This bentwood chair followed me home yesterday. My plan is to remove all the torn caning and let the back just stay open. I will paint the wood maybe a robin's egg blue and use my staple gun to attach pretty fabric to the seat. I want the paint to be from the Habitat Restore this time.
Today I am . . .
- Taking my mother to the hospital for knee surgery.
- Putting away mountains of clean laundry. During my extended cold/flu/pneumonia/whatever I somehow managed to keep up with doing the laundry, but I definitely failed with putting any of it away.
- Cleaning out and organizing the fridge, which is frustratingly overfilled with food to the point where we’re forgetting what’s in there and letting it go to waste.
- Calling the corporate office of the hipster hair salon where I took my son the other day. His cut is completely uneven and straggly, yet the actual salon refused to give us a refund. (They wanted me to bring him back in, which I didn’t want to do as I feel they will just screw it up further.) And no, I don’t want an ironically crappy can of beer, I just want you to give a decent haircut! (Can you tell how furious this makes me?)
- Adding a second coat of polyurethane to the Goodwill-purchased coasters that I decoupaged with my vintage classroom map. This is an experiment, as I am thinking about using a map of Portland to handmake some cute coasters as a host family gift for when I go to Japan next month.
- Laughing at myself, as I hauled yet another project chair home from someone’s free pile yesterday. It will be very cute, I promise!
- Feeling good about last night’s dinner, which was my own version of ¿Porque No’s? Bryan’s Bowl. I layered black beans with my sister’s homemade tomatillo sauce, roasted cubed potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts, avocado, El Pato sauce and sour cream. It was super delish!
- Feeling happy that I e-mailed the last piece of my annual self evaluation to my boss. It’s good to get that finicky task off my mind.
- Wondering whether teenagers are actually a secret government plot to make middle-aged parents question the meaning of life.
How about you? What are you doing today?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
Since school ended I’ve been refereeing my two Kids pretty much continuously. Plus repeating times tables.
earlier I did write a post about not buying greeting cards, and wasted time on You Tube intermittently pulling up great soundtracks (no attention span whatsoever)! It’s such a beautiful day however in the UK – first day of outdoor line-drying. May there be many more to come!
I can finally get to my clothes lines too!! We have been having very, very unusually warm weather here in Northern MI. The snow is gone and the ground is not longer mucky!!
Cheers to line drying outside!!!
Somehow I think you are not lacking for seating at your house. Its a bumper crop of chairs.
I hate crappy haircuts! Go get ’em! Threaten them with a nasty Yelp review.
I am working from home, doing mortgage refinance follow up (again/still), intermittently torturing/snuggling 6 day old chicks, waiting for the appointment for the in home vet visit, and realizing I actually have to clean the house to “go” to the vet now. Booo!
I’ve been inspired by your chair re-d0s and while I was on a walk I spotted one on my street for trash pickup. Unfortunately, the wood was splintered beyond repair. Maybe next time!
And yeah, the haircut… I love it when they tell you to come back in and have the same person who screwed it up “fix it”. Um, no. Give me a refund.
The same thing happened to my son. He is alternative/skater in style and the girl gave him a Bieber haircut. It literally brought both of us to tears. I love his hair in a specific shaggy style! So adorable. Anyway, I did get our money back.
I’m so jealous that people leave stuff on the side of the road all the time for you! They don’t do it much around me 🙁
I am finishing making red velvet cupcakes from scratch for tonight! Then I’m going to work, and coming home to celebrate my husband’s birthday!
working, thinking what I am going to make for the kids for dinner, since dad is working tonight. Thinking I might have to switch some summer clothes in and take some of the winter ones out, tonight.
Working on my goodreads list.
Thinking how some peole can do what they do….
Today, I am going to try to make your black bean burgers for dinner.
Yum, make sure to put lots of pickles on them.
Katy
My daughter is an extra pickles kinda girl. We both enjoyed the burgers and will make them again.
Your chair has machine made cane on the back of the seat. You could buy a new piece of caning and fit it in the back with that spline ? piece. It is not too hard to do. You can wet the cane and fit it in. If you ever have any cane that bows or is too big, wetting it will tighten it up right away. Ann
Actually, I think the chair will look really look without the caning. 🙂
Katy
I did/am doing:
– 4 loads of laundry, all hung up and put away
-one load of dishes—and contemplating the pile in the sink that will probably be large enough later to run a 2nd load–good thing it’s an Energy Star appliance 😉
-made muffins from scratch
-waiting for my scratch pizza dough to rise for calzones
-cleaned one toilet; the 2nd one may have to wait till tomorrow
-sneaking in kitty snuggles whenever possible
-sneaking in reading a library book whenever possible
-thinking about packing up for our move early next month. Sigh.
-hanging out with my homeschooler son (10), who comes over and gives me random hugs and kisses! Love that sweet kid!
-trying to qualify for a Swagbucks survey so I can get the last 100 points I need for a PayPal gift certificate!
-dreading going to the grocery store later after my husband gets home from work
-watching the rain fall on this dreary first day of spring in Seattle (we’re having a really cold, wet March—it’s starting to get to even me, and I’m a native! )
Yeah, Portland had the same drenching weather today. Soggy depressing.
Katy
I really thought that after the teen age years, having an adult relationship with my kids would be a piece of cake. Not so, with no end in sight. Sorry to be such a downer, but it has been a super crappy week.
I’m so sorry.
Katy
Thank you. I think I need to find a blog for aging parents with dysfunctional adult children!
Today I have:
Visited two parks (we are trying to hit all the different parks in our village) with three kids under age 5
Given 5 baths
Washed, dried on line and put away three loads of laundry
Grilled dinner (chicken with asparagus wrapped in bacon – yum!)
Read a couple chapters in Star Wars book
Grocery shopped and cleaned out the fridge
Before bed I would like to complete:
few more pairs of sleep shorts for the kiddos (made out of old t-shirts)
update photos on computer
Hope your mom is doing well after surgery:)
Not nearly so impressive a list for me. But my co-worker and I took our annual program into one of the county’s school’s first grade rooms. “You Belong to You”–you don’t have to allow people to touch you if you don’t want to be touched and if someone gives you a touch you don’t like or tells you to keep it a secret, tell an adult you trust. Three safety rules for bad touches: Say no, get away, tell someone. If someone bigger and older does something that gives you that uh-oh feeling, it’s not tattling to tell. (there’s actually more to all this, but I’ll spare you) I’m glad we do it, but we never know how much the kids are absorbing. I hope we’ve kept a few kids a little more safe over the years. On the homefront: nothing accomplished, so I better get off facebook.
We did a similar program when my kids were in preschool.
Katy
Yes, I think teenagers are ABSOLUTELY part of a plot to get middle-aged parents to question the meaning of life. No doubt about it.
I now “get” the comic “Zits.”
Katy
That is so funny, I said the same thing to my mom just last week. I never used to like “Zits” because I just didn’t think it was funny. Now I think it’s hilarious, plus it makes me feel so much better to know that I am not the only one!
I have several of those comic strips in my “favorite funny articles” file. I may pull them out today. What a crack-up.
I love that you see a chair like this, and don’t see rubbish to be thrown out, you see potential. Your projects are an inspiration Katy – I love your coaster idea too.
Today I am waiting for the rain to stop before going for a walk (the dog hates the rain!), and catching up on emails with my Italian penpal.
Some ordinary housework, then I’m going to shorten a pretty sundress, and use the offcut length to make some short flutter sleeves – strapless in the sun just doesn’t work with my pale, pale shoulders. Not that I’ve had much use for a sundress in this wet New Zealand summer, but I am hoping for a nice autumn!
I worked at the office today – frustrating lack of progress on learning a newly implemented system so lots of anxiety (and levity too) as a result. After work I helped my husband with a spaghetti dinner he had prepared for my son’s Boy Scout Troops annual court of honor. So lots of chopping, salad prep and food running. They had more attendees than in prior years so not many leftovers this year. What little was
left over went home to our well fed chickens. Lots of dishwashing followed so after a quick stop at the library I am delighted to be home and relaxing. I hope to find the motivation to do my 15 minute yoga program before I crash tonite.
It’s nice to know I am not the only one who feels the need to rescue
chairs. We have two that I need to get reupholstered. Alas, I am not into the DIY mode that you are!
Sorry about the haircut. And the only thing about teens is “age takes care of a lot of things,” so in a few more years things will be better for you as a parent.
I love the map- coaster gift idea for people in Japan when you visit–great! I’m a crocheter and am currently stockpiling handmade gifts to give out as my husband and i camper-van around the country. I’ve been retired 6 months– wooo hooo (911 dispatcher for 22 years!)!! Love to see your communiques in my queue!
I do love that chair and can’t wait to see it when you’re done.
Bad haircuts make my blood boil – I hope you get your refund.
I didn’t realize your trip to Japan was so soon – that’s exciting!
I was wondering the same thing when it comes to teenager (my a wonderful girl and she turns in a blink of eye to teenager). The last hair cut I hate it . It don’t look like I even got a hair cut.
Hope your Mom’s surgery went well.
Today I am doing some much needed spring cleaning and preparing my house for this weekend’s upcoming baby shower I am co-hosting.
Looking forward to seeing the finished chair!
Hi! Love your blog and usually I just enjoy everyone else’s comments, but had to chime in on this one! Ummmm….I am a mom to 9 kids and I have to tell you….it wasn’t my babies or my teenagers that gave me my gray hair!! It was my twenty year olds! Lol!!! But take heart….some are in their thirties and are now rewarding their Dad and me with ” You were right, Mom” and “I should’ve listened to you and Dad”! Sweet music to our ears! We just smile and say “we love you”! Lol!
I like my teenagers a lot. But they do test my frugality. Especially the senior in high school–and I know it’s just going to get worse.
Haircuts are tricky, but I believe in giving the salon the chance to make it right, which it seems like they wanted to do by having you come back in. I did that once, with a short haircut that was terrible, and I was given a different (better) stylist who made everything right. It was a wonderful experience — far better than calling an office and trying to get money back.
You did not ask, but that seat back can be easily replaced. You buy the woven piece, and a small strip of material. You poke the mat in the crack, stuff the strip on top of that, and then you trim the mat that is taut by this time. Oh, wood glue in crack with smal strip makes it all stay together. You don’t have to sit around doing the eight-whatever weaving. It will be easier with more instruction. Have you ever considered replacing it? Leaving it open would certainly work since you don’t have little children to fall through the back.