fibergreen

 I found a round rattan drum table at GoodWill, but it didn't have a table top.



The nice thing about it is that I can use it to store Brooke's toys when she isn't chasing them around the house.  Where the chair is now, the TV stand provides a mug shelf, but I may not leave things arranged this way and having a side table for the chair seems like a good idea.  

The drum is painted a creamy white, but it is so faded, you can't really tell.  At some point, I will refinish the Papasan and will likely brush up the table as well.  For now though, the table needed a new top.  What to do?  Finding a round piece of wood seemed easy but proved impossible.  A brass platter would be fine, but wouldn't match my nickel accents.  Then, I spotted a 19" circle of temped glass sold to cover the cloth on a decorative table.  For $8, how could I go wrong!  But a glass top would slide off the drum too easily and if I hooked it down, how would I get the toys out?  

If I glued a circle of rope the the underside on the inside of the drum edge, the top would stay centered, but who wants to look at glue globs?  Solution?  Cover the underside with decoupage.  Some people may remember the height of my decoupage days when I make a fake ant farm for my littlest brother.  This time, however, I would use fabric.

I cut scraps of the batik used to cover the cushion, arranged the motifs in a pleasing pattern and then glued them down with Modge Podge.  Then I brushed glue over a circle of rough muslin and placed it behind the motifs.  



The result is a surface that won't skid off the drum and that will accept a smaller circle of something (I haven't decided) to keep the top centered on the drum.  

The next little project I started was a project to tile the backsplash in the kitchen.  This was vital because the textured walls are not easy to clean and the splashing from dishwashing is a problem.


I headed over to Lowe's to use a $10 off $50 purchase coupon to purchase supplies.  I went with the mesh backed glass tile in shades of blue.



I also purchased some grout and a spray tile adhesive.



I checked to see that even with the textured surface, the meshed tile would lie flat on the wall without rocking.  Next I masked off the space with contractor's paper and dropsheets left over from my paint adventures.  Tom Collins inspected my progress.



The adhesive was easy to spray on and I also "back buttered" the mesh tiles, which I had already cut to fit.  I let the adhesive dry until it was no longer tacky and then rolled them on, starting from one side where the garbage disposal switch is and ending by an outlet on the other side.  After an hour, I mixed up the small tub of grout and used a disposable grout trowel to spread on the grout.  Then I left to head to a tie-dye party in Whimberly.



When I got back I took of the mask and it looked great.


I will talk about the valence later when I get the lining put on.

So, after much dithering about paint colors, I have decided to begin decorating before painting. I am so focused on getting tenure right now that I can spend the time to paint and am nervous about spending the money. So, on to project that are actually relaxing and provide an instant benefit I could move with me if I end up leaving San Marcos.

I spent about $700 on used furniture at our local consignment. The love seat, recliner/rocker, mahogany pigeon hole desk, TV display stand, clock and pewter vase will feature in coming posts as the rooms evolve. So, let's start with the first victory.

I purchased this Papasan rocker at the GoodWill for $7. It didn't have a cushion, so I bought two mismatched cushions to use over the holidays.



Last month, while writing the fourth article I sent out this spring, I also bought some batting and foam and built a cushion using dimensions I found at MyPapasan.com.  I used the full length of batik that I had, but it came out slightly short, so I used scraps to make a crescent head rest. Oh, be sure to notice the rattan table next to the chair, that is the subject of a future post where I create a top for the table.




Of course, the cushions I had before were beloved of our cat Tom Collins, but he loves the new cushion as well and it matches his eyes.

This morning, Father Bruce Wilson, the rector here at St. Mark's Episcopal church (where I am a member) came to the house to do a house blessing. I had thought he would come and say a prayer, wave his arms around and that would be it. Oh, no, it is not that simple at all! It turns out that blessing a house is an important ritual that has been used since the days when churches met in people's homes. We used the ritual from the New Zealand Prayer book because it has lovely prayers for the land and fruits of the earth, which we consume in our homes. We invited friends and our friend Gina took all the pictures, which is why you don't see her.



The service begins by going out to the entrance to the land. We don't have a gate, so we went to the head of the courtyard. Fr. Bruce brought a cross and we headed out to the street with a candle and water to bless everything.
( Read more about Blessing a House... )

So, Mom had a good point. I have a lot of pictures of Brooke in the house, even if I don't have a lot of pictures of the house, so, here goes...Dog in the House!


Tom Collins, the cat, is checking out Brooke. This is the living room floor near the sliding glass doors.
( Check out more pictures of the dog in the house... )

Hey, sorry I haven't posted much lately, lots of work getting settled. Here are photos that I took 2 months ago on the walk through. Little details like the stove and garbage disposal outlet!



( Read more about electrical outlets and lighting... )

Did I buy a house, pay for ceramic tile, just so that I could get a dog?  Maybe.  Anyways...  I am at the end of a weekend visit with a dog that we are going to adopt.  Her name is Brooke.



( Read more about Brooke... )

In case you were waiting to send me mail, here is our new address:

114 Rush Haven #103
San Marcos, TX 78666

The word haven is like lane or circle, etc.  It represents the cul-de-sac, so you don't need any additional street designation.

Last night I headed over to Lowe's to buy a refrigerator.  They had a 10% off sale and I got a good deal on a Samsumg 24.8 cu.ft French Door with a Freezer drawer.



I paid $1335 with taxes.  I didn't really want a white fridge, but the closeout price and the delivery schedule (coming today at 2pm) made the color worth it.  Stainless look is what I was looking for, but white is less ostentatious and for the price...  I realized that what I really cared about was the filtered water in the door and the freezer, not the color.

I closed on the house today and got my keys around 12:15.  Signing all the paperwork took about an hour and Sandra at San Marcos Title, was super helpful the whole time.  I had done my research, so I knew what I was supposed to be signing and what it all meant.  I was looking for important things like the PrePayment Penalty Clause that states I DO NOT have to pay any penalty if I prepay on the mortgage.

I didn't know that they would make me leave for a couple of hours while they faxed everything to the lender and got confirmation that the money had been wired to the buyer.  It was anticlimactic and I wandered around Wal-Mart looking at poor quality towels for an hour before heading back to the Square to eat lunch.  Cafe on the Square is a couple doors down from the title company, so after lunch I popped in to ask "Any progress?"  The receptionist said "Honey, no body called?" "Here are you keys."

So, now I am camping in the house until it stops raining (praise God) so that everything won't get wet moving from storage.