27 March 2006

10 cans of paint and a crochety back later, I have birthed the Behemoth!

I did it. I completed a project. One that I have been working on since January--and with help at times--to complete. I finally got our upstairs painted.
I feel like I need a new back, though. I found myself being very glad this weekend that my mother was a gymnastics instructor and taught me to contort myself into all manner of positions and backbends and such, because this is what was required to complete the project. We really only have a 1/2 story in our upstairs in an already small house. Naturally, things are cramped and there is not a lot of room to work with. Thus the three months it took me to complete this project. I could only do one small wall at a time b/c that is all the room I had to move that wall's furniture out of the way.
But, it is done, and it looks fantastic, in my opinion, done in the colors you would find in a robbin's egg--so that bluish teal, light brown, and dark brown.
Except.
Why does there always have to be an except?
Except that we still are going to put in skylights. So, I guess it is not completely done.
One of the benefits to completion of this project was further and unplanned purging in the form of three huge bags of books that we don't need and another entire bookshelf full of books that we need to read and then pass along. A whole bookcase. Isn't this insane? In a world where most people are below the poverty level and starving, my biggest dilemna is what to do with all of my stuff--pretty amazing. At any rate, we have a nice combination of classics, spiritual books, and obligatory reading to do for the next year without spending a penny!
I got the paints for this project from a chemical and synthetic free household good place called Bioshield paints.
www.bioshieldpaints.com
I used their Casein Milk Paint, and it has a very dull, almost sort of adobe finish to it. I think it looks sort of messy but sort of natural, so I am okay with it, though I wouldn't use it for every room. The colors, though, are fantastic and brilliant. And the paint is not going to be outgassing toxic chemicals into my house for the next 50 years either, which counts for a ton in my book. This probably outweighs every other factor.
Tonight we have knitting at Kiersten's house. Kiersten is married to Chris. Chris has to be the most random individual I have ever, ever met (which I love). They are in our young couple's Bible study. The other night in the midst of a deep discussion about perserverence in marriage and the benefits of "sticking it out," Chris says,
"This is totally unrelated, but I have been thinking about it for awhile now, and I just feel like if I say it, it will go away."
The room waits, pensive, wondering what he is going to say but still thinking in the back of their minds that it might have some connection to our discussion...
"I think the idea for Yoda from Star Wars was taken from the face of a cat like that."
(Josh & Wendy, the hosts, have Persian cat named Linx who has a great smashed-in face).
This is Chris.
On Sunday, we sat behind Chris and Kiersten in church. All of a sudden, Husband elbows me,
"Chris is eating a Twinkie or something."
And yes, while this girl was giving her testimony in church about having been bulimic, Chris is eating a twinkie or crackers or something out of a small package, and undoubtedly containing rampant amounts of hydrogenated oils.
I find this ABSOLUTELY hysterical.
By the way, they are from Texas, and this winter they almost froze to death. Sometimes Kiersten would wear multiple pairs of pants just to say warm. Poor Texans in North Dakota.
This is why I love Chris & Kiersten. They are this young couple, comparatively speaking, but they really have a lot of life and a lot of love for each other and are in it for the long haul. I think this is admirable beings as most of their peers are spending time drinking themselves to death, and instead, these two are sacrificially loving each other by providing for their family with part-time jobs and going to class and still being married and managing to find time for each other.
And for today's Shoe Update:
Current conditions in the house are that all shoes have been located and accounted for. No future shoe-nappings in the forecast.
Tonight my BFF Jodi (by the way, I have a lot of BFF just like I have a lot of my most favorite thing evers) and her new baby, her sister and her sister's new baby, and their mom, Carol, are coming to visit me on their way through town. My sister is coming down from Grand Forks to hang out with us. With all of this German Russian-ness in the room, the only thing I feel appropriate to make is Kuchen. Specifically, deep dish kuchen to die for. I hope to post the recipe in the next few days so you all can partake. And hopefully I will have an extra one to bring to knitting along with the ribbed-for-her-pleasure Tubey 2.0 sweater that is taking FOREVERRRRRRRR to complete.
But, I will eventually birth that project, too. Wish I knew when my due date was.

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