P52 {WEEK 19}

A few snapshots from my past week!
posting with
Tamar @ Random-osity

JPE & I painted the dining room!
talked to Allie, Stephanie, Natasha & Lydia!
a fabulous day!

sunshine + a light breeze = GORGEOUS weekend!

welcoming a new member to mother-hood!

this is what happens when you don't drain the garden fountain!
we're EXPECTING!
froggies?

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 5.12.13

Baby Shower for a new Mom!

"Motherhood has a very humanizing effect.

Everything gets reduced to essentials."

~ Meryl Streep

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Quick post (JPE's out running!)

& we'll be starting another day of painting! 

This week's SHS (find the other participants at ASHLEY'S) words are: PERSPECTIVE, GOLDEN, DARK, LOCAL & BLOOM.
(sorry for the weird spacing between photos - no time to fix)

PERSPECTIVE?

Well, this is turning out to be a very productive weekend, from my PERSPECTIVE. We painted the upstairs hallway (not an easy task!! due to the height & placement of the steps) & the living room. Today, we'll paint our small dining area.

GOLDEN

Difficult to see the GOLDEN look of the paint from this viewpoint. I'll have more pictures when we are done (still have the baseboards taped off). See the pretty ceiling? no more cottage cheese... ah!

DARK

This is a stretch! we've been working on our "update" (I've changed our project from "renovation" status to "update" because we are at the painting stage now) from the time we get home from work until DARK & we're ready to fall into bed. 

LOCAL

OH... bear with me! this is my interpretation of LOCAL. At work (that's pretty LOCAL, huh?) we held a baby shower for a first-time mom-to-be! our staff loves parties, especially potlucks! what a joy to welcome a new baby to our work family! yippee!!

BLOOM

Saved the prettiest picture for last! JPE's roses are BLOOMING. As soon as the downstairs is settled, we'll bring in vases of these gorgeous, fragrant BLOOMS.

Well, JPE made some pancakes to fuel our activity...

off to slip on my painting clothes!

TRANSFORMATION!

Sorry for the different shades of light!

these photos were taken at different times of the day.

Our condo is 30+ years old. The contractor told us there was not much we could do to make the staircase look better (prettier... is what I asked for!!) when the condo's were built, there wasn't any thought that the stairs would have anything on them BUT carpet. Hence, the "block, rough, utilitarian look"...

This is our solution. Utilitarian carpet (but, it's pretty) and wood toe-boards!

P52 {WEEK 18}

dust from the renovation - covering my camellia

On Saturday, bright & early (7:00am) our renovation crew arrived... ready to complete the master bedroom floors, work on the crown molding in the bedrooms, "mud" the new wall in the bathroom & pick-up the trash from Friday afternoon.

Wanting to stay out of the way, we gulped down a second cup of coffee & headed to the "big-box store" in SLO to pick up a shower rod, a couple replacement closet poles & check out the area rugs.

possible rug for living room?

See Canyon, Avila Beach

JPE stopped off the highway, so I could capture a few photographs...

the thick, soupy, coastal FOG muffled the sounds of the valley... 

LISTENING... JUST LISTENING...

... to the squeaky metal of the rotating windmill, as the sound drifted off the rolling hills...

... the rustling of the grass & the snorted greeting from this inquisitive beauty...

... such peaceful sounds in contrast to the hammering we left at home.

We spent the rest of the morning at our computers (yes, at work!!) enjoying the silence of the empty office.

Heaven-ly!

linking w/TAMAR for P52 {Week 18}...

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 5.5.13

SHS 5.5.13

What a whirl-wind week! Our condo RENOVATION started last MONDAY (here's Day 2) & we just completed the walk-through! I'll share photos & fill in some of the details in another post. It will take a few days for the "dust" to settle so during that time, we'll be bringing some of the furniture back in. After the dust settles, I'll start painting.

I'm taking a break from sweeping, mopping, dusting to post some SHS findings. Hope to have some time to blog-hop & see what everyone else has posted!

Enjoy this week's words: BACKGROUND, SPOTTED or DOTS, WEATHER, MOTION & SWEET.

Indiana, (along the Amazon River) Peru

Every so often, I look through my photo archives for SHS photos (it's a shame not to share them). The photo on the left shows an example of two houses that float on the river. If you look through the doorway of the blue house, you'll see a man sitting in a chair in the BACKGROUND. Due to the humidity (& the cost), most doors & windows have no coverings.

El Camino Hospital, Mountain View

Usually you visit museums to see fabulous art, but this hospital has incredible artwork. The smooth ceramic background was adorned with lines of colorful, raised DOTS --- appearing almost like necklaces of stringed pearls, hanging from a woman's neck! Simply, lovely!

See Canyon, Avila Beach (along Hwy 101)

Living along the ocean, you get used to the "coastal fog" --- as you turn inward, the WEATHER generally changes to sunshine! NOT this week - even in San Luis Obispo, we had drippy, damp fog!

JPE mopping up the dust!

Wanting to get some furniture moved back into our house, JPE & I started cleaning up the dust just after the crew started this morning (7:15am). Our place was "buzzing" with MOTION (between four guys & JPE & I)... we signed the final check at 3:15pm.

Cuppa JOE?

Recognize the hand-drawn logo on the coffee cup? That's right! there were several Starbuck's in Lima, Peru. SWEET (adorably creative) sign --- nasty coffee! it was actually Nescafe. Although Peru grows coffee beans, it is A.L.L exported. The only coffee you can buy is instant --- yep! surprising, huh!!!

Well, this closes another week of SHS. Next week's words are: PERSPECTIVE, GOLDEN, BLOOM, DARK & LOCAL.

See you tomorrow!

'ROUND THE MAYPOLE?

Did you ever participate in a MAY-POLE DANCE?

or make a paper cone and fill it with flowers from your garden

& hang it on the neighbor's front door?

As an elementary student, I participated in both these activities as a way to commemorate the First of May or MAY DAY!

According to Wikipedia, there are numerous explanations about the background of MAY DAY... But, as a child, I believed it was a day to celebrate fairies... I don't remember why I thought that, perhaps because of something I read in a book?

Today was Day 3 of our condo renovation!

Sorry, I didn't take any pictures...  too busy sweeping the dust (or perhaps "stirring up the dust"). The ceilings were painted & the shower tile was installed...   tomorrow, downstairs crown molding + floor installation!

Hope to get some photos tomorrow!