Finished..Done...

I'm done....finished.  What better way to celebrate Valentines Day than by receiving the new sectional for my living room.  This is the icing on my cupcake........I'll add the sprinkles to it  as the days and weeks go by. Sprinkles are the finishing touches.

An old, wooden toy box makes a perfect ottoman/coffee table until I find
what I want

I purged memories and mementos when I packed up the house prior to the remodel.  Thought I did a good job in sorting out what to keep and what to donate or throw away.  I didn't.  Purge number two is underway.  Just like clothes, if you haven't worn it in 6 months, get rid of it.

I swore to myself (I do that anyway quite often) that when I die, I do not want my children to go through what I did when we moved my mother to my sisters after my dad passed away,  My parents were victims of the depression era and my Mom took it beyond the serious level.  She became obsessed with saving, reusing, recycling everything even when the times were much better for my parents.

We didn't have a lot of money growing up.  I could see then why Mom saved and reused things.  What I couldn't see was why she saved every single butter container, the little green ties, the ones wrapped with paper around wire, that held the plastic bags of bread closed.  She saved the plastic bags, too.  She saved magazines.  But only the Church or religious kind. Go figure...During the depression magazines were then used for cleaning certain areas of ones body.....Since I was also alive, running around, and causing general grief to my parents during the ColdWar stage of the 60's, I'm glad that I didn't have to experience having to use a magazine.  She just knew they would come in handy in our bomb shelter that she begged my father to build.  He never did.........She saved newspapers..she would go through the obituaries and find people that might have a family tie.  She was big into family history..........with that said, clearing out her house was a chore.  I knew then that I did not want my kids to go through the "why did she save this, and what the hell" phase of clearing out my belongings.  I'm sure I will not be immune to their comments, but I'm hoping it will be "I'm so glad she saved this.  I wondered what happened to it".............

This remodel gave me a chance to conquer a project that was a long time coming.  With all the kids grown and out of the house, my grandpuppies with their dad now, the new dog, Bear the Shitzu, safe in the house of my middle son, it was time to "getter done".  I'm happier now, my hubby is definitely happier now that I am happier, and Charlie the Dog.....well lets just say that she's very happy that she doesn't have to spend her days locked up in a kennel while the workers were here.  Me, too!!!  It's not fun being shut in a room while people rip, tear, nail, pound, paint, your home.......would I do this all over again?   Yes.  Would I do it the same way?  Yes..........

What was supposed to be a 30 day remodel took over 3 months to complete.  Waiting for subcontractors to finish previous jobs, having a painter quit before he even took brush to wall, pushing back installation of appliances, carpet, because they weren't at that stage for them......soooooo many variables to a remodel process.

My kitchen had been done in stages over the last 20 years.  All that I wanted this time was new flooring, better lighting, paint, and a new ceiling.

Looooooooove the ceiling of my kitchen

The kitchen had new laminate flooring, the stairs and the landing also got the laminate treatment.  Love it.  Kitchen ceiling has tin panels.........new stove and microwave complete this part of the kitchen.  I will eventually replace my frig which is white with stainless steel, but not until it dies which I think will be soon now.......twenty years is a long time to have a frig!!!!  Part of my mother is in me "if it ain't broken, don't fix it"..............

The living room had a rock walled fireplace torn out and redone.  Tile, fireplace surround and mantel were built.  I showed my contractor a picture of the fireplace I wanted.  He built it........he's magic.  I had a china cabinet that had been buried for years behind drywall uncovered.  The fireplace and the china cabinet are my favorite things in this remodel.  Crown molding, paint, new carpet, completed this area.  The interior doors were all replaced, too. I'm done......finished.  Now the fun part of adding the finishing touches.

I have a passion for old things.   I love old furniture, quilts, textiles.  And, I love old glassware......Because my mother saved everything, I was able to swipe some of her pieces before my beloved sister snatched them.   I use them all the time.  There is something special about using something old.  What did it hold?  Who held it, washed it gently and then put it away until next time?  Was it used only for special occasions?  Or did it grace the table on a nightly basis.  I use every piece I own.  Oh, did I mentioned I love dishes too!!!  I have 4 sets of dishes that I use,......Two of which I inherited from my beautiful mother-in-law...Ivy pattern dishes that I use in the summer.  I have one of her two sets of china.  My sister in law has the other.  I have my dearly beloved grandmas china, which I shared with you in an earlier blog, and my everyday white dishes that go with everything!.....I guess I have a passion for things breakable just in case I ever get out of control and need to throw something at the hubby!!!!  I've been tempted on more than one occasion.........either from the kids or my hubby.......But bless their hearts, no dishes were harmed!!!

Just a sampling of what i have.  These are some of my fav's

I don't own crystal.  Just glass, simple glass that still sparkles in the light.
Cut glass, smooth glass, rippled glass....it all sparkles.  

 Now that I am done, I'm ready to venture outside the walls of this humble home and explore what I have been missing this winter.   I've missed my little buddy that hangs on my shoulder, who whispers to me to snap pictures.  To look with both of my eyes wide open.  See what I see, through the lens of my camera............................

Happy Valentines to you all.......including my oldest baby boy who despises Valentines for some odd reason.  Oh, well........I never said that I had perfect children.  Frankly, I'm glad that I don't............they certainly never had a perfect mamma.....




Twitter@CotySimon
Instagram/Howunique310

Grandma's Hands

A few short months ago, a small remodeling job got underway in the house I reside in.  No, my human didn't have any "remodeling" done on her, but the house she resides in did...........

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Boxes are being unpacked.  The china cabinet that was uncovered  now houses the china that was her grandmothers.

Hidden in this wall...a treasure

I knew it was there!!! 

Only missing pieces were the doors

Walls sport a coat of White Sage.  New doors,
fresh coat of white paint.  The cabinet
is ready..............

There is a favorite song that plays in my head as I  unwrap the china of my grandmas.  The song is called Grandma's Hands".  Bill Withers wrote and sang it back in the 1970's...........when I picked up that first plate to put on the shelf, I could imagine my grandma's hands lovingly touching the intricate pattern around the edges before she placed it in it's home. Each piece I picked up, it was my Grandmas hands putting them away.   Her hands were delicate, worn from raising a dozen children with only 10 surviving to adulthood.   Her hands were worn from hard work as a school custodian helping to make ends meet and feed hungry mouths.  I'm sure these dishes were precious to her as it was the only nice thing she had.  They are more than precious to me.  She gave them to me as an early wedding gift knowing that she wouldn't be around when I got married.......and she wasn't.....

The china is old.  Some pieces have yellowed with time and the glaze has cracked.   Each piece was lovingly placed on a shelf that was meant to be the home for these dishes.  The doors will open from time to time and the plates put on the dining table.  The bowls will have a garden salad, or a yummy soup in them.  Maybe a sweet dessert will be served on the appetizer plates, or hot rolls placed on them.  It won't be a special dinner that these dishes will be used for.  It will be a "just because" dinner because my family is special and it doesn't take a special occasion to eat off of china.  If you've got it..........use it!!!  I know Grandma is pleased her dishes are being used.........

If you're not familiar with "Grandma's Hands", google the song.  I love all genres of music, well  most of them!!!  I find myself  going back in time to songs that spark memories that have been hidden away or in some cases, buried.......this song was one of them that reminded me when times were simpler and less hectic.





Twitter@CotySimon
Instagram/Howunique310

Blah, blah, blah...

It's twenty days into the new year and construction is still going on in the house............my human has kept her eyes on the prize and is now seeing a sparkle of light at the end of a very long and dusty tunnel.

January is a blah month.  Always has been for my human and probably always will be. Construction is still occupying her mind on a daily basis.  Delays, problems, illness, hasn't made the project go any faster.  Just slower.

Trying to embrace winter with clear eyes hasn't been easy.  Try emptying your mind and letting it go free of negative thoughts when you are bound and gagged by your house, staring at boxes that are full of your life waiting to be unpacked and put away.  Seeing construction projects 99% done, but still not quite finished........ so close, yet so far away.........blah, blah, blah............

Me, the inner child, gets restless.  Thanks to me, my human packed her bags, dragged the hubby along, and headed to Las Vegas for 2 days.  Warmth, lots of Vitamin D from the suns rays, and putting on a pair of sandals, was just what my human needed...............the trip was definitely short, but it was very, very sweet..............

You can only walk the streets of Las Vegas for so long.....taking the tram makes my tootsies happy..

It's the year of the Horse according to the Chinese New Year of 2014.  There is no place better than the atrium at the Bellagio to see the grandeur of large paper lanterns, strings of firecrackers shedding sparks of light....makes you feel  part of the celebration.  The magnificent horse, front and center giving you strength and power, and also giving me a full charge to head out on more road trips this year.  This place is magical.  You walk around with your mouth wide open in awe, your eyes as big around as saucers.  It's mind blowing the beauty of it all and this is just the ceiling you are looking at......

Until next time, goodbye Las Vegas.  Back to the real world.  Back to maybe having this remodel done soon?  Back to normal?  Never!!!!  I don't do "normal"...........

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I was tempted to come out of 1 f Jef blog retirement.  The news of Emily Maynard getting engaged was great news.  I'm sure the kid himself paid his congratulations to Ms. Em the only way that it should have been.......privately.  Either way for 1 f Jef, he'd be damned if he said anything as the media would pick it apart.  He's damned for not saying anything and keeping to himself.  Damned if you do, damned if you don't.....go figure!!!  Staying quiet is okay in my book.  I wish her the best and all the happiness she deserves.  Now then, lets move on and let peace take over.................

Juan Pablo.........another fine example of damned if you do and damned if you don't except he's not familiar enough with the English language......he did grab a hold of just how easy it is to bury yourself in a grave of bad understanding of our language.  Nothing like putting feet encased in soccer cleats in your mouth.   Juan Pablo is not a bad guy, he made a mistake, although a huge one, he's paid the price, he's apologized......now everyone......lets move on..........

Twitter@CotySimon

Instragram/Howunique310

Eyes Forward

It's the last Tuesday, the last day of December 2013.  I'm down to the final hours of a year that was both good, bad, and ugly.........tomorrow I get to start all over again to think ahead, look ahead, be ahead of where I was this time last year...........

I do not make resolutions.  Resolutions are promises to yourself that you cannot keep.  If you are one of the special people that can keep resolutions, my hat is off to you and I salute you........good for you, keep up the great work.....make it worthwhile.......

My human soul makes no resolutions or promises that she cannot keep.  What she does is be a better person than she was the day before.  She'll hug a little harder and let you feel the warmth of her heart and the arms that surround you.  She'll hold her hand out, let you take it, to feel her strength and know she'll never let go.  Her shoulders are there to lean your head on, her ears ready to listen.......Her eyes will not judge you, nor will her lips pass judgement against you.  She's no saint by any means, but a lady who takes one day at a time and enjoys every moment.  If you cross her path, she'll open the gate for you, let you pass or stay awhile.

I'm leaving 2013 with memories of road trips, sunrises, sunsets and Mother Natures beauty.............these I leave for you.....the memories I've made that I've shared with you this past year.   Tomorrow will be the beginning of another adventure with more memories and more friends to be made.

I took a trip and saw life through the eyes of children.  I became a child myself all over again.  I left pieces of my heart scattered across sandy beaches that gave me some of the most beautiful sunsets I've seen.

Sunrises from a place that I will never tire of.  A place where my heart and my soul find their happy....

I said so long, farewell, adios....to a kid that still fascinates me and thousands of others to this day.  I had fun writing about you, 1 f Jef........you do and still make people feel special...............I will continue to watch you grow up, explore the world, spread your humble soul, your kind words.......you're the man!!!!

I give you the flowers from Mother Natures paint palette.......through my eyes I give these to you.......

So long, farewell 2013..................

Happy New Year............another journey begins......................


twitter@CotySimon
Instagram/Howunique310

Day 46

I'm trying really hard to embrace winter and get into the holiday season.   I had someone tell me recently to embrace winter and maybe doing that it would help get me through the long, cold winters.   I'm trying, I'm trying really hard to do that.........being sick is not part of the overall plan of embracing winter though.   It doesn't do a body any good to stand in  freezing temperatures with a wind chill of 2 degrees for 5 hours  cheering on a soccer cup final in Kansas City when you are sick and then losing on top of it.  Oh, well.  It was worth it, sick or not to watch the boys in claret play.

By the time the final click of my humans heels and the words "there is no place like home" were muttered, hibernation was sounding pretty good.  Not happening though.......construction  is alive and well.........to look at the mess, you'd think nothing was happening.  But plenty has.

There's no place like home.
Salt Lake City, Utah

It still looks the same.  A mess is a mess.  Plastic wrapped furniture, paint buckets, caulking containers....it's all still in place.  I've learned and my human is learning the word "patience'.....it is one of her virtues, but there comes a time when you want to say "enough already" and let it be done.  I wish I could just wiggle my nose and have it be done.  I'm trying to look at the end result, but frankly, pulling my hair out, is not part of the pretty picture..............

What's happening now is painting of the living room and dining room walls, the china cabinet and the fireplace.  A lot of prep work has gone into just being able to pick up a paint brush and slap some paint on the walls.  I'm on day 46 of a 30 day remodeling job...............hahahahahahahahaha..........

Pictures of the finished rooms will come later........it will be January 2014 before it's all done.  In the meantime, I'm headed to my partially deconstructed kitchen.  I'm whipping out the Kitchenaid and summing the help of my trusty Elf who seems to think that he's on vacay too along with the ornament fairy, to help me whip up some Christmas treats.  I have no tree up yet, so maybe the smell of something good baking in the oven will help revive a holiday spirit in my human that seems to be lost right now.

I made my human search through pictures of last years Christmas to help remind her that Christmas away from home was no cup of tea either.  She has to look at it this way, last year was fun, she was with her family, but waking up in a hotel room on Christmas morning is just not the same as waking up at home.  This year, the family will be here, hopefully the plastic is off the furniture at least in the living room, and a small, yet decorated Christmas tree will be set up on a table.  As long as there is family to celebrate this precious holiday with, what more could she ask for?  Construction can wait.  Family, friends, good food, and being alive to enjoy another holiday is all she wants.........

Reflections....Venetian Hotel
Las Vegas, NV

Atrium at the Belagio Hotel
A winter fantasy.

Merry Christmas my friends.  Enjoy what you have..........living in this mess is nothing compared to what some peoples living conditions are.  I may moan and groan, bitch and complain, but in all reality, I   am grateful for the small things life gives me............

Before and after pics are coming soon...........I've developed cabin fever and I'm hoping to get out soon and snap some pictures..............

Sugarhouse park -

The clouds parted, sun came out, and the snow
glistened........this was an 18 inch snowfall

Twitter@CotySimon
Instragram/Howunique310

Humble Eyes

As a typical, average everyday, person, I find myself along with thousands of other typical, average everyday people, thinking this is the only time of the year to be thankful and to be grateful.   We  should be thanking our lucky stars each day we have a roof over our heads, food on the table, friends and family to share our joy, tears, and laughter.   Mother Nature showed us that she's still in charge.  She carved out a path of destruction in the midwest recently.  Just in time to displace many people and put more sadness and sorrow in peoples hearts that don't deserve to have their hearts taken up with it.

My human being, bless her heart, has been living in destruction and construction for a month now.  She has no room to complain with what happened recently.  A lot has been going on in the house, but the destruction she's had does not compare to the lives lost, the houses destroyed, or the families displaced from Mother Natures wrath.   With these recent events, now isn't the time to show the changes her house is going through when she knows others don't have a home..........it's high time for me and my human to count our many blessings and be thankful.  Thankful and grateful we woke up and saw daylight once again.  Pictures of the new fireplace can wait until next week.................

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"Over the river and through the woods"................it's that time of year you want to burst out into song, sing Christmas carols that are playing everywhere, watch the Hallmark Channel with nonstop Christmas movies, eat to your hearts content and ignore your complaining stomach..........pretty sure Tums, Rolaids, and other OTC antacids make a killing this time of the year......

Once Halloween is over with, concentrating on Christmas becomes center stage.  Thanksgiving is just a day you eat big fat turkeys stuffed with goodness.   Pile mashed potatoes high, smother them in giblet gravy, and spoon green bean casserole onto your plate.  Pass around the cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes with brown sugar and melted marsh mellows.   Have a homemade roll with butter and jam.   If you live in Utah......J-E-L-L-O, whether it be plain and jiggly, or with fruit inside placed on a bed of cottage cheese or lettuce.........Now that you are stuffed just like the Big Tom you ate, lets top it off with a slice of pumpkin pie or pecan pie or both, with real whipping cream..............praise the Lord that you don't keel over with a heart attack.  In all seriousness, when she sits down to the dinner table with her hubby and boys,  she will take a moment to be thankful for what she's got and not for what she wants.  Her needs are simple.  She has warmth from a hug, a heart full of love, and a family that she adores.

....I am and she is....grateful:

To live in a country where I am free to roam, express myself, and enjoy freedom of speech.

To travel the dusty roads of this fine country.  Take the scenic road, get off the beaten path.  Not having to follow a straight line.  Being free to chose where I might wander.

 For walking outside my back door and seeing this.  Having two eyes still able to see..........

Living in a state that gives me magnificent and breath taking views....no matter where I go.........

BEAR LAKE

PACIFIC OCEAN

For the lake and the ocean that has so much of  my heart scattered along the sandy shores..My eyes will never get tired of looking at these bodies of water, nor will my heart ever stop beating for them.........

My fur babies...... Charlie the dog who travels with me, keeps me company on the long, lonely highways.   I'm grateful for Bear the Shitzu.  He tries my patience at times, but the unconditional love he gives is worth it.

The sky that gives me pleasure in the clouds that dance across it.  The air I breath, the wind that blows against my face......I never get tired of looking around or looking up........

For these three goof balls who take great delight in flipping off my human being.  God bless her and her soul (me) for raising such characters.  They are the apples of her eyes......the mischievous, fun loving trio of testosterone.................

Her loving husband.....she's grateful for the man she married, who puts up with her wandering down the road ways with camera in hand, never getting lost and always finding her way home.

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Happy Thanksgiving my friends......may your day be filled with joy and laughter.  Your bellies full of good food prepared by loving hands.  I hope your day fills your heart with more love than it will hold.  Share this overflow........open up your arms and surround your heart with the warmth from a hug.   Make the moments count......you're going to be passed out from the sedation the turkey gave you.

A happy and thankful day to my friends who don't live in America.....have a great day, enjoy your family, your friends and know that I will be thinking of you and wishing you well................

Twitter@CotySimon
Instagram.com/Howunique310

Hidden Treasure

I'm learning to live with drywall dust, workers coming and going like worker ants, leaving little, no not little, but BIG piles of crap, scraps of wood, screws, and nails. They do clean up, somewhat, after themselves.....Trying to live in a construction zone is not easy.  Not easy at all. Your home is supposed to be your castle.  Well, it's not while it's undergoing surgery.  You are at the mercy of the construction doctors making much needed repairs and improvements to a houses body.  Just like a plastic surgeon would do to a real live person.   The smell of the mud the drywall dude uses as a facial to the walls.......stinks.........horribly.........gagging almost!!!  Hallelujah he's done.  Did I mention drywall dust? It's everywhere.  My TV screen has pretty finger pictures on it, the furniture....well, lets just say that dusting it is a waste of time and energy..........

This past week has been like opening an early Christmas gift for my human.  A blank wall in the dining room was opened up and  it revealed a sweet hidden cabinet.  A built in china cabinet.  Why would you want to hide a treasure like that?  She'll never know.   Right now, who cares.  It's open, the doors have been built and put on.  Glass knobs will open and close it, and clean, crisp white paint will coat it inside and out.   On a scale of 1 to 10, this is her 10.  Her simple pleasure.

Blank Slate

I can honestly say I was "tickled pink" when  the hammer met the wall

A buried treasure has been uncovered

The doors are on.........I can't wait for the knobs and paint...

The remodel is progressing well.  Crown molding is up.  The interior doors get hung tomorrow.  Next week......we're hoping for the fireplace surround and mantel be done and installed.  Then the tile work can get going.  The tile is all picked out and ordered.  Paint color has been decided on......well almost decided on.  My human, bless her heart, cannot make up her mind between two color families for the living room and dining room.  Kitchen color is picked out, bedroom colors are done, but the living room/dining room is making her crazy.  Will it be in the sage green family?  Will it be in the gray family?  Either one will go with the rest of her color choices...........The yellow that has been a part of her life for the last 10 years is going away........yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee......................

On her scale of exciting things to take place in this little remodel, the china cabinet was number one.....the fireplace is number two..............

The contractor is building the surround and mantel.   Maybe with a little luck, the fireplace will be put in place, and the tile work started or finished by next week.

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The snow that fell has melted, but Mother Nature doesn't disappointment.  She's got plenty to spare and share.  More is on the way for the weekend.  I'm ready for it......I'm going to grasp the flakes as they fall and embrace the beauty of winter.  I'm eager to get out after a fresh fallen snow and head over to my favorite park where the snow will be heavy on tree branches and the mountains standing tall in the background all covered in white.  Yep........I think I am going to have to invest in some boots...........but dang, these construction workers need to hurry the hell up and get out!!!.................


Twitter@CotySimon
Instragram.com/Howunique310