Sense of Accomplishment

I started a project over two years ago and today it is finally finished...... completed.........done!!!!
YES! YEAH! HALLELUJAH!

We had two blinds left in our 6 family room windows and they were ripped, taped, tattered and UGLY!!! I was tired of buying blinds (this was the last of the second set) that just don't last, so I decided over two years ago that it was time for some ROMAN SHADES to replace them with. I priced them at different stores and even with discounts they would cost over $900.00. I just wasn't willing to fork out that much money so I decided that I could make them for much cheaper than that.

First I measured the windows then went to a local store that was having a sale on their curtain panels and bought 6. And then they sat in their cute little packages for a few months while I moved on to other things. One day I decided it was time to start work on them and opened one up, held it up to the window to make sure that it would block out the light, which is a necessity or we can't see the TV during the daytime. The flimsy little curtain panel hardly blocked out the light and their was still glare on the TV. I was so frustrated, so I folded the panel up nice, put it back in its cute little plastic package and went back to the store to return them. Remember how I let them sit in their cute little packages for a few months? Well it was just enough time that I could not get a full refund on them and I would end up loosing money. I was pretty darn frustrated to say the least. I came home and wanted to beat myself up over my laziness and not at least thinking to check the panels as soon as I purchased them to make sure they would be light blocking. I decided that I only had three options: 1- I could cry, feel bad for myself and do nothing, and just live with the ugly blinds we currently had. 2- I could give in and pay the $900.00 for someone else to do them, or 3- I could go to the fabric store, buy some room darkening fabric and sew that to the back of the panels. I decided to go with #3. So I ran to the fabric store, bought the other fabric, took it home, bought all the hardware that I would need to make them and then...................let it sit in their cute little packages for many more months.

One day when I got tired of looking at the old, ripped blinds (and the other windows that had no blinds) I was once again motivated to start on them again. I once again measured one of the windows, cut out one curtain panel and the backing and went to town hemming the cut side of the panel, sewed the backing on, then sewed all the rings on and threaded the cord and was so proud of myself for completing one curtain. I took it in and held it up to the window and it fit just right. Then I pulled the cords to make sure they operated properly and that I had done everything the way I was supposed to. To my horror, the curtain pulled away from the edge of the window a good 3 - 4 inches on both sides and let in a lot of sunlight. I nearly cried!!! I knew what had to be done, but I had been trying to avoid it because it meant a lot of extra work. There was no stability in the fabric to keep it from being "sucked in" on the sides. I would need to sew 4 - 5 pockets on each panel and insert some sort of dowel. One of the reasons for trying to avoid this (besides not wanting to do the extra work) was the dowels would not go up and down the window without hitting the chair railing that was on each side of the inside of the window. Guess what I did? I folded that curtain panel up with the others and let it sit and gather dust for several more months.

Finally one day I had had enough of the nagging in the back of my mind (maybe because it was always on the top of my to-do list) and decided it was time to just bite the bullet and get them done. I had decided that the only way to go was to cut them to extend a few inches on each side and have them be on the outside of the window instead of the inside where roman shades typically go. I measured the window "once again" and proceeded to cut another panel. Then I layed out the backing to cut it and realized that I had transposed the measurement on the panel and cut it at 56" instead of 65". This time I was not going to quit, and decided that I would just have to have a seam in it. Two of the shades would have to have seams in them....the one I just cut wrong and the one I cut months ago for the inside of the window. From there everything just flowed and I worked on it as much as I could, but summer was in full swing and I was busy with the garden and canning and other fun, busy summer activities and trying to finish up the second phase of school. But I persisted and finally they are now done. Actually they were done two weeks ago, but I have been waiting for Dennis to help me hang them. I thought it would take an hour or two to hang them. NOT! It took 4 1/2 hours.

I was so worried how they would look, because the curtain panels were so flimsy and the fabric shifted so much while sewing the rod pockets, but they don't look to bad actually. Professional looking, they are not, but they look 100% better than what was there. Two ripped and taped blinds and 4 windows with no coverings....and rather than feel a huge sense of accomplishment, I more feel a huge flood of R.E.L.I.E.F!!!!!

Now I can work start piecing quilt tops again. I told myself months ago, that I could not do anymore quilt tops until some of my unfinished projects were completed and I have accomplished that. I got two of the three quilt tops I previously made quilted and I finished the roman shades.

The blinds closed

The blind lifted half way

The blind lifted almost fully up. When they are all the way up the valance hides them.

The view of 2 different shades, closed.

P.S. Just in case anyone is even thinking it.........the answer is NO!!! I will not help anyone make roman shades, and I would not advise doing it. Even thought I love you all, the answer is still NO!

Where DOES the time go

My, has it really been 6 months since I last posted? How does that happen? I do occasionally get on blogger and check out what is going on in everyone elses life, but I just get lazy and don't post. I have noticed that I am not the only one who has sort of fallen off the blogging Merry-Go-Round. About 2/3 of the people that used to blog a year ago have not posted anything for a very long time. I wonder why that is?

So here is a quick update on our family, the best I can remember.
1. We had two new grandsons born this past spring. They are now 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 months old. Amanda and Malinda are the proud mothers of these adorable little ones. They are as different as night and day and we wouldn't have it any other way.
2. We only got to go camping twice this year (well 3 times for me). I was privileged to go with Alisha and Randy's family to Bear Lake and crash their family reunion. I have only driven by Bear Lake 2 or 3 times in my life, so I really enjoyed it. We went to Minnetonka Caves which is nearby in Idaho. Our second trip was to Gooseberry Reservoir. All our kids and their families came, plus our dear friends the Dunn's, as well as Alisha's in-laws and Malinda's in-laws and my mom and her friend. We had a wonderful time. Some of us didn't want the long Labor Day weekend to end. The third and final camping trip was to Goblin Valley with Amanda and Steve's family. We invited everyone else, but due to work schedules they weren't able to come. We had so much fun hiking and playing on the "Goblins". The weather was perfect for mid October.
3. We tried to get good use out of our "Pass of all passes" by going to Seven Peaks as often as we could. We had a great time going there as a family.
4. Dennis and I went to St. George the first week of October so he could officiate for Track and Field during the Huntsman World Senior Games. He loves doing it and is a great official. (He even received a totally unexpected award from the Utah State High School Athletic Association as Official of the Year. The games put us up in a very nice condo. While he was officiating, I spent two days quilting the very first quilt tops I ever pieced together on a long arm machine. There is a store there that has about 8 or so long arm machines and you can call ahead a reserve a time to use one. They are so good about helping as much or as little as needed. The first day I needed a LOT of help as I had never ever used one before. The second day, I didn't need as much. It was a lot of fun and a wonderful weekend.
5. We had a great time going out to Mark's house the first part of June to see Taylor get baptized. We got to stop and visit with my cousin Jim and his family. It was wonderful to visit with them and see their new home. Alisha came along with us to surprise Mark and we are glad she was able to come along. We had a really great time visiting with Mark and his family. We visited Bonanzaville again as Alisha had not been there. We did went to some garage sales, but had to be careful because the car was already packed to the gills. It was wonderful to be part of Taylor's baptism.
6. We did the annual Trunk or Treat as a family again this year. I think that makes it about 5 years straight. I am so glad our ward does this (and selfish enough that none of the kids wards do it) so we can all get together and build these fun memories. The kids get so much candy that the little ones can't even carry their bags they are so full.
7. Our remodel project is all done, except for a few small things. It was done months ago, but I failed to follow through with the updating of it. I still have pictures to hang, but that is minor.
8. We hosted for the Springville World Wide Folkfest again this year. The group we hosted were flag twirlers and dancers from Belgium. Dennis and I had Neela and Ingrid, both about 20 years old. It was a wonderful but exhausting week full of activities every hour. The best things about it is getting to meet new people and in one week become dear friends, and the other is getting to watch the performances every night.

I am sure there is much more to tell, but that is all I can think of at this late hour. I will try to be better at posting and keeping you all abreast of the going ons in the life of the Archuleta's.

Another home improvement update

Here it is the middle of May and 4 months into our remodeling projects and we are still not done. Anyone who knows me, knows that this is way too long, and is driving me crazy. Of course, I have had to take into consideration all the "things" I have no control over that has dragged this out.

-Time: I have a lot more time than Dennis since he works 12 hour days and has been so busy officiating track meets. So I do what I can, but there are some things I just can't do, like electrical or plumbing and lifting or moving really heavy objects. I finally finished cleaning the entire upstairs and every nook, cranny, cupboard, drawer, book, dish, etc. That demolition and drywall dust penetrates everything.

-Material: We have at times had to wait for material, or for other people, both of which we have no control.

I am waiting for Dennis to put up the "hardware", shower curtain rod, towel bars, and toilet paper holders. We are waiting on the counter top for the vanity, but part of that is my not having a color sample to show them what I "think" I want. Once that is in, the plumbing should all be done, and the few remaining electrical outlets finished up. We are waiting for the living room set to come so I have an idea of what pictures I want to hang and where exactly they should go. There is just a lot of little things that need to be done that seem to take so long. How many of you have one or more things that are still not completed after you did a job? I think one reason for that might be that we are so glad to have the "major" portion of the project completed that we move on to other things intending to get to the little things, but somehow we never get back to them. Those are the things that drive me crazy.

Some of the things I have accomplished recently (I have to list them for myself, so I don't get frustrated and feel like nothing is getting done, which is what I sometimes tend to do - forget accomplishments and dwell on undone items).
-Cleaned the entire upstairs.
-Measured, cut, installed and painted the chair rail in the sunroom that were removed years ago when we got new windows.
-Take down, wash, iron and rehang all the valances.
-Wash windows
-De junk closets in the cleaning process
-Take down, wash, dry and rehang all the light fixtures
-Wash and dry all the 2" wood blinds
-Hand turn over not one, or two, but three garden beds so far.
-Re route a garden row by moving all the dirt to fill in a walkway and create a new walkway.
-Planted tomatoes, lettuce, peas, potatoes, spinach, radishes, spinach, beets, swiss chard, kale, carrots, green onions, and more tomatoes.
-Dig up sod (this was done with Amanda's amazing help) to extend the front flower bed.
- Clean out the rest of the flower bed, cut back tulips and daffodils
-Plant lots of flowers (it felt like there were a million)
-Prune all of my fruit trees and all of dads peach trees. Helped prune the rest of dad's fruit trees.
-Sprayed dormant oil on all of dads fruit trees
-Clean out part of the garage (I need another strong person to help me move the big things into the truck to take to Habitat for Humanity).
-Repaired 4 broken hoses.
-Moved things around outside to put the small rubbermaid shed in it's new little home.
-Hung some pictures
-Cleaned out behind and under the stove.....eeewww yuck. How does get under there anyway.
-Mowed the lawns at least 3 times already.
-Pruned the roses.
-Cleaned out the strawberry patch.
-Weeded several of the garden beds.
-Weeded several of the back flower beds.
-Cleaned out the car
-Helped Dennis take the trailer to the dump and empty it.
-Write two talks.
-Tend grandkids
-Continue studying and doing homework for the School of Natural Healing
-Sew two baby car seat tents
-Mend one blanket and help with a baby car seat cover "re-do".

I am just so grateful that I have good health and am able to work hard. If I can just remember that "patience" is a trait that is developed over time and something that I need to constantly strive to learn.

Life goes on....sometimes like a tornado and other times just plain slow

But the crazy thing is feeling like you are in the middle of a tornado in some aspects of your life while others, at the same time, are crawling along at a snails pace. That is what my life has felt like so far this year.

I don't think it is the busy-ness so much as our attitude at handling it. Some days I want to pull my hair out and others just go along smoothly. My attitude is what makes the difference. BUT there is one thing that seems to play a huge factor in my attitude and that is SUNSHINE. Something that has been in short supply this year so far. I am definitely ready for summer, sunshine, warm weather, and some lazy days with the family watching the grandkids play.

Family

I have been sitting here catching up on some email and blogs that I haven't had time to read in.. like.. forever. The blogs made me cry. While reading them it just all hit me all that has gone on the past few months of my life and how no matter what happens, as long as we have our family, nothing else should matter. Here are just some of the random thoughts in my head about my family:
-I miss Mark more than ever now, after having him here for just a few short days (2 different times) in the past 6 months. We have always been very close, being my only son, and I miss our talks and the way he loves children, and how the grandkids idolize their "uncle Mark". I love watching how they play together and am sad that he probably won't have anymore children.
-It was truly an incredibly amazing experience witnessing the birth of our newest grandson (still yet unnamed). I love being so close to my daughters so I can help them after giving birth and holding and loving these perfect beings.
-It makes me sad for my sister who's grandchildren have all moved away and she won't be there for the first time at the birth of her soon to be grandchild.
-I envy her family and the love they all have for one another. It truly seems like a miracle, as so many people I talk to say that just doesn't happen in real life.
-I have the best sisters in the world and I am so thankful that we have a great relationship.
-I wish my children could all get along and have great love (and acceptance) for one another. Satan really does try to tear families apart and some people give him more allowance into their lives than they understand or realize.
-I have been so blessed in my personal life, to have not lost too many loved ones to that thing called death.....that is until the past 6 months. It has made me realize how fragile and short life really is....and that I need to do a whole lot better at showing others how much they mean to me. I need to learn how to shut Satan out and not let those negative (or just lazy) thoughts enter into my head. I need to say thank you and I love you more often. I need to be more focused on peoples feelings and stressing less on things (remodeling projects? for one).
- I am so thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessings I receive daily....for my family......a healthy body......wonderful friends.......prayer........opportunities to serve......that my trials are not those of someone else (earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, tornadoes, cancer, loneliness, etc)....a roof over my head.....people who love me......a Savior who atoned for MY sins.....the ability to repent and be forgiven and start anew every week.....and for ALL OF YOU!

Still Here......

Some of you, or perhaps all of you may wonder if I have fallen off the face of the earth. But, truth be told, I am still here, just a crazed woman, on the wild roller coaster of life. It has slowed down quite a bit, but I haven't been able to get it to stop yet. Soon...hopefully real soon.

I remember thinking last year that life was great and wondering when the next slam was going to hit. Well it hit big this year.

A synopsis:
=In three weeks: 3 deaths, 2 funerals, 2 talks to write and give, 80th birthday party celebrations (no not mine-give me at least a few decades), a new grandson, 2 trips to the airport in one day, Easter egg hunt, family dinners & get-togethers, planting a garden, spraying dad's (now mom's) fruit trees, work, and getting some construction cleaning done.
=No the remodeling is not yet fully completed, and there is still much cleaning to do.
=I think my mind is still somewhat in tack.
=I keep counting my many blessings to stay sane.

Ready for carpet

We get carpet tomorrow!!!!

We are finally ready for carpet and it is being installed tomorrow morning. By tomorrow night we should have most of the furniture moved back in. It will be so nice to have the piano and organ out of our TV room. We fixed the ugly brown wall and I will try to post a picture soon. I am slowly cleaning all the remodeling dust from everything. It is a long tedious job and I have to work at it around everything else in life. I took 2 days out last week to work out in the yard. I got the tomatoes planted and covered with walls of water and I also planted kale, butter crunch lettuce, carrots, radishes, green onions and beets. I still have peas, potatoes, swiss chard and mesclun mix lettuce to plant later this week when it warms up again.

Who is this hairy man?

I wish I didn't know who this was, but alas I am married to him. He has made it through the first cut to be an extra in the New Testament movies the church is doing sometime this summer. They asked the men to grow beards and let their hair grow long.

All I can say is that I CAN'T WAIT, for this to be over. He thinks it looks cool. I think that I really miss the clean shaven man I married.

There is never a dull moment around our house....with the remodeling and our house turned upside down.......living with a hairy man...........the passing of dear loved ones..........being a service missionary (which I absolutely love).........and life in general.

Grandma C., Grandma Christensen, Chuck A Grandma

I got word tonight that my grandma is not going to live more that a few days, which is a good thing because she has suffered so much for the past 20 years, especially the past 6, but it is also very sad to say goodbye. I have been asked to give the life sketch at her funeral, probably because she and I have been very close all of my life.

When I visited her tonight, she kept saying she was afraid. When I asked her what she was afraid of, she said she was afraid of going. She asked me if I would go with her. She is not totally in her right mind, so I told her that I don't think I could go with her at this time, but her mom and dad and husband would go with her so she won't need to be afraid.

I am really glad that Nancy, Calvin and Kimberly came by while we were there. Calvin and Dennis were able to give her a blessing and it was beautiful. I am so thankful for the Priesthood. During our visit, there was a group of students out in the main hall of the nursing home singing hymns. I thought it was a nice backdrop to the blessing. It sounded like a choir of angels singing in the background.

Dear Grandma, I love you! Thank you for all the love you showed me and my family over the past 50 years, and for the wonderful memories: the 4th of July parade and picnics, complete with new outfits and cap guns, sleepovers, Vicks and dishtowels tied around our necks when we were sick with a cold, playing under the tent of a steady stream of handstitched quilts that we were the lucky recipients of, the camping trips, peanut butter balls, a plethora of cookies and candy canes at Christmas, you didn't read us bedtime stories, you told them to us from your head, always loving us no matter what!

How sad it is to loose 2 of the people most dear to me in the space of 6 months. Life goes on, but will never be the same! The only consolation is in knowing that they are going/have gone to a much better place where there is no more suffering and are reunited with loved ones they haven't seen in many, many years.

Still Under Construction

Yes, we are still under construction. It is amazing how little one can get done when working around jobs and other of lifes everyday happenings. We were ready to paint the living room and hallway, but the kitchen still was waiting for the texture and trim, then puttying the nail holes and sanding everything. We decided to go ahead and paint the living room and hallway so I had to come to a decision on the pain (of all the choices I have had to make in this project it has been picking out the paint). Of all the sample we had up on the wall, most people picked a brown called glazed onions. I liked it as well, but thought it would be too dark for all the walls, especially down the hallway, but Dennis and Steve really liked it, so I gave in and we bought one gallon and decided to paint it on the far wall, so if it was too dark for all the walls, it would just become an accent wall. After painting it, thankfully Dennis decided it would be too dark to paint everything, of which I was so grateful, because I "HATE" the color, even for an accent wall. It doesn't look anything like glazed onions, but rather it looks like mud. Everyone that comes to the house says how much they like the color. So I went back to the paint store and picked out a whole bunch more samples, that I thought would go with the brown and we settled on one. It turns out that it is practically the same color of our bedroom, of which I absolutely have loved. I am glad that our schedule didn't allow us to paint a few weeks ago when we actually bought it because I really wanted to paint just once, which included the few walls in the kitchen that we had textured. In the meantime, Dennis and I puttied, sanded and caulked the trim and I put on the primer, then painted all the trim and doors white. Finally, last night we had everything ready and got down to the business of painting. I love the color "Plantation Beige", but still hate, "HATE", the brown. I am thinking of glazing the brown wall which will make it darker and cause the texture to stand out. It looks awesome at Steve's and Amanda's house, but they have a much lighter paint on their walls. If it doesn't work out, than Dennis has given me permission to paint it the same as all the other walls.

Dennis painting the hallway walls.

The corner of the kitchen that once used to be the second entrance into the living room. If you notice the paint under the cabinet stops abruptly and looks awful. That is going to be my next project - to add a tile backsplash, but until then it has to look ugly.

Dennis painting the living room walls. The paint looks quite different in this light. It is more the shade of the kitchen in the picture above.

The "UGLY MUD BROWN" wall. When we were picking colors that would go with the mud brown, this was the winner. I don't think it did a thing for the mud brown. Just so you know, Dennis does all the roller painting, and I get to do all the edges, corners and "cutting in".

The 1/2 bath is all painted and ready to be put back together tomorrow. The main bathroom is still in limbo until the vanity gets finished. There is still all the little things that need to be done, like paint touch up, putting up the lights, electrical outlets and switches, puttying the nail holes in the wood floor (which up until now had been covered so we could paint), order carpet and blinds, move in the furniture and decorate. I also need to clean every room in the house from all the dust that has collected from all the sanding.

Will this never end? NO, it will not. Want to know why? I have plans to redo the office, and tile the backsplash in the kitchen when all the rest is done. Somehow I have to find time to get my gardening done around all of this.