Renovation of Bathroom #2 ... A Sneak Peek

For the past two weeks, I have been pushing hard to finish another bathroom.  This one was completely gutted ... so we have new walls, floor, ceiling ... EVERYTHING.  I think I have another week's worth of work till I can close the door and be completely finished.  I'm so excited about the way this project is coming out, I have to give everyone a sneak peek at some of my progress.

Pinwheel Mosaic Floor Tile.

Gray Floor Grout.

White Subway Tile in the Shower ...

and on the Walls.

A full post will be coming in a few days, once I grout the rest of the tile and set the countertop.  Stay tuned for before and after photos and details on everything that went into this project.  (Sorry to rush off like this ... I have to go upstairs now and set the last of the tile trim pieces.)

I am a Daffodil

As I surf through some of my favorite garden blogs, sometimes I see a button like this on the blog's sidebar.

I must be in a particularly curious mood this morning, because I was overwhelmed with the urge to see which flower this personality test felt I most resembled.  (The title of this post has spoiled the surprise ... not that I intended to have a surprise in the first place, you understand.)

The explanation that came with the results said, "You have a sunny disposition and are normally one of the first to show up for the party. You don't need too much attention from the host once you get there as you are more than capable of making yourself seen and heard." 

Yep, that's me!

After I got my 'I answered all the questions honestly" results, I played with the survey trying to see what other flowers were available ... maybe I could get be a Rose.  First, I put in all of the answers that sounded like they would be the most difficult, highest maintenance stuff ... because that's how most folks perceive roses.  My result this time?

"When your friends think smile, they think of you. There is not a day that goes by that you can't find something good about the world and your fellow human."

This is me, too!

For my next attempt, I went the exact opposite direction, answering each question with the answer that seemed the farthest away choice from what would have been my 'true' answer.  The result?

"You are a mean spirited, ornery cuss. People try to get rid of you and you just keep coming back."

Nope.  Not me.

Finally, I played a pattern.  I answered 1 to Question 1, 2 to Question 2, etc., going in order 1 through 5 throughout the survey.  The results this time?

"You are a very sensual person. You like to experience all the sights, smells, tastes and textures the world has to offer. Ordinary be damned, because you want to do it all."

This is me, too!

It looks like this little test may have pinpointed why my garden looks the way it does ... I like all sorts of flowers (except thistles) and I have WAY too many personality traits to be confined to one set of answers on a silly Internet survey.

This was a fun way to waste some time on a cold, gray Monday morning.  If you have a second, click on the link below and take the 'test' for yourself.  Leave a comment and tell everyone which flower you are.

 Which flower are YOU?





Hostessing the Christmas Candlelight Tour

Every year, Fredericksburg holds their Candlelight Tour of Homes on the second weekend in December.  The featured houses are always in the historic downtown area, within walking distance of each other, and they are filled with beautiful holiday decorations.  Today, The Husband and I were among the guides at one of the houses on the tour ... he was outside giving the history of the house and details of the architecture, and I was telling tour guests about the items in the library.

As we arrived for our shift this morning, I asked the homeowner if she would mind if I took a few photos of her decorations ... she gratiously agreed.  All of these photos are taken with my Canon Elph using available light, so please forgive the quality.  Concentrate instead on the beautiful decorations and the incredibly homey quality of this room.

Every year, the family goes to the country and cuts a Virginia Pine for their Christmas Tree.  I love the airy, Charlie Brown quality of this tree ... and the way it showcases the family's ornaments.

This portrait is of a Revolutionary War-era ancestor.  You can count on seeing a hint of these lovely mantel decorations at my place during the next week.

Such wonderful vignettes!  An antique walnut table, a Santa from Texas, a nautical painting of French ships, and antique chairs with needlepoint pug pillows blend together beautifully.

My three-hour shift flew by, as I related my information ... elaborating on it as necessary, of course.  I love to do things like this, and I am very grateful to Miss Katherine for asking us to help with the tour.

Today was rainy, so it was a lousy day for camera equipment outside.  Later this week, if I get a chance, I plan to take the dogs downtown for a walk and I will see if I can get some good photos of the beautiful outdoor decorations.

Santa's Greyhound Helpers

This past Sunday, the dogs and humans of Greyhounds Rock Fredericksburg were invited by the management of Spotsylvania Towne Centre to spend the day promoting the Mall's 'Pet Photos With Santa' event on Sunday evening.

We worked this event two weeks ago, staffing our table from 3:00 until the Mall closed at 6:00.  Our presence, entertaining and soothing the children in the Santa line, was very popular that first day.  For our second day, we worked all day ... splitting the day among our volunteers into 2 hour shifts so we didn't tire the dogs out too much.

My dog Daniel and I, along with our poster-boy TJ and my friend Kim, worked the final shift of the day, from 4:00 till 6:00. Daniel and TJ worked for the entire two hours, getting pets and hugs from most of the children waiting in the very LONG line to see Santa.

When we bring TJ to an event, he is the perfect ambassa-dog for Canine Cancer research and support, and he loves the attention. Most people don't notice at first that he only has three legs. When they do notice, we explain that TJ has bone cancer, and he had to have his leg amputated. (He has had five of his six chemotherapy treatments so far, and he is handling it beautifully!)

The Mall also invited the Virginia Kincheloe Spay/Neuter Clinic, who brought dogs from the Spotsylvania County Animal Shelter, hoping to find homes for them.  The Husband came along with me, and he baby-sat a Pomeranian from the shelter.  'Rocky' was nervous at first and he was lolling on his back by the end of the day ... a couple we met fell in love with 'Rocky', and he may have already found his forever home.

When we are working events where there are children, it is easy to see which families have dogs who are members of their families.  These children light up when they see our dogs, and they know exactly how to pet them gently.  We also meet families who don't have dogs, and the children are often apprehensive.  Sometimes, we are even asked if our dogs bite.  (Of course they don't!)

Daniel met this cute little guy toward the end of our shift.  The little boy sat right down beside Daniel, petting him gently on the head and smiling like crazy.  This is an action shot, taken as I told him to say, "Cheese" and he crawled toward me.

Our mission involves a sad subject  ... cancer ... and we listen to a lot of folks relay stories of their dogs who fought cancer or died from other causes.  Cancer is the most common cause of death for our beloved canine companions, so these people are in good company.  We also hear uplifting stories of dogs who are fighting cancer (like TJ) and are doing well. 

At the end of the day, we hope our dogs (and their friendly humans) helped make the wait to see Santa (which exceeded an hour during the busiest times of the day) a little bit easier for the families with their excited children. 

 Daniel and TJ were very tired from all of the attention ... both of them slept in the car on the way home.

Sunday Snapshot.

Yesterday morning, as I was getting ready to go to the Richmond Rose Society's Christmas Brunch, I rounded the corner into the dining room and I saw this ...

There were Alice and Dorothy, sitting contentedly, sharing their precious paper grocery bag.  (Doesn't everyone you know store a pile of molding in their dining room?)

I immediately thought, "Please stay there till I get my camera!!"

At eight months old, they almost look like big girls now.  That's Alice's fluffy tail curled around behind Dorothy.

"If we don't look at her, maybe she'll stop this and go away."

This was too cute not to share.  I hope you had a good weekend.

Sincerely,

Connie

Hello, Winter ... Bye-bye, Roses.

Our weird warm temperatures are a thing of the past, as a cold-weather system swept in during the day yesterday ... bringing a dose of winter that is expected to stick around, and signalling the official end of the growing season.  This morning, as I wandered to the kitchen to refill my coffee cup, I noticed that everything outside was wearing a beautiful coating of frost.  Before the sun came up, I was outside with my camera to see what I could capture. 

'Maria Stern'

'Mrs. Wakefield Christy-Miller'

The grass, the leaves, the trees, and the roses all looked like they had been coated with sugar.  It was incredibly beautiful!

This fallen bud came from 'Schoener's Nutkana', one of my favorite roses and a ONCE BLOOMER.  Our hot, dry summer must have put it into some sort of dormancy (mimicking what happens over the winter, perhaps?)  and it has been producing the odd flower here and there since the heat subsided in September.

'Curly Pink'

Look how beautiful magnolia pods are when covered with frost!  I will be harvesting some of these really soon, and some sprigs of magnolia leaves, for Christmas decorating.

Even weeds, fallen leaves, and dead roses have an artistic look about them when they're covered with ice crystals.

The whole time I was outside (which wasn't a very long time since it is COLD), this big hawk sat in one of the oak trees keeping an eye on me.

As the sun rose, and sunlight touched the roses, the ice began to melt ... even though the temperature was still well below freezing.  I hurried to capture a final few frozen blossoms.

'Cadenza'

"Evona's Yellow"

No work outside for me today.  I have inside projects to finish. (I'll probably be ready to show you what I'm working on, with a tutorial or two, in a couple of weeks.)

Here's one more frozen rose for you.

'Sunny South'

Rainy Day To Do List

Today is rainy, windy, and freakishly warm (62 degrees, according to the thermometer on my deck).  The weatherman says that it's going to go downhill from here ... with falling temperatures and storms for the rest of the day.  I woke up early this morning, and have already spent part of my time trying to think of a way to organize the thousands of photos on this computer.  So far, all I've done is thumb through some of them.

As I was leafing through the files, I found a set of photos that I took in September.  This pink rose is the lovely Sarah Van Fleet.  I remember seeing how the pink roses looked against the blue sky and the red barn, and I tried to capture what I saw. 

As much as I would love to spend this rainy day sitting here with my down throw and my cats, playing with photos and writing, I can't.  There is too much to do ... and none of it is anything I WANT to do.

(focusing on the barn)

I will be out of here in less than an hour, on my way to a Dr. appointment.  Since I'm on the far side of 50 now, it's time for me to be a grown up and take control of my health.  I have always been ridiculously healthy, so it's been easy to ignore the supposed-need for regular medical check-ups.  It's something I know I HAVE to do, but I still hate it.

(focusing on the flowers)

After I get home, I will put on my grubby clothes and set to work on a long-standing, nagging house project.  This is a project that has been going on longer than any other around here, and I really want to have it finished in the next couple of weeks.  Yesterday, I touched up the last little bit of irregularities in the drywall work and I painted the ceiling.  Today's planned accomplishments?  If I can get the walls painted and the floor figured out, it will be a good day.  Wish me luck.

What I REALLY want to do today is unpack my Christmas decorations!  If I'm a good girl and get my work done, maybe I'll have time to do just a little bit.