iseecerulean

The first layer of plaster (spackle)...

I sanded it just a little bit to smooth out any high areas, then painted the inside with tea...it's a subtle effect, it's just enough to tone down the bright white to an easier-to-look-at white...then painted the outside with diluted burnt umber paint...because the exterior would dirty and weather more than the interior.

I sealed the "plaster" with a layer of Elmer's white glue on the interior....I'm still working on the exterior.

I sanded the exterior a bit to find the tallest stones, I'm going to expose some stony spots and do more detail painting in those areas before I seal the first layer...then I have to map them so I know where to find them after the second layer is on so that I can expose them again.

Today is shaping up to be a bikini-weather day, so I doubt I'll work on the cottage again until tomorrow, when it's supposed to rain all day.

 

Now that I'm starting to feel better...it only took a few days for the vitamin D supplements to make noticeable improvements...I've resumed work on the English cottage kitchen.

I've decided on a major change for the walls.  A year ago I had designed a stone cottage with a thatched roof, now I want a plastered-wall cottage with a stone roof.  I hate the stone I put on so far...it's not realistic looking at all.  I tried to convince myself that I just needed to finish it, that it would look good painted...but I can't fool me...it's ugly.

Rather than spend hours removing glued on egg carton bits I painted what I had done so far, so that I can plaster over the top of it.  I want this to be an old cottage, renovated over the years, so I'm planning a thin coat of dirty colored plaster on all the walls (dirtier on the exterior than on the interior), with the stone peeking through in spots...then I'll put the pantry addition on...then I'll plaster again, with a cleaner thin coat, but not on the part of the walls that are inside the addition.  Did that make any sense at all?  I want layers.  I'm also planning on bricks around the door to the pantry, as if the door had been knocked out of the stone wall and bricks used to fill the gaps, and some bricks on the top portion of the chimney, as if it had been repaired. 

I probably shouldn't blog when I'm tired, I'm not sure I'm explaining myself well....this is why I usally blog in the mornings and not the evenings...but I did a particularly grueling upper body workout late this afternoon and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to lift my arms tomorrow. Let me turn my webcam on, I have to show you something...

There...see that bruise on my shoulder?  It's from a barbell...too many push presses (moving weight from shoulder to overhead)...ouch! ouch! ouch!...it hurts much worse than it looks, I had to ice it when I got home.   I need to build up more cushioning muscle on my shoulders so the barbell won't do that.

Anyway....another change to the cottage I'm considering...

I designed the kitchen with a stainless range...then last summer, while the cottage was on standby, I bought an Aga range.   I was having a hard time deciding which to use, but after seeing these pictures I like the way the white cabinetry wraps around the corner, so I'll stick with the stainless range, even though the Aga would be more English.  Though I could paint the Aga to match the cabinetry...hmmm...

(the base of the island, once it's built, will be painted the same gray as the hutch)

More pictures, since I'm just rambling at this point anyway....

Some of the stone wrap bracelets I made a couple of weeks ago...

New goodies...the sink was thanks to HBS' annual, April 1st, 40% off one item coupon...the clay pots and vases were picked up at a garage sale...and the Maneki-neko and bowl looking thing are beads.

The new canisters (etsy-twelvetimesmoreteeny) came with lids, but I'm damned if I can figure out where I put them.  The metal things behind them were something my thoughtful nephew saved from the garage he works in, I've got quite a few...he told me what they were, they are smaller parts that go inside a bigger part I recognized the name of, but I forget now.  He also saved some bent arrows for me to make pipes with, but I didn't put those in the picture.  Finally, the things at the very front are squishy plastic thingmabobs I thought looked like little jars so I picked them out of a pile at work that was destined for the dumpster.

And...that's it...I'm headed for bed before I fall asleep here on the keyboard.

I just found out I have a Vitamin D deficiency. Back in October, when I was so sore and fatigued from my trip to St. Louis that I decided to join a gym and start working with a trainer....turns out that soreness and fatigue was because of the vitamin deficiency. My lethargy, depression, muscle pain, moodiness, problems sleeping, depression, the slow recovery time after my workouts, depression, no motivation to play in my studio, and did I mention the depression?...all because of the vitamin deficiency. Now I'm on a mega dose of supplements and sunshine until my level returns to normal...and I have to be much more careful about being lactose intolerant and living in a part of the world where the cold temperature keeps me inside most of the year.

So...I'm giving myself permission to relax, recover and stop beating myself up for being moody and lazy. I'll see you guys in a bit, when I'm feeling back to normal and want to finish the cottage that's been on my work table for almost a year.