back with a snotty nose & runny eyes

Tags

boats trip, crafting, dragon, family, hayfever, holidays, painting, runny nose

My two weeks away from home were exciting and fun but I arrived back with a snotty nose and runny eyes. Somewhere on my road-trip around Denmark I got a massive attack of hay-fever that decided to manifest itself with a vicious tenacity. So now I am at home blowing my own weight of snot into tissues and trying to work with teary eyes, but this too shall pass – at least I hope it will and just in case I wandered down to the pharmacy and bought the entire aisle of “hay-fever-be gone!” But even through all the sniffles and sneezing I had a lovely time away and I even made sure that my nephew and niece don’t forget me now that I am gone again – I painted a big boat on the “lookout” in their garden and even managed a decent looking dragon on my nephews shield.

pirates beware

the skull may look a bit off but the waves turned out great

fire breathing dragon

And even though I will miss my family and enjoyed my time away I have to say I was glad to be sleeping in my own bed last night, and not having to get up at 6.30am was an added bonus!

applying apples

Tags

crafts, creativity, cutlery, home, home improvement, home making, painting

Yesterday evening I decided it was time to do something I have been wanting to do for ages. It was time to revamp my cutlery holder.

Many years ago my uncle made me, upon request, a wooden knives, spoon and forks holder out of wood. It has five slots and lives on my kitchen counter. But over the years the wood has become more and more stained, but not in a good way. The whole thing just looks a little unloved and tired.

before the revamp

Not wanting to wait another day I spontaneously took out my paintbrush and and a small bottle of colour and painted it green, nearly sage if the label on the tube is to be believed. But just a a plain one coloured thing is not what I wanted, so I looked around for inspiration and found it in some paper napkins.

I love these retro-graphic apples

The next step was the trickiest. I had to cut out all the little apples and apply only the top layer of the napkin onto the painted wood. Because napkins are so thin it is a little bit fiddly, but with some muttering and sighing I managed to cut out and detach enough to complete my design. I applied the apples onto the wood with paste, the kind you can get in any crafts shop.  Now, all I need is for it to dry, give it a lick of of varnish and TA-DA: a new and improved cutlery-holder!

brightening up the back-yard

Tags

back-yard, Dublin, gardening, home improvement, masonry paint, painting, plants, sore elbow, tennis elbow

I think I may have a tennis elbow, not that I have ever played any tennis but my right arm/elbow is really quite sore. However instead of improving my non-existent backhand I have been brightening up my miniscule back-yard with white masonry paint and brush.

I really only store my bike in this space but my little office looks out onto it and it is less than inspiring. So since the sun is out and  my lovely neighbour helped me anker a bike-lock to the ground in the front of the house, I decided it was time to change my view.

After a good few hours of painting (it was much harder and took much longer than anticipated, since masonry paint isn’t like other paint), a visit to a garden store and a sore elbow my back-yard is now a much happier place. All I need to perfect my view is a little birdhouse to encourage my winged neighbours to visit now and then.

My tiny yard before

The other unloved corner

And now with a lick of paint and some plants and storage.

Happy pansies

paint planning

Tags

agatha christie, home, home improvement, miscellaneous, painting, quotes, random

My bedroom needs a little face-lift, a lick of paint on walls and ceiling, a little bit more storage and the furniture needs to be rearranged. So this morning I spent time making a list and while I sat, sipped tea and scribbled my eye flitted around the room and I realised that the rest of my home could use a little face lift too.

As my list grew longer the morning passed and I still had so much to do. Because I knew I wouldn’t get much done today I decided to just do the shopping for all the bits and bobs today and  then designate the individual tasks to different days this week. My plan is simple but hopefully by the end of the two week I will have a sparkling new home, and I can’t wait.

But in my excitement I had a thought, why is it that I always feel better when my desk is neat, my home is tidy and I feel good about how I look? As I pondered this question I remembered a study I read many moons ago, it looked at the lives of many different people and how clutter and things affected their lives.  The owners of cluttered homes or avid collectors of everything tended to be more tired, the stuff they owned literally drained their energy and left them fatigued. But not only were the clutter-bugs tired they also had a more negative outlook on life. It was as if the stuff they owned tied them down more, made them less able to change resulting in a  feeling of hopelessness and frustration.

I also remember being amazed at the fact that people who have clean, nearly minimalistic homes tend to be wealthier. Yes the more money in the bank meant the less cluttered a home was. Maybe it is because our minds are less likely to get distracted by what surrounds us and we are freer to pursue our dreams and careers.

With my list finished and theses thoughts still fresh in my mind I am going to go and get the paint now and even-though I now I will never be a minimalist I may de-clutter and sort while I revive my home. And who knows maybe I will follow in Agatha Christie’s footsteps while I sort, paint and redecorate, after all she did say:

The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes