Memorial Day Fun - Part 1 of 3

What started out today to be a pretty much non-busy day, ended up with a totally stuffed Monday. I have been wanting to paint something in my home green for a while now and what ended up being the guinea pig of my desire for green was one of my curio cabinets.
The larger one.
One of the problems was 'What shade of green would go good with my dark/brick red living room wall We of course couldn't do anything near a pine green - too Christmasy: not bright green - it would look like a red-eyed sticky toed green tree frog, (watch the Diego show): and not a deep dark because it would darken my room even more. So, it came down to a light/slightly grey green. Saturday, when I went to buy the paint, I got nervous and bought a light grey color and then a really light green, almost to a nonexistance green. Oh, side note: Home Depot now have these small jars of already mixed paint, mostly of their popular colors, they cost $2.50 a jar. I came home and painted both samples on old dresser drawers that we had begged from our neighbor, Ben. (Thanks Bishop Ben). I put both drawers on
top of the curio cabinet and made the family vote.
The slightly green one won out, but they all thought it could go a little bit darker. Back to Home Depot; two more paint sample jars. I've now spent $10. I painted both drawers again, and once again, the darker of the two one out. My brain was tired so I quit for the day, but had in my mind what paint I was going to buy later; Martha Stewart, Sea Glass Green.



I forgot to go back on Saturday night and so now it was Sunday. Hmm.... I really thought about it hard, but I broke the Sabbath and went to buy the paint. I once again got nervous and so I went with the softer shade of the second batch of samples and that was Behr brand Softest Juniper. The reason I felt like I needed to break the Sabbath, was because my grandkids, who are living here for a little while, were out of town until Monday and I needed two days to get this done. So, there you go. I sinned. I have a week to repent. Anyway, it turned out cute!


I know it looks white, but it's Softest Juniper.

I'm still not done. I think I'm going to antique it a little bit. It needs something else on it to make it have dimension. Oh, also I had found this piece of material at Goodwill, I'm sure it was the $1 day sale item, or it might have been from Deseret Industries, I was there sometime this past week too. Anyway, when I saw it I fell in love with it. The design is nice, but it was the colors I loved. I thought I could make a few throw pillow and throw those pillows somewhere nice. Well, while I was about to paint my curio cabinet, I saw that I needed a new piano bench cover.
Wah -laa.
Another project done. Luckily, Doug did the compressor staple gun thing for me, I hate using it. Another item I had picked up at Home Depot a couple of weeks ago was some outside lights. We have such a dark driveway I had asked many times to get some walkway lights put up and so I took it into my own hands and found some I liked. Sorry Doug. But hey, another project for you! The solar lights were the kind that came with 'sticks' to put in the ground and then had a crane hook-like thing to hang them on. In my mind I thought about hanging them on this ledge that sticks out from our house but as we sampled that, it looked funny and so we, meaning Doug, ended up hanging them closer to the planters that we have up the walk. Thanks Dougie!
Another project done! With the flash onNow off.
It looks as though light number 3 or 4, which ever way you are counting is not working. Hm. I'll have to visit Home Depot again tomorrow for a replacement bulb. I wonder what other projects I will find?

My ride yesterday was 3.39miles. I went early again, but not as early as Tuesday. I actually left my hubby home cooking breakfast for the family (he does this often) while I went. He was not too happy that I was leaving. He likes to have company when he is in the kitchen. I don't know why. Maybe it's to see his amazing skills as he flips a pan of hashbrowns from the skillet into the air and only losing a few of them on the floor. Or it might be how he designs his pancakes into shapes that the kids love. We've had Mickey Mouse, Ninja Turtles, letters, numbers - you name it (within reason) and he's probably tried it. When our kids have their birthdays, we've always done 'breakfast in bed'. Here is where another of Doug's talents lie. Depending on how old they are, Doug tries to design, arrange, or manipulate the food to show the age of that person. It could be a piece of toast cut as the numbers. Maybe just the placement of the food on the plate. Or the pancake shaped in the number: (mind you, this is a challenge if you have to do it backwards - 6's, 9's, 5's, okay, most of them need to be planned out). Sometimes he has cut fruit - like a pineapple - into a number. He's very creative. He would probably enjoy being a chef. We love him being our chef. Sorry Food Network, you can't have him. At least not till all the kids have moved out.

Today is $1 day at Goodwill!! Excitement!!! What will I find today? I hope good stuff. I don't need stuff, but the find makes it all worthwhile. I'll have to share tomorrow if I get a bargain. I'm sure I won't get my regular 'exercise' today. I'll try to walk up and down every aisle at the Goodwill store. Maybe I'll hit two stores today. Can I get 1 or 2 miles in? I'll try to find my pedometer to keep good track.
Okay, this next video doesn't have anything to do with my post but they are mostly for Jill and Jonathan...to keep them involved as much as possible. Thanks guys for living sovfar away that I have an excuse to post silly family video's. Yeah, Brian and Celynda too. Okay, Elder Kev too if he's allowed to look once in a while.
I think this was Carolyn spinning and supposedly knocking Jason over. It looks a little like a 'fake' basketball foul. A lot like a 'Laker's' type thing. Jonathan might recognize it. Allan and Shannon then try their luck at spinning too.

more Sunday fun

We couldn't stop! (See previous blog)

Well, we figured out something else to do.

Sunday fun at the cabin.

Great windy weekend...

Thanks to Jeff and Carolyn who have a friend named Fred..... we had a great weekend up in Heber/Overgaard. Doug and the boys had our wards Father & Son's overnighter (I know that's not what we are supposed to call it any more, but sitting here, I can't think of the right name....something with Priesthood in the title), just a few miles beyond Payson. It worked out where we, Shannon, I and Jeff, my SIL (son-in-law), dropped them off Friday evening and then we continued up to the cabin. Carolyn, boys and Katie had gone up earlier that day. Okay, it's not really a cabin, but I'll add some pictures and you can judge for yourselves. The porches on this cabin/home were incredible. I really could have lived out on the porches all weekend, except for the wind. Now, I know wind. Doug, hailing from Snowflake, introduced me to wind the first weekend I met his folks. January 1979. This wild wind I had never experienced living here in the valley. Crazy wind. Insane wind. Maniac wind. So I thought I knew wind. No, no, my friend. This wind was tearing the metal roof off of an airplane hanger.

We could really have been standing towards the wind and leaning, leaning hard into it and never fall.

If the cabin had been by the beach, this is what we would have looked like. Okay, I'm kidding. Just a little. However, our lips have come back here to the valley very wind-burnt and my hair while there was in knots 10 times a day. I tried to remember to put my hood up (doesn't really work if there is no string to tie it down and it blows off incessantly) or to wear a baseball cap, luckily found on a hat rack at the cabin, strapped so tightly that you'd come back in the cabin with a ridge on your forehead that would take 3 hours to clear up. I mostly just took pictures of my family daring to play horseshoes in the what? oh, yeah, wind. We really had a wonderful time. I know I don't sound like it, me being a jokester, but I would go back in a minute and actually live there forever.

These pictures do it no justice.

Here's the porch! 50 feet? Maybe more. My favorite part! Our horseshoe tournaments.

A few of the participants...

I think these faces mean, bad throws...

And these means - good throw.....ringer or leaner!

Other activities included:

Stump posing... Tree hugging....

Rock jumping.....Quad riding..

and chasing them, apparently.

I have more to add, but I'll do it in my next blog.

Oh, my walk today, yes walk, not ride, was 1.96 miles. Sounds sad, but I felt good. I went at 5:30am. Weather was great!

house colors

I have been trying to download a video for a full day for Elder Kevin to see of us in our garden. We were showing him the 'fruits of labor' and picking our first tomato. (It was yummy). However, I have had no success in downloading it. I'm assuming it is because it is 9 minutes long. I'll have to figure something else out. Bummer. It's a cute video. It has 'children of the corn' in it. I'll let you know if I find a way to share it.

Now, I have to confess - I didn't ride for two days. I can't think of a reason why I didn't ride, it just didn't happen. I had CelyBri's kids on Tuesday, but they didn't get here until 9am, so that can't be my excuse. I'm sure I could come up with something if I tried really hard and if you all are gullable. Anyway, today I rode. 7.64 miles. My search today was for house colors. We will be painting our home soon, but we already have our colors bought, so this quest was for our son, Jason. He is in the process of closing on the home he bought, but there were a few things in the contract that need to be fixed before he can move in. Painting the outside of the home was on the inspectors list. And the roof. We took a trip to Home Depot. There, they, HD, have a machine that lets you look at colors you pick out to go on a home on a little tiny computerized picture. I have to say it does give you an idea, but colors on a computer don't always transfer right. So, thus, I have about 20 or so pictures of home colors for Jase to look at. Mind you, (you know me), most of my pictures are the 'don't' colors. Kinda fun....but absolutely they are no-no paint jobs. At the very end I will attach my fav's. Enjoy. And be thankful they are not your neighbors!

You can't tell - but this is pink!

Now for my favorites.........

Ignor the yard, the colors are okay.

My two favorites!