Yard Sale

Tomorrow, in the high heat, my neighbour and I are attempting a yard sale. Five years ago a friend and I got together and tried the yard sale thing and although it was fun, I neither made much (30.00 dollars) nor got rid of enough to make it worth while.  And people seemed to want things priced for 0.00 dollars???

I'm pumped and hoping for a better haul and purge.  I imagine if I had to pack up and move, what would I rather like to unload first and that's what is getting hauled out tomorrow.  I have amassed many trinkets (from around the world, thanks Sun for all the key chains???) and extra dishes that I just don't use.  I have come to terms with my age and different body shape so selling off sundresses, some still with tags. My stuff has grown to the point where I am reluctant to buy other people gifts in case they have the same animosity towards the gift "oh no, more stuff {{grimace}}". I don't know, its like kids with toys, the more they have the harder it is to appreciate each one, to the point where they dont even see what they have.

Lucy is helping, checking things out and vetoing some items asking in disbelief "You CANT sell this". Maybe she is right, I find that after I give something away, a few years later I am looking for it and think why do I always give away the wrong things. I let her take back what she thinks we should keep (even if it is a bib that we no longer use, or really cool blundstone softie infant shoes).

Most things I'm happy to exchange for a few bucks, but I will attempt to sell one high priced item, an antique over dyed Turkish rug. I packed it up a year ago and have enough other kilim's packed up (cannot use due to dog hair). Downsizing at least one will be worth it.

What I really need to do is open my OWN store. I appreciate pretty things, I'm selective, and I like to buy. Selling things is also a good feeling, having someone else appreciate your taste.

So good luck to me!

Another kitchen angle - before and after

WOW! I got rid of the bathroom door and replaced it with a slider. Removed the huge rotting window and replaced it with french doors (which had to be custom ordered to fit).  New tile (NOT ON TOP - yuck). Tore out the vinyl flooring down to subfloor ... no way I could handle tiling on top, not with knowing how filthy it would have been undearneath.  (This before picture shows the water damaged door (which was on the bottom of the cabinets too). The vinyl floor, hideous.

By getting rid of the bathroom door (that was never shut), light was able to flood the space. French doors and balcony give us much needed access to outdoors.

Old house - bathroom

Feeling nostalgic, going through photos.  Seeing "what was" in a photo versus "what I perceived" at the time.

In my first house, the bathroom was much bigger then my current house (hard to believe one can get smaller). It also had natural light (a must in bathroom) and charming wallpaper. But the wall paper was peeling off, so I begin my first wall paper removal adventure. I was semi prompted by my circumstances at the time, waiting to hear about a contract, possibly having to put my house on the market and return to my homeland  (OH YES, this is where I am at RIGHT now.  Been there, done that.  Deja vu minus 6 years.) And although the house sold (yay!), the day after getting an offer on the house, the work contract came through (Ugh). I moved forward, selling the house, found an apartment to move into and then bought another house.

Anyhow, back to the bathroom in the first house. Charming wallpaper but peeling off. So I bought my scraper and took the rest off. The scraper became my favourite tool. Still is.

I was contemplating pink. My 4 year old son was on board for a pink bathroom. Hot pink w/ white and black tile, a la french.

But then it was time to put the house on the market and I chose a safe colour, neutral beige, with a few pink accents.

I was very new to homeowner ship, renovating and on a shoe string budget,  but I managed to remove the light fixtures, paint them black and screw them back on. I came up with a snazzy chain link shower curtain rod. And painted. Go Me!  I was really pleased with the results and if I were doing it again, I would go pink and replace the lights, (and oh boy, get rid of the plastic medicine cabinet above the sink) but back then shoe string budget and selling were factors. (At the time, I thought that blue hand towel worked...ha! It must have had sentimental meaning)

 My now 10 year old occasionally asks to move back to that house.  He recalls that we painted the bathroom pink. I love that memory of his and I don't dare tell him otherwise.

A kitchen angle - Before and after

Organizing my photos into categories, I came across a move in day photo of the kitchen. I always wondered why before pictures look so bad, like one is purposefully making the before worse then it is in order to accentuate the after. But now I get it, I wasn't thinking of documenting a kitchen reno on move in day, just was taking pictures and unloading boxes.

These are all taken from the dining room, same angle. You can see we tore out all the lower and upper cabinets. Got rid of the angled stove (I didnt like that at all). Moved the position of the sink. Got rid of the half wall that was separating an unused area.  The idea was to make the kitchen brighter and more spacious. I think I achieved that. The old cabinets were dark and water damaged. The white cabinets and lack of upper cabinets make the area more spacious and lighter.  The wrap around counter provides much needed counter space, which the before kitchen lacked.

One day Ill get some real after pictures.... but for now, I thought this was an good reminder of what was and what is.

A New York minute?

For those not in the know, New York State is more then just "The City",.. we are made up of lots of cities. The "New York Minute" city reference aptly applies to weather in another city in CNY.  (When I first landed here 14 + years ago I wasn't in the know. When people referred to the city, I naturally thought they referred to the city next to the suburb or farmland they were in.  Some experience under my belt and now in the know,  Oh, "The City", roll eyes...

Anyhow, we, in another city in NY, have been experiencing New York minutes ... and for a minute we had a Spring day; the Tulips up and now long gone, the Bridal Wreath Spirea at its best.

Another minute of spring and I was able to plant the rest of the garden (a couple of Lavender plants surrounded by other purple ones and some a yellow. And a couple of happy-go-lucky Gerbera Daisy's that don't really fit in with the rest, but were too irresistible not to include here. We even had a minute to lay in the small bit of shade that the Japanese maple formed.

And then that minute was gone. So long Spring, until next week, I hope.

Seneca Lake

Skipping stones at sunset. Memorial weekend camping. Chilly!

Kid style - Backyard fun

Upgraded from baby style to kid style, dressing herself (although I encouraged the skirt. Now a days she wants to wear everything "boy" like along with "NO, Im not cute, IM A BOY. CALL ME DIEGO. Go Diego Go".)

Hat: 2012 spring line H&M
Soccer Sweatshirt: handmade
Skirt: 2012 spring line H&M
Boots: Kidorable Fire truck boots

Weatherproofing, bean fence and the bridal wreath

A little rain to test out the newly stained and weatherproofed balcony! (completed yesterday, just before the night showers, phew). Looks like the weatherproofing is working. Make that almost completed, I still need a ladder or something to stand on to reach the middles section of the vertical end pieces. Or wait for it to dry, to reach through and around.

Some rain for the bean fence. Apparently the outdoor cats prefer organic soil as a kitty litter,  a few stakes laid horizontally, in hopes of diverting them.

New sunglasses to weatherproof her precious eyes. Sadly our favourite pair fell off in a quarry and were never to be found. These ones seem to work.

 The tulips blew away last week or perhaps a deer ate them, but now my favourite shrub, Bridal Wreath Spirea, has bloomed.