. . . dream job . . .

. . . so excited

for my

new church calling . . .

. . . playing the . . .

. . . at the . . .

. . . every . . .

. . . whole fence . . .

. . . you may call me daniel-san . . .

{but you should substitute "bathroom" for "fence"}

. . . it's all in the wrist . . .

{and under my nails}

. . . favorite day of the month . . .

. . . quilt group day . . .

. . . yay! . . .

. . . thanks so much

to jamie for hosting . . .

. . . and when i say hosting,

of course i mean

making us a yummy

bowtie pasta

spinach

strawberry

chicken

craisin salad . . .

. . . and giving us a tour

of amberlee's darling bedroom . . .

. . . i have really talented friends! . . .

. . . other highlights included:

show and tell . . .

. . . nedra brought

two fabulous quilts . . .

. . . oh my stars! . . .

. . . check out

these kaffe baskets . . .

. . . the applique and piecing

are impeccable . . .

. . . texture magic

adds just the right oomph

to select blocks . . .

. . . and to top it all off . . .

. . . it was quilted

by judi

of green fairy quilts . . .

. . . whose work is

probably the best

i've ever seen . . .

. . . nedra also brought

her version

of nanette's

all dressed up quilt . . .

. . . serious . . .

. . . quilt . . .

. . . envy . . .

. . . covet . . .

. . . covet . . .

. . . covet . . .

. . . again ~ texture magic . . .

. . . notice the green

and purple dresses . . .

. . . and . . .

. . . judi's . . .

. . . quilting . . .

. . . again . . .

. . . and finally . . .

. . . take a gander

at this darling number . . .

. . . renee pieced

these wonky little girl blocks . . .

. . . and i absolutely adore

the wonky border, too . . .

. . . great job, my quilty friends . . .

. . . you are awesome mentors

who inspire me to keep sewing . . .

. . . poof! it's gone . . .

. . . i've tried lots of different methods

over the years . . .

•fabric softener

•electric steamer

•slap on some drywall mud

•paper tiger, hot water & patience

. . . but the best idea so far

for getting rid of

pesky, unwanted wallpaper? . . .

. . . josh squared . . .

. . . josh, my nephew . . .

. . . and josh, his uncle . . .

{also uncles ammon and lamoni ~ i wish i'd taken their picture}

. . . and bead board . . .

. . . lots of bead board . . .

. . . i've been in awe

of the craftsmanship . . .

. . . they've faced

the tub and shower enclosures . . .

. . . they've wrapped

every {unsquare} corner . . .

. . . they've filled and sanded

every nail hole and seam . . .

. . . now let's just hope my

{less-than-professional}

painting skills don't mess up

their beautiful work . . .

. . . progress? . . .

. . . yes . . .

{i think so}

. . . it always gets worse

before it gets better,

doesn't it? . . .

. . . the calm amid the chaos . . .

. . . do you know this trick? . . .

. . . wipe excess paint

on the rubber band . . .

. . . keeps groove

on top of can cleaner . . .

. . . ensuring the lid

will still fit well . . .

{i learned that on pinterest}

. . . ttfn . . .

. . . tons more beadboard

to prime and paint . . .

. . . twenty-nine . . .

. . . and holding . . .

. . . no, really . . .

. . . these two turned twenty-nine . . .

{tyler on st. patrick's day and brent today}

. . . we feel blessed to have

them for sons-in-law . . .

. . . 1983 was a very good year . . .

. . . i think . . .

. . . wc . . .

. . . water closet:

a compartment or room

with a toilet . . .

. . . meaning: this room

does not currently qualify . . .

. . . as you can see . . .

. . . what? . . .

. . . you don't keep your toilet

on the back porch? . . .

. . . so . . .

. . . while you were watching

a midnight showing

of the hunger games . . .

. . . i turned into

a beadboard painting machine . . .

. . . one coat of primer . . .

. . . then four coats of semi-gloss . . .

. . . and i've only just begun . . .

{totally open to suggestions for a color

to paint the top portion of the walls . . . help!}

. . . time to change . . .

. . . remember that one episode

of the brady bunch

where peter's voice keeps cracking

when they're trying

to make a record . . .

{go ahead and watch that video

and let me know how long it takes

to get that tune out of your head}

. . . isn't this

a lovely waverly print? . . .

. . . i, apparently, thought so . . .

. . . back in 1996 . . .

. . . but the time has come . . .

{actually it probably should have come a long time ago}

. . . for a change . . .

{insert cracking voice}

. . . so i've decided

to get rid of part of it . . .

. . . there are three essential tools

for removing wallpaper . . .

1} a paper tiger

[it's an amazing scoring/perforating tool that makes tiny holes ~

i wish i'd invented it]

2} a spray bottle of hot water

[i use a pressurized garden sprayer,

sparing myself from painful hand cramps]

3} and the most important tool

is patience

. . . the tools are used in that order . . .

. . . score the paper . . .

. . . spray . . .

. . . wait . . .

. . . repeat steps two and three

many times . . .

. . . especially the waiting . . .

. . . trying to peel the paper off too early

only brings frustration

and damaged drywall . . .

. . . about four hours later . . .

. . . and that's all there is to it . . .

. . . i'd say it's already looking

about twenty-five per cent better . . .

. . . good for your eyes . . .

. . . while carrots are

a good source of vitamin a . . .

. . . your mom

wasn't exactly telling the truth

when she said they'd

improve your vision . . .

. . . colby, however,

ate every last spoonful

and doesn't give a flying fig . . .

. . . mmm ~ figs . . .

. . . maybe they're

next on the list

of fruits to try . . .

. . . we aim to please . . .

. . . remember when i said

our pool turned green . . .

. . . i was waaaaaaaaaay off . . .

. . . anyone can see

that what we're dealing with here

is yellow algae . . .

. . . and after lots

and lots

and lots of gallons of chlorine

and super shocking it

multiple times . . .

. . . a fancy pool chemist says

the only way to fix it

is to drain the water

and start over . . .

. . . which can only mean one thing . . .

. . . neighbor kids are happy campers . . .

. . . especially on a 75 degree

early release school day . . .