New Year ~ New Roof

Tackling a huge remodeling project like this at our ages (63 & 72) perhaps wasn't the most brilliant thing we've ever done, however we are coming into the home stretch.  Much to some of our neighbors' dismay - perhaps horror - we picked an unusual color for the roof.

There was much discussion - some of it a bit heated - about roofing.  My first choice was a nice dark charcoal grey asphalt 20+ year roof.  That went out the window with budget overruns.  My husband was all in favor of metal from the first - something to do with never having to deal with a roof again.  So, graciously accepting metal as my only option, I selected a lovely color called "Slate Brown".  It was a great color ~ just a nice greyish brown color.  George wanted something a little more daring.... It's called "Rustic Red".  Making the decision to be a play fair sort of wife (having had so many things in the house go my way), I thought it only right to let himself pick the color although I was worried about ending up with a Christmas house.  Yesterday morning when I saw the metal roofing stacked in the backyard, I almost fainted.  ORANGE!  Rusty orange, maybe but definitely orange. This is not going to work with the trim colors I already picked out - a nice warm milk chocolate brown, a deeper olive green and deep red for the doors.  Panic kicked in for a few minutes and then a new color scheme came to mind..... keep the chocolate brown - it will be on the roof trim and around the doors.  I'll find a nice creamy cream - think pale buttery color for around the windows and paint the doors a mustard yellow.  I think it will work.  Eventually there will be shutters and window boxes as well....

Of course painting won't happen until this spring - although you'd think it was spring already.  January 11 and it's about 45F outside - normally we should be experiencing highs of 12F and lows of -10F.  Not that I'm not enjoying the weather, or that my Amish roofers aren't appreciating the weather.  Just makes me feel a little edgy about what spring and summer 2012 temperatures will be.

The inside of the house is coming along - here's the almost finished kitchen.  Penny - my oldest daughter was busy cooking for us at Christmas.  We kept some of the original 1950's base cabinets, painted them,

distressed them, and put on new hardware.  The tall cabinet you see in back of Penny is a combination.  The bottom cab was in the house.  The top cab we purchased for $60 and put beadboard on the back, crown molding on the top - painted it and hooray!  We wanted it to look like it had always been in this house, which I think it does. 

I was thrilled to discover the top cabinet has plate rails.  Funny, but I never thought our dinnerware was a big deal (we were both studio potters in another, younger part of our lives.  I've never owned commercial dinnerware.).  My dishes have chips on the rims of bowls and plates, and the glazes are scuffed from years of use, but they look amazing displayed in the glass cabinet!  Later I'll show you pictures of my most venerable 1950's GE PINK built in oven and cooktop.  The island cabinets are all Ikea.  Bless Ikea for fantastic designs and even more fantastic prices.

Amy, Matthew & Lola, and Robert (Matt's partner)

An almost picture perfect living room.

When I think of my studio, the movie "Apocalypse Now" comes to mind.  Late in the movie, Martin Sheen's character encounters Marlon Brando's renegade gone native officer deep in a dark cave - body painted up, voice growly.  Brando says something to the effect of , "the horror of it, the horror of it".  That's pretty much the way I'm feeling about my studio.  As work as been done in one room or another, "stuff" got moved from this room to that room, back to this room and and back again.  Unfortunately my studio has become some sort of landing place for much of that stuff.  All the work I've done in there to get my things unpacked and organized has been done with me sucking my gut in while I scooch sideways through stacks of *#!p.  Most of which has nothing to do with me or sewing or jewelry or pattern designing.  Grrrrrr  My goal for next week is to make all this turn into an organized studio one can walk through without risking life or limb.

Do come visit again!  I've got exciting things planned for this blog.  Beginning this Friday, the post will feature a woman who has inspired me to push forward in my goals whether they be creative or spiritual.  The inspiration post will be the 2nd Friday of each month, and I'm looking forward to introducing you to some amazing women!

Other things on my to do list include tutorials, an inside glimpse into what goes into designing a pattern, the chance to purchase new patterns (and/or kits) prior to public publication, of course some give aways (who doesn't love that?), and free patterns for my blog readers.  That's just to get started!

Blessings!  Angela