Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Don't You Just Love It...

Corona de Tucson

September 8, 2021


...when projects are completed and checked off the list?  I sure do, especially when the project turns out better than you had hoped.  We spent the Labor Day weekend building a TV console/shelf unit for the great room.  



We started on Friday morning and by mid afternoon (quitting time for us) were very happy with the progress.  





















Saturday, Joe cut and added trim.  He filled in with putty, sanded, and I primed.  Then we sanded some more by hand...not my favorite thing to do!







And on Sunday, I painted.  We chose to paint the unit the same color as the walls.  I wanted a "built in look".  






Monday, we added a few finishing touches...floor moulding around the base, touch up paint, connected the TV and components...and were done by lunch ! 














We brought with us the TV console table Joe had built for the GA house.  It fit nicely between the French doors and ceiling to floor windows in the den there which was a smaller space than what we have now.  

Before...


The table seemed lost in this space.






I am over the top happy with the results and so proud of us for a job I think was well done !

After...












It will be fun arranging and rearranging things to put on the shelves like the figurine Joe gave his mom for Mother's Day in 1954.  His Aunt Laura helped him pick it out at the Five & Dime store on Main Street in Royston, GA.  It even has red hair just like Joe did when he was eight.











Joe's mom (who had five children) saved and marked everything.  How she wrote so tiny I will never know...













...but it sure makes these treasures even more sentimental and cherished.

Another treasure is a small collection of Louisa May Alcott books that belonged to my mom.  













My mom was in her early teens (1942ish) when she was given these books.  And I enjoyed them as well in my early teens. 


For the past couple of weeks we have had an invasion of butterflies.  I meant to take a picture of the Jeep windshield when we returned home form errands last week, but forgot.  It was covered (and I do mean covered !) in guts and wings.  We enjoyed watching them at breakfast enjoying the bush outside.  I think it is a Red Bird of Paradise bush with huge red, yellow and orange flowers. The butterflies came in all sizes, shapes and colors.  I noticed this morning that there doesn't seem to be as many now as most of them only live a week or two. 














Did you know that butterflies do not have tongues?  They have a proboscis which is more like having their mouth extended into a long tube.  They do have some taste buds on their proboscis and antenna, but most of their taste buds are on their feet.  So amazing !














That about wraps up the week for us.  We will head into Tucson this afternoon as Joe gets the stitches out from surgery he had a couple of weeks ago.  So until next time, enjoy the day and...









We don't eat a lot of pasta and I love pasta.  Saturday night we celebrated a hard days work and we made Tuscan Chicken with Penne Pasta.  So yummy and we had left overs !
































HAPPY TRAILS !

14 comments:

  1. I love your new shelving unit. I cannot believe the difference in how the room looks between the old and and the new. Fantastic. You deserved a special dinner. Isn't nature amazing. Taste buds no their feet. Wow.

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    1. Thank you Sandie!
      YES! Nature is amazing. It’s a good thing we don’t have taste buds on our feet…I wear too many flip-flops! 😂🤣😂🤣

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  2. Awesome teamwork! Joe is quite the craftsman and your design and finish work really brought it all together

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  3. Love your new cabinet but I really love that chair--what's the story behind it? So fun to arrange all our treasures and those are treasures!

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    1. Thank you Janna! The chair was Joe’s moms. Joe doesn’t know how old it is, but says he remembers it was her chair in their living room from the time he was just a small boy. She was a petite lady. When she moved to GA to love with us, that was one of the pieces she brought with her. Barefooted I am just under 5’ as well. It’s very comfortable and it has a spring rocker. I find myself sitting there a lot! We do want to have it reupholstered.

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  4. Great job on the cabinet, Joe and Gay! Fits the room perfectly and is a nice spot for your family treasures. That book set of spectacular!! Jack approves!

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    1. Thank you Pam! The books are very special. We had a huge front porch with an old metal glider on one end when I was growing up…my summer reading spot!

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  5. I love that you are combining your "Georgia" life, and your "childhood" life with your "now" life in one place. It really makes this house your home.....Perfect! I'm afraid our tv cabinet is going to look lost in our new house also. I love your solution, it looks just right.

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    1. Thank you Sue. When we bought the house, we considered (for a split second) starting all over and doing a western/Mexican theme inside. But it seems the older I get, the more I enjoy things from the past and the memories that go along with them. Somehow, I would like to weave in more pieces that fit into a southwestern theme. We’ll see if that works…
      I have no doubt that whatever you and Dave decide to in your new home, it will be beautiful and useful. Can’t wait to see your new house become your home!

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  6. What a great job creating the cabinet and making it immediately feel like it's always belonged right there! I'm glad Janna asked about the chair because I was loving it too - even in the photos it looks like it's known a lot of love. I'm sure you have less butterflies because they're all on the front of our motorhome from Monday's drive past your area!! I've never seen so many in this area.

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    1. I can’t imagine cleaning the front of the MH to remove all the guts and wings. It was hard enough to clean the jeep! That on top of all that is going on with your home.
      I appreciate your sweet comment about the chair. It is special. My feet rarely ever touch the floor when I sit in most chairs these days & it’s nice to have one that is just my size! Thank you Jodee!

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  7. Great job Joe & Gay. What a team you are! I always look forward to seeing your latest updates on your blog! See ya soon.

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    1. Thank you Randy on both accounts! Looking forward to seeing you too!

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