We’ve Made Our Bed…

now we can lie in it.  Literally.  I already showed you the bench that we made.  It was a test run before we took on the project that inspired this whole woodworking craze that seems to have overcome the members of our household.  For years, I have wanted a bed – not just a mattress on a metal frame, but a beautiful headboard/footboard frame that would grace our room with elegance and charm.  I have looked at yard sales, Goodwills, thrift stores, Craigslist, and online sites, trying to find that perfect one.  I found it – several times, in fact.  However, it was never the perfect price.  So, I just laid on my metal frame and mattress and dreamed of that perfect bed.  It wasn’t a need.  It was a WANT!  I could do without it.

Then, I saw the bed.  Not just the bed, but the plans to make the bed yourself.  Same book in which I found the bench plans – and a myriad of other furniture plans.  We made it!  We love it!  I suppose you all want to see a picture of this masterpiece, so without further ado, here is our new bed! (Drum roll, please!)

I could not be happier!  The neat thing is, my husband I and made this together!  Our time was full of fun and laughter, and we learned so many things while doing this project together.  It is solid and sturdy as a rock.  We will be handing this one down to our grandchildren for sure! :)  Now, I think I need to go lie down and daydream about my next project…

It’s Curtains for Me!

My laundry/scrap/sewing/crafting room has been at the bottom of the totem pole since we moved into our house this summer.  Not that I didn’t care what it looked like, but it was not the most important area on which I needed to focus.  (It hurts to say that scrapbooking is not a top priority.)  The laundry part of that room was the only one getting much action.  Way too much action, if you ask me! :)  Once the remodeling aspect of the room was finished, it just sat for a while, with all my junk sitting on every available surface.

Here is a picture of it when we first walked through the house.  Nice shelves, but the eye-crossing wallpaper and the fruity border just weren’t quite my style…  I especially liked the cat door under the desk.  Very convenient – the cat can go out, come back in, and be rubbing around your ankles as you sit at your desk.

This is the laundry closet – behind the little folding doors.  I like it.

Here is a picture of the room two weeks after we bought the house.  Dreadful.  The wallpaper had been put on unprimed drywall – a serious construction no-no.  When we pulled the wallpaper down, it took part of the sheetrock with it.  This meant that we had to mud the whole room lightly to fill in holes before we could prime and paint the room. 

You can see by the shreds of wallpaper on the floor, that it was coming off in less than acceptable-sized pieces.  If I recall correctly, there were only two layers of wallpaper in this room, so we were very happy about that, “happy” being a somewhat relative term.

I thought the painted pink plywood floor was a nice feminine touch, too.  :)

This is what it looked like after we finished repairing the walls and had the flooring installed.  Much better. 

Then I filled it up with all my scrapbook, sewing, stamping, crafting items. It no longer looked very nice.

As you can see, the shelves came in handy to store my books and scrapbook albums.  The countertop table was made by my step-father.  It has a cracked (and therefore free) piece of Corian on the top.  The table is actually on castors, so if I choose, I can roll it to another part of the room.  How neat!  It is high, so I can stand or sit on a tall stool to work, and it is a great place to scrapbook, sew, or cut out sewing projects. 

Since returning from our last round of meetings, I have made a concerted effort to get this last room in some semblance of order.  That meant sorting through all my scrapbook paraphanalia, sewing supplies, books, and the like.  I really wasn’t looking forward to that part of the job.  Ugh.  So much stuff! 

It now looks much better, since almost everything is in its place.  One notable exception being that the folding doors are still leaning up against the wall. (*Ahem)  I am sure that they will be re-installed soon, though.  Since it was looking so nice and clean, the windows, still ensconced in their protective plastic paint shields, stuck out like a sore thumb. 

I had seen some adorable reversible curtains at a friend’s house, and promptly asked her where she got them.  She replied that she had made them.  Even better!  When I got the chance, I found the pattern and got it from my local craft store.  I knew those curtains would be perfect for our house – especially for my special room!

My choice was Butterick pattern B5369, option D (top right).  These curtains were super simple to make!  I chose a rather wild paisley print in blue and green, and the ribbon ties would be green grosgrain with white dots. The reverse side was just a cream-colored muslin, providing  a little neutral area.

It took about two hours total to make the curtains (not counting the time it took for an extra trip to Wal-mart when I didn’t have enough ribbon) from cutting out to finish! I may put these in every room! Ha!

While my room is still a work in progress, it feels a lot more civilized now that I have some cute curtains hanging in the windows.  If I had it to do all over again, I would go with a slightly darker fabric for the reverse side, since you can see the seams when the sun shines through the windows in late afternoon.  However, I am very pleased with them overall, and can’t wait to upload pics of the entire room.  As soon as my doors are hung, that is!  :)

Beginning of the End

Well, after several months of waiting, it would seem that we are coming to the end.  Our realtor called last week, and it looks as if our house in Indiana will close at the end of this month! Glory, Hallelujah!  I am trying not to get too excited, since things can always fall through at the last minute, but already it is a futile attempt.  I am excited!

 

Now we can begin to seriously look for a home here in Mississippi.  All the joys, trials, and perils of home ownership are about to be ours again!  We have our eyes on a house that needs some TLC, but nothing major.  We actually even went through it with a realtor.  I like it.  Paul likes it.  It has great potential for our family.  Now the next waiting game begins.  I tell myself that if this it the house the Lord has for us, no one else is going to get it.  The hard part is when you think you know which direction to go and the Lord gently turns you in another direction.  So, as we wait and pray about this situation, would pray with us?  We need wisdom and direction for this major decision.  The best part about it is that we are not in a time crunch to find a house.  We are comfortably (more or less) living in our “home on wheels” for the time being.  We can wait for the right house!  That is, if I don’t go crazy waiting… :)

Waiting

Waiting has never really been one of my strong points.  Perhaps it comes easier to some people than to others, but it seems to me that any time I have to wait on something, there is a great internal struggle.  “Why is this taking so long?!”  I ask myself.  Many times, this impatience is not displayed in my outward demeanor, but it is there all the same.  Just the other day, our family went out to eat together.  It was not a special occasion—just a time for enjoyment.  I had several coupons to defray the cost of the meal, and my husband asked if I wanted to “haggle” with the cashier over the tab.  I think he just didn’t want to mess with the coupons! :)

I went to the register and stood in line, waiting for my turn to pay.  Eventually, I was next in line, and the cashier/waitress entered my tab.  She shuffled through all the coupons, entered them, and the total popped up on the computer screen.  She swiped my card, but nothing happened.  She looked nervously at me, and said the computer was acting up.  I smiled and said it was no problem.  She apologized profusely and asked to swipe the card again.  And again.  By this time, I had been standing at the counter for almost ten minutes.  It felt like an eternity, and yet I knew it was not her fault.  Three cashiers later, they were finally able to take my payment, and I walked back to our table, rather relieved the whole thing was over.

As I thought back over the whole situation, I analyzed my thoughts and actions.  While I would never have blamed the cashier for the delay, neither was I feeling very patient.  Everyone else whizzed through the line with no problems, and the computer decided to go haywire on me!  The inconvenience of waiting is not fun.

There are many time in life that we must wait.  You must wait for a baby to develop and be born.  You must wait for graduation, driver’s license, marriage, job opportunities, the perfect home, children, careers, education, as well as many other things. Life is all about waiting.  Why is that so hard? 

I was reading in my devotions the other morning, and came across the verse “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the LORD.”  Ps. 27:14   We have been praying about a certain decision, and while doors seem to be cracking open in several directions, we do not want to barge through a door that is not fully open. The Lord just seemed to take this verse and apply it to my heart and say, “Just wait on Me, my child.”  We are still praying, but from past experience, I know the Lord will swing the door of opportunity open wide in His time, and there will be no room for doubt, regret, or delay.

I am so glad that His Word can daily speak to my heart and guide my steps.  The best part about it is that when I rest in Him and wait for Him, He always gives His best to me.  When I wait, I never have to settle for second-best in anything!  Now that is an incentive to be patient!