Floor Protectors on Every Chair

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Back in November I ordered 40pcs Furniture Felt Pad Round Heavy Duty Nail-on Slider Glide Pad Floor Protector for Wooden Furniture Chair Tables Leg Feet from Amazon with every intention of applying them immediately.

I bought a bag of these chair slides.

While I am not a procrastinator by nature, some tasks just don’t get done unless they are on my official list of chores.

The old felt slide is still on the chair leg but not very protective of the floor.

In the past I have used adhesive felt protectors on the chair legs but they fall off easily. I have targeted the legs of all my wooden chairs especially the ones in the kitchen which slide over the red oak floor on a daily basis.

The placement and accuracy of the glide is not very important.

These are truly easy to apply with a small hammer by flipping the chair over and tapping in the protector.

The chair slides more easily on the hardwood floor.

Added bonus, we all sit a little taller.

Jo

Best Intentions for 2022

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We had some friends over on New Year’s morning for Charlie’s delicious popovers.

Charlie enjoys making popovers as much as we enjoy eating them.

Aside from beverages popovers were the only food served.

The theme of our party was what we would do in the coming year.

On the emailed invitation I had noted:   Bring a resolution/goal for the “best intentions” basket.

Everyone deposited some goal or thought of encouragement.

I encouraged folks to see what others had written. I was hoping these anonymous slips of paper would inspire all of us.

My job was to make sure everyone had the beverage of his/her choice tea, coffee, soda.

We even read a few out at the party.  Here’s a bit of encouragement from the “best intentions” basket:

  • Make one intentional act of giving each week.
  • Contact someone I’d rather not speak to.
  • Hope in tomorrow.  Patience in tribulation. Pray often.
  • Make amends with someone.
  • Lose weight to fit into clothing I can’t fit into today.
  • Be a better friend.
  • Sing and pray.
  • No more sighing.
  • Using a calendar pray for a different person every day.
  • Reach out to friends and family by calling someone or sending a note weekly.

Surely there’s something for everyone in that list.

Jo

A Lick of Paint

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After moving the WIFI connection (while changing the living room baseboard) and replacing the thermostat, a few noticeable spots on the living room wall needed to be painted.

The wall near the newly replaced thermostat needs to be painted.

I had saved the remainder of the can of wall color when we renovated and repainted in 2014. (Can it be almost 8 years?)

The touch-up paint is wet at this point.

I touched up paint on most of the adjacent walls which I hoped would not be noticeable when dry. (The slightly darker areas are wet paint.)

These little upgrades are always more complicated than expected since moving furniture in addition to locating the old paint is part of the procedure.  I painted the small area behind the sofa from when I put in new baseboard and the unpainted area around the thermostat.

Before

After

After

I touched up every empty spot I noticed, but I’m sure I missed something.

Jo

Planning a Paw-tea.

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My delicious little puppy is a pup no longer — early next month he’ll be 4 years old.

Dash is always very serious.

I wanted to have a party for my Bible study friends and decided to honor young Dash in the process.  Pre-pandemic I used to invite a lot of people to our parties.  During COVID I have been having smaller get-togethers so folks could feel safely distanced.

The party theme colors — turquoise, lime green, grey.

It also means we package and present food in a slightly different way:  there are no communal bowls or utensils handled by everyone.

Does this sound like fun or what?!

After thinking about a theme and a congenial guest list, I generally design an invitation next.  Extra details are added to the invitation email like where we’re located and what prep may be asked of participants.  Usually participants are tasked to tell a joke, wear a mask, play a game, etc.  This time they may have to come prepared with a dog story.

I have a few serving dishes in Dogwood pattern by Stangl which I might like to use.

Potential menu items:

  • Cookies shaped like dog biscuits
  • Hot dogs
  • Pawtato chips
  • Pupperoni pizza
  • Kibbles and bits (Chex mix)
  • Pawprints cupcakes
  • Tiramisu with dog bone cookie

Of course, Dash’s best buddy Rory is helping with the party details.

Best pals.

I hope he can keep it a surprise for his best friend.

Jo

The Mudroom

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At our house the mudroom is actually the entrance hall off the side porch nearest the driveway.

The exterior entrance to the mudroom.

It gets a lot of use since we use it multiple times daily to come and go.

Currently The Glade is tied to these colors and patterns.

After the renovation in 2013 we furnished it in a hurry with an idea that we’d upgrade after everything else was finished.  While I’m not totally unhappy with the color and the furniture, I think it could be more welcoming and make a snappier statement.

I’m not opposed to changing the décor in the mudroom — it needs some energy.

To that end I’m making a plan for reinvigorating the mudroom.

  1.   Get rid of the cedar chest and replace it with a more streamlined bench.

    The cedar chest by the door is too bulky for the space.

    I’d like to replace the cedar chest with a bench like this which I think we can build.

  2.   Repair the top of the breakfront so it becomes a mirrored console.

    The top of the breakfront needs to be turned right-side up and finished with some carpentry.

  3.   Paint or paper one wall something colorful or exciting.  I’m torn between:

    I have been wanting to use this design, Blue Drops, for years.

    This watercolor anemone wallpaper co-ordinates well with the adjoining kitchen color, Waterbury Cream.

  4.   Clean out the closet.

    The coat closet in the mudroom requires constant monitoring.

  5.   New rugs.

    I’m ready to change the rugs to something more colorful perhaps.

This plan might take the rest of the year. (Yes, I know it’s only January.)

Jo

January, 2022: Intentions

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Can you believe it’s 2022 in less than 17 hours?  My theme for this year will start with the saying on our party invitation for New Year’s Day.

I’m hopeful we’ll go lots of places and do lots of things in 2022.

Now for my January list of good intentions:

  1.  Host a party on New Year’s Day.

    This is all we plan to serve.

  2.  Begin making reservations for autumn, 2022 trip.
  3.  Make a plan to update the mud room entrance.

    I’m hoping to brighten up the mudroom entrance while keeping it cohesive with the rest of the house.

  4.  See a movie:  Something with the word “king” in the title.
  5. Plan a party.

    Somebody’s having a birthday!!

  6. Read a book:  Round Up The Usual Suspects: The Making of Casablanca.
  7.  Touch up paint in living room.

    The wall near the thermostat needs a lick of paint.

  8.  Add new floor protectors to chairs.
  9.  Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word: ENTHUSIASM.
  10.  Write a goal list for February, 2022.

Jo

December, 2021: Checked

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December — the last month of 2021.  Hard to believe.  I plan to end this year with a grateful heart and renewed energy to begin 2022.

Outdoor decorations at the shore house.

In addition to the planned items below I saw a few movies.  I try to see at least one each week (on the cheap day).

  • Clifford (funny and touching)
  • Belfast (sincere and lovely)
  • West Side Story (loved, loved, loved it)
  • Spiderman: No Way Home
  • The King’s Man

These were my plans for December:

  1.   Celebrate Christmas.

    Charlie at the organ

    We celebrated quietly at home after attending joyous Christmas eve services the night before where Charlie played both piano and organ.

  2.   Prepare  Crème Brûlée .  My favorite dessert.

    A blow torch comes in handy in the kitchen.

    Charlie brûlées the sugar topping with a blow torch.

  3.   Decorate for Christmas.  After Charlie lights everything up I decorate according to the theme I’ve chosen for the season.

    This year the theme is polar bears in a wintry mix.

  4.  Wrap and mail all gifts.  I had totally accomplished this task by the 10th of December.  Love having the necessities out of the way early in the season.
  5.  Send out invitations for New Year’s Day Party.  I sent all invitations via email this year and had a very good response.

    Charlie is the Master of the Popover.

    We’ll be having popovers and beverages before noon on New Year’s Day.

  6.   See a movie: House of Gucci.  I saw this as soon as it came out in theatres.  I didn’t know what to expect but certainly enjoyed the uncertainty and high drama of it all.
  7.   Read a book:  Scarpetta.  A long and intricate mystery in the Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell.  I hated to see it come to an end.
  8.   Alter blackwatch plaid trousers.  Early in the month I took in the side seams of a pair of trousers to change them from a size 12 to a size 4.

    I wasn’t sure I could salvage these pants but I did.

    The alteration was a success.

    A festive combination.

    I wore the pants on Christmas Day with my dachshund blazer.

  9.  Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word: GRATEFUL.  So grateful to be happy and healthy with good friends and family.
  10.  Write a goal list for January, 2022.

Jo

Progress on the Mini Hedge

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I painted the exterior base of the kitchen bump-out.

The color of the bump-out now matches the shutters on the windows.

I thought a little boxwood hedge would help hide the foundation of the house and add a little interest to the space.

Before: My little ball of boxwood has more than doubled in size.

I started with cuttings from the boxwood shrub I had formerly nursed from a cutting.

Boxwood starts had a beautiful root structure that took almost a year to develop.

After the cuttings grew roots I transplanted them behind the house.

Small hedge is planted in April, 2020.

The hedge is still a few years away from the plants growing together.

At first we could hardly find them amongst the weeds.

April, 2020 — One planted cutting

The boxwood plants have doubled in size — December, 2021.

After about a year and a half of growth the tiny starts are making a good show and should continue to grow and merge together.

This sweet little potager in France has inspired us.

Ultimately I’m going for a hedge something like the one Charlie and I saw in the above potager in France.

Jo

Amending Our Travel Plans

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Last May I was bold to announce our planned travel for 2021 and 2022.

Iceland is a beautiful country with splendid friendly people.

Thankfully we made it to Iceland in October of 2021.

We’ve been staying close to home but still trying new things. Charlie rode in a race car.

Our future plans, however, have been strategically modified due to the ongoing COVID crisis.

I’m hoping to get Charlie to the top of the Empire State Building (visible near the right side of the photo). The new World Trade Center building is the tallest one in the center.

A trip to a warm island in the dead of winter just isn’t in the cards right now.  Instead we’re doing a long weekend in NYC to celebrate our winter birthdays.

My music man in Father Duffy Square just opposite Times Square in NYC.

I’m so excited to have theatre tickets for 3 much anticipated plays/musicals.  We haven’t been to New York since our daytrip to see the 9/11 Monument last year.  Our last theatre excursion was in 2017 — pre-COVID. That same year we took a day trip to the Statue of Liberty.  I’m eager to spend some time in The Big Apple.  It’s always exciting. (In 2021 around the same time we were in The Big Easy.)

Our oceanview cabin on “Enchantment of the Seas” should look a lot like this.

One item that hasn’t changed is our reservation on a cruise from Baltimore to Bermuda.  We’ve been trying to get on this cruise since I booked it in 2019.  I’m hoping our first cruise is enjoyable for both Charlie and me.  I have lots of experience out in the ocean. ‘Nuf said.

Greece is on my bucket list.

Traditionally our fall trip is an extended vacation to someplace on the bucket list.  I had been planning to visit Greece but the hoops are just too numerous to jump through at this time.  (We learned a lot about international travel in a pandemic on our recent trip to Iceland.)

The Big Island is just south of Maui.

So I’m hoping that Charlie and I will be traveling to the Hawaiian Islands of Maui and Hawaii.  He has never been, I have visited Oahu and Kauai.  The thing I remember most about my previous time in Hawaii is that I had very high expectations for the trip and it surpassed everything I could have imagined.  I loved it.

We rode in Iceland. Hoping to go riding on Maui.

At this time of our lives we still enjoy traveling on our own without submitting to the confines of tour groups.  That being said, we love seeing new place and meeting new people and when touring with a group becomes necessary, we’ll be there.

Jo