It's a brand new year!

Do you make New Year's resolutions? I used to, when we had a neighborhood NYE party every year and we could all report on "how we'd done" with last year's resolutions. It was pretty hilarious, because none of us ever did what we said we were going to do. Sometimes we did the opposite. I was right there with the herd. Now that I'm working through most of the holiday season bartending, and most especially working New Year's Eve, the party is just a fond memory and I've decided to do away with resolutions too.

Instead, I'm adopting a New Attitude with the New Year, with the intention of enjoying life more and keeping healthy and active.

Of course I've always been active. God knows, I routinely take on twice the number of projects and interests than it would be possible for anyone to accomplish in 24 hours a day. It makes me happy to accomplish and to create (cooking, sewing, writing), but this habit also causes me anxiety. When you have five or more projects running concurrently, how can you finish? Are you doing a good job of anything? Where do the hours go? Well, they fly by. And am I really enjoying my life? Hmmmm.Good question.

So what am I doing now that will come out differently? Well, I haven't decided not to take on projects, but I've stopped making a list of everything I'm going to accomplish each day. This was useful when I was working fulltime and raising a family but now it ties me too closely to the clock. I'm finding it difficult to put something I decided I was going to do today off till another day. I get anxious when I'm not making the progress I determined I should. Why does this matter to me now? Why is it so important? It's not, and I've stopped. Because of this attitude adjustment, I now concentrate on finding pleasure in my day, and in what I'm doing. Whatever it is.

Here are a couple of the projects I've taken on this New Year. One is already finished, a plushy dog bed cover for my neighbor Par, who is a gracefully aging Akida - a large dog who is almost 13 years old, somewhere in his 90s in human years. He's such a sweetheart that my cat Nero even comes out to touch noses when he comes by. Here's Par on his new bed.


And then there are the stairs in our home.

This is a more long-term project - here's where we are at the moment. And here's a piece I wrote recently for my writing group about this project called, "At The Time It Seemed Like Such A Small Thing . . ."



* * *

At the time it seemed like such a small thing. We just tear the carpet off the stairs and it's done. No more dirty white carpet, no smell, just nice wood steps. Maybe the treads were oak, like the floors in the rest of the house. Maybe not. Fir was fine too.

            We did the landing first, as it smelled the worst thanks to a war between two male cats. Even though the main perpetrator died a few years ago, eliminating the need for the other cat to spray in response, the landing still smelled. We rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned it ourselves. Then we hired a carpet service to really detail that landing. As soon as warm weather came, it was pungent as ever. After awhile, yellow started to show on the edge of the carpet and we realized cat pee must have penetrated into the foam layer under the carpet, and maybe even into the floor under that. We thought we'd have to lift the carpet and replace the under layer. Or something.

            It took a long time to decide to take up the carpet completely. It happened when I saw that my son had taken up an unattractive carpet on the stairs in his home in Portland to expose the wood. It looked great. I came home with determination to do the same.

            When we pulled the carpet and then the foam off the landing, we found that the carpet and foam underneath were disgusting, as were the wood tack bars that had been nailed to the floor to hold everything in. This was no surprise, all was soaked with cat pee. On the positive side the landing was beautiful oak, although with paint splotches here and there and in need of refinishing. A pretty good first start.

            Then we pulled the carpet off the lower set of stairs and saw fir, covered with a truly ugly brown stain that looked like paint. Not so great, although the steps themselves were in good condition. Maybe just a little sanding and some stain and varathane, right? Wayne naturally checked for lead in the brown paint/stain on our 100-year-old stairs and it was full of it. Uh-oh. Now the sanding would take on the atmosphere of space exploration – big masks, ventilators, air cleaners, waving curtains of plastic sealing off the area. And it would take more time.

            We immediately decided to leave the carpet on the upper stairs intact until we finished the landing and lower stairs. It's called project timeline management. And we decided to paint over the stain on the stair risers with satin-finish black paint, as they were the most inferior wood and this solution would involve less sanding of lead. That's called gutless compromise.

            We started this project Sunday January 4. We gave ourselves three days start to finish. Today is Wednesday January 14 and, true, we took a few days off in the middle to get other things done. So far we've stripped off the carpet and the foam underlayer, removed all the nailed-in tack bars and hundreds of staples, sanded all the treads in our spacesuits, and vacuumed the stairs and landing countless times. In addition, I tore apart and cleaned every surface and every pot and utensil that was sitting out in the kitchen because, after all this, we failed to close the door between the stairwell and the kitchen while we were sanding. Argh, lead. All this took the three days we had allocated.

            Today we are starting again with sanding the landing, which is not lead. Then we will paint the risers and stain and varathane the landing and treads, which we hope will take no more than three days including one day drying because we will use quick-dry varathane. I can't imagine not being able to use the stairs for the almost-a-week traditional varathane takes to really dry hard. Where would we sleep? Where would we shower? Et cetera.

            Bottom line, home projects may seem like they're going to be small, but ha-ha! They're almost always not.

* * *

 

Yes indeed, isn't that the true story of home projects? Regardless, our stairs are going to be beautiful when they're finished, and I'm NOT so worried about when that will be.

 

I made a few other attitude changes too, but this post is becoming a novel. More about this later.

I hope your year is a fabulous one for you!

 

 

How'm I doing? Project update . . .

A few weeks ago I wrote about all the sewing projects I had planned for Christmas gifts. Now it's Truth Time - how'm I doing on all those projects? It's less than a week before Christmas, and tomorrow I must start wrapping and getting things ready to carry off for the Big Day!!

First, you know I already finished the pillowcases, which I showed you in my previous post.


Then, there was the 1906 costume for my friend who docents at a vintage farm/state park and must dress authentically. It turned out great! Here it is on the right. I gave my friend Mary the dress already, because she had a Christmas party to go to at the farm and she needed it! She just loved it and got many compliments. Yay!!









Next, I worked on the tablecloth for un-named recipients' 10-foot picnic table. I finished that plus 12 napkins, and have already wrapped it. It's sitting under the tree waiting to be delivered! Here's the tablecloth and about 6 of the napkins before I finished it. The tablecloth is a vinyl covered fabric that you can wipe clean (ketchup, red wine, you know, picnic stuff). I think they're going to love it!



After that there were cushions for sweet turquoise patio chairs. Just finished those two days ago and here they are! They're going to go really well with the one cushion she already has, which is turquoise and green striped. Doesn't it make you want to sip a MaiTai?? Or at least jump into a hammock?







And finally, the little purse for a birthday that falls right after Christmas. Such bad luck, it seems. However, it's good luck to be born into a good family, and so close to the same birthday as an Important Person, so there's that. Anyway, I always try to do a special birthday thing for this beloved family member so her birthday doesn't get lost in Christmas. Here's the little purse - isn't it cute?




I worked really hard on all these projects, and it was so much fun! Part of what made it fun was I started early - in October - so I had plenty of time to finish. Hope I remember this next year!

Have a very happy holiday and a fabulous, happy, prosperous, peaceful New Year! 2015 Woo Hoo!!

Tree time!

We got a tree, and it makes the house smell so good, but we haven't done much as far as decorating it goes yet. Here it is, gorgeous thing! It's called a Royal Fir.

Last night I finally got some lights up and a wreath hung on the front door, but that's all. Now I'm working for three days slingin' drinks at parties, so hopefully I'll be able to finish decorating soon. A busy time, and fun!

Runup to Christmas: Holiday sewing projects!

I'm so excited that I got an early start on Christmas projects this year! Don't you love hand-made gifts? After years of buying and gifting things I'm never sure my loved ones want, I've finally determined the things they want most are gifts I make myself. So fun, but best if you plan ahead. Let me tell you, staying up till after midnight sewing and crafting for the entire week before the Big Day takes some of the sparkle out of the accomplishment. I know; I've done it. Whew!

So this year I got started in October. I can hardly believe it. Here's what I'm making, with enough mystery that the recipients might not immediately recognize their gift in advance, should they read this post :-)

• One set of all cotton king-size pillowcases (COMPLETED and boxed for gifting)
• A winter dress in the style and fabric of the period for a loved one who volunteers at an early-20th century home (cut out, marked, and ready to sew)
• A tablecloth for a 10-foot picnic table (just try finding a narrow 10+-foot tablecloth in the store!)
• Cushions for some very sweet patio chairs
• If there is time, two, maybe three, adorable small purses from this Martha article

King pillowcases

I've got my work cut out for me, no?! I'll keep you posted on my progress. Here's a photo of the already-finished (yay!!!) pillowcases:

And another of the 5 yards of cotton corduroy (these 1900-ish ladies used A LOT of fabric in their skirts!) for the winter dress, which I now have all cut out and marked - ready to start sewing today. Speaking of history, did you know corduroy has been around in one form or another as a clothing fabric since the time of the ancient Egyptians? It was called "fustian" for most of its history until the 18th century when it was re-named "cord du roi" or "cloth of the king", probably a marketing ploy. And corduroy hasn't changed much since then, except today we sometimes add a little stretch to it.

Sage green cotton corduroy

Making progress! Let the Holiday season begin!

Leash runner

I've never had a dog. I mean a pet dog. We had farm dogs when I was growing up on the farm. They stayed outside and frequently got hit by cars because they ran on the road. They weren't pets; I don't remember a single one's name.

On the other hand, I've almost always had cats. Nero is my current sweetie, a big beautiful black feral kitty with hair like a bear's. Imagine my surprise to find myself out in a field with about 2000 dogs, in Morgan Hill, CA, last week Thursday. Nero would have been horrified, but of course he wasn't there.

 I was in Morgan Hill, which is about 70 miles south of Oakland, to see my high school friend Lynne. Lynne loves dogs and is very much involved in dog agility training. She was there to be a judge at national dog agility trials, and I was there to spend a few hours with her. She lives in Vermont, so obviously we don't get to see each other very often.

Lynne had to work soon after I arrived, so she said "Want a job?"

"Sure," I said. After all, anything is more fun than just standing around watching, particularly if the only person you know has to work.

Before I knew it, I had become a leash runner. Did you ever read the book Kite Runner? Well, it's something like the kids who would run after kites, rescuing them from trees and bushes, and bring them back to be flown again. In this case, when the dog was ready to perform his agility work, the trainer threw his leash on the ground and directed him to start. I would wait until the dog was no longer looking in my direction, on this course between the 2nd and 3rd jump, and then I'd walk over and pick up the leash - no actual running, as the dog might decide to run after me and his leash rather than finish his jumps - and then carry it over to where the course ended. That way, when he and his trainer arrived at the last jump, the leash would be there and ready.

I got pretty good at it, Lynne said. And even better, we had a fun few hours afterward wandering around cute little downtown Morgan Hill, drinking wine, eating wonderful Italian food, and catching up on our lives. A really fun day, and I learned a new skill!

Sightseeing in San Francisco

Can it be called sightseeing, when it's practically in your backyard? We live only a few miles from San Francisco, just across the Bay Bridge. Do we ever go there? Not enough, that's for sure. A few weeks ago we celebrated Wayne's daughter's birthday at The Fairmont Hotel San Francisco. We had a great time! Do you know The Fairmont SF was where the movie Hotel was made? And where the first United Nations Charter was signed? Do you know it was the first hotel to open after the Big San Francisco Earthquake of 1906? What a beautiful, opulent, historic property it is.

After our adventure, we resolved to spend more time in San Francisco, just for fun. Here are some of the things we did and places we saw during our 48-hour stay on top of SF's Nob Hill.

Coit Tower

On the hill next to Nob Hill, Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower reaches into the blue sky. It was named after a wealthy woman called Lillie Coit who donated the money to build it, according to local rumor, in honor of her special relationship with San Francisco firemen. During the depression of the late 1930s, the interior of the tower was painted top to bottom with murals depicting life in San Francisco, both in the past and in the 1930s. The murals were painted by local artists, many of whom had been influenced by or studied with the famous Mexican painter Diego Rivera, as part of the Public Works of Art project. The murals have recently been cleaned and restored and they are stunning! Here are some examples (check out the guy being robbed in the third photo - city living!):

Aren't they great? And here's the view from the top of Coit Tower. It's incredible!



The view from the top of Coit Tower

 

 

Grace Cathedral

More photos, this time on top of Nob Hill, right across the street from the Fairmont Hotel. I can't believe I've never been in Grace Cathedral before, and I've lived here most of my life!

 



2014 garden favorites

Almost Fall. Well, in fact, it is Fall, but here in northern California, Fall is our real Summer. So it's hot, not colorful like Fall is in other places. The summer vegetables know it's Fall, nevertheless, and they are on their way out. We still have fabulous tomatoes, and chard, and peppers, but soon...very soon...we'll be uprooting these and planting winter crops.



What were our favorite summer vegetables of 2014? Without a doubt they were the Brandywine heirloom tomatoes (OMG) and the padron peppers. The heirlooms were just plain delicious - green and dark red and not always the most beautiful classic tomatoes - but their taste told the true story. Sweet, they were really sweet. And tomato-y. Wow.




The padrons, well they are some good tasting peppers. Green, they're mild and wonderful fried up whole with a little salt. Red, they have a kick, and are best cut up in beans, or rice, or with chicken or pork, or in salsa. They have such a good taste! I still have a whole bunch that I'm drying, day by day, in the sun on the front porch. We'll enjoy them all winter long.