Why not?

PPP

Post Project Pain. Seriously, it should be a condition in all medical literature. Although you are happy with the end results of your home improvement project, you hurt. You hurt a lot. But before the painful symptoms of fatigue, muscle soreness, and irritability fully set in, you get kind of euphoric and you take on other projects...like rearranging furniture or starting an entirely new project. The initial project with the added work of additional ones is simply too hard on a body. You need rest, relaxation, and toddlers that have self care skills. :)

I moved furniture around. I like the results, but I am tired.

Have a great week!
~Karen

Before:

This project took a couple weeks total. I did a lot of the door and drawer painting in the garage with makeshift tables made of wood. It allowed me to work in an assembly-line fashion.

Kevin did a lot of the harder parts...Drilling holes for new hardware & hanging.

After: (Ignore clutter on counter!)

I chose a latex primer, latex paint, and then a polyacrylic layer on top. A couple tips I learned:

~apply thin layers
~follow drying times
~make sure if you are working in a garage it is well ventilated and not humid
~don't rush it even though it is a pain to have your kitchen torn up

Other:
I purchased the hardware from Target. I was amazed how quickly you can spend $100 on knobs and drawer pulls! I found Target sells economy packs from $9.99 to $29.99 and they come with 6-10 knobs or pulls. And they sell individual ones if you do not get enough from the economy packs.

Phew! I am tired..SO is Kevin. Thanks for all your help Kevin! :)
~Karen

Is it Friday? I hope!

The bees love my basil. Thankfully they spend the entire day there, and don't mind when I pick around them. Kevin took these pics, and I think they are pretty cool. I like their buggy eyes.

The kittens have opened their eyes. Mother of the year, Mrs. Pacman, abandoned them today. While she ran the streets the 4 babes cried. It kind of got on my nerves. She finally came back this evening and nursed them. She will walk on them to get to us. They scream as she is stepping on them. You can see how she got her nickname.

Ralphie, our new dog, has adjusted to our schedule. He is a fun dog for the kids. He tolerates a great deal of toddler abuse.

The kitchen cabinet doors and drawers have yet to be put back on. I plan on doing that some time this weekend. I am going to put a layer of polyacrylic on it first. If you use latex paint you should go with a polyacrylic. There are many good things about going with latex instead of enamel.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!
~Karen

Our Farm

Mrs. Pacman

Inky

Blinky

Pinky

Clyde

All are thriving. The momma is no mother of the year though. She tries to get in our house every time a door opens. One night it rained and she took refuge on our porch, but left the kittens in the rain! Kevin had to rig an umbrella over them!

Ralphie is doing great, and is already housebroken. He is sleeping in his crate at night and that is great.
***
What do people do who already have too much going on????
Take on more work, of course.
I started painting the kitchen cabinets. Here is an early pic:

More to come later..I am simply too tired to upload more pics!
Have a great week!
~Karen

Randomness

Here is your daily dose of deliciousness:

He is so cute!

Moe can't resist playing/bugging him even if he is asleep. I am guilty of this too!
***

I keep seeing this throughout the house, and each time it startles me because I think it is a pregnancy test! It is a 4 GB memory stick! It does look like a preg. test though, doesn't it?

***

The momma cat and her 4 kittens continue to be priority in our house. We are now feeding the momma. She seems to have more milk in, and the babies are growing. The kittens still haven't opened their eyes.

Kevin is particularly fond of the gray cat. I like the momma. She is sweet.
***

And yes, I am back to my hooking ways. hehehe :) I finished the kitchen rug and one for my mom. These are incredibly easy to make, and way up there on the useful scale! :)

Have a great weekend!
~Karen

Oh, and uh, quit flooding me with emails and calls about wanting the cats. ahem ahem...hint hint...okay, here is where I beg...
PLEASE! Call or email today. You know you want one....If you call now, you will get 2 cats for the price of one.....and I will throw in an extra cat if you call in the next ten minutes....

Chaos

We are surviving. And Ralphie is still alive. These things are surprising given how rough and tough toddlers can be. I can only conclude that puppies are made of some strong stuff.


Ralphie cried in his crate last night, so Kevin brought him to our bed. I did not get good sleep since Ralphie likes to sleep on our heads. It is uncomfortable. Also, did I mention puppies have stinky milk breath? It reminds me of my own children's breath when they nursed.

The house breaking has been easy so far. He naps, he wakes up, I take him outside and he goes, and then he comes in for some play. The same schedule was repeated all day, and he did not have any accidents. I am hopeful we will not have any.

The kittens seem to be doing fine. We broke down and purchased some kitty food. She nurses the four kittens non stop. She allows us to pet her and the kittens. This is shocking since they are only 2 days old. None of our neighbors have claimed her. I have a feeling none will. We might end up being the host family for them. I don't really want them indoors. I don't mind feeding them outside though.

Have a great week!
~Karen