New Loveseat in the Geek Room

Thanks to mom and dad for letting us use the mini-loveseat that was taken out of their den in our Geek Room! Tom now has a place to sit and play video games, and I have a place to sit and work on my laptop in the same room with him when he's on his computer.

And of course our Spidey items have another place to be displayed ;)

Tom Wins at Life, And Other Weekend Events

I love it when I really get a weekend off...two days in a row with nothing major on my schedule. Show and tell time!

Last Sunday, I went to a local seller on Craigslist's house and picked up this handmade oak stool/bench for ...ready? One dollar. I love the cut-out detail on the legs...almost Moroccan looking.

Today I picked up a seed starting terrarium thingy at Walmart and planted 36 dividers with 30 divisions devoted to Hollyhocks, and 6 for Morning Glories. I've never tried growing plants from seed before, so we'll see how they do. This window is south-facing so it gets oodles of light, and now all I can do is keep the tray moist and wait.


We also did a lot of yard work today. Originally I was hoping to get some work done today on a faerie door for the Dreaming Room. But the weather outside was just too perfect to resist...we ended up spending about 4 or 5 hours outside working on yard work, transplanting poppies from a neighbor's garden to ours, and weeding (me) and fertilizing the lawn and washing cars (Tom). All the neighbors we haven't had a chance to see all winter long were also out today, so there was quite a bit of socializing going on too. Tom and I are endlessly thankful to live in a neighborhood where everyone genuinely cares about each other.

But here's the best part. When we were all done with the yard work, we grabbed a bite to eat, and ran over to the local craft and antique mall I love to visit. Our favorite vendor had been on vacation, so we hadn't been by the place in two or three weeks. We were meandering around, visiting our favorite booths, when Tom got the random desire to walk down one of the aisles we never visit (since there's nothing there to interest us) He immediately ran to find me, and whispered "come here, come here!" to me. I rounded the corner of a display, and there she was...

My favorite artwork ever...the one I still wanted to eventually get for our house...and the header image I've used on my Pre-Raphaelite blog, The Beautiful Necessity, for over 4 years now...Waterhouse's blue Ophelia. A high quality canvas reproduction, huge and professionally framed. There she was, and I couldn't breathe. My heart fluttered as I checked the price tag...

...and promptly yanked the art off the wall, trembling. I actually started crying in the middle of the store.


Eighty nine dollars, folks. Yes, $89. The name of the company that did the canvas repro was on a sticker on the back, so when we got home we looked it up. This puppy (with framing) originally cost the person who bought it $235 plus shipping, so we'll make it $250.

And we got it for $89.

See the grin in the above picture? See the goofy jaw-agape look below? Imagine that, plus random squealing and hand clapping and outright giggles and you can imagine how I was reacting on the entire drive home.


Tom wins at life.

March Walkies

Well, today the weather was just so insanely beautiful (high of 78 degrees) we had to go for a walk after work. I took along my camera to snap a few pictures.

First...remember the Grape Galaxy Hellebore plant I bought last spring? Hellebore is supposed to bloom in late winter to early spring, so I was starting to worry I wouldn't see any blooms on it. Well, it surprised me today. And oh, how lovely!!!



We then went for a walk in our neighborhood. I noticed three crows cawing rather indignantly in a tree, and we stopped to watch them. Then Tom noticed and pointed out to me what they were so upset about...a gorgeous hawk was in the tree below them.


The hawk had found a squirrel for his supper, and the crows took turns dive-bombing him to try to steal it away. We stood and watched for several minutes before the hawk flew out of sight with the crows tailing him close behind.

I saw this little weed blooming in a brick wall on the way back to the house and had to snap a picture. Anyone know what this is? It's been all over the place the past week or so.

I Disagree With Kermit...

...it's quite easy being green.

These below pictures show the color most accurately:


Yep, I'm giving it the thumbs-up in this picture. ;)

Next: Painting a Faerie Door on that little opening above, and writing a series of quotes on the wall with the Kinuko Craft painting (not shown).