Category Archives: 1920’s house

Let it go, this too shall pass…*

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*Lyrics from OK GO’s This Too Shall Pass.

So, for the past month (I looked it up since it seems like it’s been longer) I’ve been battling the never ending saga of tooth pain. If you’ve ever suffered from anything related to that, you’ll understand exactly why I’ve barely done anything but bathe, eat soft food, haven’t exercised, and have only gotten mildly through my punch list for the family bath. After my latest dental examination showed that I might not just have one tooth in peril, but two (cue meltdown here) I’ve decided to stop feeling badly about neglecting my work, and my blog. I will be back at it, and the exercise, too, once I feel that my tooth pain issues have been properly addressed, and when I feel safe in encouraging blood to pump freely (and quickly) through my head.

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And my head told my heart “let love grow”…*

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*Lyrics from Mumford & Sons’ song Winter Winds, from their album Sigh No More.

Spring has finally, and truly, begun here in the northeast and I couldn’t be happier. It’s that wonderful time of year, before the allergies really kick in, and before the mosquitoes take over (though I confess to already having two bites from one walk sans socks). Before you realize that soon you’ll be showing your legs to the world (by hook or by crook, shorts are an evil necessity in summer), soon you’ll be wishing you can have a third shower every day, and that soon you’ll be exhausted at the thought of turning on a single burner to cook (and you can forget baking). For now, we can remain blissful in the awakening of our landscape, our newfound bird and squirrel population (a point driven home by a surge in roadkill being picked clean by crows), our ability to occasionally open the windows to let a fresh, slightly warm breeze into the house. It is a joyous time, made especially joyous by the bountiful buds and blooms that begin to emerge as if gifts (as our neighbors like to say) from Mother Nature herself. Gifts they are, slowly unwrapping, slowly and carefully making us stop dead in our tracks as we see yet another hit of color in our formerly brown-gray, seemingly lifeless vistas.

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We both know that it’s time, So walk on by…*

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*Lyrics from Fitz & The Tantrums’ song Winds of Change from their album Pickin’ Up the Pieces.

Ok, I’ll fess up. I’ve been slacking on the blog lately. I blame the dentist. Or rather my wimpy constitution. (Turns out minor tooth pain is all-consuming, even when it’s planned.) And I blame my epic lack of emotional fortitude. Watching that bathroom come together inch by inch really damaged my psyche. And made me want nothing to do with finishing it. But I have to. It’s my job (the hubs is busy like the dickens, and has NO time to fiddle around with joint compound, grout sealer, or primer and paint).

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The book of love has music in it, in fact that’s where music comes from…*

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*Version by The Airborne Toxic Event, lyrics by Magnetic Fields.

As the last bits of winter melt away (though we are expecting another winter storm this Friday), and as my efforts to recover from dentist-induced injuries continue, I find myself reflecting on the changes that have occurred in the past year, and the past ten years, really. In the past year we’ve: met our contractors for the first time; signed contracts and pulled permits; spent more money than we knew we had/had to; renovated our kitchen and three bathrooms (almost done with the last bathroom); had our entire house rewired; painted every inch of trim and walls in the first floor (except the ceiling and crown moldings), and half of the second; and started friendships that will (hopefully) last the rest of our days.

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We’ve come a long, long way together, through the hard times and the good…*

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I have to celebrate you, J.J., I have to praise you like I should.

After weeks and weeks of incrementally improving the family bath, and after hours and hours of extra effort and care the tile is officially DONE! I know, I can’t believe it either! Scheduling work on the weekends can be over (for now, until we need the plumber back), and we can finally, finally break down the work-room protections in the guest room. Seriously, I can’t even tell you how ready I was/am for this to be over. Of course I still have tons of painting, patching and protecting to do (as well as figuring out window treatments and shower curtains), but J.J. is done, and for that, I am soooo grateful.

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If I was from Paris, I would say ooh-la-la-la-la-la-la-lah…*

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It’s almost officially spring. And it’s snowing. Like a real, proper, accumulating in inches, with wet pant legs and muddy dog feet snow. This after Friday was easily 65 degrees, sunny (and windy), where I was outside with only a t-shirt on (and pants, too!). Tis what it is to be a New Englander. I know the it won’t last, but knowing that the yard is pregnant with bulbs makes me want to turn my hair dryer on to melt the snow a little faster, to urge spring along by any means necessary.

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Everything is gonna be alright, everything is gonna be alright…*

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Today, as I’m still thinking about Japan, I’m also thinking about the individual humans who are living through this tragedy, disaster, experience. Are they frightened? I’m sure of it. Are they tired? Certainly. How are they coping with the emotion, the fear, the lack of warmth, food and comfort? I personally don’t know how I’d survive. I count my blessings, my good fortunes, my own comforts and am grateful to my bones.

And, while sadness, fear and anxiety are no doubt the primary feelings that most of the survivors are experiencing, I think that it is important to remember that, eventually, everything is going to be alright. It will never be the same. But it can be alright.

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Cupcake Monthly: March, take two

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When you have a good friend, and they have a birthday, and you’re craving sweet things anyway… well, you extend your only-one-batch-of-cupcakes-per-month rule and say, okay, maybe two. I love baking, and frankly I needed the shift in focus (nothing like watching news, or worrying and crying about devastating natural and man-made disasters a la post 9/11). I needed a little cheer to lift me up, and make me remember why we all love life so much. It’s because of cupcakes, obviously.

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And there upon the rainbow is the answer, to a neverending story…

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Throughout the past week, Team Carpentry (aka: Team Jonas this time around) has been here working diligently, tirelessly (well, ok, he did get tired), and mindfully to get the built-in cabinet done for the Family Bath Project (aka: the neverending project, ahha ah ahha ah ahha ahhh). read on…

Cupcake Monthly: March

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No, you didn’t miss February. I did. I’ve been working hard on, er, correcting my eating habits, and creating an exercise routine, and I just couldn’t mess with anything tempting in February. But, March is my mom’s birthday month, and I simply couldn’t let her go without a tempting treat on her birthday (what sort of daughter would that make me?).

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