Friday, February 15, 2013

I Am Still Among the Living


I feel a little embarrassed to have been absent from my blog for so long.  It is strange how quickly the time has flown by. Thank you to those who have commented and emailed asking about my shoulder and checking up on my extended absence from the blog.  I've been busy with caring for my Mother who has Alzheimer's and dealing with the time factor since my dh retired!!  It takes some getting used to having him home 24/7...my schedule has gone by the wayside, esp. since cold weather has kept him under foot inside.
 
I am enclosing pictures of the fireplace that we finished last month.  We do LOVE the convenience of push-button flames, and use the fireplace a lot.
 
 
 
 We really enjoy having the television enclosed behind doors and not staring at us all the time!  We painted the cabinet doors and mantel with Dutch Boy paint called "Lacey Things" - it is basically a wash that was created by mixing a glaze with the paint.  It allows wood grain to show through and looks really primitive in person.  Some areas in the wood have a lot of grain, so dark "streaks" and patches appear.  We really like the look.
 
 
 
The mosaic marble tile around the firebox is great!  It is called Athens Gray and is a warm brown/gray which resembles basket weave, as you can see.  My husband wasn't as thrilled with the tile as I am, but I got my way!  Everyone who has seen it has good things to say about the tile, so I feel pretty good about my choice.

I also found a great antique wash stand that I have placed in my living room in the spot where I did have a large table.  I think it looks much better in the space!  It is a poppy color, and we like the little bit of color it brings to our neutral room.  Again, my husband is not sure that this is the perfect color, so we are looking at paint chips to see if we can find a color we like more.  I want to keep the time-worn look, though, so I'm hesitant to paint it.  We'll see...we are living with it for a while before we decide if we really want to paint it.




My shoulder is much better, but I have only recently attempted to do any rug hooking.  I started working on my large horse rug and will post pictures in a future post.  I have gotten back into the enjoyment of looking at your blogs and seeing your wonderful projects and am determined to make more time to get back into my rug designing and hooking.  I found some great wool skirts today in the local Goodwill store and am planning to over dye them.

I apologize for my blog neglect and hope to post often again.  Thanks for your loyalty in coming to my blog even in my absence.  I appreciate you all so much.  Thank you.

Hugs,
Linda

5 comments:

  1. love your fireplace!
    great having the tv behind the doors.
    you could always tone down the poppy if you wanted with a darker or back stain rubbed over it to darken, but not completely cover the poppy. i love the worn lines on it.

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  2. Hi Linda,
    It's so good to see your post! Glad your shoulder is better and you're back to some hooking! LOVE your fireplace! I really like that paint color! So cozy to have a fireplace and very relaxing. We have a little electric stove with a flame that looks almost real that I use inside our fireplace. Much cleaner than burning actual wood in it! It will be so wonderful to see your beautiful projects and what you are working on! Missed you so much!
    Hugs!!
    Cathy G

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  3. Your fireplace is beautiful.
    I especially like that the television is behind the wooden doors.
    Very clever idea.
    Rose

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  4. Linda ~
    SO GOOD to hear from you.
    LOVE the fireplace. My TV has been hidden for 25+ years (but now it doesn't even work and I don't miss it at all! Even when it worked I never watched it.)
    Glad the shoulder is better and you are back to hooking. I look forward to seeing your progress.
    Hugs :)
    Lauren

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  5. Hi Linda,

    Glad to see you posting - I've been a rather neglectful blogger too. Just posted a rug I finished. Love the fireplace finish - and a basketweave pattern - I picked up on that right away. Very Cool! I really like the TV being hidden, would love to have something similar, but no fireplace!

    ~Ann

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