Amy and Tara, these pictures are for you.

I hope you didn’t let your imagination give you a fully decked out living room or anything even remotely grand because my decorating is pretty simple. I also think that it benefits greatly from the low-light ambiance that I tend to live in once the sun sets. I’m kind of a one-lamp-on type of girl. I much prefer curling up on the couch with a book or movie and an afghan in a dimly lit room than doing the same in a room that is bright and un-cozy in feeling.

Pardon the picture quality. The aforementioned low light and not using a flash has made them a little grainy even though there was daylight outside.

There you have it. Simple and the extent of my decorating spirit this Christmas. It’s a 99% increase from the decorating spirit I had last year though.

Please ignore the blank walls. I have absolutely nothing on any of the walls in my house except for the living room which boasts a large clock on the wall near the sewing room door and a small shelf, just put up a few nights ago and seen in the middle photo above. I have lived in my little house for nearly two and a half years. I have plans to put things on the walls. Things like pictures and artwork and vinyl sayings. I’ll get there. I already have some frames, portraits, and the vinyl sayings; I just have to get them up on the walls.

I will eventually post pictures of the finished kitchen too. Once it’s completed. The cabinets are painted and have new hardware but there is still a piece of wood to add way up at the ceiling where I took a small corner shelf down months ago. I also have to put up the open shelving that will go between the last upper cupboard and the new half-wall. The pieces are painted and just need to be installed. The next big project is the bathroom reno but I have a few smaller projects to do as well, one being that I think I’m going to paint all my interior doors black or at least a very, very dark coffee brown.

Miss you girls! I’m glad you stop by.

This house drives me crazy on a daily basis though it’s not its fault. It’s mine and the clutter I’ve let build up. I’m working through it though slowly, trying to stay ahead of the piles that accumulate from the daily dropping-and-not-putting-away of stuff. We all have those junk drawers and catch-all surfaces, right? Yeah. Doesn’t make me feel any better to know that I’m not alone.

Today I started to tackle the cold storage room downstairs. I have a dresser in my new upstairs closet to move down there and some general picking up and tossing that needs to be done. I managed to get quite a few things tossed and donated (hooray for moms who take our junk!) but in the process discovered a baggie of this between my deep freezer and one of the shelving units onto the carpet. Niiiice! It was supposed to be in the freezer. I was doing a purge of the fridge freezer a week or so ago and I think it’s from that. Over the past couple of days I had noticed a slightly-off smell but on the opposite side of the room. I wondered if it was a bit of mold as the room used to be quite damp (it’s since been waterproofed). So my storage room smells like shrimp. I’ve used baking soda, vinegar, Febreeze, bleach, and cornstarch. I’m letting it rest overnight and we’ll see how it is once it dries again. I may end up getting some sort of charcoal to put on it as an odour absorber. Since the smell is in the carpet fibres and not just the air, spraying the room with Febreeze or hanging fabric softener sheets won’t do the trick (I don’t think). The carpet is industrial carpet with a rather short looped pile so it’s not like it’s a thick and plush one but it seems to be hanging on to the smell all the same.

Here was the view this afternoon. It made for treacherous trips up and down the stairs as I ferried garbage bags and things to put in the shed. It’s amazing how much stuff came out of such a small room.

I forgot I had a Christmas tree. I was considering putting one up this year (B and I have Christmas at my mom’s) and was thinking of doing a real one. I still might.

Hangers anyone? Just one of the many boxes my mom took away for me.

And here’s a hint of what the room will look like once it’s complete. The deep freezer will be pushed back to the wall on the left and I’ll put my three stacking recycling bins at the end of the short shelf. I plan to put a curtain across the doorway too, against the stairs. I’ve had the curtain for over a year. Maybe I’ll get it hung before 2009 is over.

The above picture was taken mid-way through the process this afternoon so it already looks a little different. I ran out of time before picking B up from the bus though so much of what was removed throughout the day was set back in to clear a path off the stairs for the evening. Day two begins tomorrow! First up: Operation Odour Elimination.

Who doesn’t love giveaways? Seriously. And what about truly awesome giveaways like the one going on until October 12, 2009 at 8 p.m. PST over at Centsational Girl? Kate (a.k.a. Centsational Girl) and Price Pfister have teamed for this giveway and up for grabs is your choice of one of four kitchen faucets or one of three bathroom faucets. (I much prefer the word "tap" to faucet; it’s more familiar to me. Is it a Canadian term?) All of the choices offered are stunning for various reasons and all of them appeal to me but my first choice, after careful consideration would have to be the… No, wait. I think I prefer the… So hard to decide!!! I’m doing a bathroom reno in the relatively near future (hopefully) and will be in need of a bathroom faucet so the Treviso would be gorgeous but I’m also planning to spend a lot more time in the kitchen and the Hanover in a steel finish would be perfect both for the gooseneck and just as an additional tweak to the re-facing I’ve already done in the kitchen (painting the cupboards and walls and adding new cabinet hardware). Even though I would have to get a new sink (I think) to accommodate the new faucet, the Hanover is what I’m going with for my pick.

What would your choice be? Head over to Kate’s blog and take a peek at the gorgeous (and generous!) options. It doesn’t say anything about only being open to U.S. residents so I guess everyone has a fighting chance. You can’t be chosen if you don’t enter so go forth and state your choice!

A feel-good story. I’ve just come home from work for lunch and of course, must check my facebook and iGoogle.

Slowly but surely, spring is finding its way back.

 Brown and ugly and dirty but there - it’s grass!

B discovered that in the last day or two, the solid ice in his sand table had melted and the one side was now full of water. He’s just come into the house now, feet soaked, pant legs saturated, and toes icy cold but with happy, rosy cheeks.

Some time back, my boyfriend and his daughter gave me a small potted rose plant and when I first saw it I was instantly apprehensive. It’s one thing for cut flowers to fade and die (they’re supposed to) but a potted plant should have a longer life than that. I’ve had roses like these in the past (never in the summer when I could plant them either) and they always die after a few weeks. I’m sure part of the problem is that I have nowhere to sit plants so they get direct sun or even indirect sun. The most I can provide is just regular daylight. This particular pot has five individual plants in it; currently two of the five are dead (dry, brown stems) but the other three are still green and have sprouted new leaves. If I can somehow keep it alive until spring, I’m going to plant it outside and see how it does. It was such a surprise to see the new growth. I know I’ll be upset I can’t sustain the plant until the spring.

I made up a batch of soup yesterday morning. It was a good freezer cleaner as many of the ingredients came from there. I took a small onion and chopped it fine, sweating it in a bit of sunflower oil and then adding a chopped carrot to the pot to cook for a bit. I tossed in some low-sodium chicken broth (just enough to add a bit of liquid for cooking) and added frozen peas and corn, and chopped some leftover canned mushrooms I had frozen. Also from the freezer threw in about one cup of leftover 5-grain rice (including millet, brown rice, barley, wild rice), the last of the chopped spinach, leftover honey-baked lentils, and about two cups of pureed tomatoes from last summer’s garden. Lastly, more chicken broth, a single-serve can of V8, a bit of spelt flour mixed into the broth, leftover rostisserie chicken that had been chopped and frozen, and some salt and pepper. Mmmmm! Some to share (mom), some to freeze, and some to eat now.

Some people are far too cheerful at 5:30 in the morning. On a Saturday. At 5:30 in the morning. When I have to work today and had to get up even earlier, at 4:45. In the morning. On a Saturday.

You’re adorable, Pocoyo, but I am not smiling back at you or waving.

My poor wee boy is feeling under the weather. He feverish and cold intermittently, has that pitiful not-feeling-good face and eyes, and is boogering with the best of them due to a stuffed up yet runny nose. He tosses out a few good sneezes and a couple of wet coughs every once in awhile too. Poor guy.

I was looking through pictures on my computer last night while talking to my boyfriend and couldn’t stop looking at the ones of him from about 18 months old and a few months on either side of that. Those big blue eyes, round cheeks, and sweet little mouth. Without looking at pictures, I don’t really remember much of that baby stages, only bits and pieces. It’s so hard to believe that only four years ago, he was the peanut in the top left of the mosaic below.

Maybe I’m emotional on account of the fact that I’m very overtired, am desperate for a nap (but am waiting on the dryer to finish so I can fold clothes), and have to work my second of four night shifts tonight. Or maybe I’m still a little bit teary because the video below is just that good. Things like this make me cry because I find them so beautiful. Simple and honest and beautiful.