Saturday 26 October 2013

Fall is falling!

Oh, the leaves!  Our beautiful maple tree is shedding...shedding...shedding.  Luckily, the weather has been incredibly gorgeous,* so the Helpful Hufflings and I don't mind the raking a bit!

Here is what our front yard looks like, once freshly raked:

(hoping that the new landscaping survives the winter)



And here is why the Helpful Hufflings like to help!  I have gotten smarter over the past few weeks, and now put the leaf pile on the driveway, instead of on the lawn, so that when they decide to UN-rake, there is less spread.  However, I don't think they'll be doing that again.  (Mommy was pretty mad....but quite impressed at their thoroughness.)



And of course, this is our lawn, less than 36 hours after raking.  Sigh.  But it's so pretty.





Unrelated, but hysterical:
Hat head + peanut butter as styling aid + "what do you mean, lunch is over????"




*  a little help:  native canadian summer?  first nations summer?  what's the pc term, please?

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Watching paint dry... literally

The time has come, I said, to paint our living room.

To be accurate, I said that more than a year ago.

I can't believe how long it has taken to choose a paint colour, rethink it, overthink it, discuss it with everyone I know, pass it by Fis, and finally make a final, final decision.  Only to find out -- of course -- that that colour has been discontinued.  Or at least renamed.

Grr.

So, back to the paint samples I went.

I chose another final colour.  I entered it into one of those colour-match applications that let you see what it would look like in your own home, with your existing stuff.  And it looked terrible.  So I chose one shade lighter, a pretty silvery-grey, that was still warm enough to go with the gold sofa, the deep-red chairs, and the dark-grey cushions and throw.

Just to be sure, I painted a test-strip along the trim - window, baseboard, and crown moulding.  I wanted more of a contrast than the cream/white combo that was there when we moved in, and at first, I wasn't seeing it.  After a few hours of drying, it looked better.  "Try another coat," said Chris.  So I did.

And it's calming, you know, sitting there, knitting.  Watching paint dry, hoping and wishing that it will be a little darker, a little different.  And waiting.

The verdict:  I love, love, love it in my dining room.  Huh.  I guess it's lighter and brighter in there, but I was happy with the cream for now.  But in the living room, nope.  So my living room has a stripe of rather odd, light grey (that can mostly be hidden by the curtains -- I was thinking, just a little)... I'm going to have to pick a slightly deeper-but-not-too-dark grey, and hope for the best.

Back to the paint store I go.

Sigh.

Wednesday 16 October 2013

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