DIY (Do It Yourself) Girl

No, this post was not written by Sarah (DIY would not be shocking for her).

Our nursery has been a project in progress for several weeks.  The theme has been determined for months (safari) but the details have been s-l-o-w in coming together. Actually, so has this post – I started it August 28 and here we are…

I started the nursery project back in July when Aaron Brothers had their buy one frame get one for a penny sale. (Isn’t this how everyone starts a room decor project?) This is when the frames were purchased for the safari animal pictures using pictures taken on my trips to Africa (either  by me or by traveling companions with better cameras).

We also found the crib months ago.

I found the perfect paint (seriously, its “safari green”) about a month ago; and a suitable bedspread for the guest bed (which will stay in the nursery).

Chris’s mom offered to sew curtains and accessories and I have after several expeditions to various stores, I finally picked the fabric (with an assist from Chris). Last Thursday and Friday we had a sewing extravaganza – we made 4 pillows, two bed skirts (one bed & one crib), and curtains for two windows. I’m really pleased with how all this turned out and can’t wait to set it all up properly!

And of course, the girls picked the perfect bookcase to complete the room. (I’m pretty sure Ikea also has the rocking chair I’d like to sit in front of the bookcase.)

So where is the DIY in all of this? The sheet rock was badly damaged up when we had the foundation fixed last fall (including the ceiling). We had determined that professional intervention was necessary. That was until I got the quote for $525 plus paint. Money ain’t growing on trees folks, and after helping my friends Janet and Dave paint in their new house, I decided we/I could do this. I invited a DIY friend to assess the situation and shop Home Depot with me and (after loaning me a couple of pieces of equipment) I had everything I needed to start. (That was the last week of August!)  So far, I have spacled and taped and floated.  I have also stripped and pulled wire.

The plan was to caulk the next day and after a break for Labor Day weekend, retexture and hopefully by the 12th have paint on the walls;  then can get the crib and build it.  I was hoping to be all done by the 20th. So much for that idea.

At the same time, now that my to-do list is out there for the world to see, perhaps it will get done sooner than later. Oh, and then there is the fact that we could get the call any day now.  There is that motivation too [Of course, we may also find that we get a 4 year old to start with, which would really change things up!]

In any case, I shall try to post updates (with pictures) as we go along.  And no, I didn’t take before pictures (oops).

Making a House Our Home – Finally

So we bought our house in February 2008, and moved in in March 2008.  Since then, we haven’t had a thing – nothing – on the walls.  We painted several rooms but have hung nothing.  My friend Amy recently threatened an intervention if I didn’t rectify the situation post-haste.  Thanks to the Aaron Brothers buy one, get one for a penny sale in July and several trips to Houston Photo Imaging, we now have many things framed and hung in our house.  Funny, but it actually does make it feel more like home!

The office has our panoramic NYC, some of my favorite National Geographic maps framed and hung (although most are oddly sized so they don’t fit in standard frames – urgh!), as well as our diplomas – the most expensive pieces of paper we own have taken ten, five, and three years respectively to get framed!

Chris's side of the office - without the desk which needs to get carried upstairs

Eileen's side of the office

The TV room is DC central – with pictures of Georgetown/Key Bridge, the Lincoln (on its way compliments of Sarah), the Jefferson (in all four seasons), the Washington Monument, and the Capitol…they lady at the store said, “you’re not from these parts, are you?” when assisting with frames for these pictures and the diplomas!

Our bedroom has a fun mix of art collected from our travels…and the hallway has some of my favorite shots of people from the Sonrise School in Rwanda and random people in Cambodia and Vietnam.

The Treasure of Sensory Memory

One of the little gifts of life, in my humble opinion, is the power of sensory memory – a smell, a particular sight (or place), a sound (or song).

Driving to the office earlier this week, Warrant’s “Heaven” came on the radio followed by Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin.”  I love that a song can immediately transport me to another time and place.  “Heaven” to an early ’90s trip to England, “Free Fallin” to a ski lift at Greek Peak in high school.  Asia’s “Then and Now” album reminds me of a family trip to the west coast in the 80s, Blondie’s “The Tide is High” of Dune House #5 in Ocean City, Maryland (as a 4 or 5 year old with our cousins).  Toad the Wet Sprocket’s “Fear” album feels like the sound track to my early college years.

I used to have songs, mix tapes, and albums that I could listen to and be depressed, as if on command.  And ones that could rejuvenate too.  Neil Diamonds “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” album still reminds me of sitting on the side of a highway in Pennsylvania after a terrible 18 wheeler accident while my parents tried to render aid when I was maybe 5.  Of course, the combination of Neil Diamond, John Denver, Peter Paul & Mary, and Free to Be You and Me comprise the soundtrack of my childhood (this should be no surprise).

And there are visuals, like fire flies, that remind me of carefree days hanging in the back yard as a kid, admiring their flicker.   Or the 17 year locusts that remind me of Gettysburg (in 1987) when we were attacked (like Pickett’s men on the famous charge) by locusts swarming from the woodline.

One of my strongest senses, and one that feels truly special, is smell.  I don’t know why I view smells differently than what I can see or hear, but perhaps it is that “less tangible” sense that I enjoy so much.  There is a certain kind of pine (which kind I know only by smell) that immediately takes me to the cottage in Corinth, NY where we spent at least a week every summer of my life until high school or college (I’m never quite sure).  I love accidentally bumping in to that smell unexpectedly – it is such a pleasant memory of fun and family. And it makes me instantly happy, no matter what my mood.

I miss the smell of lilacs in spring – they don’t grow in Texas – and spring is hardly spring without them.  Then there is that musty smell that reminds me of Grandma and Grandpa’s house – they probably wouldn’t be flattered that its a musty smell – but it is what it is! And the crunch and smell of leaves in fall.

Perhaps I also revel in the memories my senses provide because I have such a bad recall memory.  Life is much more a Monet painting to me than a detailed account of experience. This can be both good and bad, I guess, but I am grateful for the sights, sounds, and smells burned into my memory that even when I can’t recall the detail, I know the memory is good and it makes me happy just the same.