953

Can you believe that this is post 953? My goodness, either I'm a fool or diligent, one or the other!

The lawn is done and the laundry is drying on the line in the breezy, sunny weather. As well, the Chinese Tallow Tree is finished shedding, allowing for maximum sunshine on the clothesline. I suspect with the low humidity the clothes will be dry in no time.

The leaf drop was oh so colorful. The day the carpet layers were here was rainy and gloomy as I mentioned. Mostly I was right there with the guys but at one point I decided to empty the pool skimmer basket. And what should I see in said basket?

Indeed, he was swimming around amongst the fallen leaves as well as a multitude of ants. I'm wondering where all these ants came from....note to self...find out. See the white on his back? I'm curious if that is salt. Anyway, I'm not one for picking up creatures with my hands. Instead I looked to my newly organized tool drawer and figured this slotted spoon would do the trick.

Out of the water and he's off and running.

Presumably into the bushes and from there is anyone's guess.

Yesterday morning I walked into my office and found a ROBIN flying around. Shutting the door quickly I went to get my camera off the kitchen counter where I keep it for bird sightings. Seriously, it never occurred to me to need it in the office. Poor little birdie, he flew around lighting on the blinds and drapery rods. I only spent a moment before calling out to Bruce in his office. Between the two of us we helped guide him through the open back door where we're assuming he came in.

Unfortunately, the bird left evidence of his presence on my computer monitor, the freshly painted wall, and my desk. Actually, I just leafed through the Audubon guide and it is not a Robin, nor can I find the identification. Maybe my friend Linda will know. Kind of ironic he landed near all the other feathers I keep. Upon further investigation Bruce and I think perhaps it is a Carolina Wren. This site seems to confirm our suspicions.

After the bird hullabaloo, I got to work on prints, prints, and more prints. What you see here are some of my most popular prints which will go with me to Mount Dora.

All of my baskets are arrayed on the floor waiting to be sorted. While signing the prints I made a few much needed phone calls to two of my bridge buddies. You may remember Debbie who last May was diagnosed with breast cancer. Sadly she is still undergoing treatment, however, she's doing it with aplomb. Absolutely no complaining on her part. At one point she said she wished she had hair, but then again it's only hair. I replied, "you are a woman after all. It's perfectly natural to want your hair!"

As well, last week Jean had open heart surgery for the second time. Once when she was 43 and now again at 70. She too was in good spirits. Amazingly she was out of the hospital in no time with the incision glued together. That's right--glued. My, oh my!

For dinner I used one of my coveted packages of Nando's seasoning packets on a whole chicken. I love how the instructions say to put it on anything you can get your hands on. I couldn't agree more. Graphic photograph ahead my vegetarian and vegan friends!

Good grief it was delicious! Mashed potatoes and brocoli as sides and we were in heaven.

Before I get back to signing, stickering, and sorting I wanted to show you a few things I found during the "move." Here's a darling little Easter card Mr. Bruce made when he was just a young whippersnapper.

Pretty impressive that the egg shells have stayed on there so long!

While organizing the closet I was considering getting rid of all my Mom's old sheet music until Angela talked me out of it, saying perhaps I might sell it on eBay. Maybe so, maybe not. Until such time I'll use it for photography, although this one might look very cool framed.

Some of my Northern friends are requesting blue sky photographs. Here's a partially blue one:

Finally, two Christmases ago I gave Matthew some green produce bags that claim to keep produce fresh for much longer than any other storage method. At the same time I bought some for myself, using them only sporadically so I had nothing concrete to report about their usefulness. Well now I do. These strawberries were in one of those babies for a week and look as good as new.

May I please have a second finally? The closet produced all sorts of mementos carrying me down memory lane. Not too far for this one though because as I may have told you in the past, my parents marriage was always shrouded in mystery. I'm not sure if I ever saw this wedding picture until they both passed away. I give you my parents:

Voting on the agenda next.

loving this winter,
Gail

In With the New

Sound's pretty easy doesn't it? Well, my body will tell you differently. Seriously, it was like moving half our home! The good news is that both Bruce and I are ecstatic with the new carpet. Let's go back a few days and see how things unfolded shall we?

The closet painting proceeded without mishap. Have you bought any paint lately? Seriously, it is expensive these days. That said, the Super Paint from Sherwin Williams is indeed super. No spatters to speak of, drips almost non-existent, and goes on the wall like a dream. The same cannot be said for the cheap paint I bought for the closets. More like white wash. I got messier painting the closets than I did the whole room!

Fortunately it was not terribly dirty. Do not ask me why I put a cloth down when the carpet was coming out the next day. So that's our finished closet. Notice the trim in the middle of the wall? Before we had the house re-plumbed we had some serious leak issues. Bruce got to them by taking the wall down in the closet, once only a few days before we were hosting a huge party. Those were the days.....

The office closet looked like this during the process:

All those little hookie things are for the shelving system that had to come down. Again, the silly cloth.

Waking up at 6 on Friday morning I immediately went to work, removing everything that I could from the rooms. Where to put it? Why, the shower and bathtub of course!

Lamps, under the bed stuff, and linens from our bedroom. The counter held clocks, fan and photographs. The office next got the stripping action. Moving my computer to the kitchen table, I put most of the rest of the stuff in the hallway bathroom.

Baxter wondering what the heck was going on! I emptied my desk because I thought they would turn it on it's side which they did not. Oh well, this forced me to re-organize and trash things I no longer need. The Goodwill pile was growing...

Three fellows arrived around 8:30 amidst a slow drizzle. Thankfully, the rain never amounted to much because had it, the job would have had to be put off. This, of course, would not have made me happy. Laying a giant tarp in the driveway they roughly cut the pieces and stored them in the kitchen. They began in the smallest bedroom, moving to the office and finally our bedroom. All the while Baxter was roaming around puzzled.

This is JP doing his thing; making the seam which is done with a special tape and iron. Because of the wetness outside, not to mention the recent massive leaf drop, the house was getting messier by the minute. I swept multiple times trying to keep things manageable. Finally, at 2:30 they were done. While they were working on my office I began moving things back into the guest bedroom and so on. Good plan because as it was, I worked like nobodies business until 8:30 Friday night setting things aright. Bruce's flight finally arrived around then and once it did I called him to bring FOOD!

Earlier in the evening Angela came over to check it out. My tiredness was apparent, however, she dismissed it. My response? Keep in mind you are 13 years younger than I and let me tell you that makes a difference. Not that I want it to, but one must face facts. Although I'm still a pretty good worker, I AM NOT the same as I was nearing 45 years old. While I was putting stuff back in our bedroom I decided to shake things up a bit and rearrange the room. Not that I started the day thinking that way, but what the heck? When Bruce came home he was pleased. I'm still a little sketchy on placing the bed in front of the window. Here's a shot taken on Saturday afternoon after returning from what turned out to be an excellent day at the Winter Garden market.

What do you think? Here's the guest bedroom,

And finally my darling new office,

Perhaps darling isn't the word? I'm thrilled with it I'll tell you that much. The carpet is just wonderful; not only does it look good, but it feels fantastic on our feet. I couldn't be more pleased with the job Discount Carpet & Tile did. And to think I found them online.

Friday evening I was so beat I had to quit. Thus, Saturday morning Bruce finished moving the clothes into the closets and putting the doors back on. By the time I left for the WG market, things were looking decidedly better. Returning in the afternoon, I finished up the closet in the office. The public rooms are once again neat and tidy.

Speaking of the WG market, while driving there I was thinking all the while I didn't want to go. Listening to Scott Simon on Weekend Edition, I heard him interview Martin Mull and Fred Willard who partnered in the 70's for a show called Fernwood Tonight. I was running late, otherwise I would never have heard Fred Willard saying that a performer, and in my case an art vendor, should never turn down anything no matter how small because one never knows what it may lead to. Good advice Fred because I had my second best day on Saturday. So glad I went. The day was chilly to start but turned out lovely. We've got a new fresh flower vendor who had gorgeous flowers.

The citrus is in the peak season right now, looking and tasting amazing.

Strawberry season as well. The ones pictured were picked on Friday.

I rustled up some dinner but before I did I saw this beautiful sunset out the window necessitating a quick trip down to the lake.

Winter sunsets are the best!

Chilly Sunday morning temperatures turned into mild ones later on. This January has been the most beautiful in years. Starting slowly, I built momentum throughout the day with 24 sales before the day was over. Between the last two weekends I've sold 50 items. I must remind myself of this during the slow summer months! That said, defying reason, last August was my best month of 2011. Go figure. No art shows + little traffic=Big sales? Further proof that the longer I do this gig, the more the notion that "you never know" holds true. Yesterday the place was packed, prompting Jeff and Connie to ask when they showed up at my booth, "Is it always like this?" Why no, it is not, but when it is, we are happy! They came to my very first day at the market, bringing friends as well. I forgot to ask them while we shared dinner at 310 Park after the market, if they ever thought I'd make it five years. I'm sure I didn't!

Which brings us to this weekend's show. Visiting the show for ideas five years ago I never dreamed I would be amongst the artists one day. The competition for sales should prove tough as there are 299 others to choose from. Putting that thought aside, I am preparing for the best case scenario. More prints to pick up from Mr. Roger, and even more to order. I am thrilled to say I sold two canvases this weekend! As well I have an order for at least one more. Things are looking pretty good right now. May I appreciate it while it lasts!

Humbly yours,
Gail

Top of the Morning to You

Indeed, it's a beautiful morning with cool breezes flowing through the open windows and lots of sunshine. I just got off the phone with the carpet folks and they'll be here tomorrow morning as scheduled rather than the message he left yesterday saying it was today. More on that to follow.

While talking to Nancy the other day she asked if we were doing only the office or all the bedrooms? Three rooms of dirty carpet=Three rooms of new carpet. I'm sparing you any other gross photographic evidence of the need.

On Tuesday I rode down to Lakeland with Bruce for his meeting and lunch. Darden is demolishing a closed Macaroni Grill, replacing it with an Olive Garden. As a matter of fact, as I type this, the building is supposed to be down. Bruce met there with some firefighters from the Lakeland Fire Department who he allowed to use the building for practice before the demo. They set off smoke bombs, smashed windows, and cut holes in the roof. He was giving them permission here for one last practice session.

After our lunch with the contractor's project manager and superintendent, we drove through downtown, landing almost exactly at the spot that I had last year at Mayfaire. The lake was chock full of birds, including a group of pelicans which surprised me.

And this Canadian goose,

While I was roaming the lakeside, Bruce used the time to take a little power nap. Like a dummy I had my camera on the wrong setting so most of my time was for naught.

Before being able to take photographs in earnest I took lots of things for granted. Now, everywhere I look I see a picture, maybe not always artistic, but a moment in time I'd like to remember. I'm sure I spent most of my life oblivious to cloud formations, now, on the other hand, they are an endless source of fascination.

Taken through the windshield (I was not driving!), they were so big and fluffy! As you can see the landscape is brown; a result of our recent cold snaps. Prior to that everywhere you looked the land was as green as can be.

Returning home we got to work clearing out the closets. Thankfully I did not have to go that one alone! Originally Bruce was coming home Thursday night, however his travel plans changed when a couple of big wigs scheduled a visit to his job just outside Boston. Instead, he'll be traveling home on the company jet Friday afternoon. So, he devised the plan, and we got to work. Here's what the sunroom looks like:

Yikes!! Plus the dining room table and one of the couches are piled with clothes and stuff. He took all the shelving out, moving some of the furniture as well. He claims the workers will not be as careful and I'm sure he's right.

I was happy to have a photo shoot yesterday so I didn't have to live with the chaos. As you know, Dana is one connected lady. As manager of the Church Street Exchange building she often has photographic needs and calls on your favorite blogger. The task yesterday was to photograph all the spaces on the bottom floor from every angle which doesn't sound too hard but believe you me, it was. I spent nearly six hours doing so. With my photographic equipment, jobs like this are difficult. As well, having no editing skills doesn't help! Bruce left for the airport around 9 and I went downtown soon thereafter. I tried all kinds of settings to combat the fluorescent lighting as well as the sunlight streaming through the storefront windows. My tripod even made a rare appearance. Using my flash wore down the battery faster than I'm accustomed to so I had to come home for a fresh one, eating a quick lunch while here. Allegedly the flash is good to even out the light, however the challenge is not to have light blobs on the windows.

See what I mean? Requesting shots from the outside of the building as well as the interior store fronts proved to be quite challenging for me. She also wanted the common areas which had an entirely different type of lighting.

By far one of the nicest features is the fountain which does get light from three different directions.

Another problem are all the straight lines everywhere. I see this one is off somewhat--must fix!

As well I photographed her event space on the second floor. Converting the former Orlando Magic preview space into a party space with a small budget takes creativity for sure. This one would have been great had it not been for my bag on the floor!

Here's the next room,

Again, lighting challenges for a novice like myself. I suspect I'll have to go back, but today is not the day for that. Six hours  yesterday was enough for me.

While talking to David on the phone and looking at the photos, an email notice came through on my computer. I was very happy to be chosen for the Melbourne Arts Festival. Last year I was on the wait list so being chosen this year makes me happy. For those of you who don't know it, I graduated Melbourne High School in 1971. Because I was new in town and had a long distance boyfriend, somehow I never got to know anyone those last two years of high school. I had one friend named Peggy. Kind of pathetic when you think about it. The downtown is quaint and right near water, so although the show is scheduled at the cusp of the hot season, perhaps that will make things cooler. Every now and again I like to take our show on the road. Speaking of which, Mount Dora is only NINE days away. Oh, how I hope the weather is good. Naturally I'm a little gun shy.

One final word about the shoot. A man opened a terrific gallery there, or I should say, set it up, because the grand opening is not until March. About a year ago I loaned Dana some pieces for what they hoped would be a gallery. Didn't really work. Imagine my surprise when I saw my pieces hung in the new space.

Those green palms? They are mine, however, Guy hung them in such a creative way that I think is brilliant. Originally it was to be a triptych, and I did show it that way once, however, this configuration is so much better. Of course you'd have to have a big space, but still. Before it was too dramatic, even for me. I'm very, very pleased.

In the first paragraph I mentioned the carpet timing. The fellow scared me a bit because the message he left said they would be here today. I'm not ready. The inside of the closets have not been painted in years and years and now is the time to do it. Although I'd rather lounge a bit today, the task needs doing and I'm the girl to do it. Off to the store for, if you can imagine, WHITE paint.

I'll leave you with my favorite kind of light--the sun which I'm so much better using.

So long,
Gail

Office Makeover

When last we met we were talking about new walls and floors. So you saw the walls half done and the garage floor the same. Bruce finished his project and now mine is nearly complete. About the floors. For months and months now I knew something had to be done about the bedroom carpeting. Just what I wasn't sure, vacillating between new wall to wall carpeting or wood floors. In the end the carpeting won out. Try as I might I could never get these stains out, nor do I know where they came from. I am not this messy!

I hesitated about making this large because it is so darn ugly, however, believe me, it is worse in person. And these are not the only spots I'm sad to say. Finally it is going away. Thursday afternoon a nice young man came to the house with my requested "medium grade" samples. If there's one thing that confuses me it is picking out carpet amongst the gazillion styles and grades. He made it very easy for me to choose a multi-colored frisee, sort of a very short shag, which I'm happy to report will be installed on Friday, Lord willing and the creek don't rise. They call the color, Shell, which basically means off white and some brownish yarns. Unlike paint, it aint so easy to change if we don't like it so here's hoping we will.

That will be the final part of the puzzle on remodeling my office, really more like redecorating. So how am I coming? Very well thank you.

I took the curtains back to Ikea, coming home with two different ones to choose from. In the end I chose the ones that originally caught my attention. Probably would have saved me some trips to Ikea had I listened to my instinct! You may be wondering how I chose the black/white/green idea. Well the fact is that last year when I initially moved into this room we bought a chair for visitors from Ikea. Perhaps I showed you last year so bear with me on this one.

Pretty bold right? Behind it are the new curtains!!! There is the tiniest dots of orange which really sold me. I'm thinking they are pretty adorable.

I mentioned that I was waiting on Mr. Bruce to come home and take down the shelves which he did and spray painted them no less. Before he did I took a photograph of the shelves to remind me how to recreate them albeit on a different color. This is the before:

And here's the after:

Woohoo!! Bruce built the shelves more years ago than I can remember and I saw no reason to change them except for the color. I was thinking bright and cheerful rather than the old look which at one time looked a bit sophisticated. While I was at the Saturday market Bruce used four cans of spray paint to do these shelves as well as the ones on the opposite wall. Coming home I couldn't wait to get into my paint clothes and finish the walls! Shorts were the order of the day because by late afternoon it was warming up big time. Before dinner the walls were done with the shelves going up after we ate. By now I was very excited, however there was more excitement to come.

Sunday, after setting up the tent and leaving the canvas hanging to me, Bruce made a beeline home to make my new windowsills. That's right, I said windowsills. I've no idea if they were the original ones or not but what I do know is they were do for a makeover. Actually that's a project he'd already completed in the rest of the house. I've tried to crop this photo down so you can see what I'm talking about.

See that yellowish tile? Ready for a makeover. While I was chatting it up at Lake Eola, Bruce was cutting, mitering, sanding, sawing and priming. Now I have some lovely white windowsills!

Love them! See the cute little orange dots? I read in the newspaper over the weekend that Pantone, the color people, have designated Tangerine Tango the color of 2012. Sexy name and great color. Of course I've been preaching the gospel of orange for a while now. Actually they are talking a reddish- orange but anything in that family makes me happy.

Trying to put it all together using new and old stuff, I bought two large black faux crocodile boxes, or at least that's what I think they are supposed to be. The color, shine and texture attracted me as well as their storage potential. They still needed a little pop, jazz, or whatever you want to call it. Before I bought the new drapes I first tried putting some ribbon on the white ones which somehow just didn't work. I thought to myself, "self, maybe you can use it somewhere else." The boxes seemed like the next best thing.

You might think I'm a crafty kind of person but really I'm not. Today I used a hot glue gun for the very first time. No worries about anything getting on the carpet now! So, here we go:

Naturally Baxter had to check things out.

Jim and Kathy always have great plants and they didn't disappoint me yesterday with the selection. The boxes are not only for looks but to store some of my larger prints. This is a working office you know. :)
I believe it was Saturday night that I thought of something along those lines. For quite some time now I have some very predictable prints that always sell. Normally, because of space constraints, I order them two or three at a time at the most. I realized that we have what I call "the twirly thing" hanging up in the garage not earning it's keep. Now, however, Bruce got it down and it has now taken up residence in my office where it can store at least five in each holder. Brilliant. Now I must order, order, order. I believe they call that having inventory. Running out of popular prints will be a thing of the past; at least that's the idea.....

This morning, while returning a tablecloth to Ross I bought for the WG market, which proved to be too short, I found the very fun planter on the ground. Love me some Ross for decorating items. Am I the only one who has noticed that rarely do any television designers use plants? Wonder why?

Woo hoo--spotlight on the stains. I'll be emptying that cardboard box later. As well I need to hem the curtains and that will about do it. I'm sure I'll think of something else but for now it's looking cool and crisp as a cucumber.

The reason I needed another plant was because after I moved the almost blooming orchid into the office a few little buds fell right off. Boohoo! I decided it was too big an environmental shock. What I also learned yesterday from Kathy is that I need to be misting those little buds which I did vigorously this morning.  One of the larger buds has now opened!

The wild green in the background is from the rye grass Bruce planted in the backyard. Backgrounds are a topic I want to discuss with you in the future. Every now and again I like to share some photography tips I've learned over the last four years. Practicing every day will teach a girl a thing or two.

Ready to put the office to good use,
Gail

New Floors and Walls

When Jonathan called on Tuesday evening to let me know the quilt arrived safe and sound, he asked what I was doing. Painting. "Really," he replied with a hint of skepticism in his voice. He thought I meant artistic painting to which I replied that I only "paint" with food coloring. If he'd had time to think he would have surely figured out that his mom is always re-doing something around the house.

But before we get to me, let's see what Mr. Bruce has been up to. I suppose because he was home all last week he had time to look around a bit. Just as Bruce and I do, an older home needs constant maintenance. I don't mind being older so much just as I don't mind one bit living in a 51 year old home, it's just that there's more upkeep required for both situations! Anyway, Bruce decided the garage floor needed paint. When he decides to do something, it's a big one. Moving what he could on Sunday afternoon, we did not unload the vehicle when we returned from the market so that what is ordinarily stored on his big saw table  could make room for everything movable in the garage. Staying up later, at least for us, on Sunday night, he scrubbed and scraped the floor. In an highly unusual move, he took the holiday off, at least from Darden work. Rising early, he got to painting.

It looks good folks.. See the poster on the cabinet? On a trip to London almost eight years ago he asked the proprietor of a pub if he could take it home. His idea of a souvenir.

As you know I'm a story lover from way back. An older home is full of stories. Old bits of paint, wallpaper, flooring, cabinet linings. I like that kind of stuff. The next owners of our home will wonder what the heck were they thinking when they did__________. You fill in the blank. Nevertheless, we do our projects with gusto all the while thinking they are super despite what future generations will think!

Following the painting we took a trip to Ikea for some sort of rug to put in front of both the bench and the washing machine. Just because it's a garage doesn't mean it can't be nice you know. While there we looked, measured and pondered about ideas for my office. How about this? How about that? Color??

That's it! Bruce left early Tuesday morning as I mentioned and when I woke up that day, it hit me that the reason I was struggling with ideas is because I had no color scheme. You know where I went. Sherwin Williams, my favorite paint store. Actually before I left the house I had pretty well decided on yet another green room with the white table and black accents. What can I say, I like green?

While there I did pick up some new HGTV paint cards seeing if they had any power to sway my decision. They did not. The green I had in mind was a bit what I'm calling "minty", however after a consultation with Angela, who by the way, hardly had to stand on the stool to tape these bits to the wall, I made my decision. You see, I needed something to match my robin's egg blue ceiling which I did not want to do away with.

My choice was the bottom left one even after Angela tried to dissuade me from painting yet another bedroom green. You know how much the paint color means to me if you've been reading this blog for any length of time; this one, "Cucumber" is no exception. Crisp, cool and light. Perfect.

You also know full well that when I get an idea I act upon it immediately. Back to SW, paint and new brush secured, and let the painting begin!

Ordinarily I use the brushes we have but I had a coupon and the desire for a new one. Good decision. A sash brush works like a charm at the ceiling line. I learned from Bruce not to be afraid, load the brush up and make big strokes and you are get to go. I did what I could without Bruce being here to help me move things, working until well after dark.

I couldn't wait for the morning light to see how it would look. I was pleased. The funny thing about color is that although as a whole the room looked gray, it had a lot of lavender undertones as you can see on the right. Wednesday I got around the corner on the left and half way around the room on the right. Bruce will spray paint the shelves a crisp white. Not the total slacker as far as spray painting is concerned, I took down the old mirror and spray painted it black.

I was puzzling about the curtains, whether to use the plain white tab tops, or go with something a little jazzier.  After another trip to Ikea to buy Bruce an additional rug after we found the first one worked so well, I chose these striped ones, however, after looking at them for a day I've decided they will not work, mostly because the heavy fabric is too much around my desk. I've packed them up and yet another trip to Ikea is in store for today. Good thing the store isn't far! When I discussed it with Angela the other day she tried to dissuade me from going jazzy, saying as always I have too much going on, but I'm ignoring her advice. There's another pair there that I think will be perfect. I like jazzy. Will all this spiffing up make me a better writer or photographer? Probably not but it makes me happy so that's something.

Another project underway was the preservation of the cardinal's nest I found in the yard. While chatting with Matt on FaceTime Monday afternoon I showed him the nest. He seemed duly impressed, going so far as to look up how to preserve it. (Imagine in the future when I die and the kids have to go through my things!!!) Humoring me, he found the best way was to use Mod Podge, a 70's throwback if ever there was one. Mix it with water and spray, letting it dry between coats were the instructions I remembered. And so I did. The above link is one I want to visit again so I can use up said Mod Podge.

How wonderful is that nest I ask you? Amazing piece of architecture.

Yesterday I skipped bridge. Didn't want to but something had to go. One of my problems is I'm constantly getting sidetracked taking photographs. Everything inspires me. I tell myself--"Self--NO MORE!!", yet I pick up the camera in between everything. My windowsill is a constant tease.

See those adorable African violets I got from Jim and Kathy on Sunday at the market??? All week they kept begging to have their photograph taken and I've complied, trying different lighting situations. I'm pretty partial to bright.

And then there are the morning walks with Baxter. The other day we went down to the lake where I saw this cool lake mussell, or that's what I think it is.

You know those cardinals keep me from getting things done!

The best and worst idea I ever had--putting the Nuttery where I can see it all the time. The robins were back this week, however, they were too high up in the oaks for my lens. Maybe they'll come down to earth one of these days.

So, last night I forced myself to work on the prints. The picture isn't great because I took it at night but I would like you to notice the black boxes on the floor on the left side of the table.

Woohoo!!! While starting the sprinkler the other afternoon I glanced over--lo and behold an orchid from last year is blooming proving there is a FIRST time for everything. As you can imagine I was delighted.

Okey dokey--off to Ikea to exchange the drapes and try again. Mr. Bruce returns this afternoon. Talking last night on the phone I mentioned how happy I was that he'll be home soon to move the furniture and such. Whoops!!! I'm happy honey just to see your smiling face.

More about floors next time,
Gail