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Post by shabbychick on Aug 30, 2015 20:06:07 GMT -8
Boy, it's sure quiet around here these days. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the last days of summer. I spent six weeks taking my 3rd of 9 required classes for my Master's degree, and it was intense. I had to do a bunch of reading and write a 1200-word essay every week. I got an A in the class (yay!) but it was sure a lot of work. Then I pretty much just started planning for the new school year, so I haven't really had time to do anything much. It'll be this way till I'm done with the classes for the degree and the thesis I have to write, but then life should return to normal in a couple of years. I gave away my dining room table and chairs to my nephew and his fiancee, so I needed another. I had an old table I had bought cheap with an unattractive butcher block finish. One of my nieces had spilled nail polish remover and it and ruined the top, so I had taken it to school to use as an extra table in the professional library. But since I needed a dining room table, I brought it home and refinished it. I used a blue-green chalky-finish paint from Americana Decor on the bottom and sanded and stained the top, then finished the bottom with a creme wax to give the paint a soft look but used a glossy wipe-on polycrylic on the top. I like the way it turned out. It's not perfect, but it will do, and it's a lot smaller than what I had in here, so there is still room to get around. All in all, it's a better fit. I'm pasting in a picture I found online of a tabletop with a finish similar to the original, and then I'm pasting in a picture I took of the finished product. As time permits, I'll paint up the unattractive vintage chairs I have and use them, but at least for now, I have a table. Happy fall!   Shabbychick |
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Post by Rose-mary on Sept 5, 2015 19:07:30 GMT -8
Wow, you have been busy, shabby! Congratulations on the 'A' grade. I know you will be glad when you get all of your classes finished. I think the table turned out great! And it is always a good thing when you can use something that you already have and not have to spend money on something else. That is something I have been trying to do a lot of, lately, instead of buying things I don't need. If I see something I like, I think "where am I going to put this?" If I can't answer it, I don't get it. At least, not usually, LOL!
How is your wheat free diet going? I'm sure you must have found a lot of new recipes to sub for the old ones you can't use anymore.
I, for one, am glad the summer is coming to an end. It has been so hot lately that I'm looking forward to some cooler temperatures. I haven't done any fall decorating, though I did order a new throw for my couch and I've been looking at a lot of fall decorating online. I know it's way too early, but I've been looking at Christmas decorations, too. I think looking at snow makes me feel cooler, haha!
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Post by shabbychick on Sept 6, 2015 6:55:32 GMT -8
Hi Rosemary,
I, too, am finding myself buying less new stuff and focusing on just moving things around in the house and repurposing old items. I'm glad I had this table, and it was a quick project, which is all I have time for anymore.
The wheat free diet is coming along okay. I've not done a lot of cooking this summer...more salads and eating out, which is hard to do wheat-free. I've found that there are few restaurants that have actual wheat-free options, though more and more of them will accommodate your needs. I only lost about 5 pounds, so I think I'm going to have to go back to the South Beach plan and use it for greater weight loss. I think I can find a reasonable hybrid approach.
I've been in physical therapy this summer and am trying to start walking again. About 5 years ago I had one of my legs in a cast, and when I got out of that cast, they put me in some orthotics, and from that time forward my other foot started to hurt all the time. All. The. Time. I spent all kinds of time in PT, at the foot doctor's, and etc., and now they've finally discovered that the problem is probably not in my foot, but in my back, which is irritating the nerves that send the signals to my legs and feet. Evidently it came originally from the way I had to stand when one foot was in a cast and was exacerbated by the way the orthotics made me stand. My neck and back are a mess, anyway, after three auto accidents, so it's taking a long time. But I'm walking again even though I'm not yet pain free, and I think if I can keep up a regular walking schedule, it'll help with the weight loss. I could eat nothing but air and not lose weight; I really have to walk and walk a lot to lose weight.
I'm looking forward to fall, but fall is always my favorite time. Since my life has almost always run according to an academic calendar, fall has always been the season of new starts for me. I know a lot of people get depressed by the shorter days and worse weather, but I've always loved stormy weather. I've just moved my desk at home in front of a window next to the fireplace so that as I'm working, I can enjoy looking out at the rain and looking at the fire as well. It makes all the hours writing papers and grading assignments a little more enjoyable. I'm also trying to beef up my back yard garden with more evergreen-type plants so there is something to look at all year after the flowers die back.
There won't be time to do much decorating this year, I'm afraid, but I've got my mantel done up in shades of forest green and orange and some bright gold and silver to sort of channel the autumn vibe, so it'll do for now.
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Linn
Full Member
Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ... it's about learning to dance in the rain
Posts: 208
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Post by Linn on Sept 16, 2015 19:47:12 GMT -8
Shabby ~ Congrats on your "A" grade! And best wishes with the rest of your courses! I'm sorry about your back and neck problems but it's great you're walking again. I love fall and I'm so glad it's almost here! I love all the colors and the cool temps and the smell of a fireplace being used. I think I just plain have more energy in the fall than in summer when it's hot and humid. I have done some fall decorating in the house but not outside as of yet. I need to get the porch tidy and put some things out there. Most of the outdoor decorations are in the attic and I'm going to have to make myself get up there and find the stuff. I hope everyone is well and enjoying the change of seasons.  ps ~ Shabby your table looks great! |
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Post by shabbychick on Sept 20, 2015 13:04:31 GMT -8
Hi, Linn. It's good to hear from you! I totally agree about fall being a more energetic time of year.
I've been sitting here at my desk the last six hours writing another paper and looking out at the garden and the hummingbird that bathes in my fountain. It is so much more pleasant than staring at a blank wall as I work. I got a late start on this paper due to the school year beginning at the same time my class did and having to squeeze in a family wedding and some other obligations in the last couple of weeks. I got it turned in thirty minutes before deadline, though. It's not one of my better papers, but at least it's in, and now I can turn my attention to the papers I have to grade. It's always something!
I bought some plants that will winter over and transplanted them last weekend, so I'm anxious to see how they do. Some greenery in the winter will be a nice change. Now I'm trying to decide what kind of fall decorations I can put in my back courtyard. There's no covered area out there like there is on my front porch, but this is the courtyard I look out at as I'm doing schoolwork. I was thinking of tucking some pumpkins in among the plants, but they'll get wet in the rain, and I'm a little worried they will rot quickly. If anyone has some advice, I'd love to hear it.
Have fun getting your porch ready for the change of seasons, and thanks for your kind words about my table. I'm loving having a small, colorful table in here.
Shabbychick
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Post by Rose-mary on Sept 27, 2015 17:40:00 GMT -8
Hi shabby, I can see that it might be hard to eat out on your diet. I just looked up the South Beach diet and I can see that it would probably help with weight loss. The first 14 days of it sound pretty tough. I have to admit that I love carbs and don't like doing without them, haha!
I'm sorry that you are having so much trouble with your foot. I hope that the PT has been helping you and will soon have you moving along a little faster. My mom had to wear one of those 'boot' type casts for six months and it gave her a lot of back trouble, instead of making her foot hurt. Everything affects everything else and our back can make almost anything else hurt. Seems once one thing is out whack, fixing it just throws something else out.
I do not know of a way to keep the pumpkins from rotting when they are kept outside, though I would think that they would last a while, as long as they weren't in direct sun or didn't freeze. And if there is a way to keep the bottoms of them off the ground, that might also help. Once they freeze, they have to be thrown away. We usually feed ours to our chickens, as they love the rind and seeds. I have not done any outdoor decorating for fall, except for planting three mum plants. Two are yellow and one is gold--which is fairly dull to look at. I'm hoping to find some more colors soon. Our little town is not much on variety, when it comes to plants.
I have started to do some decorating inside, but not much. It still look so summery here that it is hard to get in a fall mood. But it has been a little bit cooler this past week, so I'm starting to think that fall might really be on its way.
I hope your paper brought a better grade than you thought it might!
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Post by Mac78 on Oct 25, 2015 16:59:16 GMT -8
Hi Everyone, Congratulations Shabby!
Your table looks nice. Life has been very busy here. Good to see some others stopping by. Maybe this little forum will liven up when the snow starts to fly. Happy Fall ya'all!
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Post by shabbychick on Oct 31, 2015 11:23:54 GMT -8
Hi Mac,
Thanks. I'm still enjoying my little table. It's allowing me to do some other more convenient rearranging of furniture, including putting a larger desk in front of the window. This desk is big enough to spread papers and books out on, and now that the big dining table is gone, it fits the space without feeling cramped. It's nice. We don't have snow yet, but we've got wind and rain today. It'll truly be a dark and stormy night for Halloween. I didn't do any real Halloween decorating to speak of. I'm just too busy right now. I put a couple of things on the mantel and a couple of things on the dining room table, a few pumpkins by the front door, and that's about it. I'm not even carving a jack-o-lantern this year. But it feels festive enough, and I'll have a Partylite Halloween candle lantern on the front porch tonight for the trick-or-treaters, so it should suffice for this year. Hope you are well and still enjoying your work. -- Shabby
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