Monday, February 28, 2011

Nancy's Gallery

Today we popped by my Mom and Dad's briefly
on our way back home from grocery shopping
and got a chance to see what my mom  
 has been up to.  You see she has not been feeling
so great the past years and not really felt well
enough to paint.

However today she showed me some paintings she
has been working on since she has been feeling
a bit better and I have just got to share them  with
you along with others she has painted
over the years.  I am so amazed by her talent
and she really is very humble about it,
no, actually, she does not believe she is
really really good.

She started painting late in life just like her mother,
who also was a very talented artist.

Well see if you agree with me and please do click on the
picture to see them larger and the detail she puts
into them.


I showed you in my very 
first blog post 
 this picture which she gave us that I adore.
(apparently she whipped it up in about 15 minutes).




and the technique she used in this
one is so interesting






and this is one of my favourites with one of my
favourite colours, turquoise.



this one is also stunning


I have a slightly different and smaller painting she did for us of this beautiful
 tuscan scene  which is in our front porch but she changed up the 
sky in this 2'x3' version.  Aren't the colours just spectacular?



A cozy cottage with a different colour interpretation is so cute 
and makes you want to peak inside, doesn't it?
Sorry the glass it is behind has blurred the photo  a bit.




Another of my favourites in it's simplicity.
Maybe she will sell this one to me.



Little girl by the river, I also have this one she gave me.
Sorry the picture didn't turn out to well.



So hard to paint such detail in all one colour 
but she masters it.



I can't imagine the patience it takes to 
paint such detail. 






This is one of Mom's favourites as
it reminds her of her grandchildren Colton and Jacy.





 This is my, "little girl by the river" she gave me and if you look
closely  you can see her, she is wearing red.





She masters trees beautifully.




I love the simplicity of this one.


Another of her favourites



She even makes the simple things like her  suburban backyard
fence and some rocks  in the winter time when she lived
in Calgary look interesting



Looks like the stunning Lake Louise in Alberta 
doesn't it. 


and I will buy this one too when she lets me. I love the shadows and the
use of orange and blue and white.





and I think this one is one of her finest. She blessed us with it
and it touches me especially because the lady resembles my
younger sister  Catherine so very much.




Mom I am so very proud of what you have 
accomplished 
and  thank you  for the beautiful pieces of your work you have 
graciously given us. They make me smile every time I look 
at them. I love you.

hugs
Sandra




Take That Ikea




I love buying  much better quality 
second hand pieces for much less than
what it would cost for new ones of
the same quality and sometimes
poorer quality.



We have had this little dresser for years
and it is solid wood, maybe maple. I paid $150.00 
for it. Todd cut a little bit off the 
legs to make the same height as
the other dresser which
is the best height as a night stand for our bed.




and this maple one which I found on Kijiji for $20.00.


We removed the kick  



and I thought I was going to get him to 
make it look like this but I have 
changed my mind and decided to 
go with a similar look to the other
dresser.


I removed these pretty glass knobs off the darker dresser
and may use glass again if I don't find my dream 
clear glass lamps.


Great solid wood dovetailed drawers on one


and wood drawers notch construction on the
other is much better than any pressboard/mdf 
construction. 


and everything got a coat of latex Bin 123 primer yesterday.


and while I was busy doing that Todd got a coat
of primer on the side stair built-ins, SWEET!





and today is another grey day, calling for freezing rain. I've got
a busy day planned with more painting and groceries and maybe if
the weather permits a drop down to Mom and Dad's for  a quick visit.



So if you are thinking you need a new piece of furniture and 
are going to hit Ikea, Walmart etc, why don't you check out the classifieds or 
craigslist to see what second hand beauties you can find and 
transform to make your own.

and 

if the sun is shining where you are
send'er my way please!

Have a great day

hugs
Sandra

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Laundry Days




Weekends are when the laundry gets done around here and while
I'm dreaming of days when I can hang the laundry out to dry



 I don't feel deprived very much at all when I get to be in our
laundry/mudroom


To me it is more than I dreamed I would ever get to have for 
the place to do what sometimes seems like a chore.

I don't think I shared a picture of the sink cabinet after
it got a coat of white paint so here she is.



And our salvaged sink has a super deep bowl
on the one side  and a nice shallow bowl on the other that is so handy.


One of the first things that was a sign that something was
not going right with my health was a sensitivity to perfume
and then chemicals. After learning from a friend that he cured his 
son's newly developed asthma by making sure that his home did not
have any cleaning chemicals or unnatural soaps for bathing or for their laundry
I switched from the typical Tide to natural laundry products and my 
favourite is  Seventh Generation.




and there is no need to resort to chemicals for stain remover either.
Buncha Farmers stain remover stick does the job as good
as Shout and is biodegradable.


Or a long time tried and true stain remover 
called Endit. I'm not sure if it's biodegradable though as
I no longer have the packaging.



I get to look out at the farmers fields across the street 
while I fold. Sadly there are plans for new homes to go
there in the next 5 years. My heart is broken by this fact.



The view behind me as I fold.




The bench used to be in the front porch 
but when we did the bookshelves in the dining room
we had to find a place for my beloved empire style dresser
and the porch was the only place for it.
The bench is a great place to pile the 
clothes or sit down to put
your shoes or boots on.





And the wonderful reflection of the backyard in the mirror.







 I love our home, this house that has taken up 10 years of our lives
with all it's history and character of yesteryear.
  I know they say "home is where your heart is"
but my heart IS in this home and this town and I want to stay 
for many years to come. 







Friday, February 25, 2011

Lamp Love



It's been  very very busy at work lately and I am so grateful, 
however it has left me exhausted at the end
of each day and the week. 

Last weekend I  prepped our bed and dressers  for
paint but I haven't been able to find the energy
to do the painting so this is what our
dining room has looked like all week. 

I just want to get it done so that I don't start second
guessing all my ideas. I find that when I'm tired I do that
 a lot. I guess it's the fear that if I make a mistake
I won't have the physical or financial resources to 
fix it. Oh well, ya gotta live on the edge some time,
don't ya.



In the meantime I was so pleased to make a sale on Kijiji 
to put some money towards some new lamps.
I had tried a couple of stores looking for my all time
favourite lamps for this room only to come up short. 

I had spotted these white glass lamps at Lowe's and thought this pretty
drum shade looked so fresh with the base but it is so 
far removed from the lamps I adore that they just wouldn't do. 





So I have taken it one step farther. I thought, why not call the head office
and ask the buyer if they will be bringing this lamp back in stock. Well I got a nice lady
in customer service who told me that without a stock or upc number there 
was nothing that could be done. I told her that I could give her a very distinct description
and that it is not in the store anymore so I can't get the number. She told me 
that without it she can't help me. 

The next day I called again and by chance got the same person in customer service.  
I told her I am just crazy for these lamps and have to just try somehow to see
if they will be available again. She said she understood. I asked her if I could email
a picture of a lamp that is almost identical to send that to the buyer. She said she could do that
for me.  So this is the picture I sent her and now I've got my fingers, toes and legs crossed
hoping I may be lucky enough to hear back from them with good news!







In the meantime, if any of you have a lead on this style of lamp in Canada for about
$40.00 I would love to hear from you. 
Isn't it just sheer perfection, SIGHHHHHH.



and here are some other  beauties that we spied when
we went just window shopping on our long family day weekend
It was nice to get out and go downtown and even stop
at our favourite awesome Italian bakery for some home made
stew and vegies. 


















I have round mirror love too!











































Very cool real gas lamp














Well have a great weekend!