BarkDust: February 2005

Saturday, February 26, 2005

smoky link

Link o' the Day : For the sake of our children...

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Uninspired but happy

I've felt so uninspired to write lately. That's not exactly true. Today I thought about writing a post entitled "Weather" but what a stupid and inane topic! Compared to the brilliant and wickedly funny bloggers I read like dooce and nathalie, I have nothing to say. But I will persist in my folly and talk about the weather. It's gorgeous here!!!! I was worried that moving to Oregon would only increase my winter blues with all the rainy, grey days that people spoke of. But this has been my best February as an adult that I can remember. Although my job sucks and my house is still a construction zone, I have managed to skip my regular February dates with depression. Yay! It's been so sunny and warm. Today I went jogging in shorts!!!!! (more exclamation points please) Apparently, this is all a strange fluke and people are actually worried that we're in a drought, but I can't summon up much concern at this point. I'm just elated to see sunshine in my 5:00-6:00 p.m. window of daylight each day! -d

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

For absolutely no reason at all...

...except that it makes us smile.

You need to have sound on to appreciate this….

http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/lyle_24/myhero.swf

Monday, February 21, 2005

Springtime

This weekend was gorgeous and sunny and in the 50s although there was a stiff breeze. I think I finally finished pruning all 29 of the rose bushes--and just in time, because they are starting to bud. We went to the garden and patio show at the convention center and now I'm bursting with creative ideas to do with our yard (see photo above). However, I have to be patient for a while. There are lots of plants already in the garden and I must wait to see what all of them are before I start digging and rearranging them too much. But I so love the smell of good moist dirt on a warm spring day. (ahhh...poor hoosiers...read this and weep!)

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Reason 1 to get a dog...

...unconditional love and affection. Even if you've penned her in a crate all day, Keegan's always glad to see us and wants to cuddle and play.

Sunday, February 13, 2005

The Never-Ending Bedroom Project, Photo #6

The difference between the clay plaster with no finish and with the "black soap" finish. Yummy.

The Never-Ending Bedroom Project, Photo #5

Final finish: "black soap" and a lot of elbow grease.

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

The Never-Ending Bedroom Project, Photo #4

The first coat (Loma) dried very rough with a rustic, stucco sort of finish. Several weeks later we put on the second coat with the smoother Porcelina finish.

The Never-Ending Bedroom Project, Photo #3

Deb has a bizarre fantasy of wanting to wake up in the middle of a latte. We were stunned, amazed, awe-struck, and flabbergasted when we discovered the color "Chacolatte".

The Never-Ending Bedroom Project, Photo #2

Mixing up a the first batch of Loma plaster. A big bowl of chocolate mousse, anyone?!

The Never-Ending Bedroom Project, Photo #1

This is what our bedroom walls looked like after we peeled back 4 or 5 layers of wallpaper. It was in bad shape so we had to patch a lot of holes. We knew we needed to skim coat it and then add color to the room. Then we got a "brilliant" idea to accomplish both simultaneously by using American Clay Plaster.

Monday, February 07, 2005

The Energizer Puppy...

...who escaped from her crate last night when we went to a movie and tossed all the living room pillows about and tore down the curtains and ate 4 chocolate chip cookies that were cooling on the stove.

Reason 43 to move to Oregon...

....Fresh Dungeness Crab!!! These bad boys were bought at the Safeway down the street and will reside in our freezer until we're ready to eat them. Crab cakes for dinner tonight, yummeeee!!!

Sunday, February 06, 2005

Oh, For Christ's Sake

The Willamette Week, the local alternative news weekly, did a cover story on Don Miller. Don is a member of our church, Imago Dei, and was formerly the campus chaplain at Reed College which is about 10 blocks from our house. Don has written several books: Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality and Searching for God Knows What. The cover story is an interview with Don and with Imago's pastor, Rick McKinley. It's a little picture into the offbeat, screwed-up, beautiful mess that is the community of Christ-followers in Portland.

BarkDust