Stripping

It's taken two weeks, eight different sanders, one heat gun, four tubs of wood filler, and a few hundred swear words to get from here:

 to here:

Let's hope we can make it the rest of the way.

cardinal hoodie

it's pure satisfaction to finish this project after hoping to make it a christmas gift then vowing to finish it by the end of march, then sewing the seams twice (because the first time just didn't cut it) and one spot even three times.

this is Eily before 9am in the morning. and behind him is the reason i've been preoccupied with other things (ie. drywalling, mudding, cleaning, painting).

It is those times that we need creative space the most that there is no room. I understand that in a physical sense these days. Our house has been dealing with electrical upgrades, insulation, and new ceiling drywall. It has felt like ages since I've found the time and the space to do something besides home repairs. Today though, I finished two rugs to bring to next week's KWWS (Kitchener Waterloo Weavers' & Spinners') sale.

picnic

there are sheets thrown up, rugs rolled, furniture moved throughout the house while the wiring gets down. the other night, we pulled down one of the sheets and laid it out like a picnic blanket, though Eily claimed it was a raft and tied us to the coffee table so we could eat quesadillas, nachos, and raspberry mousse.
the mousse was a lucy waverman recipe, although it was as simple as blending frozen raspberries and folding them into whipped cream. it's like a quick version of homemade ice cream, and i would bet you could make it with any frozen fruit with equally delicious results.

kitchen milestones

unfortunately, one of them will translate into more work (just look up), but i'm nonetheless happy to conclude the yoghurt experiment (100% milk is delicious but a little too pricey; all milk powder is much to plain, and a portion of each is nearly perfect), to have mastered a homemade recipe for puff pastry (no pictures unfortunately, it was gobbled up too quickly; if you have any wits about you, try this dish), and to have confronted those mushy squash loitering in the cellar (now, i'm on the hunt for fabulous squash recipes).

the reward: blueberry and buttermilk cake, from this fabulous cookbook. I actually adapted it to a loaf and stuffed the blueberries (frozen, albeit not recommended) inside instead of saving them for topping. i haven't tried the original, but i'd make this one again.

my other utensil is a putty knife

there's been a lot of wallpaper removal going on here, only since sunday, but it's so satisfying that i have to hold my hand back when i walk into a new, yet untouched, room.

It was a little less hot today...the perfect day for strawberry picking and the perfect break from grouting. last night, i grouted until 11pm and learned all about tiling spounges, rubber grout floats, and grout bags. i'm pretty relieved to see the rows of shiny tiles after all that work. during it, my mind alternated between deliberating over a new trades career and being tempted to leave an assignment for Brett to write "i will never again start a tiling job" 100 times.

Now i'm going to hull strawberries in the garden to celebrate being that much closer to a finished washroom.

i learned how to tile today! it was wholely dedicated to the bathroom but i have a box of tiles under the stairs and an inset table top that i've been wanting to mosaic for awhile. add it to the project list.