I’m going to call this the Storybook Chair. It looks like something that would be in an illustration from Hansel and Gretel or Heidi or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Perhaps someday soon the weather will be warm enough for me to add a couple of layers of protection so those wonderfully chippy areas stay just as they are. No more chipping allowed. In the meantime, this coming week promises warmer temperatures and it’s about time!
Yesterday found me outside digging out the gutter extensions at the back of the house from the three feet of snow in which they were buried, which led to the realization that they were filled with ice. That led to several trips back and forth with a kettle of boiling water, which I poured into each extension to melt the ice.
It took a long time. I also grabbed our trusty roof rake and raked some of the snow off the kitchen roof. (After last winter’s adventures with both a rented roof rake, as well as Tina & Noble’s roof rake, we decided to invest in one this year.)
It felt good to be outside doing something other than shoveling. The hint of warmth (this is all relative, of course) in the air was just what I needed.
What else? I washed the slipcover that is on the sofa in the den. Then I spent quite a while wrestling the cushions back in the slipcover, cursing the whole time. I guess I was pretty vocal, as Don finally came to my rescue.
And we watched My Favorite Year (a gem of a movie) and finished off the 3rd season of House of Cards. Since some of you have yet to watch it, I’ll hold off on any detailed opinion. Don and I have discussed it in great detail, as you can imagine, and we both feel that it wasn’t as good as the previous two seasons. Still good – but not as good. That’s all I’ll say for now.
Don stood by the Doily Swag Lamp the other day and said: “I really like this.” He’s said that before, but this time he was more specific. He likes the doilies; the airiness that comes from the surface of a crocheted doily, the way the light shines through it.
I put this particular project together three years ago. But Don’s like that. He’ll suddenly ‘see’ something that’s been around for a while as if it’s for the first time. That, in turn, helps me to see it with fresh eyes. Thanks, Don!
I don’t know if you can tell, but the blackboard is now being used to write the times that Dame Scout has taken care of her ‘business.’ Because sometimes, if certain business hasn’t been taken care of, one of us has to get up in the middle of the night to ensure that an accident doesn’t happen. It’s what you do with an older dog, isn’t it? We did it with Riley, too.
She’s a good girl. We don’t ever want her to feel stressed about that sort of thing, though it’s inevitable at times. We just try to make sure that it happens as little as possible.
This time change is throwing me off! I’m getting to my post a bit later than normal. Sorry for the delay, my friends.
Carolyn Marie is the winner of a copy of The Swimmer. Congratulations! I’ve just sent you an email.
By the way. Don got a spammy email from me today and some of you did, too. I think it’s the same idiots that hacked my email in December. They tend to store the list and use it again. Sorry for the inconvenience. Nevertheless, I’ve changed my passwords, just in case.
Of course, it goes without saying, DON’T CLICK ON THE LINK.
Happy Monday.
Good morning! And I am off to the dentist in a few minutes. One of my most-feared places. Getting the temporary crown taken off and permanent one put in. Then Novocaine (oh, how I have a love-hate relationship with that stuff!) on the other side for a small cavity that has somehow made its way underneath another crown. Don’t you think I should be a queen by now? ;-)
I know what you mean about taking extra special care of our senior pets. Zippo will be 16 next month and I have to do extra things for him, too…extra feeding times (he’s losing a lot of muscle mass, but still has a good appetite), more cuddling (he demands more attention now), help jumping up on the kitchen counter to look out the window. I normally don’t allow cats on my kitchen counter, but I kind of spoil him since he’s elderly. I just disinfect the counter then when he gets down.
Warmer weather here too this week – yippee! Sunny and 47 today; 55 tomorrow. Can’t wait. Have a good day, Claudia!
Good luck at the dentist, Melanie! I’ll be sending positive thoughts your way.
Just the thought of warmer weather makes us all smile, Melanie. xo
This time change certainly isn’t helping with my usual difficulty getting up Monday mornings, making a hot breakfast and driving my daughter I to school. Though she can take the bus, I do enjoy our bit of time chatting (yes, my teen daughters do talk with me). It will be over too soon when she graduates this June and moves off to college.
While we don’t need to track our cat’s comings and goings for the litter box, we are constantly asking “Did you med her before you fed her?”, as she has elder issues too. And then the question is always posed to the first one who puts food into her dish in the morning, “How much of the can did she start with?” We have to track her intake.
Yes, we do that with feedings, too. I usually do them, but sometimes Don does, and we have to check in with each other. Did she eat her meal? Did she seem hungry, etc.
I can only imagine the struggle in putting on a freshly laundered slipcover on a couch! And the swearing that must be involved!! I had a slipcovered chair once…a rocker…and while I loved that chair, I hated trying to put the cover back on. And the ice in the gutter and downspout…I heard it slip through yesterday, and couldn’t figure out what it was at first…what a sound! Hope the snow melts quickly, but not so quickly as to cause flooding. I can start to see grass here…but then we didn’t have near as much snow as you. Enjoy the warmer weather! ;)
Hopefully, it won’t have iced up again overnight, but I haven’t gone out to check it yet.
Warmer weather, hurrah!
I agree about House of Cards. Season 3 is good but not as good as season 1 and 2.
The temperature is warmer here too. My walk outside today was very enjoyable!
I’m so glad, Kathy! Enjoy your day.
It is going to be near 60 here today and the snow is almost gone. Guess it is time to take that “Let It Snow” sign off the porch…if only it wasn’t frozen into the ice lol. We finished season three of House of Cards, too…I am sure there will be a season 4. We hope so, anyway.
Love your charming chair, Claudia!
The snow is so deep here – at least 3 ft. – that it will take a long while to melt, but at least the temps are giving it a good start!
As I look out the window this morning I actually see about equal amounts of (brown) grass and (brown) snow. So although not pretty, it is encouraging!! We have 3 days this week in the low 50’s predicted.
For whatever the reason, it is good to be able to be outside and not cold to the point of being so uncomfortable that it hurts. This is good.
I watched the 1975 version of Grey Gardens yesterday. The story is so sad, and I do like this version more than the more recent one. I don’t even know if “like” is the right word to use there.
The chair is so sweet. It will be good to have a layer of protection on it.
Hope you have another good day and can get outside to breathe some fresh air, even if just for a short time. Even raking the roof can be something nice to do! I’m sure people from the South and West have no idea what that even is!! :-)
I don’t think I knew what it was until about a year ago! But a roof rake is indeed a handy tool to have.
Grey Gardens in honor of Albert Maysles, I bet.
It’s in the low 40s here right now, the sun has been out all morning and I’ve been hearing water running in the gutters of my building almost all day. The bloody white stuff is melting! Huzzah! For the first time in nearly 8 weeks my car is completely clear of snow, and I had nothing to do with it. Pavements here are just wet, not snowy and/or icy. Hopefully there won’t be any more snow this year, although I realize that’s a lot to hope for in this town, since many of our gloppiest, heaviest snowstorms have come in March with its very changeable temps. Oh well, I’ll accept any kind of break Nature is willing to offer. Enjoy your day!
I’m happy with this sunny warmth. They are hinting at snow on the weekend, but I refuse to take it seriously.
Glad you got outside for a bit. It’s sunny here and I plan to get out for a bit even with this horrible headache I’ve got. I agree about House of Cards, not as good as seasons 1&2 but good. I’m hoping my head will stop hurting so I can read a bit later today.
hugs,
Linda
I hope your headache is better by now, Linda! Sending you healing thoughts.
I swept the porch off yesterday, it was 38 felt like a heat wave. Now if all the snow would melt.
I’ve never watched that series, but could get it from Netflix also. I’ll have to read what it’s all about.
Talk soon :)
I can’t even imagine how long it’s going to take for all this snow to melt!
Your Storybook Chair is very sweet, and all its chippy bits are a testament to a life well lived, one in which it was, no doubt, well loved, too. Giving it a few layers of varnish to protect its precious story lines, is a wonderful gesture. Too bad we can’t do the same, instead of dabbing on the moisturizer twice a day!;))
xo
Poppy
Don’t I wish, Poppy! Wouldn’t that be nice?
LOVE that chair!! After reading about you going back and forth from yard to kitchen with hot water to thaw ice I feel a bit guilty about complaining so much about the humidity here yesterday – it was 31 deg Celsius (about 88 F), I don’t mind that so much but I’m totally over the humidity that’s going with the heat this summer. However I’ll take it over ice and snow any day ;)
Oh, I am not a fan of humidity either, Norma. Humidity and I do not get along, so I understand!
I so love that chair!
I wish I could have a mini version – it reminds me of vintage hand-painted Dora Kuhn dollhouse furniture.
Dreary rain all day here today, but at least we don’t have to shovel it!
I’m crossing my fingers that the reports of possible snow this weekend might fizzle out….every hopeful!
Keeping track of the Scout’s pee etc made me laugh…I now take care of my 6 month old great nephew three days a week (there is a reason why you have children when you are young..ha!)…Anyway we do the same thing with Henry….I write down when he has “poop”…and describe it…small…med…or good poop! Maybe I will wait for season 3 from the library…
I don’t watch House of Cards but my dd does and she said the same thing.
I don’t have slip covers but I know what it is like to put the cover back on the dog bed. I finally decided to put an old blanket on the dog bed and just wash that. :)
I had to send my little pug Sydney Bean off to the Rainbow Bridge last week. She had been having seizures and just wasn’t getting around very well. She was wondering around during the night and she would walk into a corner and couldn’t figure out she needed to turn around. I would find her wedged behind the toilet. I couldn’t leave her alone anymore and she hated her kennel. I was sleeping in the living room so I could listen for her. She was 17 years old on the 18th of February. She had a good long life.
pam
You’re so great at naming things in your home. I love “Story book Chair” … it’s suitable.
I’m like Don. I can live with something and walk in one day… and just decide, I like it. all over again!
I enjoyed your randomness of this post today…
glad you got your own roof rake this year. ;)