Wilsonworld

Sometimes dreams really DON'T come true.

Since we bought this house, i have imagined Tin Ceilings in the kitchen.
Yesterday, since now we are in the market for said ceilings, Keith actually took a look at the real cost factor.
And then he had some sort of heart attack...where he made funny clucking noises, and grabbed at his chest.
Then he shared with me the dollar amounts that he had written down on our handy sheet of paper.

ANd my dreams flew away.

I will not be getting Tin Ceilings.
I am not getting reproduction tin ceilings either.
Cause apparently  Keith doesn't want to have to re-morgage again.......

Party pooper.

The mess is cleared up....and Home Depot will have our third born (ha ha joke is on them)
I have found what is the compromise in the "i-want-tin" battle.....they are acoustic tiles, stamped to look like tin patterns, that you paint in whatever colour you want.
It isn't what i dreamed of, but if i have learned anything this buying this house, it is that compromise is better than a divorce lawyer, and I think i can make it look nice.

The roof is our main concern, and so that is where the attention will lie first.
I have to pick a colour for the walls, since they are trashed as well....the previous owner did not use a WASHABLE PAINT. SInce i was planning on painting next summer, i guess i can look at it as a time saving venture. Not sure what colours i am looking at..i do want to try and keep it historical...NO bright pinks or blues.....i am leaning towards a goldenrod, or desert sand......but i am still looking.

Thought i would add a few pictures to let you know just what we were up against.....

This is what we started with....after the plaster came down..and some of the lathe.

I AM glad that i am losing the ugly border...the previous home owner put it up...probably the same time he painted with NON WASHABLE paint.

             

Here is Keith with his mess. Look at the crap on the floor. This was after only a few pieces of lathe were down.

And the floor. Now i didn't really like the floor to begin with, but i DID like being able to see it.
This stuff was EVERYWHERE!                                                                                                                   At one point it was taller that the knee high boots......And yes, we did find a few petrified marshmallows in our cleanup.

But this is the other cool thing we found. It is an invoice...for what appears to be lumber...and the date is  3-23-20. I took a bunch of shots of it....I am hoping as it dries i might be able to see the name clearly.

We thought this part of the house was a much newer addition...but we are beginning to think otherwise.

We are going to make copies of some of the bills and put them up there, along with this old invoice....so in  the years to come, someone else might unearth a little piece of history.

So...I can see clearly now the Roof..er..Rain is gone.

The concept of "little things becoming Big things" is a well known fact in renovations. When i posted my list of things to do in the spring, Kim commented on how one thing will lead to another....and she is right.

The leak in the kitchen ceiling, became a bigger issue the other night, after someone pulled down some of the sopping wet plaster and paint....we were worried that it was going to fall on Papa or one of the kids, so  just "pulling" down the hanging pieces sounded like a good idea.

Really...for a brief moment it DID sound like a good idea.

Now....not so much.

While i was at work yesterday, the ceiling came down.
Keith thought he could just pull off the plaster and then fix the problem.

40 garbage bags later, not to mention all of the lathe that will serve as fire pit fodder for the fall...i have vaulted ceilings in my kitchen.
Or i could say i have air conditioning in the kitchen...or sky-lights.
OR I could say it like it is.

I have one hell of a mess in the kitchen, where there USED to be a ceiling.

One of the joys of having a house built in the early 1900's, is that you never know what you are going to find when you have to"fix" something. I also think that although you SAY out loud that you know that buying an old house it going to mean fixing things, and updating things and "oh-i-can't-wait-to-restore-it" type of things..In your head, you REALLY SECRETLY think that it WON'T BE THAT BAD..and how bad could it be?

Yep....What part do you think keith was listening to when he decided to pull down "just this little piece of plaster"? BEFORE he tarped off the doorways that lead to the rest of the house.  OR took ANYTHING out of the kitchen...like glassware, or dishes.

IT IS A MESS.
A BIG MESS.
A MESS THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE CLEANING UNTIL THE CHILDREN HAVE GROWN.

The 50+ year old paper insulation....like a fine mist gets into EVERYTHING.

At one point, when Munch was standing in the kitchen, shoveling the powder into garbage bags, it was over the top of his knee-high rubber boots. And i can't count the number of times i heard...Look at THIS one, as another hole was found. There wasn't just one little leak from the chimney. I do believe at last count there were FIVE separate spots where water was an issue.

BUT
We do have great friends who gave up their Saturday afternoon, and most of the evening to help us try and solve the problem.
And we are in negotiations on the type of tin ceilings that will be going up once the roof is fixed.

AND
there was coffee this morning.

SO i guess its not that bad.

YET.

YET another reason to read!

You all know that here in Wilsonworld we luvvv us some books!
SO when i read over here that THIS was going on, i just had to jump on the band wagon.

For my own Peril choice, i have chosen Peril the First.  Read Four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.

And so, my list as of now is....

1. The Stand...Stephen King
2. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell...Susanna Clarke
3. Blackwood Farm.....Ann Rice
4. The Historian...Elizabeth Kostova.

The Stand is one of my fave books, and i have read and re-read it over and over again. As a matter of fact i ma on my 5th copy, since the others have literally fallen apart from use. The Historian comes recommended from a good friend, and i was looking forward to reading it..so now i have an excuse to head off to the book store. Books are now NEEDS not WANTS. (see i can rationalize anything!)

What are you doing on September 1st?
maybe you would like to join in?

(For those that know me, reading only 4 books is not really a challenge...but I can add to the list as i go..and of course it IS an excuse to go to the bookstore!)

And the rain rain rain came down down down...

So it is raining here yet again.
I realize that for many of you, living with the treat of hurricanes and tropical storms that rain is the least of your worries....but i am of the belief that when it starts to rain INSIDE your house....than there has been MORE THAN ENOUGH RAIN.
The kitchen roof is leaking again...still...more than ever....and so instead of waiting until next spring..we have to do something about it NOW..as in yesterday. BUT it won't stop raining. SO we can't get up there to fix the problem.
Add in sick Momma, stressed out Dad (production week for him....he gets a little...um..testy during this week, that occurs EVERY MONTH..so one would think that he would be mentally prepared for it....but who am i to talk about mental stress levels) and kids that are going stir crazy because of the rain.....and the winding down of summer is turning into a time i would like to forget.

School starts in 13 days.
I am so not ready.
I have yet to purchase ANYTHING on the kid school needs list.
Not to mention both kids have GROWN considerably. (apparently plants aren't the only thing that grow in humid weather around here)

If you need me, i'll be building an ark/time machine.
Anyone know how much a cubit is?

With Every turn of the wheel

With every step
you move farther and farther away

they started as tiny paces
almost to small to notice
but they have gotten larger

As i watch you
as i always do

you seem different
older
less familiar

is it just me

or do those wheels
NEED
to take you somewhere

Somewhere i cannot follow
out on your own path

To you
you are just riding

To me
it is one more step away
to dances and sleepovers
to heartache
and laughter

to the woman you will grow to be.

all of this from a bike ride?

Isn't it amazing how a mother's mind works

Lazy Daze of summer...

Around here it has been anything but lazy....we have been in a whirlwind of doctors, hospitals, and of course the Great Sleepover 2007. My vacation ends today, so i am going to indulge in posting point form...hey at least i am putting something up here...

• Papa was rushed to the hospital unable to breathe while having chest pains. It was NOT a full heart attack, but it was related to his Congestive Heart Failure.
• Papa was in the hospital for five days, during which time we had many a family meeting, some including social workers, trying to decide what the best course of action would be.
• Papa has returned home, with us, for now. This is not a permanent solution as the Vascular Dementia is continuing to progress and it is becoming clear that he needs more than what we can give him.
• On a positive note, Papa is doing much better since he is no longer allowed to be responsible for his medication. I dole it out like Nurse Ratched. We quibble, we laugh..he forgets. It is now our circle of life here.
• Munch developed Strep throat.
• I feel like a bad Mom, since i waited to take him to the doctors, thinking that it was just a summer cold. When i couldn't manage to get his fever down below 104, i realized that Dr Mom out of her league.
• The Great Sleepover 2007 went off without a hitch. We ate way too much, consumed wayyyy to much beverage, and laughed so hard i thought my sides would burst. I found a part of me that had been lost..and i didn't know it was gone until it was found. Laughter and friends really are the best medicine.
• I am ashamed to admit i cried when my roommates left. It was like losing them all over again.
• The Great Sleepover of 2008 is already in planning stages. I can't wait.
• Bug taught herself how to ride her bike. ALL BY HERSELF. She would not allow us to help her. She got up the one morning, went outside at 8am..and said..I AM GOING TO RIDE THIS BIKE TODAY.
• She did.
• She is very determined and very stubborn.
• I have no idea where she gets it from.
• She is on book FOUR of the Harry Potter series.
• She started reading them the day the last book came out.
• She is 6.
• Munch is sick again. After finishing the antibiotics for Strep, he came to me yesterday complaining of a sore throat. Back to the doctors we went. It is not Strep.
• It still hurts, and he is upset he cannot go out and play with the new neighbours who just moved in...with 2 boys his age!
• I am looking at the continuing education book that came from the college the other day. There are some certificate programs that interest me...we will see what the cost factor is.

SO there you have it..in a nutshell...how i spent my summer vacation.
Next year..Keith and i are going to take the SAME vacation time. That way we can both complain about how we spent our summer vacations!

Here is a pic of the GSO gang out for lunch...we went to one of the local hangouts that we used to crawl
go to...great wings and cool trivia games. It has not changed in twenty years..Neither have we of course!

Friends

From as far back as i can recall, my parents did not have a huge group of friends. Not that they weren't social, but they chose to have a select group that they were close to.
When i was a teenager, i had a select group that i hung with, but wasn't a social butterfly by any means.
I have many of the same friends now that i had when i was 10.
As the years passed, people came in and out of my life, always for a reason (at least that is what i believe). Some fell through the cracks, some moved on, and some i have held close to my heart.

A few months ago, i wrote an entry about finding one of my old friends. She was my first university room-mate, and we had parted many years ago. We found each other through Facebook, and have seen each other several times over the last few months.

This coming week, she and 2 other room-mates are coming to stay at my place for what we are calling "THE GREAT SLEEPOVER 2007".

When we were young (younger than what we are now, because we are by NO means OLD), we spent many a night just hanging out, laughing, doing "girl" stuff. Because that is what girls do. (I am not being sexist, since i am not a guy, and have NO idea as to how guys hang out...although usually i think it involves tools and cars and such).

Last night, i had a kitchen full of young women. We sat around, ate food (thanks for bbq'ing Hubby!) made milkshakes, dyed hair and did nails. We talked about University textbooks and discussed Canadian literature. But more than that...we laughed. We listened to each other. And connected. And for one brief moment I was sitting in my dorm room with my two friends. Some of these young women were the same age as i was when i packed up my bags, moved 2 hours away from my family and settled into a new life.

As i sat there, listening to the girls talk about friends, and boys, and school starting soon, i realized how much i miss that stage of my life. Maybe not that stage exactly, but the fun and excitement that goes along with starting something new. A life full of possibilities.

The girls did my nails, i did their hair and before we knew it, it was after midnight. They gathered up their things and headed of into the night to home. I locked up, and went up stairs to bed.

I stopped at the top of the stairs to listen to the quiet that was now my house. I could still echoes of the girl's laughter, and it was a sound that warmed my heart. While i am old enough to be their mother, i am so grateful that they see me as a friend. I have watched them grow from little children to the beautiful women they are today and i am proud to be a part of their lives.

I looked into Bug's room, and stood there watching her sleep for just a moment. She was curled up with her beloved Dennis, buried under what seemed to be 100 books. I turned off her flashlight (she had been reading before she fell asleep) and wondered about the woman that she will become. Will she have spa nights and girl nights like the one i had just had? Will she know the value of having friends...GOOD friends, not necessarily many?

I laid my head down on my pillow and closed my eyes and realized.
I don't have to miss that stage in my life.
I am still in it.
A life full of possibilities.

How did THAT happen?

Um....it is August.
Already.
Wow!
How did that happen?

It is the month of sunshine (like we need any more of that!) and hot temperatures (ditto to the needing more thing).

It is the month that i get off my butt and post more often.
I have noticed a lack in posting in general around the blogosphere...must have something to do with summer and family time.

But it is a busy time for everyone....so to get you caught up....here is a brief look into the last week or two.

• Munch is home and he has grown. Yep i am now almost looking up at him. NOT GOOD!
• Munch has Strep throat. again...NOT GOOD!
• It is a bazillion degrees here..we are in a humidity driven heatwave again....with no air working upstairs.
• The reason our air is not working is because we pulled out the air conditioner, after our neighbour's house caught on fire yesterday. It started because the air conditioner was plugged into an extention cord. No one was hurt, but they are living in a hotel for the next two months.
• I am learning to cook all sorts of things on the bbq. It is too hot to cook inside, so i am being creative. Glad we got the new BBQ, makes it so much easier.
• The place where i work got broken into. No one was hurt, but they really screwed up my inventory.
• A murder who had taken his first victim here in our city, was finally caught in Quebec. We can all rest a little easier now.
• Hubby had a root canal. Hubby broke new root canal. Hubby is not a happy camper.

House work, laundry, but NO NEW PROJECTS...yet.
This is my life.
Nothing exciting to talk about.
Hence no entries.
Life is like a circle, just keeps going round and round again.