We haven’t done anything major lately, beyond our curb appealing the front yard a bit. But I did create a ‘Family Art Gallery’ in our kitchen, with those frames for kids artwork that you can open and slide new pictures into. I added a portrait I took of Ada and had printed, one of my lino block rabbit prints, and the set of 3 pieces my husband made me for Mother’s Day.
Jim took Ada’s handprints in craft paint, then placed tracing paper over them, and turned them into fun drawings of a muscle monster, a bubble creature, and a little girl with an octopus. I tried to leave room to add a piece or two in future, but mostly it exists to add Ada’s coloring projects to.
In the guest room I hung up a little gallery wall of various art. The bedroom was originally the last one in the row upstairs, furthest from the staircase to the front entryway. But when the previous owners created a Bonus Room above the garage in the late 80’s, they added a door from that bedroom to a hallway that connects to the Bonus Room, which in turn has a staircase down to the kitchen. Therefore we use the room as a hallway, walking through it to go down the ‘back’ staircase. Because we walk through it several times a day, I like putting some of my favorite pieces up there. That way they get to be appreciated by guests, but also see by us all the time.
Here’s a closeup with an angle to avoid glare. From the top, a lino print of a chrysanthemum that came in a lino block carving kit from Speedball. A dream catcher originally created by @FiberAlchemist about 8-9 years ago. After moving a few times, it needed a little love, so I refreshed it a bit by replacing some of the hanging bits. I left the cream lace she used, but removed the original ribbons, and added some recycled sari silk instead. A Mosquito Fairy Flying Through the Forest, created with ice dyed silk and paint by a local-ish artist, that I picked up at an art faire last year with @endymion. A beautiful rainbow-mushroom-watercolor piece by @Edel, from the Midwest Meetup last year. And a blue & metallic copper pour painting by my lovely MIL @Millykay. I’ve had the silver mirror for about 20 years, and it’s been sitting on the black console table since we moved in. But it wasn’t doing anyone any good there, so I finally got it up on a wall. I know I have another box of art that hasn’t been unpacked yet, so I left some space to add to it later .
Meanwhile, we should be happily enjoying peak pool season right now, but that’s not happening. When we moved in last year our neighbor across the street gave me the name of their pool guy, Kurt, and he was great. Opened and closed for us last year. Quick to respond and a hard worker, with a small business of his own. Cut to this year. I was a little late calling to schedule an opening, so he told me he could get to me the first or second week of June (normally you’d want to open the 3rd or 4th week of May, so you could get the water balanced before swimming weather in June). Since we liked him, we happily waited. And waited. He kept putting us off, until finally it was the last week of June, and he promised to be here on Wednesday, the 26th. No show. Then promised Saturday, and again, no show. Sunday I gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed he’d be there in the afternoon. (I knew he was working weekends to try to catch up.) So I texted him as we left to go on a walk, telling him the back gates were unlocked for him.
Kurt sent me a breakup text, and told me he wished me ‘good luck’ finding someone else. There are 2 bigger pool companies in town, and one of them just pushed a local baker out of her bakery space to make more room for their patio furniture sales. Since she made our wedding cake and is loved around town, I refused to call them. I called the other guys, Ohana, on Monday, and they said they could be out Tuesday. They showed up perfectly on time and got to work. But shortly into the job, Xavier came to find me. It seems the bolt plug for the filter, and the plug for the heater, had both been broken/sheered off. The plug screws in, and works just like a bathtub plug. If it’s not there, water pours out of the filter, and floods the pool pump room. Which happened to the guy, as the broken plug had just been placed there, as though it were fine. Thankfully he was able to immediately turn the pump off so it didn’t flood too bad. Just a soaked concrete floor. He thinks Kurt, or his worker, broke them last year, and didn’t want to tell us, and that’s why he didn’t want to come back. What’s funny is the broken plugs cost about $2-4 each. Nothing expensive. But we can’t run the pump without them.
Xavier also found that the ladder back rubber feet were missing. They slide into the metal poles, to keep the metal from cutting a hole in the pool liner. He thinks Kurt or his assistant weren’t careful taking it out last year, and that they fell out, into the pool, and are on the bottom somewhere. Again, a cheap part at $3 each. We need the parts but it’s a holiday weekend. Jim was able to find a replacement for the filter, but not the heater. Since we don’t use the heater anyways, he attempted to bypass the heater by adjusting the pipes, but couldn’t find the right parts at Lowe’s, and he’s worried his work might not be right for a high pressure pool pump. So he called Ohana to come reroute the pipe themselves sometime next week. So we get to spend the holiday weekend looking a green-ish hole in the backyard.
Wish us luck…