Kitchen Facelift (#2)

Okay this was the door that goes to the garage.

Jen and Madison were primming it in the Blog before.

Just for fun can you find the Pot of Stew I made

to feed the Crew?

This is the door now after

1 prime and 3 coats of paint.

The middle color.

This is the closet door in the dining area,

with primmer.

The same door all painted.

Here you can see

the doors are the same color as the
the area below the chair rail.

This is the window in the dining area.

You can't tell but this window and

all the other windows in the kitchen

have always had cheapy plastic

Mini Blinds. They would get nasty

and I would just replace them.

Sounds like a good plan to ME,

but not so my Daughter.

I now have

"Real Wood LEVOLOR
Custom Cut Blinds".

No more getting dirty and replacing them.

I do have to admit they are pretty!

Facelift #3...
to be continued....
~~~~

A Face Lift on an Old Kitchen (#1) - And Here We Go.......

Three years ago I said to someone ?

"I want to redo my Kitchen"

Then I hurt my Back,

AJ's Heart got all funky,

then came 2 Heart procedures,

then it was to hot,

then it was to cold,

then there was THIS,

and then there was THAT.

My kitchen redo just sat on the

back burner and simmered for

three or more years.

Finally the spring, of 2010, my

wonderful Daughter said

"When are you going to start on

your kitchen?"

I finally said and admitted to myself

"I can't do this alone.

I can't make decision,

I don't know what company to use,

I don't really know what colors I want,

what kind of floor I want,

do I do THIS, or do I do THAT,

can I do THIS and can I do THAT?"

Jen very calmly said,

"Mother do you want me to help"

and I said

"Yes, Please!"

She took 3 off days of her work

so we could run around and look

at cupboards, countertops, back splash,

flooring, paint, and blinds.

She set up appointments for the planning

of the cupboards and this Tue. the

contractor comes to Okay it all.

We picked out paint and flooring......

and this past week-end it all began

sooo,

Here We Go!

My Personal Crew consists of:

Jen, Wade, Madison and AJ.

~

The first thing was to strip off the

border that was all around the

dining area.

This was time consuming but really easy.

Wade started painting the ceiling

and of course the foreman had to

at all times keep an eye on his work.

My wood doors are going to be painted.

First you must prime them.

Madison helped with the priming.

She didn't stick with it very long,

so do not worry about
Child Labor Laws.

The 3 of them made a good Crew.

After the ceiling was painted
Wade started on the walls.
I am using 3 colors that
all have the same tone.
The ceiling is the lightest,
the chair rail to the floor is the
middle tone and
the above the chair rail to the ceiling
area is the the 3rd or darkest tone.
Hopefully this fall or next spring I
plan to put Bead Board on the wall
below the chair rail, but for now it's
the middle color.

After stripping border and priming
doors, Jen manned the roller and
Wade did the trim between
the wall and ceiling.
Wade then worked on the below chair rail,
the middle color, and Jen did trim.
They work together like a
well tuned instrument.
(HA-HA-HA-HA-
HEE-HEE-HEE!!!)
After 12 1/2 hours we had done
all we could for one day! So we
cleaned up our tools and the
crew left.
AJ finally got a chance to
sit down to his computer and
listen to some Gospel Music.

The room really is looking good.
Jen came over Sunday
and finished up the doors.
The doors will be in the next blog.
~~~
To be continued.........

First Day Of Spring in "The Bible Belt"

This weather forcast Friday, looked like

a joke.

How could we be 70 degrees one day

and the very next day have 6" of snow

and the low temp be freezing?

Well this is what you can expect in

"The Heartland of the USA".

This is what it looked like March 20, 2010.

The first day of spring?

All day long we had snow.

The weather had been so warm prior to
this winter storm, that the snow did not
accumulate on the roads, drives or sidewalks.
So we did not have to do much shoveling.

My Clematis, on the iron tower in my front bed,
had started to bud and had it's first little leaves.
I hope this weather hasn't hurt it.

This tall thing is a Sunflower bird feeder.


We have had so much snow and rain this
winter that the ground is so soggy,
my Shepherd Hooks have fallen over.
Hopefully this will be our last snow for
ME to blog about....
now comes the Tornado Blogs!!!!!!!!
~~~~~

March 17th....Did You Know??

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.

He died on March 17th, so we celebrate

his death anniversary.

The colors of the Republic of Ireland's

Flag are Green, White and Orange.

Green represents the Catholics,

the Orange represents the Protestants,

and the White in the middle

is for Peace Between Them.

Wearing Orange on ST. Patrick's Day

might get you a pinch!

It's a mild form of the violence that

has occured in Ireland between

the Catholics and Protestants

for hundreds of years.

Madison's school has a

"Shamrock Ball".

The whole school is invited

and also the Parents.

It's an evening of fun and dancing.

They even have a Disk Jockey.

Madison wore a St. Pat's Day shirt

and Hat. Her hair was in Pig Tails

tied up with Ribbons with Shamrocks

on them.

The Hat was run by a battery,

and 6 little lights

blinked on and off all evening.

Mat does have Irish in her blood,

her Great-Great Grandpas last name was

McBee.

Now thats pretty Irish!

~~~~

NOT! Diggin.. the Holes Being Dug!!!

AJ & ME have Dogs that are trying to get

to the Center of the Earth!

We first put 99.9% of the blame on Jack.

Our Sweet Little Marley wouldn't dig up

our yard and flower beds. Not that Angel!

Wrong!!!!!

Look at these paws.
It doesn't take a Forensic Expert to tell
AJ & ME this is dirt from my flower beds
on that white hair
and under those nails.

The blame now is 50% Jackie and
50% Mars.
Where there is a bare spot, there is a hole.
Here is a hole under our patio table.



This is a nice one in our yard.
Looks like a meteor
fell from the sky into our yard.
They are undoing all my hard work
of putting up border.

Most of my flowers come up from seed.

I'll be really surprised if I get any flowers this year.

The soil is soft and it makes it easy to dig.
But they even dig in the rocks.

Any where there is a bare spot there is a hole!

But, they even dig in the Bermuda Grass.

Fair warning:

If you walk in my back yard,

without looking where you are going,

you just might get a sprained ankle

or even a broken leg!

~~~~

Have you seen a Robin yet?

CUTE Cat Pictures

Murphy can make the letter "U" with his body!
and the letter "X" with his front legs.

This is the letter "V".

The gray-black thing you see in the picture

is Marley's, half chewed down, Cow Hoof.

Can you find the letter "M" for Murph of course!

This is one Cute and Smart Cat!

~~~

Afternoon Delight!!!

Spontaneous: done freely without thinking, unpremeditated

Recently one morning about 8:30 am,

AJ announced we were going to Eischen's

for lunch. Even though I was drinking my

morning coffee

and eating was the last thing on my mind,

( I don't eat till around 11:00 am)

that sounded wonderful!

I made a phone call to my Mom and invited her

to go along, she also jumped at the chance

to eat at Eischen's.

Eischen's is the "Oldest Bar" in our state.

The reason people travel miles to eat at this
"hole in the wall" is the Fried Chicken!
There is alot of good Fried Chicken out there
KFC, Beverly's, Chesters, Wal-Mart's,
Swanson's, Schwans, Chicken & Chops
and of course Mom's-
But once you have eaten Eichen's Fried Chicken,
that is the one you compare all the others to.

When you go into Eichen's, do not expect to be
impressed by decor. First of all there is green
saw dust all over the black & white
checkered tile floor.

The first thing you see and hear when you enter

Eichen's is this Juke Box.
Then you better stand a minute and
let your eyes adjust to the darkness.
The lights are dim, after all this is a Bar.
There are booths, tables & chairs and
a long bar with stools.

The walls are covered with lots of STUFF

and Neon.

The Bar and the Chicken
are known all over our state and since
"THE FOOD NETWORK'S" show
"Diners...Drive-Ins & Dives"
starring Guy Fieri
came to Eichen's to tape a sequence
for the show,
Eichen's is now known all over the world!

The kitchen is small and greasy (but very clean).

This was our Waiter, the Guy in shorts.
Don't worry if your hair, make-up or
clothes aren't perfect, it is dim lighting and
no one can see, and if they could,
they don't care.
A "real laid-back - come as you are" kind of place.

Then here comes the food!
2 whole Fried Chickens,
Fried Okra,
Sweet & Dill Pickles, sliced Onions
and sliced bread.

No plates, just squares of waxed paper
and paper napkins.
If you need a fork you must ask for one
and then you get a plastic one.
Now you dig in with your fingers.
I do get a plastic fork, because the
Chicken is so hot it burns my pinkies!

If you have anything left over,
at the end of the Bar is a Giant Roll of
Tin Foil.
You just walk up and take as much foil as you need
and wrap up your left overs.
AJ & ME and Mom had a great lunch.
I can't wait to go back!!!!
~~~~