LIVING ROOM BLACK FLORAL WALLPAPER-It took courage!

The living room remodel is just about finished, not quite.  I need a new rug which may take some time to find exactly what I want.  And I have to find my wall paint to touch up some spots.  But the wallpaper over the fireplace turned out so spectacular, I have to share it with you.

See my previous post here to read about some of what we have done in our living room so far and why I fell in love with this black wallpaper.

The paper wasn't supposed to have arrived for another 3 - 4 weeks so I really was surprised to see it on my doorstep on Wednesday.  The instructions suggested I unroll the sheets and put them in the order that you start wallpapering.  

Because I knew I had a few more weeks, I was dragging my feet to get the wall ready.  

That motivated me to hustle it done, so on Thursday I pulled off all the old paper; with help from Frank.

 The ceilings are tall in our house, so he got all the paper along the ceiling and also got a good edge against the crown molding. 

Friday was the wallpapering day.

 I set up my table; tall ladder; my wallpapering tools; Frank provided me with a metal straight edge and some new razor blades.  

I had some wallpaper paste already from a string/light making class I gave which needed to be mixed with water in a gallon container.  Some wet rags were rounded up all of which took an hour or so prior to the actual installation process.

I have to admit I was a little nervous.  Not because of the actual work of wallpapering.  I have had lots of years and many, many walls, ceilings, hallways, etc. experience under my belt.  What made me nervous was that there wouldn't be any extra paper available in case there was a flaw in the match/seam; or if I messed up around the light receptacles or if the paste wasn't working, any number of reasons.  I always order extra wallpaper allowing for errors or mess ups. And lastly, I was nervous because for such a small wall space, this paper was very, very expensive. What if I hated it????

One panel went up; the 2nd panel went up, so far, so good.

The third panel went up, only one minor problem at the top. and then the final panel went up. Done!!!  It took more time to get myself all set up to do the job, than the actual job of papering.

I noticed while I was up on the ladder that I needed to do some touch up of the white paint.  Frank reinstalled the sconces and I believe the wallpaper is going to speak for itself, the mirror I had over mantle won't be going back. 

Usually I live with the new wallpaper or new paint job or new piece of furniture before I decide what needs to be done next.  I look at the room in the early morning sun; in the afternoon; and at night, what lighting is better than other types.  

 Trying out the canvas goose on the mantle.  Not really sure that works.

Tried out the antlers on the mantle.  Not really sure that works either.

For right now, I do believe I will leave it alone, look for the rug, maybe add a few different pillows on the couch and just enjoy the room?

What do you think of the wallpaper?  Love to hear from you.

AFTER EASTER CATCHUP - FARM NEW CHICKS & FINISHED AFGHAN

Easter just came and went, SWOOSH!!! Tradition for us, is we always go to our favorite campground, Sycamore Ranch which is only about 30 minutes away.  Family, friends, even people without trailers are always welcome to come.  The grand kids and Celli were here at the farm the week before with their trailer already here.

 So on Thursday, we both took off to the campground.

 Frank really didn't want to go as the forecast was rain, nice, rain, cloudy, rain for the 4 days.  But Celli is a trooper and always optimistic.  She was right, the weather wasn't all that bad; we had just a fabulous time; and the campground was almost deserted -people thinking like Frank.

We were fortunate to be able to camp right next to each other and right next to a river.  

The spot also is large so the grand kids Carli and Collin can ride their electric scooters around and around and not bother other campers.  On Saturday, some friends of Celli & Chris' came with their kids that go to their same school.  

They brought fabulous lunch fixings, combined with ours.  What lovely Saturday in the sun watching the kids go around and around on the scooters.  

This one picture of both kids on scooter is last year for Easter.  What a difference this year, they are really growing!

Here is Bella, Gunnar, Lola & Annie

Back at Windmill Farm when we got back.

I have had these 2 hens sitting and sitting on a nest, they call it brooding.  Last year, I purchased 10 baby chicks, put them under the brooding hens and they both raised the chicks together.  Lovely if you can get the Moms to take care of the chicks.  So I did the same thing this year, I waited until we got back so I could monitor how things would go.  Chicks are really fragile especially with this crazy weather, cold, hot, rain, wind, blah blah-(will it ever end???)

So I waited until night time, brought 10 new Buff Orpington chicks and my flashlight to the hen house. 1/2 went under one hen, the other 1/2 under the other.  Well instead of delightful cooing from the hens, one kept pecking at the little ones. So I put what she didn't want under the other hen.  That hen didn't make any of those delightful sounds plus she had a very horrible look on her face. I was worried I had made a mistake.

During the night, I kept going back into henhouse to check on things.  4 chicks were off in a corner, cold, abandoned.  Guess that hen didn't believe those 4 I gave her belonged to her.  So I spent the next hour, at 2:00am setting up a heat light, a warm and cozy container; water; feed. My last check was at 3:30am on the remaining 6 under hen #2 and went to sleep.

The next morning, my 4 in their container were fine.  Inside the henhouse was a different story.  My heart broke.  4 little chicks were huttled together around the food container, all alone, no mother hen.  After looking carefully, 1 chick was limp in one corner covered in bed shavings; the last one was in another corner, limp.  It broke my heart.  Chickens are horrid when it comes to chicks, they do not have normal mothering instincts unless they are in the brooding mood. So I am sure, this mother hen got up and left those little guys alone in the henhouse at dawn didn't really buy it that those hatched under her; I wasn't fooling her one bit.  And the other chickens just picked on those little guys left all alone with no mother hen to protect them.

I brought them all into my heat lamp new pen; and put a blanket around the 2 that were the worst.  I assumed were dead or dying. One was peeping softly, the other -well, she just didn't make it.  Boo hoo.  I worked with the peeping one, got her little cold body next to the heat lamp and rubbed it with a soft blanket for about 30 minutes and then put her in with the rest of her sisters.  Nature will just have to decide whether she was going to live or die.  Her head just drooped and she wouldn't opening her eyes.  I checked on her all day without any changes.  The next morning, I figured she probably had not made it.  But I counted 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9!!!  All running around eating and drinking.  What is that?  Where is the dead one?  I couldn't even tell which one she was of the 9.  I think I was able to get help to her in enough time that she didn't die from the cold; and she was so stressed from being picked on and pecked, she was exhausted.  I still feel bad I did loose the one little guy, but at least the 2nd one has survived!

I finished my afghan project which was started a month or so ago. It came about because I wanted to use up some yarns and I had an excess of aqua and white yarns. I knew I had plenty so I kept making squares and more squares.  

When I put it together, it was too small, so I had to go buy yarn!!!  I made more squares, added it to the small afghan and still too small.  Back to Joann's store for more yarn, but this time it was enough and it is finished. I even had enough to do the scalloped trim and you can see a bit of the aqua and a whole white skein is left.

Guess it was a fruitless effort to get rid of excess yarn.

How was your Easter, did you have fun with family and friends?  Come back to my next post, I will share some bouquets, arrangements and boutonneirs with you I just finished for a small, local wedding.  The wedding is today so I don't want to show the flowers until they post their own wedding pictures and spoil anything for my clients.

See you next time and I will also show you how the chicks will have grown.

LIVING ROOM REMODEL: PLANTING SUCCULENTS; UPCOMING CLASS SCHEDULE

Our living room is nice, but it just needs something new done to it.  Plus it had a short list of repairs needing done to it.  Yes, believe it, I keep lists of each of my rooms; yards; gardens; garage; closets, you name it.  I can't help myself.  But when I see something that needs fixing, I write it down on a list.  If I see something that can be changed for the better, I put it on a list.  Then every once in a while, I compile these lists to rooms, areas and believe it or not, to either Frank or I lists.  Things that he does or can do; things that I can do.  Example:  The front door needs to be painted (blame it on Annie, the dog.  

Every time she wants in and the back dog door is shut, she goes to the front door and scratches it).  I am the official painter in the family so that task goes on my list-which happens to be in the front living room, so it goes on tasks that need to be done for the living room.  WEIRD!!!  But that is how we keep things in working order around here at Windmill Farm-lists.

So back to the living room.  We needed electricity in the center of the room for lights.  Light above and lights around the room, just never lights right next to a chair or the couch.

That task got done a few weeks ago when we paid a neighbor's workman (who is a small guy) to go underneath the house to pull some electrical wires to outside walls.  Then Frank carried the project from there.  There are now 2 multi plugs in the wood floors AND while he was doing that, Frank decided to put an electrical plug box out by the front door, down low where you wouldn't see it.  Why?  For Christmas lights of course!!!  I always have Christmas lights out front and had to run a long, long cord around the house to the nearest electrical source. DONE! Off the list.

The window sills needed touch up painting-DONE.  Front door re-painted gloss black-DONE-did it yesterday!  Lots of editing of STUFF.  Fans and sconces needed good cleaning and globes washed. Still on list. Get the picture?  I drive Frank crazy I know.

What I really wanted to do to do to this room was change the wallpaper above the fireplace.  It is a soft aqua damask print.  Nice, but I want SHOCK value.  Here is what I want-but it cost $450.  Can you believe it for only a 4' x 7' piece? Beautiful designer, Ellie Cashman. Took inspiration from Great Master's paintings. 

Ellie Cashman Wallpapers

 

Alternative on-line looking and found an Etsy distributor who makes a similar large, bold, black background with floral prints. Cost $96 + $15 shipping. DONE!! (I sold a chair I wasn't using so used those funds for the paper-thank you Becka for buying the chair and helping me with the wallpaper purchase).

But it won't be here for 4 weeks because it is coming directly from China.  Other purchase I need to make is to find a different rug, but I want to install the paper before I decide what the room needs.  So for right now, the room is on hold to scratch off the rest of the items on the list.  I am so excited but a little nervous about the wallpaper-don't tell Frank, he hasn't seen it yet!

Easter break is now on for our grand kids, so this week Carli is staying with us for a few days, on her own, without Collin.  This is because she got straight As on her report card and we asked her what she would like from us as a reward for doing well.  Answer:  to come stay with grandma and grandpa all by herself.  DONE!  Carli and I went to Home Depot and bought a bunch of succulents to plant out front.  

Those planters always seemed to have trouble maintaining consistent water so we changed the soil; put in new mulch/soil and planted all 4 of them.  I think they turned out great and will keep looking better and better as the plants fill in and hang over the planters.

I finally got some class scheduling done and I think the classes are going to be great, great fun.  Here they are:

1. Once a month Knit/Crochet night: Bring your own work, project, problem pieces, or learn to knit, crochet get together. April 25th, 6-8pm; May 23rd, 6-8pm; June 20th 6-8pm. $10.

2. Found Object Decorating Bird houses, paint it, decorate it, go home with completed fun bird house. We will be using, garden objects; moss, sticks, knobs, corks, stones, I will have loads of fun found objects to use. Wednesday, May 3rd, 6-8pm and another class on Saturday, May 6th 10-Noon. $30, everything supplied but you bring the creativity!!!

3. Starting in June-dates coming-bag making classes (you know how we all need to carry grocery bags in our car); & Strawberry Jam canning class. (date coming when we have a better idea about growth of strawberries)

Hope you can make one or all of these class, information on how to sign up is over in this blog under NEWS and EVENTS.

LOVE this Cashman Wallpaper

Our grandson Collin and rest of the family are coming Wednesday; fun times together for the rest of the week.  I hope your Easter week will be filled with family and friends.