iseecerulean

I didn't have to labor at Kate's house this weekend.  She has been working 60 hour weeks the last few weeks and wanted to catch up on her sleep.  The contractors finished their work this week, there is some painting Kate needs to do, the electrician has to finish up this week, and the cleaner has to come out (the professional cleaning is a gift from her realtor).

Since I had the weekend for myself I caught up on housework, went to my favorite antiques store, and spent some time in my studio.

The new porch railing has been assembled....am waiting for glue to dry.  I had a brief "oh shit!" moment as I placed the last magnet in the jig, when I realized I hadn't paid attention to which way was right side up when I glued the balusters in.  They're fine; either I've been doing this long enough that it was habit, or I got lucky.

While I was waiting, I began alterations on a Reutter Porcelain resin owl statue that is too tall to fit on a bookcase shelf.  Here he is with a large portion of the base removed, and the tufts of feathers that make the "horns" sanded down...

I am going to turn him into a spectacle owl....here he is after his first coat of paint....

I'm using oils to paint him.  I rarely paint with oils because I'm generally impatient about dry time, but each time I do I'm surprised anew at how much I enjoy them.  I have the same reaction every time I listen to the Beta Band's 3 E.P.'s album.

........

 Saturday I finally found the perfect antique chair to use with the antique desk my husband bought me for Christmas.  I've been looking for one the last two months.  Pardon the odd angle of the photograph, the desk is sitting in my dining room, waiting for Kate to move into her house...I've got dibs on her old bedroom.

 I also bought myself a shot glass.  I love etched glass, but don't have room to display much, so this was perfect.  I bought Kate a piece of pink depression glass. 

Because Kate's house is tiny she needs a tiny dining table....something no larger than bistro size.  I saw this gorgeous tilt-top table that would be perfect, so snapped a pic to show Kate.

 I also snapped a pic of this citrus reamer,  as she has been complaining that she can't find a deep one....and she has a weakness for vaseline glass.

 She was intrigued by both pieces, so we went this morning to check them out.  She passed on the table because she didn't like the color of the finish.

"It's the same brown color as all the fake wood table finishes.  I don't like it." 

"But you know it's solid wood, not veneer, right?"

"I know.  I don't like the color."

"It's the perfect size for your space."

"Yes it is."

"It has a beautiful shape, and I love the base"

 "I've seen better ones on Etsy."

"At this price point?!?  And this one has no shipping cost."

"I hadn't thought of that.  I don't like the color."

HUGE MOM SIGH.

She got the reamer and an awesome tea cart for her kitchen.  The bottom shelf is loose from the legs, but it's nothing some wood glue and clamps can't fix.  I can teach her.

A purchase from anatolianminiatures...

...and presents from my bestie.  A bunch of Chrysnon kits she assembled then didn't like the scale of....some mini cats and some wool to practice furring....anaglypta, washi tape, other assorted odds and ends...

 ...and some strips of metal stuff that is really neat. So much new stuff that I'm not sure I need to go to the Chicago shows now, except that my bestie is going with me this year.  I'm so excited!

I've only a couple of hours to myself this morning before I'm off to help Kate labor at her house.  I've got two week's worth of updates to share, since I slacked off with only a single picture last week.  I implied a relaxing Sunday with that picture, but it was merely staged, I've been a busy, busy girl.

Let's start at Kate's house....

Last time I was there the front entry door had been installed, the windows redone to sit further forward toward the exterior, the window trim started, and more was completed in the bathroom.

Instead of wood to frame out the windows they used Trex, which is an eco-friendly composite material usually used for decks.  It was her contractor's idea, to make them maintenance free.  The wood that had framed in the old windows was rotting.  Kate picked the gray color, clam shell, I believe it's named, which blends nicely with the stone and the sandstone colored windows.

Kate's mudroom addition has several finishes going on....one wall is stone, with an antique dark wood and glass door...another is stone with a white painted wood door and a dark wood milk delivery door....the wall opposite that was painted green, with Kate's new purple door and a white trimmed window....the fourth is finished in dark shiplap, which continues onto the ceiling, and has three white trimmed windows.   I painted the green wall white to match the window trim and the white door opposite.  Everything looks complimentary now.  Kate was going to change the color later but I insisted now was the time to handle it, before they put the interior trim up around the new windows and door.

I finally got a chance to drive my parents out to see the house.  They were delighted and proud.  Both think the house is adorable and well suited to Kate.

The bathroom is coming along.  They installed the sliding glass shower doors I told her repeatedly she didn't have room for, which have since been removed because there isn't room for them.  The new toilet and vanity are in, as are the beadboard, edge tiles, and wooden trim, which matches the wooden trim in all the other rooms.

We stopped at an estate sale a couple weekends ago.  It was the last day, everything was marked down by half....Kate got this gorgeous cedar chest, along with a pressure cooker, waffle maker, other kitchen odds and ends, and a nice garden spreader, all for ninety-some dollars.  Score!

The estate sale reminded me that I bought a fold-down shelf/table thing at a garage sale last summer, which was promptly shoved in my closet.  I dug it out and Matthew installed it under the dining room window for Ester.  She loves it.  It was definitely worth a dollar.

Spring is in the air here, the snow is melting, the birds are singing...  We had a couple of days in the 60s this week, so I played hooky Tuesday and Matthew and I drove around Leelanau Peninsula.  We stopped at Fishtown to walk and enjoy the warmth.  It's much more relaxing when it's not tourist season, even though all the little shops were closed....plus, there were no other people there to get in way of taking good pictures.

We had fresh lake perch for lunch in Sutton's Bay, then wandered downtown.  I saw these fantastic bicycles in a home decor shop.  They aren't scale pieces, but they're the right size.  It was a tough decision to pick between the red and the green, so I brought home both of them.

I did find a few hours, but only a few, to begin work on the contest house.

I microwaved and tore apart the porch pieces.  The balusters didn't want to cooperate, but those were the pieces I wanted to replace, so I broke them out, then sanded the top and bottom rails smooth.  I will use my table saw to cut a new, skinnier, groove in them to insert the new baluster sections.