Home Improvements and Women Power!

Yanno.....sigh...someday I'll figure out how to load these the right way! So --TADA! The finished ceiling!

The...it's nearly done ceiling!

The...Oh, it's-not-as-hard-as-I-thought first steps...

The deconstruction mid-phase....

Time to take out all those staples and nails.... okay, so you have the scene, backwards of course, of the 6 hour project. We had about an hours lag when waiting for the electrician friend to come by and take down the 3 light fixtures, and filled that hour with house chores...the inevitable, inescapable laundry, both starting a new load and folding a done load, and putting said load away. By the time that chore was done and a cuppa was consumed, our handy electrical neighbor was over and uninstalling the lights. We made short work of getting the tiles under the lights removed, and started the install around 10 a.m. By 3 p.m. the job was complete. And with just 2 five minute breaks.......one to pee/change the wash to the dryer, (I know TMI!!) and another to wolf down some chicken (thank goodness for purdue done it).

We did first stage of clean up while waiting for the neighbor to return to reinstall lights...he was amazed that two women ( not to mention OLD BROADS,, LOL!!) could put up the ceiling so quickly. And it looks decent. Not contractor perfect (straight lines) because our house is so old that there are no straight lines anyway. And....So. Much. Better. than the deeply bowed ceiling that existed before. Bright and new and tight.

Yay us!

The Staff Shirt

One year of Art KC age 4-5

One of my favorite KC artworks is the one above. He used computer paper that had a rainbow arching over the left top corner, and he "saw" a scene in it. I remember we had one heck of an arguement about him "using" (aka "stealing"!) Mom's computer paper. But when he showed me the picture that was trying to get out if it...well...the stormy clouds, the lightning bolts, the giant raindrops....all the images crowding in his head from weeks of stormy weather this spring. This helped me be aware that I sometimes need to listen better as a Mom....

An early age 4 pic KC made for Mom. He knows how much I love the New England Patriots, so he made this picture of Tom Brady (the quarterback, in case you're not a football fan!)...his numbers are reversed, but he did a great job! He was a young 4 at the time, and I was just amazed that he was writing numbers at all! He also did a pic of Tedy Bruschi, reversing his number as well (54)...

I don't know when he decided to frame, and outline his work, but the flower just pops. The electric blue doesn't translate as well on the monitor as it does IRL, but trust me, it's gorgeous! Note the "knobs" at the corners to connect the frame!

Ocean themes abounded this summer, especially after camping at Old Orchard Beach in Maine, twice. This whale was drawn with dry watercolor crayons, and then "bled" with water. He liked the blurry effect it created, so it looked just like a wave misting as it broke.

And finally, his first attempt at free drawing stars. He had such a time learning this, and he's getting better all the time. I've never met a more determined kid! He practiced doing these for at least an hour. He gave me the picture so that "You'll aways have stars, Mom!" I call him our Star Child, for he was blessed by the light of a full moon and beautifully shining stars, just a week or so after he came home to us, and this celestial theme is one that he and I are deeply connected to.

Proud Momma!

PS. I hate taking down artwork and putting it away, but blogging it has helped. Now my workroom walls are clean and bare, ready for another winters artworks to adorn them! This year Lissa is more excited about creating, so I'll have artwork from two littles to post about next time!

And so it goes...

The view from the front porch to the trees across the street

and what you can't see is the photographer,

happily resting her elbows on 100 bags of wood pellets, which arrived on Tuesday, 3 days before the first snowfall, Friday. Also, these pics were taken just before the snow started falling on Sunday.

So here it is, Monday October 19th and we've had our 2nd snowfall of the season. Already. Okay,not enough to measure, unless you were at Foxboro stadium yesterday (GO PATS-- WOO HOO!) where it was snowing sideways, but really, two n'oreasters in 2 days?

So....A summer that rarely if ever made it out of the 7o's, winter arrives in October. Tell me this....if there is global warming...where the hell is the warmth? Because it's FREEZING in New England !

Gotthose good pics above of the foliage around here before the winds came up and tore many leaves down. Now if only they (the winds) would come back and blow them into the neighbors yard. Hee.

Update...

Autumn is really creeping around our front door...



On the front steps,

And all around the yard (please note cornstalks, grown by our kids for $0.75

rather than the usual $5.50 cornstalks cost around here! (and there is a ton

more at our garden site)

I loved this lonesome red and yellow leaf, wrested from the tree across the driveway,

a lone sentinel to the changing of the seasons. I can almost hear it calling to the hedge

and garden below, "it's time to change..."

Finally, my favorite shot from the lot...our front tree, illuminated by the morning sunlight,

mid-transition. The understory is still deep and rich and green, but the outer edges are

nibbling away at it...red, yellow, a hint of orange....

Welcome, Autumn!