Mari's mood is dire when the painters are around. Her eyes are shooting lasers. Today, they finished!
My small laundry room was not fun for two men to work in. I stayed FAR away. I'm delighted that my trim is re-caulked and repainted; my doors and jambs are also sparkling white. Plus, they vacuumed behind my washer and dryer, which was a nice bonus.
Doesn't my repose gray look different in each room? I love that.
Today I went for a VERY WET walk. When I'm wearing this yellow rain slicker, it means real rain, and not drizzle or showers. As always, it felt great to be out, although I only saw one other walker, a guy in an equally hideous yellow plastic outfit. I admired his matching pants!
Don't tell Mari, but I'm not done re-doing my house, like a few improvements on the stairs, and new chandeliers. She is not going to appreciate that. Anyway, do you know how many ugly chandeliers there are on the Lowe's on-line site? Since I don't have a farmhouse (very in right now), many of the rustic ones would look incredibly stupid. I'm not at all crafty, but a few of the farm style ones I could probably put together in my garage with spare wood and a bare light bulb.
I have similar looking lights on the outside of my house. I don't like them there either, but my late husband picked them out and installed them. They're a bit too "Merry Olde England" for my taste. :)
Then there's this one that appears vaguely sci-fi. I saw many others that looked like fake electrons or hollow globes. They would have been great on the Starship Enterprise!
A $300+ lampshade? I think not.
This chandelier elicited a major eye roll from me. If you have it in your house, I apologize for offending you, but what the...?
I sent this one to John, and he kind of liked it. We may have to break up. ;)
Lowes also offers a multitude of fancy chandeliers that belong in a French chateau or perhaps in a Las Vegas bordello? (but not in my humble abode) So far, the score is Chandeliers-1,000+ and frustrated Margaret-0. Speaking of John, his older daughter, her husband, his mother and their two foster children have Covid19. They think Luis' mom got infected at her rehab center after she had had surgery. It's worrisome because the virus is very unpredictable, and they're in El Paso which is struggling to find enough hospital beds and medical personnel for all its cases. :( So, send along good thoughts for them, OK? John was originally planning to drive down there for Thanksgiving, but is now grateful that he changed his mind due to their C19 numbers. Not that they're too much better here...
Looking for lights is more difficult than choosing colors. I have found hanging lights at IKEA of all places, but ended up at Seattle Lighting during our remodel. Of course that's not very handy for you.
Posted by: Jay | November 24, 2020 at 11:36 PM
I'm thinking there's a Seattle Lighting in Tacoma off the freeway (between 56th and 72nd?) I'm pretty sure I've been there before (eons ago) and I recall they had a sizeable selection. Also, do a Google search of chandeliers and click images and see if anything pops up that you like. Often the picture will take you to site where you could order it, or at least you might get some ideas. Lighting IS hard!! John found several of our fixtures online, and we've been happy with them. (And we never saw anything in the stores--Lowe's or Home Depot--that were anything like them). I think a lot of people have...suspicious taste!
Oh, that's terrible about the Covid spread in John's family! And El Paso!
Posted by: Tonya | November 25, 2020 at 12:56 AM
I like the picture over the fireplace.
Posted by: Donna W | November 25, 2020 at 03:09 AM
When we redid our kitchen, we actually gave up trying to find lights online and instead drove to our capital city (90 minutes away) and walked through a huge place that only sells lights. We finally found what we were after in the farthest recesses of the store.
That star one would give me nightmares since I'm tall and have banged my head into many a chandelier.
Posted by: Ed | November 25, 2020 at 05:35 AM
I can't wait to see what chandelier(s) you wind up with, Margaret--I admit to liking that vague sci-fi contraption :) I'm very sorry to read about John's family, and at Thanksgiving too :( I sure hope yours is a nice one...
Posted by: Doug M | November 25, 2020 at 08:21 AM
I'm glad that Mari has such a good place to hide and glare at the painters. Also glad they're finally done. I can't imagine having a bunch of people in my small space for days on end. I'm also just as glad that someone painted my walls a variety of off white/warm beige before I moved in. I like warm neutrals and apparently that's coming back in style. The farmhouse look - with the stark white kitchen is going out of style. Granite, especially the speckledy brown type, is out. Gray walls, I'm sorry are already going out -- if you care about that nonsense. Whatever happened to choosing the color you like and not worrying what is in or out? I admit I like house makeover shows and someone is always choosing paint color based on what will sell -- even though it's the easiest thing to change and the favored color changes like ...something that changes frequently. I've seen all those lights in makeover shows and can't say I'm fond of any of them but I will defend to the death you're right to love them. The electron one is supposed to be mid century modern and I have the same reaction to the giant lamp shade. Nothing wrong with it but why does it cost that much? I am the least stylish person in the world, I think. My house, as furnished, would not be approved by any of those tv designers but I like it.
I'm so sorry about John's family. I hope they all recover easily and that El Paso has the resources they need and can get the virus under control. Such a hard year all around.
Posted by: Zazzy | November 25, 2020 at 10:31 AM
I am full of typos today. I apologize!
Posted by: Zazzy | November 25, 2020 at 10:33 AM
I'll be fascinated to see what you choose...
Posted by: Pam Donaldson | November 25, 2020 at 01:04 PM
Ugh that’s a lot of people to have Covid. We are still waiting to see if we go back to hybrid on Monday after only 2.5 days of remote learning. In those 2.5 days of remote learning we received notification of 3 more cases.
Your house looks amazing
Happy thanksgiving.
Posted by: Meg | November 25, 2020 at 01:52 PM
I'm wondering what you will choose. We used to have a bonafide lighting store in town, for most of my life. Gone a couple of years ago; out of business. It's where I bought all my lighting, and especially replacement shades.
You dodged a covid bullet via Thanksgiving. It will be that insidious until spring, I think.
Posted by: Joanne Noragon | November 25, 2020 at 05:13 PM
I remember going to a lighting place with you about 4 or 5 years ago! Neither of us made any changes. LOL Mine are circa 1985...very similar to yours. I'm glad you wear bright colors when you're out and about. So sorry to hear about the C19 cases in John's family. Sending positive thoughts!
Posted by: Marie K | November 25, 2020 at 06:19 PM
Mari may be glaring but she's still a beautiful creature. (You can probably tell I'm partial to black cats!)
Posted by: Bruce Taylor | November 26, 2020 at 08:03 AM
Some of those lamps look like they're from the 1970s (especially the one John likes). Scary about John's family members' COVID diagnoses. Sending good thoughts. xoxo
Posted by: Liora | November 27, 2020 at 02:12 AM
I see that Mari is a climber. Thanks fully, Lacey is pretty close to be grounded.
Posted by: AC | November 27, 2020 at 05:58 PM