Blooming Basement

I am posting a couple of pics of our evolving basement/family room space taken on May 19. It has changed a couple of times since then, with the addition of a big, comfy couch that now occupies the orange wall where the entertainment cabinets are. The couch was in need of a little reinforcement, which my handy husband took care of with a few dabs of Gorilla Glue & some clamps. As it was purchased 2nd hand from Craigslist for $100, it seemed to need some additional pillows along the back. I had purchased a few Euro Shams for under $5 each a few years ago with a color scheme in mind. All I needed was some 24"x24" filler pillows, which can be pricey, even at 1/2 price at the craft or fabric shop. I remembered seeing some top quality quilted ones on clearance at Marshall's for $13 each. As I was walking down an aisle heading to the clearance shelf, a designer pillow setting on a chair nearly screamed at me! The main color looked to be the same deep taupe as the couch. Accented with cream, sage green, dark orange, & aqua, it was a fantastic find. The hunt was on for 2 more! I did buy all 3 of the plain 'filler' pillows, just in case my search for the additional designer ones failed, besides I already had a plan for those. Ultimately, I only landed 1 more designer pillow which were $24.99 each, but I purchased a king duvet in the coordinating Hillcrest Paradise set, with the thought of sewing a 3rd Euro sham. I have another seating project, a vintage settee & 2 chairs from a late 1800's hotel parlor, waiting for my attention in the barn. My design plan became more concrete with the duvet purchase. New king pillows were snagged for the pillowcases, which should fit nicely across the back of my project seating. Now, if I could only land the cute accent pillows that match for a whole lot less than the $35 starting price on ebay!

The brown wooden chairs were a prototype picked up for $5 each a few years ago, from the personal shop of a designer employed at one of the local, big office furniture giants. I had the 'oops' color tinted at Home Depot to a deeper brown. It looked great when in the can, but not quite what I was desiring. I'm thinking of repainting them; still undecided if I want to go cream or my original plan, a deep ebony brown, which would match closely to the storage pieces. I have a bright sage green planned for that parlor set, so that will add a big punch of unexpected color to the space. We haven't solidly chosen which of the several bolts of fabric we already own, will adorn the seats of the wooden chairs or the parlor set. I had originally thought about a fun animal print on the parlor set but it is still evolving. Look for new photos soon of the couch & pillows. The other projects will get due attention soon enough.

We are swimming in produce as Dave grew a huge garden this year. I've canned 3 different recipes of pickles. The last time I assisted fermenting cukes I was probably in middle school. We know our blind dog, Ruskin, likes them. One of the jars had leaked & it must have been vinegar & garlic bliss for his sniffer because he was rooting around in the quart jars in a box on the floor. The difficult part about pickles is exacting a perfect recipe, as they need to set to develop their yummy goodness for about 3-6 weeks. I've put up seasoned tomato sauce, as Courtney & I get sick from store bought. We have been snipping, slicing & freezing beans, peppers, zucchini, & squash. I've baked zucchini bread & cupcakes. I'm hoping to make salsa yet & try my hand at summer squash soup to freeze. We have been eating all kinds of delicious freshness from our garden! Our early raspberries were a bit of a fizzle, with lots of small berries that fell apart in your hand. Dave's mom & dad trimmed them back to prepare for the 2nd round. We should have ripe berries in 7-10 days! I found some recipes for canned pie filling that I would like to try. Dave brought our fair cow home from the processor on Monday. We delivered 2 large coolers full of frozen zucchini to Degage Ministries to make room. Dave emptied the 'berry' freezer of berries gone bad(freezer burn), thus the desire for a canned method. I also will try vacuum sealing 1 cup servings for smoothies. Our 3 year old Food Saver vacuum sealer also quit working last week. They determined it was probably the motor & not replaceable...NICE...NOT! I snagged a fab deal & ordered a new one..ugh. As of yesterday, we are back to the business of packaging & freezing.

Life's Renovations

I guess I am not so good at keeping the BlogSpot updated. It seems I have no problems staying active on Facebook. I always say I'll do better...but fail miserably. Its hard to believe that I used to journal everyday in my youth.

It has been a complete year since Kelsey graduated high school. When Courtney graduated High School in 2007, she was still involved with outside activities that we attended. While she was in HS, her & Kelsey were in many of the same activities so it was shared time. Having both girls, plus Nick & Amy, in college has been a different stride in my daily walk. I love being able to interact with them on a less hectic schedule but I do MISS the chaos that sports & music brought into our lives.

Kelsey had planned on running in college, although choosing Nursing as a major, grades weighed heavily, add the need for additional tuition funds on top of sports $$ being offered at select universities, her desire of not wanting to run Cross Country in the fall & not wanting to be gone every weekend...she settled with Grand Rapids Community College. Last year, Courtney changed courses from Nursing to a path toward Physical Therapy. When course selection became very competitive at Grand Valley State University, she was enrolled & ready to transfer to Baker College in Muskegon. She was finally able to secure classes & continue her path at GVSU, without having to give up so many credits! She will hopefully graduate in LESS than 2 years with a Bachelor of Science in Therapeutic Recreation. While many of her friends & her cousin, Christine graduated this year, after 4 yrs of college life, she perseveres through change. Depending on job selection upon receiving a BS, she will decide if she will continue on for a doctorate in Physical Therapy.

Courtney works at Ulta, a retail beauty supplies store & salon. She loves her job. Kelsey works for Dave in the rare event that he needs help, therefore she has actively been looking for additional employment. Filling the gas tank takes a healthy part time job to say the least. Both girls are free of classes for the summer. They can usually come up with free or low expense activities to make life a little more exciting. I've been trying to stay fresh with photography, looking to launch a website soon.

We have been sorting and purging, painting and decorating, mostly the basement. Dave ordered enough cork flooring to complete Courtney's room, so her carpet was ripped out this past week. A few more planks & it will be done. In March of 2010, we undertook a renovation project involving of our kitchen, living room, laundry room, bedrooms & garage. We even moved to our RV inside the barn for 1 1/2 weeks. We installed cork in our bedroom & Kelsey's bedroom but didn't have enough for Courtney's room. Now, in hind sight, Dave wishes he had purchased the whole LOT that was being offered at a phenomenal savings. It would have covered all 4 bedrooms & the 3 walk in closets. Looking for granite for my mom on Craigslist, when we saw all that was for sale, I called Dave to come with the checkbook =) We were only able to secure just under half of the cork flooring originally offered, as someone else snatched it up quickly! We also brought home a good amount of composite granite, pendant lighting, 2 different sets of cabinets & a vessel sink from a high dollar Downtown Grand Rapids office property that was never used. Kelsey & I wanted some other goodies, but even at unbelievably inexpensive prices, the bank account can only stretch so far. We paid $500, or maybe it was $600 for the cork. Had we taken the original LOT it would have been ONLY $100 more. The bargain price we just secured to complete a few square feet....$533!!! I told Dave tonight he should have put something different in Courtney's room...AAHHH! I'll try to post some pics of the finished areas soon.