frame a lovely nikki mcClure print D and i got as a wedding present.  it's this pretty one. again, more orange!  it was D's favorite wedding present.  he loved that the couple were kissing in the kitchen, with the jars of fruit in the foreground.  our first kiss was in the kitchen, and so he's romantic about that.  who are we kidding, i am too.   

things i want to do as far as the house goes

the theory behind this post is that once i make a list, and make that list public, i'll work harder to get stuff done. 

• paint our bedroom.
• make curtains for our bedroom.
• make curtains for the girlchild's room.
• the boychik needs some too.
• how about some for the living room as well? that way we can wander around like slobs and the neighbors won't know!
• get a futon cover for the futon.
• buy a roku box or something so we can watch netflix on the tv.
• we need a coffee table! or a tv stand so we can use what we're using for that now as a coffee table.
• we also need a couch. in a serious way.
• the girlchild needs a new bed.  this is kind of D's job; he'll be the one building it.
• both kids need new paint in their rooms.
• i'd like a new futon cover for our room.

this is a good start, yes? 

the joys of starting stuff!

i am making a concerted effort to finish the crafty projects i have going before starting new ones.  which means i have to finish the pillowcase i'm embroidering before i can start playing with blackwork.  so far, so good.  there is just something so delightful about a new project! ugh. it's killing me! i have a million awesome ideas, all of which i want to try right this second.

also killing me is the fact that we are still living surrounded by boxes.  i know part of that is my fault, but i also know i shouldn't be the only one working on putting stuff away.  i am such a stubborn jackass at times.  i admit i can also be seriously passive-aggressive; i don't want to do all the unpacking, but do i tell my husband that i want him to do some too? that would be no.  i'm going to go upstairs right now and set a timer for twenty minutes and see what i can get done.

wish me luck! or come over and help.  i'll take either right now!

random list of things i am loving

• making the baba ganoush, while D does the hard work of actually making the pitas.  okay, it's not that difficult, but i like it when he makes the pitas. 
• bjork!  we watched sucker punch the other night and one of the things i noticed was a) the soundtrack kicked ass, and b) it was all covers except for bjork.  because, really, how on earth could anyone cover bjork?!  that's right, you can't.  i had to go pick up some old bjork albums to scratch that odd icelandic itch, and now of course i think i should go all the way back to the sugarcube days. 
• jeremiah weed "spiked cola."  yes, it is indeed a malt beverage, which i know means that i am one classy broad.  it's just seriously delicious, and sometimes i want a rum/whiskey and coke and don't feel like buying a whole bottle of either and/or going out.  my problem is solved! thank you, kind folks at jeremiah weed.
• the smell of the coals heating to cook dinner over.  dear diary, i love any kind of grilled goodness.  
• i recently discovered blackwork embroidery.  i'm not sure why it took so long, but now that i've found it, i'm fairly smitten.  i've been doing more cross-stitch in general lately, but i think blackwork is next on my list of things to try. 

needle-y goodness

we all know that for the past few years, knitting has been my craft of choice.  there's something about the click of the needles as you work, the feel of the yarn, the feeling of making something BIG (or small), and the fact that i'm not really that good at it that has kept me entranced for longer than most hobbies i start.  i really love knitting. i think it's helped make me more patient, and also increased my crafty self-esteem.  i'm mostly self-taught, so every new thing i learn is kind of a big deal to me, even though there are a LOT of things i haven't mastered yet.  with knitting i'm coming to a point where i finally feel confident enough about my abilities to make stuff up, to just wing it on occasion.  there are also so many things to learn with knitting; it's kind of an inexhaustible craft. there will literally always be something new to try.

remember when my needles of choice used to be embroidery? yeah, me too.  the past few days i've done some embroidering and am remembering what i love about that craft. it's quieter and requires more attention, which i forgot.  i like the way the stitches feel under my fingers.  i like making something that started as a simple, plain thing (like a dishcloth or pillowcase) and making it more than that.  i like the old fashioned-ness of it. (wait, i like that about knitting, too.) knowing that i'm doing it, my mom did it, my grandmothers did it, etc, is such a nice thought to me. i like being part of that line of crafty ladies, making my house a home, expressing myself through needles and string.  a quiet afternoon spent working on something, listening to the radio or some music, is quite possibly the nicest afternoon i think of.