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Archive for the ‘Bathroom Renovation’ Category

Got My Mojo Back

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Monday night, I had a deep and restful sleep. I now have energy, clarity and joy. I have just about finished my illumination piece for the 12 X 12 challenge. The reveal will be August 1. Here is a sneak peek.

I cut up some of the silk scraps from that piece and auditioned them for the SAQA auction piece. This does not look too tasteful, at all.

Yesterday, our cabinet maker started installing the storage units for the bathroom. They are rift sawn oak with no stain — au naturel. The boxes are installed, but now drawers or doors, yet. Today, Mr C  and I went to the coolest hardware store in Portland, Chown. We were totally in sync, and it took very little time to find the drawer pulls and door knobs for the cabinets. We also got the toilet tissue holder, a magnifying mirror for me, some robe hooks and hardware for the closet pocket drawer.

Wednesday is weigh-in day and Farmer’s market. I was relieved that I had no weight gain after a week of eating out. For dinner, we had albacore tuna, rainbow chard and green beans, all scored at the Farmer’s market. So fresh, healthy and tasty.

A Mellow Monday

Monday, July 7th, 2008

This is a hydrangea that I planted on my studio patio last year. It has just bloomed. I love the lacy blossoms.

I spent some time designing my quilt for the next 12 X 12 challenge — illumination. I am having fun with my idea, but I can’t share anything yet.

I painted some of the fabric that I printed last week — the brown circles. I used a limey green Setacolor. I am going to use this for the SAQA 12 inch auction donation.

I also played with some options for the construction piece that I have been redoing. I am auditioning some design elements, and they may get the parts!!

Today a big truck rolled up with all the fixtures for our bathroom — two sinks with chrome stands, the shower fixture with the rain shower head, and the swanky La Cava shower base. Everything is sitting in the garage. There will apparently be a frenzy of activity tomorrow.

I think summer is here to stay. It was a mellow day today. I did a big edit for the SDA auction pages. I also spent some time ordering supplies from Prochem and Thai Silk.

Life is Good

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

My regime of stretches, icing the bum, ibuprofen and short walks seems to be working. Last night, I was not awakened by pain in my leg, but by a horrendous clap of thunder. I went back to sleep, ignoring the storm, and felt refreshed from my first good night’s sleep in some time. Mr doc ordered vicodin for me, but I don’t think I will even pick it up.

Look at who else is feeling much better. She is checking out the bathroom reno with me, after the tile man left for the day. She is still on antibiotics and pain meds, but she is returning to her normal self. We went for a short walk this afternoon and she was leading the way.

The first coat of paint is on the wall. In that right hand corner will be one of our custom built storage units. Behind Maggie, there will be another built in with drawers below and shelves above and a beautiful granite counter.

Here is another view of the extra large subway tile and the floor. No grouting has been done and there is some tape holding the tile in place. The sinks will go on the wall on the left and the shower is on the right, out of site. The shower pan will be installed on Monday, and then they will start on the mosaic that I designed.

This morning, Stephanie dropped off two of my fave people in the world. Here they are having lunch on the deck.

In the morning, we went to the Dollar Tree. I needed to buy some storage bins for my art tools.

Miles bought some pirate stuff. There is a ring on his other ear. He looks quite fierce. Mia bought colored pens, pencils and another journal – what else.

And, we bought every kind of bubble paraphernalia you can imagine.

And so, the annual bubble fest ensued.

Where did all the bubbles go?

Poor Maggie. There is nothing she loves more than chasing bubbles and jumping in the air and popping them. I made her stay in the house because I didn’t think it was a good activity so soon after her oral surgery. JR’s do not know their limitations, so I had to play the alpha dog.

Tonight, we had dinner at Burgerville. Everyone ate every thing on their plates. After dinner, Mia and I watched the Ace of Cakes on the Food Network — one of her favorite shows. Miles and Mr C started building the Great Lego Wall on the front porch.

Tomorrow, the Portland Clan will gather for a BBQ and then watch fireworks.

Happy Fourth of July!

Is It Finished?

Friday, June 20th, 2008

Construction #2

I realized that my problem with this piece was that I had made a beautiful background showcasing some of my complex cloth. But, it lacked something. It just wasn’t finished. You can see the original versions in the preceding post. I was so afraid of putting something on top of the fabric and destroying it. Instead, I have found that I did not cover it up, I enhanced its beauty. I used orange construction fence as a template. I had also used construction fence as a resist when I discharged the fabric in the upper right so I thought the repetition of shapes would work as an element. I really wanted to do a torn paper screen print with black paint, but I was afraid of really messing it up. This seemed safer.

It needs to be blocked. I really stretched it as I did the rework on it. Other than that, is it finished?

I forgot to mention that I was back down a couple of pounds on Wednesday. I am not giving up my attempt to lose another 20 pounds before my 70th birthday. Speaking of age, the recent Sunset magazine had an article about some women who live here in the West who are over 100 years of age and going strong. One of them who lives here in Portland and is 101, still sews for a living, making children’s aprons and wine bags. She delivers to her clients, still driving her car. The article talks about how Westerners live longer than people in other parts of the country. The reasons:

  1. We catch more rays and in small doses, it is good for you.
  2. We are farmer groupies. We graze on fruits, veggies and nuts.
  3. We drink wine – (you betcha)
  4. We love to inhale – physical activity and deep breathing regenerate neurons in our brains.
  5. We enjoy spas – taking in treatments that de-stress.
  6. We take stairs. We climb mountains. One of the centenarians said that she deliberately got an apartment on the second floor so that she would use the stairs.

The bathroom renovation is moving right along. The drywall mud is drying over the week-end. He will be back on Monday for the last coat. Painting and tile work commences next week. Mr C picked up the tile today. We went out to the granite showroom and selected a lovely piece of granite for the counter top of a piece that will be built for my closet. It will be in the entry to the bathroom and the walk-in closet. I also picked up some paint chips. They are all so yummy with the tile mosaic, I am not sure which to choose. Steph and Jack will come over tomorrow and help me.

Re-construction

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

Here is one of my construction pieces. It has been bothering me. I used some of my art cloth. I love each of these pieces, but I think that I saw these fabrics as too dear and ended up with a piece that does not have enough value change and no focal point.

So, I rotated it and added a new piece of green at the top. This will make it easier to hang and gives it some balance.

I also painted the green sections to darken them and give them more character.

Remember the construction fence on the black fabric in my last post. It has been cut out and applied to this piece. Here is a sneak peak. I am having fits trying to stitch it down. I finally decided to do a wonky zigzag stitch. I am not ready to show the whole piece yet, but I am pretty happy about what has happened. You still see the gorgeous background fabric, but the construction fence gives it some weight and a focal point – sort of ties things together.

An update on the other construction around here — the bathroom. The new plumbing and electrical work was completed last week and early this week. New insulation was put in the ceiling area, and we passed the inspection by the city. This afternoon the drywall arrived and is partially installed. That will be finished tomorrow. The special tile mosaic is done and ready for installation. We are raising the ceiling in the guest room shower and putting in a new shower head. That is in the middle of being done so we have no showers on the main floor. Fortunately, we have a shower in the basement so I guess I will be schlepping down there in the morning.