The mysteries of the couch

That's an ugly couch, isn't it? Go on and say it. You won't hurt my feelings. But it was free and it was already in the apartment, so I'm not going to complain. Plus, this couch is full of mysteries, so that makes it kind of fun to have around.

For example, we lived with this couch for more than half a year before we realized it did this:


And it took me probably another year before I figured out it did this:


Brian knew it did that all along because the landlord showed him. But I had no idea. Now I keep most of the extra bedding in there. But one thing I have yet to figure out is why it does this:


The back cushion on the short side can be removed and there's velcro on the back of the cushion as well as the couch to keep the cushion in place. None of the other three back cushions can be removed. And I have yet to figure out a reason why this cushion would need to be removed. Any guesses? I'm wondering if there is another mystery to this couch that I have yet to discover.

I've got it covered

I love the pun. Brian says it's the lowest form of humor, but I don't care. I also enjoy slapstick. And I'm pretty sure that Brian likes it when I love the pun and enjoy the slapstick. But this is a pretty weak pun, so I'll just point out that the title is in reference to the window coverings. See? Isn't that fun?

I finally finished the roman shades for the office. It seems like I've been working on them forever. I started them sometime in March and it didn't take me long to realize that I don't like working with such large pieces of fabric. I made the first two (there are three windows) and decided they were too narrow.


Originally we planned to hang them so the shades were set inside the frame and only covered the glass. But that would require attaching hardware to the windows and I wasn't sure I wanted to do that since we're renting. So we found these brackets that attach at the top where the window opens so they won't cause any damage to the windows. (These windows have a hinge on the left side. If you turn the handle all the way up, the window tilts inward so that it's locked at the bottom and open at the top. If you turn the handle to the side, the window opens like a door. And if you turn the handle down, the window is locked. I remember taking photos of the windows a long time ago to show how they work, but I guess I never posted it.)


Oh look. You can see how the windows are open at the top here.
When we changed the way we were going to hang the shades, I should have remeasured. But I didn't. So they ended up too narrow. I left the shades up for about a week or two to see if I could get over their narrowness. I couldn't, so I decided to rip the stitching on the hems and decrease the hem from 1.5 inches to .5 inches. There are casings for dowel rods sewn to the back side , so I also had to rip the stitching about an inch on each side of the casings and sew on additional strips to accommodate for the thinner hems. It probably added 10 to 15 hours to the project, but it was definitely worth it. I'm quite pleased with how they turned out.

On a side note, the painting that is hanging between the windows was painted by one of my teammates, Kim. Another teammate Jake has photos on one of the walls. I think it's pretty swell that we're able to use our talents to complete the office.

Rockin' baby

A month ago Brian's sister Candace had a baby, so of course the proud aunt and uncle had to send her something. And it had to be cool. After all, we have an image to maintain. So I made a couple of pairs of babylegs and decorated onesies using freezer paper stencils.



This was my first experience using freezer paper stencils and it was so much fun and super easy. I found a free stencil for the electric guitar online and made the strawberry one myself based on a few different stencils. There are tons of tutorials out there, but since I took the photos, I decided to document the process in a Flickr set here. When I have a bit more time, I may try to decorate a t-shirt for myself.

Here are some more shots of the painted onesies since the photos with the babylegs were kind of an awkward angle.

Things that scare the dog

Sharkdog is a scaredy cat. Have I mentioned that? I think I've mentioned it. Here are just a few of the things that scare him.

The wind. Not so much when he's outside in the wind. In fact, he loves to let the wind catch his ears. But the sound the wind makes when we're inside the apartment -- now that scares him.


Wind blowing through the ears = not scared. Wind blowing through the apartment = terrified.
The vacuum cleaner. It doesn't even have to be turned on, the mere sight of the vacuum cleaner causes Sharkdog to freak out. Usually he frantically runs INTO the room I'm vacuuming and runs back and forth in front of the vacuum.


Spoiler alert: The vacuum cleaner wins the staring contest. Every time.
Doors. Especially doors that are not fully open or move slightly because of a breeze caused by wind blowing through the apartment. This is bad news for Sharkdog since every single room in the house has a door -- including the kitchen.


The photo above isn't exactly what it looks like. Sharkdog didn't pee on the couch. Here's what happened: I was sitting on the couch with a glass of soda when the wind started making a little noise. Sharkdog freaked out and tried to get out of the room. As he ran towards the door, the wind caught it and slammed it shut, scaring the bejeebers out of the dog. Sharkdog turned around and starting running back towards the couch, jumped over the back of the couch, and knocked the glass out of my hand.

Despite all of his absurd fears, we still love this little dog. Who could resist such a cute face? We all know that Brian can't resist. :)

Happy birthday

...to one of my favorite monkeys!


You are such a special girl and I'm so proud to be your aunt. I'm always impressed with your intelligence and sense of humor and wish that we could spend more time together. You are such a big help to your mom and dad and are so loving towards your sister and we are all so very proud of you.

Happy Birthday!

For Mother's Day

I don't usually get too sentimental on here, but since it's Mother's Day and all, I wanted to write a little about the three women who have influenced the person I've become -- my mother and my grandmothers.

Last month when my family visited we happened to run into someone I know on the bus. I introduced her to my family and when I got around to my mother she said, "And of course I can see this is your mother."


Good looks are not the only thing I've gotten from my mother. She taught me to be generous with my time and always hospitable. Many of my interests -- sewing, baking, crafting -- are things that I saw my mother doing when I was young.


Me with a birthday cake my mom baked and decorated. I had several bunny themed parties because Easter sometimes falls near my birthday.



My wedding cake. Mom was almost late to the wedding because of the cake. But she made it just in time and the cake looked (and tasted) fantastic. :)
My grandmothers have also been a great encouragement and influence in my life. It wasn't until rather recently that it occurred to me that not everyone's grandmothers look like they could be sisters.


Me and my grandmothers at my high school graduation in 1998.
My mom's mom is such a strong woman who, like my own mom, is generous with everything she has. My sisters and I loved spending time at her home when we were young -- sometimes bringing friends along. When we were teenagers, she let us bring our church youth group -- probably about 20 teenagers -- to her home in the country for the weekend. She's also sensible. When I was diagnosed with diabetes she bought me a Medic-Alert necklace. She also brought me flowers because my cousin told her that her gift was a bit too practical. :) One of the best parts about visiting her home was the food. There are certain foods that I will always associate with Nanny -- purple hull peas, squash casserole, and chocolate pie. And she had such a distinctive way of making scrambled eggs that they became known as Nanny-eggs. (I'm pretty sure the secret was using lots and lots of sausage grease.) Not only was she a great cook, but she always had Oatmeal Creme Pies, Fudge Rounds, and Star Crunch cookies. Oatmeal Creme Pies will forever be linked to Nanny in my mind.


Nanny and me in 2007.
My dad's mom lived much further away and we didn't get to visit her often. But we loved to visit her. My sisters and I would join her for her morning walks and sometimes I would catch small frogs near the pond behind her house. Once I accidentally let about 20 tiny frogs loose in her basement and my dad and I had to find every one of them. (I don't think I was supposed to have them in the house, but fortunately I knew how many we had to find since I had just finished counting them.)


I have no idea when this photo was taken. My guess is around 1988.
One of my favorite things about Nana is her free spirit. Once when I was a teenager I was complaining to my dad because he didn't want me to wear shorts to church on Wednesday night, but I couldn't stop laughing because Nana was standing behind him dancing around in her shorts (well, koolats) that she was planning on wearing to church. And several years ago when I showed her the photos of the scooter I had just bought she said that she could imagine herself driving one.

I've really enjoyed thinking about over the years and reflecting on how these three women have shaped my life. I will be eternally grateful for everything they have done for me.

Doh!

Today I was watching a Flickr slide show and was quite tickled by the options.


When I saw it, I didn't realize the word "embiggen" comes from an episode of The Simpsons. What an embarrassment! Apparently this word has been in popular use for more than a decade and I'm just now learning it. Perhaps I need to embiggen my vocabulary. And watch more Simpsons.