Book Wreath

This gorgeous wreath caught my eye when I first saw it here.   I absolutely loved it.  I followed the easy tutorial on her site and got started.  It took longer than I imagined.  I used two and half books for this project. The rosettes are made with two pages each.  It makes them look fuller.  The books I used were left here in our house when we bought them.  They are very old and the pages were a little brittle.  I did check if they were valuable before I started ripping out pages.  Would hate to find out later that the books were valuable and I had ripped them apart.

Love how it looks~

I used a white styrofoam wreath base.  I wish I had covered it in paper or ribbon before  I started gluing the rosettes on.  There are a few small spots where you can see the styrofoam.  Live and learn.  The end result is still beautiful and I am happy with it.

Linking to:

On the Agenda

We are currently taking a short break from schoolwork.  I have a list about a mile long of UFO's that I have been working on.

*Touch up paint in entryway and kitchen-done

*Paint baseboard in kitchen and entry-done

*Paint toe kick-done

*Touch up paint on dining table and chairs-done

*Apply  antiquing glaze to table and chairs and kitchen cabinets

The hutch in the picture below (to the left) is getting a facelift.  It is in progress.  I have painted it, now some glazing is left to do.  I want to distress it a bit also.  This picture is old.  I have changed so many things since this photo.   The snowman picture on the wall became this.  The table is gone.  We now have a new dining set.  I will post pictures of all the goodies when they are complete.  I am hoping to have everything done by early next week.  I am excited to share them with you.  I wish I had taken a good before picture of the hutch alone but it has been in limbo since the kitchen remodel and my mind was consumed with kitchen ideas at that point.  

I will be enjoying the weekend with some time to rest and prepare for our return to school work next week.

Looking forward to spring, warm weather and sunshine!

Enjoy!

Bits and Pieces

It's been a busy and long week already.  It does not seem to matter how much I try to plan, everything happens at the same time.

Last Thursday, Skylar had surgery (see previous post), on Monday we took another trip to the vet and she had her tubes removed.  They said everything looked good.  She did manage to rip out a stitch.  I'm not sure how because I have been watching her like a hawk.  She has to have warm compresses 3 to 4 times a day and then clean her wound with peroxide.  She is always so cooperative, except that she is always trying to clean her collar while I treat her.   Believe it or not this takes quite a chunk of time out of my day but she's worth it.

Monday afternoon was our ds last snowboarding class.  He had so much fun.  I won't miss it as much.  Between the commute and the two hour class we were gone from about 3 pm to almost 7 pm.  He did have a great time and loved every minute of his lessons.  He never complained about the cold and somedays it was 0 degrees. 

Tuesday we were off and running first thing in the morning for our dental cleanings.  I have had this appointment since August, who knew then that this week would just explode with other appointments and activities.  Afterwards it was off to the grocery store.  We were in need of some food in this house.  It was looking like Mother Hubbard lived here.

Today is our first day home this week.  I am trying to catch up on laundry and some cleaning.  By the end of the day the dog hair looks like tumbleweed rolling across the living room floor.

Tomorrow haircuts, which I canceled when Skylar first had her lump lanced a few weeks ago.  We are all in desperate need.  Our dear neighbor will be doggie sitting because I don't trust this doggie to stay home and leave those stitches alone.  We would probably return home to find her collar shredded to bits and her stitches scratched off.  

Friday we go back to the vet to have her stitches removed and while we're there they will do her annual exam.  As wonderful as the staff is I hope we don't see the vet for another year.  This has been crazy.

This past weekend we had a warming trend with temps reaching into the 40's.  It felt  like spring.  We are actually looking at a week with no snow. There are actual visible patches of ground now.  Plenty of snow mountains still around but much of the ice is gone.  The snow that we couldn't get rid of is actually melted in the walkways and side streets.   There has been some rain but thankfully it is not snow.  Hoping to keep the snow away.  There has been enough of it for two winters.

With the unbelievable cold we've had and all the snow we are all out of firewood.  There isn't any to even order because it is buried under piles of snow.  We are looking at a cool house for the rest of the winter. Gas heat is not enough to keep this house nice and warm.  Not looking forward to the chill and the high bill.

To keep my hands busy and my mind off the cold I am working on this wreath.  It is amazing and I loved it from the minute I noticed it.  I have had it on my to do list forever and I chose to start it even if things are crazy right now.  It's a bit of sanity at the end of the day.  I usually work on while we watch tv.  While at snowboarding class on Monday I cut out all the circles to begin rolling them.  

This gorgeous wreath has also caught my eye.  The wreath looks amazing in that Valentine vignette.  Absolutely loving the frame it's hanging from.  I have been hitting the thrift stores trying to score a beauty like that.  Hoping to find it soon.  This wreath is actually made with book punches she used a scalloped punch to cut out. 

Wow, this is almost a book.  Just the goings on here.  Never too exciting but we keep plugging on.  In the midst of this busyness we continue to homeschool.  Dd has been accepted at our local state college.  She will be attending in the fall and is hoping to join the nursing program the following year.  

Our Poor Sweet Girl

Last year after my brother in law passed away we took in his two huskies.  They were mother and son and had always been together.  In December we lost Petie, the son.  It was so sudden and sad.  He was only five years old.  A couple of weeks later we noticed that Skylar had a lump on her throat.  We immediately took her to the vet.  They thought that she may have had a fight with a wild animal.  We did not see or hear anything and don't know what happened.  They lanced the abscess and sent her home with some antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory.  She responded well and we thought she was on her way to being healthy. On Sunday we noticed the lump was back.  The weather here is dreadful and the vet is not close by so we waited to see how she would do.  On Tuesday, it was red and she had irritated it by rubbing it vigorously on the rug. I called the vet and we had to wait until Thursday to take her in due to the ice storm heading our way.

We took her to the vet Thursday and she needed surgery to clean out the abscess.  It breaks my heart to see her right now.

She is wearing the cone of shame (from Up, which I loved).

 We had to do some furniture moving so she can make it by things without getting stuck.  This collar is huge.

The next picture is not for the faint of heart.  She currently has a drain in until Monday.  I wanted to heave when I picked her up at the vet.

This is not even half as bad as it was when we picked her up.  We do warm compresses four times a day and I have been trying to clean up all the blood that was in her fur.  She was covered in it.  It was awful.  I am hoping that once the sutures are removed next Friday she will no longer have any trouble with this area.  She is usually so happy and loves to play.  She spends a great part of the day chasing her toys around the house but she isn't able to with the cone.  Playing in the snow is another favorite but the cone gets caught in everything. The snow is frozen solid.  She is not enjoying this.  We are looking forward to having her play and run again.

Turn the Page Tuesday

I first heard about Bloodroot from Edie at Life In Grace.  She has the most amazing reading list and I often choose books from her list to read myself.  When she recommended this book I knew it was a must read.  

Bloodroot is the first novel from author Amy Greene.  It is a family saga taking  place on Bloodroot Mountain in East Tennessee.  The story begins with two narrators setting the stage for the perplexing story ahead.  Spanning four generations, this book takes us through the lives of its characters.  Each one narrating a section, giving their own perspective of the events that occur throughout.  The characters are complicated, perplexing, and at times, dark.  As the story unfolds we find that the characters' lives are all entwined.  They have each played in a part in the others lives.  

This is a book that you can't put down. Once you begin reading, it captures you.  When you are not reading you are thinking of what will happen next in the story.  Truly an amazing book that captures the struggles of Appalachian life, family life, nature versus nurture.  It is highly recommended.

Linking to Turn the Page Tuesday at Some of a Kind.