a rug for alyx

Before Alyx and Tarron headed for Missouri there was some serious cleaning out going on.

Selling stuff online can be a worthless expenditure of energy and after unsuccessful attempts, her scrubs came to me.

 I took out the trusty scissors, cutting board and rotary cutter and started cutting.

A rainbow rug is what she requested.

I'm not sure this will really work, but I lined them up the best I could in color order.

Then wrapped each in a rubber band (was running out of plastic resealable bags at this point) and labeled each with a number so I can just put this together without thought.
I tend to work on these while visiting or, occasionally, listening to an audiobook when my brain is exhausted from working.
With them all labeled, I just grab the next pile and start working my hands.

I prefer to do circle rugs because they don't have straight edges.
Straight edges are incredibly challenging for me.
This one will be straight and already at this writing ... I need to tear apart several rows to straighten that bugger out.
Eventually I'll get this down!
Fabric doesn't go in the trash around here ... it just ends up being another rug.

hi there

One day I'll actually get motivated and change my little 1/4" profile picture.

In the meantime .... age is creeping up on me.

And this is really me.

The black sweatshirt is my staple.

The rug strip in my hand is my steady sidekick.

My hair (which really needed a trim) has come to a sort of color that I think would be great on a furniture piece. Brown with hints of red mixed with a silver that isn't merely streaks anymore.

Laugh lines circle my eyes which now need glasses or head straight to a headache from strain.

For today ... this is me.

Tomorrow will produce a few more grays, a few more lines.

Perhaps it will bring another joint that yells and howls once in a while.

For sure it will produce another rug or ten because I can't sit idle ...

not even to flip the page of a book.

I'd love a chance to visit with each and every one of you who come here to read

my, of late, sporadic posts.

A cup of coffee shared outside where the breezes blow silver strands of hair,

the birds sing to us and the visits range from the most light hearted to the deepest matters of life.

But for today, thanks for visiting.

I appreciate you.

sorta a sofa table

but not meant to be next to a sofa.

My friend Ronda purchased her first home and had a space that needed something.

Right inside the door ... a place to drop a bag and keys.

So, because she didn't have a tape measure, I used a piece of paper (bad idea) to measure the width needed and used my foot (even badder idea!) to measure the length.

Mix a bad memory together with an unknown shoe size (some are just chunkier than others) and you end up with a table that was really cute ... just a little too long.

The best part of projects like these are the wood pile.

Not the kind where you toss logs in the stove, but the kind where you run and grab leftover pieces and put something together.

My kind of wood pile.

Using an idea from the rogue engineer, I adapted a bedside table pattern into this one.

Which means I just say "ok ... now I need  a piece this size!"

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.

Sometimes I have to take it apart and rework it.

Sometimes the glue works so good that it gets a bit challenging.

The top of the table is made with 2x4's surrounded by 1x2's. All pieces were put together using my favorite little kreg jig tool. Yup. My dear Alaska friend ... I've learned to love that thing!

The table legs themselves are made of 1x2's .. left over from another project ... and stained Dark Walnut.

The bottom shelf is made of 2x3's which makes the bottom shelf a wee bit narrower than the top.

And then there is paint. I have a small paint supply that is really fun to peruse when I'm working on something. In the mood for green or yellow? Yup. Got that covered.

This house needed red and grey.

This was my first attempt at using candle wax between layers of paint and I have to say ... 

I may be buying candles just for the wax. It is so much fun!

I seriously love the look!

Please excuse my wimpy flower and the rest of the patio décor in this photo.

Kind of like it .. just really wish it wasn't an inch too long.

I'm moving my tape measure to my purse.

celebrating 90 years

In my last visit here, I said I was traveling.

Jari and I went to Minnesota for the weekend to celebrate a very special milestone.

90 years is quite the milestone for this dear mother.

She climbed up on the counter (albeit with a little assistance) to capture these photos.

At 90, should I live that long, I can only hope to be as young and sharp as she is.

Will my favorite cake be the Princess Torte?

Will my fingers still itch to work with dough though my hands are no longer willing?

Will I thoroughly appreciate a new handbag to match my outfit?
Will I care if I have an outfit for the occasion?

Will the scent of flowers fill my heart with spring?

We had many dear visits with many dear friends and family in the days we were in Minnesota. Some of them were short and over a table in a restaurant. Others ran late into the night when the eyes would no longer stay open more than a slit.

Yet, I have to say, that this visit here (and Mummu must have run inside for a moment when I took this) melted my heart and wanted to wet my cheeks. All five children and spouses gathered on the porch with parents, discussing matters of faith. We spent part of the day singing favorite songs in both Finnish and English, warming hearts with shared faith and love.

The conversation on the patio was translated and often Mummu would chime in with words when translation became difficult.
Will I be able to still offer words in both languages when I reach that age?

I hope that when I'm celebrating my 90th, this is the scene that surrounds me.
She is truly blessed.
So are we.