Patio Door Wall

I am going to forget about the fridge corner at the moment and declare that from the door on, this wall is done!

I hung some random things on the wall during naptime today

 

and the shades have been on the door for a couple of weeks now. Yes, yes they do have to be cracked open at the bottom at all times. Why do you ask?

 

It's amazing how much more I like the door now that it matches the woodwork. Someone had stained it at some point but didn't put a finish on it of any kind so it was flat brown. I put polyurethane on it and the woodwork so it all has the same shine. It is a little different color than the original trim though they didn't use the best wood (the knots!) plus it is probably 70ish years newer.

Aluminum Tree Box Repair

The husband made fun of me all yesterday afternoon/evening for making this my Saturday naptime project so I am giving him more fodder by blogging about it! Though I realized he isn't reading my blog when he just today discovered the patio door was green. "Was it green before?" he asked, quizzically looking a the door. Ha! Proof I can do whatever I want and he doesn't notice! This is fantastic!

This is the box for my prized aluminum Christmas tree. I'm still not sure why someone markered "Christmas '96 Hastings" on the top. I got it at a garage sale not too long after that date.

 

All of the corners kind of look like this (or worse.)

 

I made some strips from paper bags and used some wood glue to secure them to the corners. The "supportive" husband: "What are you doing?? Why don't you just go get a plastic tub and stick it in?"

 

Pfft, he just doesn't understand. It's the original box! As you can see, it has that weird brown packing tape all over it so I wasn't concerned about adding some more brown to reinforce the corners. I then had it sitting to cure for a while before putting in the branches and the cat decided it would make a good perch. Hence why it is on top of the fridge in this photo.

 

And my tipsy Santa ornament will be the end of this post and the Christmas décor until next season!

Refrigerator Fail

No worries, my harvest gold fridge is still going strong. What we failed at was putting my monitor top fridge back together again.

I've had it out in the garage for a long time because I wanted to get this wall painted and didn't want to have to move and work around it. Well, this chunk of wall was finished before Christmas so I could put my tree here but now it was time to finally move my fridge to its rightful location. OK, I think its rightful location is the kitchen but the husband doesn't think it makes an adequate fridge size-wise...

The problem: The monitor top part has to be lifted up, with the freezer attached, and set into the top. My dad and another guy (both older) pulled it off and placed it into the van so I figured between my brother, husband and me we could get it. We knew lifting it straight up and over wasn't going to work so we laid the fridge on it's side, popped it in sideways and tried to lift. Nope, it was sliding out before we er, they could lift it. Now I'm thinking get the fridge at a 45-ish degree angle and slide it in. But what would one angle it against so it doesn't slide/completely squish it?
I was reading that when they originally delivered the fridge, they brought a special hoist to lift the top onto the fridge. Well, I don't think that is happening. In the meantime, my monitor top is resting beside the dining room table, amongst the Christmas décor.

I *think* my fridge is one of the smaller models so it's a good thing I didn't come across a bigger one! I just have to recruit a stronger guy or two to add to the mix and that should solve the problem.



Pyrex Reorganization.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great holiday season! Now we are stuck in the cold, dreary month of January. Yuck! January and February are my least favorite months of the year.

This year's resolution is to continue my quest to pare down my hoard. Which, this first post of the year makes it look like I am just expanding my hoard but really I just want some form of organization for it! I have Pyrex stuffed everywhere and getting more for Christmas made me realize my poor cupboards may collapse if I stack more onto the top shelf. Plus, I would like to rotate it out seasonally on my buffet which is tough to do when I have to get the ladder out and sift through the cupboards and pantry shelves then dig through the buffet, well, you get the idea! I was inspired? by this photo:

Wouldn't it be fun to open a door in the basement and see this!? OK, I would not be keeping stuff on the floor because my husband and/or dad would be wanting to get to that electrical box. The cat would be running through. I would trip into it. But having it neatly on shelves definitely would brighten my basement.

I had my eye on my shelving under the stairs in the laundry area where I keep my paint hoard. I have never cleaned these shelves so that was my first priority. (one shelf is cleaned in this photo) There was 30+ (80?) years of dust, spider webs and some weird dead bug parts. I also am forbidding myself to go to free paint day at our salvage store for a while yet I have to get a couple of these paint cans there on one of those days, hmm. The broken fan also got set by the trash and someone took it before trash day so I did get rid of one hoarded item during this project!

I was also excited to spot this writing on the shelf. (yea, I'm a nerd) It's hard to read but it says North & Co. Lincoln Nebr. North were the original builders/owners of the house. They never lived here so I'm guessing it was some sort of investment project. They ran a printing company (still in business today) so these shelves must have been built from packing crates. The boards are thick and have been holding my paint but I didn't want to take any chances with my Pyrex so I added some support in the middle. Continuing the tradition by also using scrap wood.

A few of the Pyrex pieces I received at Christmas. A "Daisy" from my brother and a "Friendship" from my mom.

 

I never seem to find anything unusual in the wild or at antique malls but my mom always is finding crazy patterns. She doesn't spend more than $1 for anything without asking me. I know, because she will call me and start the conversation with "I found this piece of Pyrex but it's $3...." The Blue Horizon (on the left) I see at the antique stores but it is usually more than I want to pay. The other pattern is unusual and is a promotional from 1965 appropriately named "Golden Bouquet"

 

Hey! My paint hoard doesn't even look that bad anymore! Now I can start digging out my cupboards and stacking my Pyrex here. It will definitely be easier to access for use and display rotation. Added bonuses: it might inspire me to do laundry so I can look at my Pyrex. Also, I might find someplace for the potato chips and bread to live in a cupboard and free up counter space.