Christmas

Hi!
I don't have many pictures to post, because I CAN'T FIND MY CAMERA!!!!!!
I took some with my phone, but they turned out fuzzy. I do have a couple of pictures that turned out okay, but not many. This first picture is my table of Nativity sets. I used to only have the one small glass one. I splurged and bought Rachel and myself the Willow Tree set a couple of years ago. I have other types, as well, so I thought I would put them all on a table together.

We had a wonderful Christmas. The day went smoothly, it was calm and peaceful, and we had a great time. Adam and Vicky went to Miami, and they were greatly missed. Thomas, the fireman, had to work. William and his family were in Tennessee. Even though we were not all in attendance, we had a terrific day.
I made a Santa Claus cake and a Christmas tree cake. By the time I got around to icing them, it was time for dinner. So, I had to hurry! Santa has a crooked smile, and his face didn't get tinted, so everything is either white or red! Ellen wanted to watch me ice the cakes, and she tried her hand at doing stars. She made the red stars for the tree cake. She helped me mix the red color, so she wanted to do something with the red icing! HA! I colored the cake with Juniper and Leaf green, and I think it looks like a fir tree. I used the tip that makes hair, grass, etc. so that the tree would look like it had pine needles. I guess for a rush job, they both turned out okay. I baked them at 2 am on Christmas Eve, but I didn't get time to ice them until right before dinner the next day.


















Rachel and I are going to Asheville, North Carolina tomorrow. She gave me a Christmas gift of a trip to the Biltmore Estate. I hope to find my camera by then. Just in case I can't find it, I have my old camera ready as backup. I have the old battery on the charger right now! We will have lots of pictures to post, I hope!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

I bought myself a new tree this year, but then I took it back to the store. There was something in that tree, paint or whatever, that I was allergic to, so I took it back. My old tree is doing just fine. Since I took the tree back, I didn't have a present for myself. HA! But, I found two name brand leather pocketbooks at TJ Maxx that I opted to buy. I saw them on Christmas Eve, and carried them around the store, but then I put them back before checking out. So, I went back to the store Saturday morning to find them. I had put them way in the back on a hanger, and they weren't there. I panicked and walked around and around the pocketbook section. Finally, I found them! I got one Lucky Brand and one Betsey Johnson brand. The Lucky Brand is the kind of bag that I love to buy, and I have several. The Betsey Johnson is a new one. It is a big, really huge, black bag that is called a Cat-Alina Shopper. The leather is made to look like a Cheetah print, so that is where the name originates. I did not pay the real price. No way would I spend that much money on a pocketbook!! TJ Maxx is a fun little treasure place. You never know what you might find.
Happy day after the day after Christmas!!

Shopping

Shopping makes me crazy. I really do not like to get in the Christmas crowd, but I had to do it. I have not had time to shop, as usual, for Christmas, so, I was forced to go out into the madness today. I didn't get much - not what I needed anyway. I was able to buy a couple of things, but I am way behind. I finally figured out that I would go to Walgreen's and buy a few gift cards to restaurants. That made sense to me, since no one really needs any gifts. I just walked around and around that silly mall and got more and more confused about what to do. Oh well, maybe that kept me from spending too much money unecessarily. Lauren, age 9, told us yesterday that Christmas is not about giving gifts. It is about the birth of Jesus! (from the mouths of babes!!!!) I thought that statement was really profound. Anywho, I do want to do some shopping, but I will have to wait until tomorrow. As for tonight, I am going to try and get some decorations on the tree. I got some out last night, but I didn't have any hooks for them. I still have tons of ornaments in boxes to take out, so there is a major task awaiting me in the living room. I guess I should get in there and get busy! Merry Christmas!

Cakes and Flowers

Hello again,
I took four more cake lessons this month. The second course is all about making flowers. I learned how to make rosettes, daisies, primroses, pansies, rosebuds, apple blossoms, crysanthemums, daffodils, and little african violets. We also reviewed the shell border and learned how to make the rope border. The basketweave was something we learned on the last night. I am happy to know how to do that. It makes a cake look so nice. I cannot say that I am the best at any of these yet, but I am getting better. I am now a pretty good rose maker, though. I learned that in my first course, and I have been practicing a lot. It doesn't take me forever to do one anymore. I figured out one trick that is helping cut down on the frustration and time. The trick involves the first part of the rose, the base. I can just put icing on there and shape it with my hands, rather than use one type of tip to make that and then use another tip for the petals. The next course is all about fondant and tiered cakes. I have heard that fondant is not really tasty, but that is what is used in most professional cake places. The fourth course is about fondant and gum paste. Well, maybe it is the gum paste that tastes bad. I'm not really sure. We learned how to make Royal Icing, which is made of meringue powder, water, and powdered sugar. There is something with the meringue powder that makes the icing harden, like candy. If you have ever bought 'candy' letters or shapes at the grocery store to put on a cake, you were buying this type of icing. The teacher said that you can keep these creations for ten years and keep using them! Wow. They are not very tasty, though. Then, we learned how to make icing called 'color flow'. This icing is made with a powder called color flow. You thin it out real watery, and pour it into a picture that you have made. You use this color flow to trace the outline of any picture you want, onto a piece of wax paper. This border dries. Once the outline is dry, you fill in the picture with the runny color flow. Once this dries, you take it off the wax paper and put it on your cake. My bluebirds cracked, but I got one to put on my 'finale' cake! I made lots of flowers, although my icing was so runny that they flowers are all lopsided :)



I am going to start practing my little flowers, with regular icing, and then maybe I will be able to post some decent looking pictures. I am posting my little cake, even though it is not in the best of shape. I had fun doing it, though, and that is what counts!

Pecans, Pecans!!

The time is here...Pecans in Savannah!! All of the trees are dropping pecans all over the place. There are people in our neighborhood who come with all sorts of bags in which to store all the pecans they pick up from our yards. We try to get there first, but many locals know where the biggest pecan trees are. There is one in the yard behind me, so my backyard is full of them. The lane behind my house is really full of them. I have a small tree in my backyard and one in the front yard. These trees are putting out small pecans, but not the ones that are really ripe enough to eat. I saw a car parked by my garage Saturday, and it was someone getting pecans that had fallen up against the garage. I guess that means I won't be getting any of those!! There is a big, big pecan tree across the street, and we get them from over there, also. Vicky got a huge bag from across the street the other day. She is planning on making Christmas presents with them. Kate is planning on making pecan pralines. We should have a good bit of great pecan treats this Christmas. My mamma used to love to shell the pecans. Last year, which was her last year with us, she cracked pecans all day long. She could sit in her wheelchair at the dining room table, look out the window at the traffic going by, and shell pecans. There were a lot of them, too. Mamma enjoyed that so very much. My Granna used to like to look out of the window, too. They didn't get to go out during their last bit of time with us on this earth, but they both loved to watch people.

Pecans, we have tons of them. They taste delicious, too. Why buy them in the store for a ton of money, when you can just take a brief walk around the house and pick them up?? Pecans....YUM!!

The Tree

I finally got a new tree! I splurged and bought a new one this year. I also bought a new revolving stand, since mine bit the dust last year! My tree and stand are both 17 years old, so I guess they have both served their purpose. I bought both of them when I moved into this house. My old tree sheds just like real trees, so I needed a new one.

I saw one that I really liked at Michael's, but it was $349! I thought, "NO WAY!" Well, I went to Lowe's and Target looking for trees, and I saw some that I liked. I just couldn't make myself buy any of them. Susan called me Sunday to tell me that she saw a good tree at Michael's that was on sale. I went over there Monday, and the tree that was my favorite one WAS ON SALE!!!! I bought it!

We got out of school early today, because we were supposed to have really bad weather. As soon as I got home and walked through the door, I started moving things around in the living room to make space for the tree. Rachel, Adam, and Vicky came over (very unexpectedly), so they helped me get everything done. I would not have it put up if they hadn't helped. The stand needed some adjustments, which they did easily. The tree was very heavy, and they helped with that greatly. It has prelit white lights on it, so it looks good even without ornaments. I haven't put any of those on it yet. I decided not to buy any NEW ornaments this year, since I had to get a tree and a stand. We shall see how long that decision lasts! I have held pretty stern to it so far, though.

The tree is 7 1/2 feet tall, and it is very wide. The type of tree that it is supposed to be is a Connelly Pine. I have never heard of that kind, but it is pretty. The tree was made in China, so it might be something they have over there :) I have also been worried about getting sick from something that they might have used to make the tree that is not good for humans (with all the news about their paint and stuff, you see). I'm just a big sissy and worrier about that stuff.

Now, I need someone to help me get into the attic and get all of my ornament boxes down. I have new attic steps, and they are not as big as my old ones. They are more sturdy, but they will take a bit to get used to climbing. I have been moving stuff and cleaning and moving stuff all night. My house is always a big mess, you see.

Anyway, I have one step towards the Christmas season completed. I will keep you posted on my progress. Merry Christmas everyone!!

Cake Crazy

I signed up for another cake decorating class today, Wilton course number 2. This one will be all about flowers! I plan to learn how to make a doozy of a PANSY!
I was at the AC Moore craft store today and asked the cashier if they were having any classes in December. Just my luck, they have one beginning on Tuesday, and it is the course I have been wanting to take :) Once you take the first course, you can take the other three in any order. Courses 3 and 4 are about tier cakes and fondant. I am not into fondant yet, but I probably will be very soon. SO, I hope to be able to make some flowers for my little ditties that I am making. I should get better with the roses in this class, too!
I will let you know how it goes! Tuesday will be here soon. This course is on Tuesday and Thursday for two weeks, rather than once a week for four weeks. I think I will like that much better, because I will be done before Christmas!
I have a special plan for Christmas, anyway. I splurged on a Nordic Ware Train set pan at the Kitchen Outfitters store, and I am going to make it for Christmas. I bought tons of candy today to use on it. The track will be made out of red licorice. I am all excited about this one. I have been waiting for a couple of months to use my new pans!
Cake crazy, that is me!

A good day

Today was Thanksgiving, and we all had a really good day. I went over to Daddy's and had breakfast with him. We decided on the things we were going to cook and take to Dewey's for dinner. Daddy was busy making green beans and putting two bags of vanilla wafers in a jar for Julia! She and Daddy love their Vanilla Wafers! Then, I came home and started cooking. I made macaroni and cheese, sweet potato souffle', black eyed peas, and deviled eggs. Oh, and I also made a chocolate cake shaped like a sunflower. The icing was yummy buttercream with chocoloate chips in the center of the sunflower. I made a delicious pumpkin bread, also. We had a great time.

Saramina, Amy G., Mina, and Leigh came over, and we had a great visit. We always enjoy being with them. Amy and Leigh were here for Thanksgiving. They live in the Florida Keys.

Little Dewey, 3D, is walking!! I was so surprised. He was not walking the other day - well a few steps at a time - but now he can walk across the floor to wherever he needs to go. He also gets down and crawls, but he is trying to walk all the time.

Julia is so pretty. She wore her backpack and was Dora all day, taking people on Bentures! Let's go on a Benture, she kept saying. Amy went with her on one adventure, but she can't tell us where they went. It is a secret. Julia was Dora for Halloween, and she had her little purple Dora backpack full of stuff, including a "map". The map was really a piece of cardboard from a toy that Rebecca gave her to use. Rebecca was an Astnawt, and she goes up in space!! She was wearing a laundry basket over her head, and I couldn't figure out why. Then when Dora explained the Astnawt thing, I understood. HA! So, Dora and her astronaut friend took people on adventures all over the house today.

We were missing a few people today, though.
Adam and Vicky went to Florida and Kate and Kane went to Alabama, but everyone else was there. Rachel and Don had three Thanksgiving visits - one to his mom's house, one to his dad's house, and one to be with all of us at Dewey and Ellen's house. WHEW! Lauren and Thomas made the rounds with her folks and ours, too.

We all had a great time, and I hope all of you did, too.

Pumpkin Bread

Here are some pictures of my pumpkin bread. The mold is really nice.


I hope you can see the different parts of the mold in the bread. It tastes pretty good, too.


I used the recipe on the wrapper of the mold, and there was too much to put in the pan! I started pouring it in, and the mix went over the top. So, I scooped some out and put it in another pan, along with the rest of the mix that was left in the bowl. Gee whiz! That recipe must make 2 or more pans of bread. Oh well, I hope you like it.

Mina's Birthday

Mina had her big 60th birthday party today, given by her children. She had her small 60th birthday party in October, when her birthday actually occured, but Stephen and family could not get to Savannah until this weekend. We had a great celebration at Carey Hilliard's restaurant, with lots of good food. The little kids all played hide and seek, and they had a terrific time.

Stephen and Benjamin made Mina get up and give a little speech, through which she shed several tears:)
















I made a cake for her that I had promised to do a long time ago. There was a professional cake there, too, that the kids bought for her. Theirs was a terrific, yummy carrot cake. I made two to go together for the 60, a white cake and a french vanilla cake. Anyway, we all had a great time honoring one of our most favorite people in the world, cousin Mina!!!!



Here are a few pictures of the crowd. We all had a great time!

Mamma

Hello everyone,
Today marks the first anniversary of my mother's trip to heaven. She was such a wonderful mamma!! I love her dearly, and I miss her more each day. Mamma was a fun loving, caring, tender hearted, wonderful person. She loved to laugh, and she smiled all the time. Mamma suffered a great deal over the last three years of her life, but she never let anyone know how badly she was hurting or feeling.

She had a smile on her face all the time. She was a woman of grace who dealt with her suffering with a smile on her face. We all miss her so much!!!! Daddy really misses her.


Today, he wanted all of us to go to the cemetery together to see her and say a few words. I thought it would be a great idea to plant some pansies on her grave, so Susan and I went to Home Depot and got a bunch of them! We have been wanting to do this all year, but never got over there to do it! So today, rain and all, we did it!


We were all there with our umbrellas, big ones and little ones, but the rain didn't bother us a bit. We got our hands all dirty by digging in the dirt, but we didn't care. Luckily, there was a faucet right by our plot, so we washed our hands off before we left. Daddy cooked two roasts, a ham, sweet potatoes, irish potatoes, carrots, peas, and green beans for us. We had a FEAST!! It was great! We also had some terrific gravy and biscuits. Daddy loves to cook, and it made him feel good to do that today. Daddy, Dewilla, Susan, Dewey, Jr., William, Sr., Rachel, Don, Thomas, Amy, Ellen, William, Jr., Rebecca, Lauren, Julia, Dewey,III,Saramina, and Mina were all in attendance. Adam, Kate, Vicky, and big Lauren had to work, so they couldn't come. Adam and Vicky went by earlier and left flowers. Adam sent a text to us "Do not move my flowers", so we left his vase where it was. haha Kate came by Daddy's house earlier today, also, to be with him for a while before she went to work.


We planted the pansies in the corner of the plot, and I believe they look very nice. The rain did not let up all day long, so the pansies will get plenty of watering today and overnight. We will go check on them very soon, to make sure they are still there. I am sure that Mamma is excited to have her pansies with her. Granna, my mamma's mamma, was named Pansy, and pansies are very important to us all. My mamma loved pansies and always asked us to plant some in her front yard every year.

I love my mamma so very, very much, and I miss her more than words can say. Mamma, please keep being silly up there in heaven with Uncle Marvin, George, Raymond, Carter B, Granna, Bubba, WeeWee, and E!! I know your cousins are up there with you having a gigantic cousin's reunion, too! Please remember us all and keep the silliness alive in heaven! We are trying to keep the smiles going and the silliness going at home. I love you, I love you, I love you!!!!

The Butterfly Garden

This first picture is a good picture of the whole Confederate Rose tree at my mom and dad's house. I think this one turned out better than the ones from my regular camera! This is from my phone. The rest of the pictures are of the butterfly garden.






Hello,
I finally made it to the butterfly garden here in Savannah. I must say that it is not exactly what I expected. I have previously been to a butterfly exhibit in Florida, and I thought that this one would be like that one. The one in Florida is at a university. It is enclosed and has lots of butterflies. The one that I went to last week is outside in a regular flower garden. We have a place called the Bamboo Farm. Many schools take field trips there. This place has all sorts of outside types of things to see. There is also a section that has flowers to attract butterflies.


I only saw orange ones, and one yellow one, but the garden was pretty. I took some pictures on my phone, and I finally figured out how to get them off of my phone! So, I am putting them up on this little blog. One of the pictures is of the sign that tells you what types of flowers attract butterflies. I love butterflies. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
Oh, I just HAD to include my green butterfly that I made for Vicky's birthday. Her favorite color is green, so here is her butterfly!

Fall and Birthdays

During the fall, especially October, we have tons of birthdays around our house! I have become the official cake baker, since I love to bake. My cakes have previously been very unprofessional looking, but they have always tasted good! Currently, I have been decorating cakes a little better. I took four lessons in the basics of cake decorating, and I am getting a lot more creative and more steady handed.

This morning as I walked across the street to my Daddy's house, the leaves were blowing in the breeze all the way down the street. I love to see the leaves in the fall. Most people rake them up off of their yards and throw them away. I always let the leaves stay in the yard for deocration. Nature creates the leaves as a kind of cover to protect our grass in the winter, so why rake them up?!

Another thing that happens in October is the blooming of my Mamma's Confederate Rose tree. It is just beautiful. This year, it had blooms all the way from the tip top to the very bottom and all around it.
I have a couple of pictures of this pretty tree. The pictures don't do it justice, though. This tree has never had so many blooms! I guess Mamma is up in heaven enjoying the view of all of her pretty flowers.


The Confederate Rose blooms as a white or light pink flower in the morning, and it turns into a deep pink by the afternoon or night, as you see in this picture. The story behind this happening is that the dark pink represents the blood of the Confederate soldiers, thus the origin of the name of the tree.

The tree has grown to be almost as tall as the house, and the blooms were all the way to the top this year.



The October birthdays began with mine, on the 6th. We had a family celebration for my birthday on the 4th, at my daughter's house. We all had a good time. I made the pink ladybug cake for that day. Then on the 6th, we had dinner at my house, and I made the Sweetheart cake for that day. I am just cake crazy!!




The next birthday was Little Dewey, alias 3D, who celebrated his very FIRST birthday on the 10th.


My sister, Susan, had her 52nd birthday on the 17th.


I attempted to make a big cupcake cake, but it ended up looking like a basket of flowers! I found out that the cupcake pan is the same shape as a basket. I will know next time to start out making a basket!!


My cousin, Marvin, had his 58th birthday on the 19th. He lives in Alabama, so I didn't get to make a cake for him. I am sure Arlene had a very, very nice one for him. My sister-in-law, Amy, AND my cousin, Mina, both had birthdays on the 20th. Mina celebrated the big "6-0", and Amy celebrated the proverbial "39th" birthday. I say 'proverbial 39th', because so many people continue to say they are 39 for years and years! Amy's children had a surprise party for her, and they baked cupcakes for their mom. William bought her a pretty cake with roses.

The next birthday is Daddy who is 88 today, the 26th. Daddy had a red, white, and blue STAR cake. After all, he is the STAR of our family, and he served our country for many, many years of his life.









My neice Kate AND my little cousin Landon will both have birthdays tomorrow, the 27th. Kate will celebrate a special birthday - her big 21st. She planned a big party for herself and Daddy on Sunday. We were all instructed to wear PINK, in memory of my mamma, who had breast cancer and uterine cancer.

Kate's cake was a colorful, pink Daisy cake with purple trim. The daisy is her favorite flower.









Landon will celebrate his very FIRST birthday this year. He lives in Alabama, too, so I cannot make a cake for him. If he were here, I would make a nice football cake for him (which I heard is what his mom, Amelia, wants him to have). I think that about does it for October birthdays. We have a few in November, but not as many as October!

I love the fall. I was teaching a lesson the other day, and the word 'autumn' was used. Why don't we use that word much anymore? I think that autumn is the term we used forever, but somehow it turned to just 'fall'. I think the word autumn is much more creative.

I have been writing this blog since Saturday, and it is now Monday night! I think I just about have it finished.

I will update the pictures as the next couple of birthdays come upon us. We will have three during the first week of November. We have TWO birthdays on the 4th - Vicky and Lanier! Vicky will celebrate her 24th birthday on November 4th. I am contemplating what to make for her...maybe a pretty butterfly. My cousin, Lanier, will celebrate her 57th birthday on November 4th, in Memphis. I am sure she will have a wonderful cake made for her up there in East Memphis. My brother, William, will celbrate his 49th birthday on November 5th. Hmm, my baby brother is 49 and pushing!! Now what can I make for him??

Whew..Back to the mixing bowls!!!!

My Little Elf Village

Hi,
Do you have an elf village? I do sometimes. Whenever the toadstools, or mushrooms, grow in the yard, I have an elf village. I took pictures of it this summer and showed them to my nieces. I explained that little elves live under mushrooms like this. "Can you see them?" I asked. They looked and looked, and so did I!


A few weeks later, my nieces were over here with a friend of theirs. I went outside and saw Lauren showing her friend my mushrooms and telling her about the elves. They were looking really hard for them. I wondered if they found any, so I asked. Unfortunately, the elves were in hiding for the day!


I love elf poems and elf stories. If you look closely, maybe you can see the elves in my little elf village, too~

The Bathroom is Finished!!

I will attempt to put pictures in here, so that they appear in order. Arlene says that the first picture has to be the last picture entered. I always do it in a crazy, mixed up, long way by copying and pasting. I am going to try it a new way. Perhaps I should put all of the pictures in first, and then I could write what I have to say about them. I have been trying to download quite a few on Picassa since last night. I ran out of online disc space, so all of the pictures couldn't get downloaded. I decided to buy more space, in order to have more room. They are still running as I type! By the time that I am ready to finish this blog, I am sure they will all be downloaded.
A few hours later...the pictures are downloaded, and now I will try to do what I have been waiting to do for over a week ~ show you my bathroom from start to finish!!
Here I go! Well, they won't come from Picassa, so I have to get them on my computer somehow. THAT took me a while to figure out. I think I have it now. Seriously folks, I have been working on all of this since 4 pm. It is now 10:30, and I am still not finished.
Well, it doesn't work ~ I'm trying to get them from Picassa web albums, but that isn't happening. I have been working on all of this for HOURS! I even tried to 'self clean' the oven while downloading pictures. That was a disaster, because it sets itself for four HOURS not minutes. It took me forever to figure out how to get the door unlocked. I finally found the manual, and it said that the door would open when it was cooled off. Well, I was supposed to be baking a cake for 3D's first birthday tomorrow, so I panicked. I had already mixed it up and put it in the pan. (like the song goes, I can bring home the bacon....fry it up in a pan). I digress....sometimes I think my students' ADD traits are rubbing off on me.
Now, the house smells like burnt oven cleaning stuff AND oil based paint from the hall and bathroom! Oh well. I am trying to do a lot of things all at once, and it is crazy around here as usual.
(a while later)
I feel like I just gave stage directions!
I finally got the cake baked. I just took it out of the oven. After the stove cooled off, I was able to put the cake in. Now, I am DETERMINED to get this blog written!

SO, the saga started last Monday, and this is the next Friday! The guys worked on the bathroom for days and days. Here are a few shots of the bathroom as it has been for oh so long. As Amelia says, please don't judge me. I just couldn't get it done any sooner. Construction is expensive. I do feel better, though, without all of that mold and rotten wood, etc. The first three pictures are of the tub.
















Here are some pictures of the wonderful floor, with most of the tiles out and the floor a rotten mess!














When I got home the first day, the floor had been torn completely out. If you look closely, you can tell that what you are seeing is "THE GROUND". You can also see Rachel checking on the work and taking pictures!



(I am not sure why this next stuff is in blue and underlined. There is no telling what key I hit while I was doing my copying and pasting!! I will just have to leave it like this, because I do NOT know what HAPPENED!
I think I have been smelling too many fumes!!

Oh well, back to the saga...)

The tub was out, the walls were torn down, etc. Well, when you look at the before picture, you can see why. The holes in the wall had created lots of rotted wood. The floors were rotted out, etc., etc. So, the room was pretty much gutted.
Alan, the boss guy, said that they could put a new toilet in the bedroom where we took one out, or they cut tear out the wall in the bathroom and make the room bigger. I opted for that. Little did I realize that plaster dust was going to be EVERYWHERE after that. The two young guys who were working had quite a fun time tearing out that wall, hammering and pulling and knocking things out! Adam would have loved doing that! The dust was not apparent until the next day. Boy, oh boy was there a lot of it! It had all settled in overnight. A lot of it is still here, because I haven't had time to clean it up! They worked on the room for 8 days. I asked the guy Monday to please get the toilet in, because I had to leave very early the next day for a faculty meeting. Also, the next day was my birthday, and I wanted to at least have the toilet in. The tub had been in since the second day, but I couldn't use it, because he hadn't put up the shower curtain rod. So, he said he would get that in for me, too. Thank you! No more running across the street to Daddy's house for a shower and the facilities! On Wednesday, I finally had a finished bathroom. The tub is nice and clean (except for little cat pawprints every now and then), the floor is solid, the toilet stays still (rather than rock and roll, fall backwards, and almost make you fall down), and it looks pretty nice. The floor was so messed up that the toilet couldn't stay hooked down! My old, old house has settled so much, that the floors were NOT even. They tried to help that out a bit by 'jacking' up the house. When they jacked up the house, some of the plaster walls cracked big time. So, they put sheetrock up and fixed and painted the hallway and trim. They even fixed my bedroom doors that were messed up! That is why the house smells of oil based paint and stuff, though. They put it on the doors and the trim. Whew! I could smell that stuff all the way outside at my car Wednesday when I came home! It was pretty strong. It still smells, but not as bad.





I do believe I am going to just leave the rest of the pictures as they are. You can see the various progress that was done. I put them all in at once, and now I am getting tired of toggling back and forth between pages, pictures, etc. I have been copying and pasting, just like usual, so my new little inserting trick didn't really work very well. SO, you can just peruse the pictures and see the progress as it happened. A lot of work was done in a pretty short amount of time, really. The holes in the ceiling were made when they tore out the extra wall. I forgot to mention the new floor. I picked out big tiles in an Arizona sand color. The first pictures of the floor are of it the first day, with the little space holders in between the tiles. The walls are Yellow Buttered Corn, or Buttered Yellow Corn. Does it look like buttered corn?
You can see that this house is very old house by looking at the big wooden beams and stuff. They don't make beams like those anymore. You are lucky to get a little 2x4, much less a heavy, strong beam like in these houses. My house was built in 1929!! Anyway, I wanted to put the pictures up in order, but I seem to have gotten off track. Like I said, the fumes are getting to me! I have to make a bunch of icing for the birthday cake, too. I made a rocking horse. They bought him a giraffe, but I don't have a giraffe pan. I am going to use the colors on the giraffe and put them on the horse. I hope it turns out okay.
I am freezing myself out of the house right now, because I have the air on really low to try and get the smells out of here!! Hopefully, the fumes will dissipate in a few days. They are already much better than they were!
Here are the rest of the pictures.





















It is 11:25 p.m., and I am really tired and hungry. I think I have corrected all of my typos. I cannot figure out how to get the hyperlink off, because I do not know how it got on in the first place. Sorry about that. There is a whole section that is hyperlinked. As you read that part, you may see lines under the words and colors changing. The time stamp is incorrect on this blog, also. I need to figure out how to fix that. I did it once, so I should be able to fix it again!
I am just tired and goofy from paint fumes, so I will call it a night! I just hit some crazy keys, so I don't know what I just did to the rest of this blog.
Have a great night!

Before and after, what a difference!!





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