Wow- a flounce on a two year old post.

So, I received an comment this morning on a post that's two years old, on one of my favorite photos. I had labeled the post Another Gypsy Woman. Apparently:

That is not a Gypsy woman is a Ruthenian woman from Ukraine and the picture is from a popular New York book called something like "The Faces of Europe. From an anthropological point of view she has not a single gypsy feature, look at the nose, face structure, and everything. You need to make a research before you label someone...

1. Thanks for the heads up.
2. I clearly stated in the post that I didn't know where the photo was from, only that I loved it.
3. I do not have the time to check your sources, so I'll take your word for it.
4. Maybe I'll blame it on artists license....

Anyone have this happen?

Paint it BLACK- wainscoting, that is.....

I received an email this morning, from a gal who did a search on black wainscoting, and was directed to my blog. hahahahahahah Who knew??

Anyway, it lit a fire underneath my proverbial arse to get some pictures taken and posted. So, let me just say a few things... I primed and painted the wall with Country Beige, which is really a warm white. Ditto on the trim and doors, but in semi-gloss. I painted the newer doors, and they immediately looked better. I haven't painted the old doors yet, because I am loathe to cover these beauties up. Stripping pain off old door is a pain. Hubby told me to go ahead and paint them, but 1. I ran out of paint, and 2. we have other doors in the house that are already white, so I'm he's going to move them.

I primed the the wainscoting with a primer tinted dark gray, then topped it with semigloss black. It turned out beautifully. The only problem is, it really does show dust along the bottom (read cat hair). The semigloss seems to attract everything, like static almost. Maybe paint can do that, I don't know.

I didn't paint the heat register because I wanted hubby to pull it off the wall, sand it, then repaint it before putting it back up (which we did in our last house with great success. Although, he sandblasted it at work that time, so maybe that's the key to reviving registers... 'cause replacing them is expensive- we've checked). He said no, just paint it..... OK, added to the list, meaning I haven't gotten around to it yet.

We took the louvered doors down, and it turns out they were  broken in the middle. Still very usable, but hinges had been added in spots.  I didn't paint them because 1. they're broken, 2. it would take a lot of work, and 3. because the shelves still wouldn't be usable once the bed was in place. And although this house is big, it is short on closet space (as most old farmhouses are).

So I bought some (cheap) curtains, spray painted the silvery curtain rod black and, voila!! (And just in case your wondering, they aren't hung all the way to the right to the doorway because that is a brick chimney under there. But I could fake it by extending the rod.)

WRONG COLOR. You probably can't tell from the pictures, but they are too blue. And too short. (I had planned to add a gorgeous swatch of fabric to them for added length).

The next issue it brought up is this: if I hang some gorgeous cool fabric there (read TOILE), what. the. heck. do I do with the windows?? I think drapes would be waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much fabric for this relatively small room. I'm thinking shutters?? Prepainted white??

Which brings up the next questions, if I pick a patterned fabric for the drapes, what to put on the bed? A solid fabric? I think I like the idea of white drapes on the closet, with a gorgeous spread. Or maybe not, maybe toile in the back, with a solid duvet cover. I love this crushed velvet bedspread we have now- it has a very subtle floral pattern, but it's not right for the room now.

I have a really nice headbord that is medium brown. I'd like to paint it, and the ugly sidetables a color, but white? Black? Gray? Something else?? I guess it depends on the fabric I choose for the closet- if we keep it draped.

So, now I'm stuck. Any ideas?

I like having blinds, in the summer time there is some serious brightness by 5 in the morning! And I like the insulating factor of drapes for the frigid winters.

So, come on gals, give me some ideas~~ Lee

Spidery Goodness

Head on over HERE

to win THIS:

Loser

Yes, that's me. Feeling like a loser parent these days... Got a phone call from Adam's kindergarten teacher, who wants to do a RTI (response to intervention) plan on him. Why, you ask?? Because he doesn't know some of his letters (about 6, the end ones like X, Y, Z).  Oh.

OK, so my first thought is- isn't that what kindergarten is for? To teach him letters and numbers and sounds?? Apparently not. He's supposed to already know them.

My second thought is, why didn't I notice it? Am I too consumed with my own time, hobbies, laundry, putting away laundry, stripping beds, vacuuming, bill paying, taking care of the animals, barn work, cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, etc.?? Oh yeah, and my job too.

Apparently he can't sing the ABCs right either. You know, the middle part, yeah.... the part that I correct him on when we do sing it. Yes, that part... Now, I thought he could sing it. I didn't realize it was a problem. So, do YOU ask your kids to sing the ABCs to you, so you know if they can??? Me neither. So, I guess I suck as a parent.

So, in addition to being in school all day, we have to school all night. The kids get home at 3:30. I give them a snack and some time to unwind. Now, I've started at 4:30 with computer time on IXL (math))- which I have to do for both. I've started Adam on Starfall too for ABCs. I have to do reading with both kids. And spelling with Jason. And capitol and lower case letters with Adam. And somewhere in there is supper time and dishes.

So, I know this is the job of a parent. I know that some work at home is expected. I guess I've just been clueless. But when do the kids get to be kids? And what responsibility lays with the school? I'm not sure. Tell me what you think.

Apples, Apples Everywhere...

... and not a single one to eat!!

OK, not really, but our apples are not the gorgeous ones you see piled up at orchards. Ours are the real deal, not sprayed, full of dings and dents and bugs.

But they taste pretty good. The boys and I cooked them up and fed them through the fruit mill to make applesauce.

I got about 6 quart bags full, then gave up and fed the rest to the ponies. The apples take a lot of prep because they are dirty and buggy and need to be cut in half and trimmed up before going into the pot.

But it was a chance for the boys and I to be outside together. Can't complain about that!

Soon She Will Wake

It's raining cats and dogs here, the fire is burning and keeping us warm, so I figured now was a good time to post!

This is the latest page for the Paper Digital Arts swap Interpretations. This September's theme was dried flowers- which, of course, I had none! I even tried to go buy some at the small local store- nothin'!

So, I improvised and used paper flowers. They were roses, rolled fairly tightly and glued, so I just peeled them like onions.

The words are lyrics to a song called Shadowlands, by Big Head Todd and the Monsters. You can listen to it here.

Ah, soon she will wake

When love is in the

air she breathes

Of course, the symbolism in the piece is pretty obvious. She cradles her heart in her hands, hopeful for what married life will bring her.

I tried using a birdcage instead of a house, but the one I picked just didn't work.  You can see how changing just one element in a piece can totally change the tone of it. Instead of looking forward to her life in her home with her husband, the birdcage would have implied that she would be trapped.
This page was heavily inspired by a piece called LIFE by Susie over at Gathering Up Bits of the World. I happened to be blog surfing, and came across her's, which is now bookmarked! Something about her page just really stuck with me.

I think we must be very careful not to copy, and to give credit where it is due. However, I also believe that each piece of work we do has our own stamp on it. It was a great opportunity to try new techniques with shading, color scheme, etc. Backgrounds are not always a strong point for me, and I just loved the look of hers.

Enjoy!