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Thank you to Joyce who always
provides this fun Hodgepodge for us!
Thank you to Joyce who always
provides this fun Hodgepodge for us!
1. What does/did Halloween look like at your house this year? Did you decorate? Pick pumpkins? Carve pumpkins? Expect trick or treaters? Wear a costume to a party or event? Make a costume? Feel glad you didn't have to come up with a costume? Cook a Halloween themed treat? Eat all the leftover candy?
Halloween is pretty uneventful at our house. I have one fall decoration (see photo above), not Halloween, didn't carve pumpkins, but I did pick the squash that was in the garden and brought it in so that it wouldn't freeze. Does that count? No costume, no Halloween-themed treat. We did get some bags of candy, which undoubtedly will be eaten this weekend rather than tonight (It's Halloween night as I write this, and usually no one shows up. I wonder why. Out in the middle of nowhere, long driveway, bats and lightning...), when the family is all here for our Early Thanksgiving.
An ancient photo of our third son (now 29 years old)
as we celebrated Reformation Day
He was way cuter than Martin Luther.
The most ghostly photo I have in my files
Shaughan Seymour on a London ghost walk
2. What are you waiting for? Elaborate
Right now I'm waiting for ambition :-) The family is coming here for an Early Thanksgiving this weekend, and I have a lot to get done. And I know, waiting for ambition is not the most profitable way to go about it. I think I'll have a coffee and cookie and most likely things will improve.
3. Do you wish you were friendlier, braver, more creative, more athletic, or something else? Explain.
I wish I were more generous. I'm working on it. With lots of daily prayer. And practice. I used to pray for patience, but it didn't happen fast enough. ;-) I do think our prayers are answered, probably never as fast as we want or necessarily in the way we want. Praying for God's will to be done is a lot different than praying that our will be done and God set his stamp of approval on it.
Our wonderful Dragon Wing Begonias
hung on until the bitter end,
which came just a few nights ago.
They gave us almost five months of lush beauty.
I reminded Mr. C. of this fact because they're
also the most expensive plant we buy in late May.
But they're worth every penny.
(I'd rather you didn't ask his opinion on this)
4. When it comes time to paint are you a do-it-yourselfer or do you hire someone? What was the last paint job completed at your house? What room most needs painting now? How do you feel about wallpaper?
I'm a do-it-myselfer, which means that the last paint job completed at our house is in my distant memory. Almost every room in our house could use fresh paint. How I feel about wallpaper?? Don't believe it when you read that you can size your walls and later the wallpaper will peel off when you go to replace it. That is a LIE!! I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about the wallpaper in our bedroom/bathroom, and if I could be certain that trends of the mid 1980s would return sometime soon, I'd probably do nothing (although it's hideous). I know that wallpaper will come off a speck at a time with great effort, so I'm tempted to paint over it. Or maybe wallpaper (shudder!!!) over it with something less obnoxious. Does anyone paint over wallpaper?
Me in my painting duds
I don't dare disclose to you how long ago this photo was taken!
You might hate peppered red, but I love it in our library.
That board on the wall, by the way, is where we hang our huge set of roll-down world history maps.
Most of that red wall is covered by white bookshelves now.
5. What is one specific thing you felt gratitude for in the month of October?
I've been grateful for many things in the month of October. Family, for sure. And then the opportunity to worship the Lord of the Universe in various cathedrals in England. They always put me in mind of how small I am and how great God is, and inspire awe for our risen King.
Southwark Cathedral, London
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Our nearest village (2 mi)
Photo from October of 2013
And now I'd better get busy and declutter, clean, tidy, and get the food preparation underway. I'm definitely looking forward to the family being here for Early Thanksgiving!
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Join me on Instagram: @cranberrymorning
You might enjoy the video of Tommy. :-)
Photo taken last March
I miss this stage.
Now they're both acting like teenagers.
The village pic is beautiful and of course, I always love to see pics of your kitties. Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of wallpaper and it certainly does not come off easily. I did find that using a steamer helped. There is wallpaper in the master bathroom here and it's from the 80s. That whole thing is going to be gutted though since you can see under the house from one part of the floor and the tiles are coming off. This man has been going to redo that bathroom for about 15 years now. I figure another couple years and it might get started. It will never be finished. Anyway... LOL I love that picture of the village. It's beautiful! Enjoy your early Thanksgiving! I can't wait to read about it and see the pictures!
ReplyDeleteIf that ambition shows up, could you send some to Alabama???
ReplyDeleteLove your little Martin Luther guy! So sweet. We did paint over wallpaper once and it was to get my parents' home ready for sale after Dad passed away. We had very little time to get the house ready and since we didn't live in the town with them, we had to travel each weekend just to paint. It was tacky and it truly surprised me that someone bought the house.
ReplyDeleteThe Fall picture is so pretty. I notice a sign Dallas. Enjoy your Thanksgiving this weekend. I'm feeling positive you will get it all done.
Your little guy was cute. I bet a pepper red for the library wall was beautiful. Out Halloween is not that exciting any more either but we did have a lot of kids. Not surprised you are a do it yourself kind of gal and that you appreciate family! So do I.
ReplyDeleteHello, cute shot of your son in the costume. Hubby and I do our painting, we may feel achy afterwards though. The early Thanksgiving sounds like fun, our family is all going different ways this year. Your flowers are lovely, we still have a few blooms on the Lantana.
ReplyDeleteHappy November, have a happy Wednesday!
That village picture is beautiful and your little Reformer is adorable nailing his theses to the door.
ReplyDeleteWe have painted over wallpaper in several rooms, with varying degrees of success. In the main bathroom, the paper was falling off in numerous places, which gave me hope that it would all come off easily. It did not ... it stuck tenaciously in many areas. We did not have time to sand it all down properly and we intend to put white beadboard paneling over it anyway, so we did a rudimentary sanding and sponging and then painted over it. The walls have a sort of distressed look which I can live with until we have time to get the beadboard project done.
I do think that might be the answer for your bedroom. I had never even really thought of such a thing until we were in one of the big home improvement stores (either Lowes or Home Depot; I'm pretty sure it was Home Depot) looking at options for the bathroom. While looking at the beadboard (it comes by the sheet, I think) we got into a conversation with another customer, a contractor who had done many renovations, and he highly recommended it. We loved the look of it, and the potential for very easy maintenance, so we will be going that route when we can carve out some time for the project.
I hope by the time I am writing this you are up and IN GEAR getting ready for the week end. I am not a DIY person, but when I was younger I painted everything in the house for walls to furniture, many times. the paint was so thick on my sons chest of drawers, maybe 7 layers of paint. kept changing the one wall of wall paper, paint the 3 walls, make the dresser match. that stopped in 1980, in 1985 I painted to bedrooms while bob was at work. one green and one beige, it was HIS house I moved into when we married and I had NO IDEA he doesn't like color on the walls, he WANTED it all white. so white it is and has been for 27 years in this house.
ReplyDeleteHello, lovely photos, and actually you've given a boost of ambition through your lovely post! I like your lone Halloween decoration, it's the spirit that counts, and as I reflected with one of my grandchildren over their decorations, Halloween just slips by too quickly!
ReplyDeleteHmmm...that's funny, your Halloween sounded a lot like mine! Darling photo of your little guy. I love and totally agree with answer #3 and I love a red wall any old time. As far as painting over wallpaper, you can. You can get a texture paint OR mud the seams then sand...if you want that mess and much work OR you could install bead board paneling over top!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a wonderful family weekend! I love seeing your bookshelves. They look a lot like mine...lots of books just a few knick knacks here and there! Blessings for a beautiful weekend! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteThis is really amazing that i took the time to look at this blog it's a useful post i am impressed with your work thanks for sharing.bloom tattoos
ReplyDeleteHa! The cats are acting like teenagers. Ha, Ha!
ReplyDeleteWell, you know we love your house. The boys think Judy and Kevin have the most amazing house. Yep, even with the bats and lighting.
Carla
You can paint over wallpaper but it's not recommended. My dad did it a couple of times and it worked out okay, probably depends on the color of both. Don't know if you follow Bob Goff, but he had a great quote this morning and your comments on how God answers prayer reminded me of it...'The way we deal with uncertainty says a lot about whether Jesus is ahead of us leading or behind us just carrying our stuff' I've been thinking about these words all day. Happy Early Thanksgiving!!
ReplyDeleteLOL! I'm waiting on that ambition to show up around here, too! LOL! My little herd will be here for the weekend... and, I still have no thought for food, let alone started the shopping (hard to shop when you don't have a plan). Ha!
ReplyDeleteI love your praying for generosity. One of my prayers also.... along with patience. ;) Yes, those beautiful cathedrals do so fill the spirit with a sense of wonder at the magnificence of our Heavenly Father. Amen and amen.
blessings ~ tanna
PS Loved seeing your little Reformer. Where does the time go???
ReplyDeleteThat is one cute Martin Luther! We enjoyed listening to a sermon by Alistair Begg yesterday about the Reformation. Good stuff. Fun hodgepodge. Hope you have a real good week!
ReplyDeleteWalking into and worshipping in a Cathedral fills my heart with gratitude and awe.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more about getting wallpaper off the wall! So frustrating! Peeling a little at a time is just awful. As much as I like the different patterns I will never have it in my home again. Have a great Thanksgiving with your family! ♥
I painted over wallpaper once but used a textured paint. It lasted for years and never peeled. I agree that those old cathedrals are awe-inspiring and good for the soul. It was a fun Hodgepodge this week!
ReplyDeleteOh that little Martin Luther is adorable! I removed wallpaper last year for the last time. No more! Love seeing everyone's bookshelves. Would love to browse through yours.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your early Thanksgiving. I need to get going on my plans, too.
xo Deborah
Enjoy your early Thanksgiving weekend . . .
ReplyDeleteI hope the “kitten teenagers” enjoy the family being home!
We need to paint too . . . My son brought up the subject the other night.
(He has his own paint business, so I said, I am ready when you are!))
Oh boy howdy! Things must be getting pretty exciting at your place as you prepare for Thanksgiving this weekend. May you enjoy the process of getting prepared and don’t forget to pace yourself.
ReplyDeleteYou and I have a mutual loathing for painting. I painted deck stairs this week and tossed myself into a bout of Vertigo...all that bending.
The teenagers are still very sweet and still inseparable I see.
🦃Happy and blessed Thanksgiving!
Judy, we had wallpaper on two walls of our bedroom. It was a very quiet pattern and wasn't hurting anybody :D but when we "refreshed" the room a couple years ago, Mr Delightful wanted to be done with the ancient wallpaper. Of course, it was *my* job to remove it, and I must say it was easier than I expected it to be. You get this little tool you run over the walls that pokes holes in the paper. Then you get a spray bottle of warm/hot water and spray the daylights out of it and let it stand for a bit. Some came off in handy dandy strips, but there were some spots that took a bit of effort.
ReplyDeleteYour mantle looks lovely. I definitely hear you on ambition. It will be just Mark and I for Thanksgiving this year. I was never much of a painter, Mark usually does it. Right now I think we should just hire someone and get it done! Going to England is definitely something to have gratitude for. Love the Fall colors in your random.
ReplyDeleteI laughed at the squash "so it won't freeze" comment. But yes, in my opinion, it is a decoration!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your early Thanksgiving... a coffee & cookie will most definitely help you get things done (works for me all the time!)
:-)
I painted deck stairs this week and tossed myself into a bout of Vertigo...all that bending.
ReplyDeleteเย็ดสาว