Home Improvement Blog Improving Your Home And Your Life

Obligatory photo of the midget.

Most of this month, I have been wandering around and just working on whatever is directly in front of me. At times, this has involved fitting screens into windows, picking up toy trains from the floor or scraping stickers from the plexiglass that we installed over the TV screen with my fingernails (unless I want to imagine that the anchor on Nightline really DOES have a Winnie-the-Pooh head. Then I just leave it there.)

This entry is for my mom, who has promised to disown me if I do not post something about the house and/or her granddaughter. These are not idle threats as she has been obsessed with her own demise since I was about nineteen or so. How did I know this? There were clues. Like that fact that she has been putting Post-It notes onto various items in her house with the names of her daughters or grandchildren since, um, forever. These Post-Its get rearranged depending upon whether we are being sufficiently dutiful or not. We also get emails like this one:

"Who wants the Captain's decanter that Dad gave me for our second anniversary after we're gone? Because we're not going to live forever, you know. By the way, when are you coming to visit?"

So you see, if I ever want that Hummel figurine of a little boy fishing or the macrame owl from the foyer of my childhood home, I have to pony up some photos. Hope you understand. Anyway, here are photos of the benches while being built...

Old house owners don't often have much to feel smug about as we spend our weekends hanging from ladders and scraping trim.

So, this was nice.

I have here, on my dining room table, a lovely underwing moth in a bug cage. The bug cage is sitting next to a copy of "Once Upon a Potty", a piece of sandpaper, a plastic piece of birthday cake, my bike helmet, a roll of painter's tape, and my untouched To Do list.

And that should tell you all you need to know about my summer. It's busy but not about the house busy. And it's lovely. Except for the impending potty training part.

Having caught up with the internet this morning (as much as I can), I have little to write about, but much to link to. Let's get started:

Is that a third arm growing out of your shoulder or does your kitchen have granite countertops?

This post was written for Houseblogs.net as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by True Value. Housebloggers can register to win a $300 AMEX gift card but entries are due by Tuesday, July 21st--go here for details.

Since we're running the contest we're not eligible to win, but we thought we'd participate anyway. It's always nice to reflect back on what we've gotten done around the house! So, on to our favorite DIY project pick....

If you're a regular reader of our blog but haven't visited Houseblogs.net recently (a site we also run) you might be interested to know about a contest that we started there yesterday.

For the next week True Value is sponsoring a "Look What I Did" contest for housebloggers - three winners will receive $300 AMEX gift cards to spend at a local True Value store.

The contest is pretty simple and should be a fun way for housebloggers to show off our favorite projects. Anyone can participate and the instructions are available on Houseblogs.net. Don't wait too long though, since the deadline is next Wednesday.

We'll post our own entry here shortly (although I'm guessing we're not eligible to win since we're helping to run the contest!)....

Temporary light shade in our sunroom. Left over from a long ago house party in our old condo. It will be staying there until we can find a light fixture that we a) agree on, and b) can afford.

It's possible that it will be there awhile.

I usually don't do this kind of thing, but I met this dog and she is a total sweetheart. She is being fostered by our neighbors, Joel and Helen, and she is looking for a permanent home.

There are good dogs and there are great dogs, and this one, who is really special, is desperately seeking a home. Her name is Lunar and she is LOVELY. The sweetest, gentlest dog I've ever met - great with kids, great with other pets, great watchdog. She is two years old, medium/large sized and has longish red fur. She came from a household that neglected her and the physical signs are evident, but she is emotionally a very happy girl.

If you've ever flown United, you're probably familiar with the Three Perfect Days series in their Hemisphere Magazine. It picks a location and then outlines the activities and lodging required to spend three perfect days in that location.

It is only possible to do this, of course, if you have stellar weather and no small children in tow. Thus, I bring you our version of Three Perfect(?) Days in Seattle with a Two Year Old. Enjoy.

Day One: Wake up early because you have no choice. Your toddler believes that she is still in Chicago and thus, it is 4:30 am Seattle time. The sun is not glittering on Elliott Bay nor the snow-covered Olympic mountains because the sun is not up yet. But, good Lord, you are. And there is a toddler bouncing around your room and demanding to go "yo'side". Reach quickly for the remote control. Try to find cartoons on a Seattle station.

At 5:30 am, open one eye to see the toddler drawing on the wall of your sparsely-appointed room at the Holiday Inn near the highway (and Seattle Center!) with the antiperspirant that she has stolen from the duffle bag. Decide that it might be best to take her outside now.

Wander around Seattle Center with an overactive and gleeful toddler while trying to scrounge up some coffee. This is a town known for its coffee, right? RIGHT??? OMG, WHERE IS THE COFFEE?

Also, no one else in Seattle is awake yet.

Hi TK! I made you this! TK? TK? TK?

We've been doing this: