Tag Archives: livingroom

Can anyone tell me where May went?

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It was JUST here a second ago. I promise! And I think it took the first half of June with it…

Garden update: using cardboard boxes was a complete bust. I transplanted the sugarsnaps that I’d planted, but they didn’t like the move. I got five whole pods off three plants. I didn’t like the rocket and pulled it out. My box of salad greens is still going strong though, and the cucumbers that *did* come up (two out of six) are loving their space in the bucket and covered over in blossoms. And?

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I finally got the blueberry bushes in the ground. Yay!

We’ve been invaded by fleas. I’ve decided today that the little dogs need to be housebound – I combed all the fleas off Rocky (chihuahua), let him go outside for a wee break and he was COVERED when he came back in. I’ve also ripped the carpet out of my room and will be attacking the dining room carpet next week. I’ve sprinkled DE all over the place (including the dogs) and I’ve been vacuuming like crazy.

I hate to vacuum. But I hate fleas more.

The umbrella clothesline that I bought last year has FINALLY been planted in concrete and is fully functional. I wish I could describe the sense of accomplishment that came with getting it done. And the sense of relief that comes with knowing I’ll be cutting my power bill by a decent chunk…is indescribable.

My todo list is finally down to a few major/minor projects: flooring and painting the dining room, flooring and painting my bedroom, painting the livingroom, and getting the windows replaced.

And that’s most of the news that’s fit to print for right now.

Requiem for a sofa

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It was ugly. Not butt-ugly, but…didn’t go with anything else ugly. A dual-reclining heavy monstrosity that was a pain in the behind to clean under. Blue, with peach plaid striping and a pineapple in each square.

The sofa was in the livingroom when I moved back home from Little Rock. Like everything else that has happened in my life, that monstrosity was waiting for me. The armrests were the perfect height for me to rest my pregnancy-swollen ankles on and still keep an eye on Daniel. The dual recliner not only meant that I could change positions, but that Alannah could have a sleepover and they could watch TV and still have a place to stretch out and sleep.

The ugly meant that my heart was not shattered when something inevitably got spilled on it. I blotted the spots dry and every few months I would wield the upholstery attachment on the carpet cleaner, rendering it fresh-smelling and relatively un-stained (though nothing would ever completely remove the stain of my entire cup of coffee splashed across one cushion).

Me sitting on the blue sofa

This is one of the first pictures I ever let Daniel take with *my* camera. That was (is) my favorite position for reading – curled up against the armrest.

Daniel's favorite sick spot

When he was sick, Daniel liked to sit “in my spot”. (Yes, french toaststicks do make it all better, why do you ask?)

(Yes, the sofa was blue. No, I didn’t realize the difference in color tone in the pictures until after I’d started writing. Yes, I’m lazy enough to leave it. Daniel’s pic was taken with a phone cam, we’ll leave it at that.)

Alas, Mama did not love the Blue Monstrosity. It was too big, too heavy, too ughLEE, and didn’t match. (For the record, I agree with ALL of those points.) She declared that it should be relegated to storage and the “new” sofa installed.

I objected, highly. Yes, the sofa is big and heavy and doesn’t match. And my heart doesn’t break when something gets spilled. Yes, it may be YOUR house, but you NEVER spend time in the livingroom and WE DO.

I lost the argument, natch.

Daddy hauled it off one day and replaced it with a nightmare. He told me the Blue Monstrosity was safe, but wouldn’t tell me where it was. He hauled it off before I could clean it and wrap it in plastic, sealed with a kiss. (Smart man. He knew I’d try to bring it back.)

And then the accident happened, and our world was made of upsidasium for a while. We cleaned out The Big House – no sofa. We cleaned out the barn – no sofa. We cleaned out The Little House – no sofa. Finally, we made it to the garage at The Little House. There, standing on end was the Blue Monstrosity.


My heart lept for joy….until I touched the fabric. It has been out there for two years. Yes, it’s been dry…but remember, that sofa needed to be cleaned. I made calls – everyone wants to reupholster it until they find out it’s a double-recliner. Then the price doubles.

Yes, I already have replaced The Nightmare with something more family-friendly. No, I really didn’t have room for the Blue Monstrosity. That’s not the point.

Vaya con Dios, my friend. You were so comfortable, and I miss you.

It’s the end of the year as we know it…and I’m late posting.

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I really don’t have a clever wrapup of my year this time. It was awesome, it sucked, it got awesome again and then it really hit the shitter. I’m on my way back up again, but it’s slow going. Turns out when you already have anxiety disorder, depression doesn’t have the “usual” symptoms. I can function, I just can’t concentrate on certain things.

There will be no “change my life” resolutions this time around. I’ve had enough lifechange in the last few months, thankyouverymuch. No goals, no weightloss, nada.

Just me, living life the best I can.

What I learned this year: I suck at social networking. I still don’t know what I wanna be when I grow up. Great ideas fly out of my brain at lightning speed, but the followup sucks. Limits: I has them. Public schooling ain’t so bad when the alternative is losing what’s left of your mind. I think I might kinda sorta wanna have another baby. (maybe) (yes, I know there are no anxiety meds for pregnant women.) I don’t do all that well at conventions after all.

I finally started spending some money on vanities – hair and nails. Well, getting them PROFESSIONALLY done. Getting my hair professionally colored = awesome. The jury is still out on the nails (I absolutely adore the way my hands look. But $36/mo is a bit pricey for vanity, innit?)

One of my weird quirks finally gets a seal of approval from WiseBread.com. I grew up soppin’ – as in “I packed this for lunch at school” grew up. When I was in elementary school THE THING was autograph books, and I actually had someone to sign mine “I like you even though you dunk bread in soup“.

It’s funny, the things you remember thirty years later.

And now, I have a houseful of teens to mobilize, laundry to shuffle around, a livingroom to clean and floors to mop, so I’ll leave you with a word of wisdom from My Mamaw.

It’s a grand world, iff’n you don’t weaken.

Happy 2008, right?

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Nothing like a thundering round of silence to kick off the new year, yeah? The boys have been sick, I’ve been working, and I finally got my desk cleaned off so I can actually USE the thing. I also moved it so I can actually look out the window as I’m writing. The curtains are pulled because the landscape is brown and wintry, but I can’t wait until it looks green and lush again. And I *really* can’t wait until I can take some pictures again. (New camera almost picked out. Can’t make up my mind.)

We’ve gotten unofficial word that moving is indeed necessary due to the highway construction project. What’s missing from the equation currently? A time frame. I’m fighting every single “scoop and run” urge I’ve got, waiting on final details. We do have a plan (okay, so it’s The Folks ™ plan). Out of all the ideas they’ve hatched thus far, this is the one they keep returning to. It is the least expensive option, but it is…less than ideal for me and the children. There will be room aplenty, don’t worry. The neighborhood is adequate enough, I suppose; but it is in another school district. I do not cherish the idea of driving The Teen to school (neither of us are “morning people”) and yet she absolutely insists on staying at her school.

It’s a lot to process.

The Christmas Tree is still standing in the livingroom. I’m officially in a state of rebellion. I didn’t put it up, I don’t like messing with those mylar icicles that My Sainted Mother INSISTS on putting on the tree, the boys want to leave it up, so it is now officially Someone Else’s Problem.

And talking about both of those things in one post has gotten me all kinds of grumpy. I do believe I’m going to mutter, and then find something else to do.