Naked

This whole middle died this summer

It all looks naked.

I misted up as each large branch

 crashed to the ground.

My painter/slash tree guy

posed for me to send to the kids.

He's a character.

I think the kids were both a little sad also.

That stump he is sitting on

will end up in the back yard as a side table.

Naked and sad

Splurges and Purges

Try to keep up

I'll be all over the place.

Took me over three weeks to decide to splurge on these

flax linen sheets.

I have wanted them for about 15 years.

That seems about right.

Putting them on the bed today led to me purging 

the linen shelf and then I wandered into my

closet and purged about 50 plus pieces of clothing.

After 21 years I am repainting the house.

Not so much a splurge as an "overdue".

I have an HOA and have to use approved colors.
Out of 31 schemes there is only one I can stand

Body: Heather (DEC773)

Trim & Garage Door: Navajo White (DEC772)

Accent & Pop-Outs: Shaggy Barked (DEC771)

Front Door (option): Center Ridge (DE6230)

Front Door (option): Swiss 

Coffee (DEW341)

I'm doing the door and shutters dark- the Center Ridge one.

So much drama with assoc, and estimates etc.

 oy vey

Will also be purging entire back yard as I have

 to move all the vintage stuff before painting anyway, so

seems the right time to do that and haul it up to the booth.

The baby ash tree that came with the house

21 years ago, is sick..... is dying.

All the other ash in the town are also sick 

with some kind of bore.

Every first day of school

my kids stood in front of that tree

to have their pictures taken.

Tree is 2 years old

Couple more years of growth

1st day of Ben's senior year with buddy Jake -12 years ago

tree is now double that

Removing it is breaking my heart,

but Monday is the day.

That tree has shaded my home from

 the harsh sun of lala land and I feel

guilty that I could not save it, 

though for three years I tried.

Damn, those front rooms will be

 scorching next summer.

OK so watch this gopher

I discovered, at the very ripe old age of 61,

 that I still cannot let a hand or foot dangle

 off the side of the bed for fear of....

what? a hand, a monster?

I tried for around 3 minutes last 

night and could not do it.

While pondering that childhood trauma, 

I recalled that I had to line up 

all my dolls and animals in my bed so that

no one would feel favored in any way

and with their heads above the covers so

 that they could breathe.

anyone else out there a comrad?

Now watch this
thanks to Jill Ruth

I am not techno stupid I use it-
 My life does not Revolve around it.
Look up at the world occasionally folks,
it's in trouble.

and my final 1 1/2 cents

Would everyone please stop 
making stupid people famous?
oy vey

400' Of Cute Studio

Slightly over 400' sq feet studio

Borrowed treasures from home, some

film castoffs and craigs list 

and creativity = a charming space for DD.

I think she made a wonderful nest. 

Aunt Iva's old trunk (storage)

This IKEA couch has (storage) under the chaise area and there

is a pop up section, that turns it into a queen bed for guests.

DD remade the butterfly collection 

she found cheap in thrift store.

We found the shelves at Target

 for less than $21 total including brackets.

 Most of knick knacks are from her room at home,

and painted vases $4 ea at target clearance.

Boxes and tins hold desk supplies since she has no drawers.

Simple table used for desk

Divided cubby from Mom's hallway

 frees up limited cabinet space.

Vintage yellow cabinet from my

 family room acts as a pantry;

they secured it to cabinets behind. 

It also helps visually separate the kitchen.

Chalkboard back of cabinets backs up to couch,

and provides "leaning" area.

These were the two unpainted cabinets 

we bought from Lowe's and then we added a laminate top. 

This added two cupboards and two drawers to kitchen

as well as much needed counter space.

I found orange top canisters for $4 each.

Vintage cabinet on right from DD's room at home,

dining table from Mom's living room.

Chairs - We got deal from Target for $17 each due to 

metal caps missing from legs. Pays to "Ask for discount"

Linens from home

Stacked end tables $24 make another bedside table

and two bins inside act as drawers and hide clutter.

Rusty wire circle memo holder was

 found in desert dump in lala.

The trunk moves to the base of bed 

when couch is in pull up mode.

Bed on risers with end to end bins (storage) underneath.

Metal calendar purchased at BIG NSS sale,

 painting is one of DD's.

I just bought her the above sink drainer from IKEA,

since there is no other space to air dry dishes.

I thought it was so clever.

Except for fridge you see the

 entire kitchen provided by apt.

Believe it or not they could entertain 10 for dinner

with the seating inside and on porch. 

Folding table, two chairs from Mom's yard

sit on wee patio.

Atrium on bottom floor sends all this green up to her,

along with lots of hummingbirds.

The whole studio is rich with color- hard to tell here..

Blue tiled fireplace and wall mounted tv area

are the last space being tweaked (show when complete)

Two closets and a small bath complete the space.

I could live here so easy peasy.

Yes there is more purging, downsizing,

simplifying headed my way.

I am obsessed with the tiny house movement.

I'm Falling

As the birds fly,

so do I, 

into FALL

A few touches here and there

Burlap pumpkins from last year

Simple displays

No kitchy stuff

Lots of nature

Cozy reading in corners

Bowls of Nature

Birds and nests, more naturals

Family of wool sheep from the huge sale this summer

Thick, chunky, creamy wool pumpkins

also made last year

...and now I can cook once more

stews, soups, casseroles

FALL glorious FALL

I love you!

CA Targets are just WRONG

Went to CA last week to visit with the kids.

now I am back in lala.

Gas expensive

Food expensive

Homeless folks everywhere we drove,

and heard on the radio they had just

 knocked down and "cleared" an entire 

community of homeless the day I arrived.

Robin William's work is still needed.

Traffic is horrid

Ocean beautiful

Urban Home store WAY COOL!

CA cuisine fresh, delish and lovely

Lots and lots of Starbucks thanks to many gift cards

from my B-day brunch

CA Targets confuse me

(backwards, reversed, and just WRONG)

Kids cooking for me is wonderful

Kids laughter enthralls me

Hannah's barely 400 sq feet is adorable

I could so live in that space!

(you'll just have to believe me for now)

Tears shed at the leaving part,

so hard to drive away

Extra 2 1/2 hours on drive home,

thanks to idiots who left the same time I chose to :D

Pooches happy to see me for about 5 minutes and then 

they plopped down for naps...

Tired mama

Very happy mama