A friend's earth-shattering loss.

I have a friend from high school. We stay in touch over the internet... not incredibly regularly, but regardless, I know what's happening in her life.

I was blown away by what changes were in store for her when she announced a while back that she was pregnant for the first time. She and her husband were expecting... TWINS! I remember thinking "Wow. Twin babies in a first pregnancy. WOW."

She happily posted photos as the weeks crept by. 15. 16weeks. 18. Then 19.

At 19 weeks, 4 days, she had a routine appointment. Everything ok! No red flags. All well and fine.

At 19 weeks, 5 days, at 3am, she awoke. Something wasn't right. They went to the hospital, only to find out nothing could be done. The girls were coming, nothing could stop the labor, and they were too young to survive.

So, on March 30, 2011, Lyla and Kate were born. She described them as perfect babies, just small. Both lived for a few hours, both were baptized in that time.

And so, then also on March 30, 2011, Lyla and Kate died.

I'm so saddened by this. I can only imagine how much hearing of pain like hers will be amplified when someday I am a parent. I can't imagine what they are going through. I can't imagine what it's like to have your world calmed by doctor's appointments where everything looks normal and perfect, only to have this shattering thing happen.

It makes me so sad. I wish I could be a better friend right now, but I know my friend has a lot of good people around her. She sounded strong in her letter to her friends. I hope she and her husband gradually heal and are able to start a family.

Chaotic and loving it.

There's a lot of things happening in my end of the world. Some things I can talk about, some will have to wait just a bit longer before discussing. But all in all: Craziness!

Spring is slowly showing it exists, which is the equivalent of about 100 cans of Mountain Dew for Pacific Northwesters. Seriously. The sun shines one day and we're all out dancing around worshiping it, and then spiraling down into a sad state when the next day we're back to winter. For us, it means a DEEP DEEP cleaning of the backyard. All those plant tags, plastic bags, buckets, you name it. ALL cleaned up. It has meant a few extra buckets on trash day, but I'd rather pay a few bucks for an extra bucket than to keep the backyard in a state of disarray.

We also threw down a bunch of seeds in the yard. Remember how we moved all of our garden beds? Well, now we had to clean where those beds were. The seeds are now slowly coming in. We weren't worried--- the yard will fill itself up with green pretty rapidly; we just wanted to help it along a little bit.

All the excess lumber has been stacked; our neighbors wanted to use it, so we put it behind their garden area.

The deck has been cleared. We have everything carefully along the house wall still to semi-shelter it from the rain, but at least we have no more gigantic tarp over our back deck! Every time I'm in the kitchen, I think that the back door is open... because it's so bright now.

The chicken's new coop has been built! It's hard to describe, but I'm THRILLED with the design. I'm going to let them ride out the summer in this coop, and then I'll likely add more of a back sheltered area once the rains look to begin again. I'll have to post pictures... but every time I've meant to, it's been raining, which means they're covered up! Right now they have a tarp over them, but I do want to get them more of a plastic cover instead. Tarps don't necessarily keep water out very well. I do want to paint the coop come summer, but that's still a ways off. So, keep an eye out for a post sometime soon on the new chicken digs.

New chicken digs means all the old chicken locations have been cleaned up. Not much else news-wise there.

And may I just say, I'M REALLY TIRED OF MUD? Our landlords lack paths ANYWHERE around the house. We put in a brick front foyer area (with their approval and PARTIAL funding), so that cuts down a little bit. But, the driveway before the foyer? Muck-ridden. The back yard? Don't get me started. BLEH. The poor dogs have gotten used to going outside and then having to go into their kennel because they're mucky and we don't want them prancing around the house.

Speaking of dogs, Maddie and Bailey are still best buds. Bailey is almost 100% on the bathroom training, but has the occasional pee incident. Talk about frustrating. He is such a good dog though, and I really cannot complain. Such a total goof though. Maddie is a great big sister and has been having super fun staying out of the kennel at night now. She gets to sleep on the couch or her bed, and she thinks it's just the neatest thing to be permitted to stay out. Seriously-- when we sit down on the couch in the morning, she walks over to us and thunks her head on her lap. Gratitude-filled doggie.

More going on, but more on that later. Bailey discovered that his bed is cool this morning and now has taken to flopping into it with gusto. So, I think I may just try to document this. Oh, and get work done....

Happy Birthday B!

Today is the husband's birthday.
I can't imagine my life without him. Happy birthday, wonderful man!

Cabinet Face Lift

We have a china cabinet. It's not huge, but it has great lines, lovely curved glass, and is nice and simple.

But. The wood needed a facelift. The unit wasn't in GREAT condition wood-wise. Lots of stains and wood imperfections. The wood inside the unit (holding the glass in) will also eventually need replacing, and then there would be the issue of staining to match. And the unit has always been a little dark...


So, we did the unthinkable: we painted the cabinet. Yes, I realize there are probably many wood purists out there who are now screaming at their computer. But believe me: this was the best call for this particular unit. Better quality wood and better cuts and better craftsmanship? We would have done our all to preserve. Here? Paint was the best option. I am all for preservation, if the piece calls for it. This one did not.
And here we have the almost finished product! I say "almost" because I still want to paint the hardware a charcoal black color, non-glossy.
The paint we chose is an enamel paint. A PAIN IN THE BUTT (sticky, takes forever to dry, and is HARD to get off of things), but it has the benefits of being a good coater and harder to chip than latex.
Are there imperfections? Sure. I want to go over the inside walls (where you don't really see, but I'm a perfectionist) with latex white paint. I couldn't get too close to the glass on the inside because any paint on the glass had to be carefully chisled off (which takes a long time). Latex paint would be easier to remove should any get on the glass. Plus, since it's inside, no one will notice any inconsistencies with gloss factor or paint type.

We're really happy with the project. We also took the opportunity to clean out the cabinet to a certain extent. It had become the landing grounds for things that we "might" want to keep, so those "might" things had to be sifted through and analyzed if we wanted to keep them.

I also bumped a brandy snifter with my behind while painting. It broke. And B dropped a pretty curved pint glass this weekend too. So in our clumsiness alone, we gained more space in the cabinet. Sigh.

Curse and bless you, Anthony Bordain

We've been watching "Anthony Bordain, No Reservations," and heaven help us, we're in love.

The ideas! The recipes!

And, B's latest love? The porron decanter:

Yes, you literally pour it into your mouth and pass it on. The narrow mouth means a very small stream.

Bring on the food and the friends.

Letting sleeping dogs lie

The sleep upside down on top the couch thing has become a regular occurrence. Mads used to never like to show her tummy much, but the onset of Bailey has changed her thoughts on tummy exposure. Now? She sleeps in all weird positions, often with her little paws dangling in all directions. With her fur so long and her paws so short, you can often only tell where her paws are based on the black pads of her feet.

I should also add that when she does fall asleep, sometimes she twitches in her sleep, causing her to roll off the back of the couch. Of course, she always greets this occurrence with a look of "don't worry, I so meant to do that."

She's also taught the Bailey how to do this too. Being that he's SIGNIFICANTLY less coordinated than the Mads, this is impressive.

The upside down position is not just for nighttime either. We do it in the day too. And the limp dog thing is also particularly amusing.

We also sleep in unison.

And we use pillows.

So suffice it to say, the dogs are the crackerjack comedians around her. Boy, we love them, but they are so often significantly loony.

Famousness.

I did a few guest posts over at Almost Never Clever, a blog of a friend of mine. I've known her since college, and I love that we're still so closely in touch. She's away on a spectacular vacation of magnificent proportions, so I did a few guest posts.

And may I just say: This gal knows how to vacation.

New Haircut!

Yes, I realize I generally write about more substantive things than looks. But too bad: today I'm just posting about my new haircut. It's been almost a week and I still love it, so I think this is worth a mention. And a holler. And a whoop.

Yup. It's about 4-6" shorter, depending upon where on my head you're measuring.

And the back? Layered and cute.
It has been totally fun. Will I grow it out again? Probably, but not because I don't like this cut (just because I'm too cheap to go to the hairdresser frequently).

Gnome and toadstool facelifts

When my grandmother moved out of her house and into an assisted living facility, she asked that we take some things from her home. So, when B and I went down to see her last May, we picked up a few things, including her gnome and mushroom.

I remember thinking they were the bee's knees when I was little, and how much they made her little backyard patio into this magical lush place. She had them hidden under ferns and monstera leaves. I had books about gnomes. Some kids have fairies. I had gnomes.

So, here was Mr. Gnome. I suppose he needs a good German name, but right now that type of creativity escapes me. I decided to finally fix him up, almost a year later.


I decided to go with an all-white beard and a light blue overcoat. Yes, very traditional, although gnomes are known for wearing other colors. I thought the white beard looked cleaner than the gray, particularly since he's headed outside. I also brightened up his green little hill he's sitting on. I think he looks much happier.

Also in my grandmother's yard: her toadstool. I remember this in it's heyday: bright red with white spots. Also hidden in the ferns and the monstera leaves, it was often right behind where my grandfather would sit.
The stem of the toadstool also needed some love. It was faded and stained.

Finally, MANY layers of red paint later, the toadstool has been returned to its glory. I sanded down the old paint too, so it's pretty smooth.

These both make me so happy. I'm glad they finally got some attention. Somewhere, my grandparents are smiling.

'Bout ready to blow a gasket.

Our home's doors don't close, and I'm about ready to lose my mind.

It's because they were installed funkily, which also explains why you can see the 1/4+ inch crack the un-plumb doors have which lets in a super-fun amount of cold air in the wintertime.

So you REALLY HAVE TO PULL THEM SHUT and/or lock them. Otherwise, they come open, whether by wind, or on their own, or by the aid of certain prying cat paws.

It's incredibly, incredibly annoying. And, in the case of this morning, panic-inducing.

I was in the other room, B had just left for work. When I came back in, the front door was open. "Oh crud, I thought, a cat got out." Yup. That was true.

But. Then. The house was too quiet. There was Maddie... OMG, WHERE'S BAILEY!? WHERE'S OUR 15-WEEK OLD, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY PUPPY!!???

Pure panic. Pure panic that drove yoga pants, stained-shirt, and fuzzy bathrobed me out into the front yard, screaming Bailey's name. I decided to quickly run inside, just to make sure the galloping goof of a dog wasn't sleeping quietly in the closet. And then I saw him. Sitting on the back deck's steps. Waiting for me.

That dog got hugged big time.

You'd think remembering to pull the doors tight would be easy, but it's an issue of difficult proportions because you don't know if you've closed them all the way. Usually, there's a click or something. Not these doors. If it were our home, we'd examine the locking mechanism, possibly change around where the door jam hits and where the handle mechanism hits. We'd probably install an auto-close bar too, making it a bit more difficult and probably too much pressure for the dingbat cats to open the doors.

But we rent. We're loathing this rental just a tad right now. The doors are just one of many things.