No vacation in 2011

Got my teeth cleaned today. The worst part of my day was not the cleaning itself, it was learning that my dentist had retired. He was my favorite. It's hard to explain to people the relationship we shared, but I will miss him more than I can express. Good Dentists are hard to find.

I will wait to pass judgment on the young man that is now my Dentist. Judgment will be coming soon since we will be spending a lot of time together starting next week.


I am aware of my dental issues and was prepared for the worst. I got the worst, and more! But I was prepared so it's not a big shock.
I scanned my treatment plan to share with the world. Check it out. I am going to laminate it and show it to people that complain about having one cavity that needs a filling.






No vacation in 2011, indeed.

The item "Bruxism Brace" is a fancy word for what I am now calling a "sexy mouth guard"
I will be sleeping with a mouth piece soon. Hot. Apparently I grind my teeth and this is partially contributing to the 3 teeth I have that are cracked--one is clean down the middle. Thanks well water+genetics+unconscious jaw grinding habit!

Textile art

The house has a massive stairwell that I have been struggling to decorate since we moved in. The wall on the landing goes up 12-15 feet? So I have been on the hunt for a very large piece of art or something to decorate this huge white space. It has been exhausting but I think I finally found a solution. For a while I was considering buying a museum banner from this website.

www.betterwall.com

At 7 feet tall a banner would fit the space well but the price was not right.

So here is my solution and project. The main wall will become an accent wall and I will make "art" by stretching several yards of printed fabric over a diy wood frame. Ikea had some decent fabrics but none that I wanted to see on a large scale. I looked around and decided on a pattern that is available from Marimekko. I have seen their stuff at crate and barrel in the form of bedding, table linens, and shower curtains, and I like their patterns. They are visually interesting without being too busy.

This is what I bought:




Upholstery fabric is not cheap but I only needed 2 yards to make a covering 4 feet wide x 6 feet tall. Total so far=$80

Now I am trying to find a paint color that is appropriate for the wall. I wanted to get a muted blue since ALL of the rooms in our house are gray or beige. I am sick of the neutral colors in our house. However, I can't find a blue that I like or a blue that is suitable for an area with no natural light whatsoever. I'm going to buy a sample of one more blue (I have bought about 6 blues already) and a quart of a silver metallic paint. I think the metallic could brighten the wall--but it's not a large leap from neutrals. I don't want the space to feel like a cave. Brian says I should leave the side walls and the connecting bedroom hallway white. I see his point--it will be a huge pain in the ass because most of it has to be done on a 10 foot ladder. I am undecided on that point.

This is the best picture I have of the space. It is from when we moved in.




The landings were floored in the summer of 09', Brian installed a spotlight and I picked up an Ernst Haeckel jellyfish print from zgallerie before they closed all of their east coast stores. Eventually the carpeting on the steps will be changed but not anytime soon.






If I can find a good color for that back wall the project should be done within 2 weeks!

These are a few of my favorite things

PINTEREST

What it is:

"Think of Pinterest as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love and "follow" collections created by people with great taste.

People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things -- wedding inspiration, favorite T-shirts, DJ equipment. You name it, people are pinning it.

We know you have great taste in something. Our mission is to make Pinterest the best place for you to share your taste with the world."

I have just started pinning. This is my board

http://pinterest.com/octopoda/

<3 !

Covet

In order from "most likely to buy" to "not happening"











Now that spring is here I am back into home project mode. About 3 weeks ago I got this crazy idea that my yard needed grass. Anyone with more than one dog knows that this is an exercise in futility when the yard is as small as mine, but I still spent 2 hours raking the mud and laying down seed. 3 weeks later I have baby grass and every time it gets stomped or soiled on by a dog I die a little inside. Still, I am happy to see a little bit of green in the mud pit.

A few things I hope to start, gather quotes for, and/finish by the end of the summer:

1) Painting and finding art for the enormous stairwell
2) Painting and changing the hardware on all the doors
3) The master bedroom
4) Replacing the fence or making a patio under the deck--no more mud pit!

Cookies please

Fat? Me? Never. I demand cookies now please.

Hello Again!

It's been almost a full year since I saw you last...



March 12&13th is the Maryland home and garden show and I have not attended since I picked up this lovely paph at that show two years ago. This year I am looking forward to acquiring another and some supplies for repotting this one. Here is to many more years together and many more blooms!

In knitting news...I have made about 4 things and am working on a big one. 3 cowls', one lost, one given to Brian, one to replace the first that I lost, and one "destroyed" cowl. Here is one of them while blocking. The blocking did nothing to stop the curl which is why I have no more pictures of it but the self striping yarn is so pretty I just had to share






This one is made with my new favorite yarn by Madelinetosh. If I could use this for every project forever until I no longer knit I would, it's that wonderful. The texture, the quality, the colors.. Outstanding




It is a wonderful face warmer when doubled up. Brian wears his everyday and can wrap it around his neck and face at the same time. He looks like a bank robber but it keeps him warm


Finally, my current project. A gift for a new little person. I have added another 5" and have about 2 or 3 skeins of yarn left to finish. I ran out of yarn at this point and had to special order more from the store...It was taking way too long so I did a rush order on amazon and got it within 2 days. I'm back to working on it now.



Stitch pattern close up:




Not too shabby for a free pattern

That's all for now!

Obsessed

I love my kindle and I can honestly say that I have never loved a gadget so much. Not my smart phone, not my ipod, not my gps. It's all about the kindle. I do not know what it is about this thing that makes reading so damn enjoyable. Maybe it's the fact that I can get a book suggestion, look it up, and have it delivered to the thing in less than a minute. Also, I can download knitting patterns to it instead of printing them out and carrying around pattern papers that get all wrinkly by the time I'm done with a project. It is the jam.