The Calm Before the Storm

 Literally the calm before the storm. I live in central Florida and we have been watching hurricane Ian for days. I have lived in Florida pretty much my whole life and have lived through many hurricanes and, the scariest thing about them - in my opinion - is that their exact path and intensity can seldom be predicted with 100% accuracy. And, when the worst case scenarios happen, you have to be prepared. And so today, instead of showing you a welcome to my home all ready for Halloween, I am showing you its current situation.

I just spent the last hour and a half taking down what I have now decided is way too much stuff...Lol. I love all of my outdoor adornments but boy are they a pain when they have to be removed...and they will be even worse when they have to all be reinstalled. In fact, this might be the perfect time to EDIT and not put everything back. And, as I have been looking at these pictures, this will also be the perfect time to give everything a nice cleaning - maybe even a pressure cleaning - before it goes back.

I am sad that I will be behind a week on my Halloween decorating and I am even sadder that this was supposed to be homecoming week at my grandson's high school not to mention that the oldest - who is a senior - is in a Big Man on Campus competition, on the homecoming court, playing in the big game and then hosting a pre-dance dinner party at his home. And, of course, I was going to be there for all of that fun. But, when Mother Nature speaks, we listen and safety of lives comes first. And so, we do what we are asked to do...sometimes with less of a smile on our faces than usual...but we do what needs to be done.

As I posted these pictures there were a few things I saw that still needed moving and I have now moved them. For the most part, I take down anything that could become a projectile and move as much away from the pool as possible. My thinking is that if I put it up against a fence or wall, it may not take to flight. I don't really know if that's true but, that furniture is heavy and I can only carry it so far. lol I've got it done and for now, I think I'm good. The only thing I couldn't get down was my rain chain. Apparently that is attached through the gutter and the gutter on the sunroof is too high for me to access without the extension ladder and I just didn't have that in me today. I took the chain and twisted it into a nearby bush and I think it will be fine.

As a matter of fact, the latest update just came in and, for this very moment, there is a hint that Ian may make landfall a bit more to the south than has been expected. That is good news for my family in St. Pete and probably good news for those of us in north central Florida as well.

Again, things change hourly so it is still a big "wait and see". We are supposed to start seeing some rain this afternoon but other than that, things are pretty much status quo around here. The kids are in school but will be off starting tomorrow. My daughter is "stranded" in NY because her fight home has been canceled and my son-in-law is our county engineer and will pretty much be based at the sheriff's office as this storm goes through so I will be heading to their house tomorrow to spent the time with the kids. Hopefully we won't lose power but that is a pretty common occurrence so we'll be ready with flashlights, candles and lots of games.

Prayers for everyone in Ian's path. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Free to Me

As I was sitting at my desk today, I noticed the two vintage image wreaths that I bought and have waiting on the counter to use...one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas. When I bought those, I also looked for a Halloween wreath. I found them in many places-all sold out. So, today I went back to revisit all of those places and it is still sold out everywhere. Since I am getting close to putting out my Halloween decor, the thought came to me that perhaps I could make one. I have always loved vintage Halloween design so I knew I probably had many images already printed that I could use. When the grand kids used to come for weekends of holiday fun, I always got way more supplies ready than we could ever use and so today those supplies came back to visit. I also have a number of digital books full of images so if I was missing something it was a simple task to print what I needed.

I started by getting an approximate wreath size on brown Kraft paper. At this point I really hadn't even thought how this would play out. I gathered up my images and began "playing". It sort of looks like I "chewed" the paper but I knew I would be trimming it so I just did a super quick cut. Lol

At this point I picked a Halloween patterned card stock and slipped little pieces in under the images where I could see the background paper.

I used a glue stick to just kind of set the images in place but not totally adhere them-just in case. Lol I cut away the extra paper so I could begin to see the wreath shape.

 Then I got out my Martha Stewart fine glitter in gold, orange and black and began outlining and filling in certain parts of the wreath.

So this is where I am right now...definitely not done yet. I think I need a lot more glitter and I know I need to mount this on something more sturdy. I think I will run out tomorrow and get a piece of black foam board and it should be an easy task to just attach and trim to shape.

But, it's getting late and I am ready to sit down and put my feet up so part 2 will happen tomorrow.

Here comes part 2 of what might turn out to be a record breaking post in terms of length. My day started with a trip to WalMart...not my favorite place on earth but the closest to me that I knew would have black foam board-I really didn't want to head out to the other side of town. Apparently I don't go to WalMart enough to even know that they are doing a major "renovation"...their words not mine. It really just looks like they are moving everything but...whatever. The areas that have been moved seem to be stocked relatively well but the ones that haven't been moved yet are being left to empty out and not being restocked until they do move. And, of course, the office supply area where the posters and foam core are looked like a storm had come through. There was ONE sheet of foam core available and luckily it was black...but, it looked like this:

I battled with myself but, in the end, this was better than driving across town and, I only needed a portion of it so I thought I would be good. I sprayed the back of the "paper" wreath with spray adhesive and adhered it to the foam core.

Then, the fun began! I had forgotten that I "lent" my self sealing cutting mat to a grand daughter and haven't gotten it back, so I improvised with that, put a new blade into my Exacto knife and began cutting away the extra foam core.

Even with a sharp blade, the foam core doesn't cut perfectly on rounded areas so I took an emery board and filed down the rough edges a bit...and still wasn't 100% happy with it so I grabbed the black chalk paint and gave it a quick coat. Something still didn't look right so I went ahead and glittered all of the cut edges.

And, it was right about then that I decided that I think I am actually going to like this-I wasn't totally sure up to that point.

Then, after the edges dried I began going back and adding orange, black and gold glitter to other areas of the front. I love glitter for Halloween-the more the merrier!

The hardest part of these steps is the waiting. The glue goes on fairly heavy so it takes awhile for it to dry all the way through. While I waited, I looked for what kind of a hanger I wanted. Since I really don't know where it will go or if it will even end up being hung, I decided I did not want to drill a hole through it as my other wreaths are hung. In this case, just some ribbon hot glued on the back seemed like the answer. This way if I prop it somewhere, the ribbon can just hang to the back.

So here we are in all of our pretty!

I'm really loving this wreath. I looked for one for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and Easter and, at the prices that I found, it looks like I might be doing this a few more times. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.

Having a Dry Spell

I'm having a dry spell but it is NOT with our weather. We are still getting rain every day. The lawns all look beautiful but it is wreaking havoc with our football schedules...both JV and Varsity games were cancelled last week. Luckily, both teams have "bye" weeks on their schedules so there is a chance to make them up.

Unfortunately, I'm talking about a creative dry spell. Each year it becomes harder and harder for me to find new craft ideas. The problem is that I have been crafting for so long ( that translates as "I'm so old ), that I have done just about every idea there is...at least the ones that I like. There are still new ideas coming down the pike but, most of them are now "farmhouse" oriented. And, as much as I enjoy the farmhouse decor, most of it is simply signs or some sort of a play on a sign. I have nothing against signs but, in my opinion, there are only so many signs any one house can accommodate! And so, when I usually have all of my new Halloween crafts as well as some to be used as gifts made by this time of year...this year I have nothing.

And, believe me, it is not for lack of looking. I am constantly checking blogs and Pinterest but still haven't found anything to peak my interest. And so, when daughter #3 sent me this image and asked me if they would be hard to make, I was reminded of the book pumpkin that I made a few years ago. When I put it out this tear, I actually was thinking that it was a bit drab for my taste and this might be the last year I would be using it.

And so, when I saw these I not only saw a new and improved pumpkin but I also saw an afternoon project.

It was very obvious to me that I did not have the correct supplies to achieve this technique - which I think is beautiful! I think this was probably done with spray tints instead of paint. I know you can find tints by "Tattered Angel" in HL but, I didn't want to head out in bad weather and, even if I did, it was Sunday and they are closed.

And so, I did what my impatient self always tends to do...jump in full steam ahead. I had some orange and brown spray paint so I covered the stem and got to work.

There's no question that this would have looked nicer with a tint than spray paint...and, at this point I am also regretting gluing the pages together. I did that to get a better "splay" of the pages but it does look nicer with more pages! Of course, at this point in time there is no going back!

Once I had the embellishments back on, I am happy that I did it. It is far from perfect but I do like it having a bit more color. Maybe it has actually bought itself a bit of a reprieve and we will see it again next year. lol

If I don't find some crafting motivation soon, I am going to start my Halloween decorating. Since there's not a lot to do outside in this weather, I need to stay busy in the house and swapping out autumn for Halloween will certainly do that! Stay safe and stay tuned.

Another Win!

So, we traveled to Gainesville in nice weather where we met up with all of the rest of the local family for Trinity H.S.'s varsity game...and, honestly, I thought we were home free weather-wise. My phone kept saying 15% chance of rain. Guess I need a new weather app on my phone. As we started the game and were all nestled into our 50 yard line seats, we could begin to see VERY dark clouds start to accumulate VERY near us. As other people pulled up radar, it became very obvious that we were soon going to be in a massive downpour. As the band began leaving the stands, we followed and found cover under the stadium...and waited. It was supposed to roll through rather quickly-and it probably did as storms go but it sure didn't feel like it as we were all gathered and waiting for the game to reconvene. I will spare you the details but, the game did start again and it was OK for a bit but then the rain started again-not as heavy as previously but heavy enough to still get drenched even when under an umbrella. We finally decided to say good-bye to Harrison ( they were still playing in the downpour because there was NO lightning ) and start the drive home. My son-in-law stayed for the rest of the game to represent the family. lol

All of that being said, the final score was 48-3 with another win for the Celtics!!! And, I guess my
prologue for once again why I have no family photos to share. The only shots I got were of Har snapping the ball on one play. Go #42! Enjoy. Lol

I'm a bit confused to have had football on Thursday instead of our usual Friday night lights but, I'm off to the Open House this afternoon so maybe I'll get my days in order again after I get home tonight.

Since you're here, why don't we do a quick peek into the bathrooms so our autumn tour for 2022 will be finished. 

So that is the guest bath and, while we're just peeking in, we might as well hit the main bath as well. I try to do a nod to whatever decor is in the rest of the house each time I decorate just so I don't forget...lol...but I keep it at a minimum because this is the bath that gets used daily so things need to be clear and others accessible.

I'm off to figure out what I can wear today that will work for a golf cart ride, look nice and still tolerate the temperature we are going to have. I am so wising I could wear one of my beautiful autumn jackets...especially the orange suede that I don't think I've been able to wear in a number of years because of Mother Nature's cruel sense of humor...but that's not happening so we shall see! Stay safe and stay tuned.

 

Come On Mother Nature!

 So all summer long I hold my breath for September! I know it won't mean an immediate change to autumn temperatures but I at least expect it to feel like it may eventually happen. Not so this year. Not only is it still "breath-takingly" - literally - hot but we are having rain almost every day. I know I say this about almost every weather issue we have, but, I don't think I ever remember it being quite this hot and wet in September! And, for the first time in a long time, we had a game called last night due to dangerous weather.

It was our Trinity Catholic H.S. JV game and my grandson was in as snapper and center. He did a great job and by the half, we were leading 30-0 against a local rival! This team has been a rival since my girls were in school so that is quite a long time! We had been seeing lightning in the dark clouds and the start of the game was delayed but we actually thought the storm was heading away from us. At halftime, my son-in-law - who is our county engineer - received a call informing him of some very inclement weather about to hit the county so he could be prepared to get called away in event of another tornado coming through. He told us to head home right about the same time everyone else was receiving the news and then the game was called. Everyone got out and home safely and, by the time I got back to my house, I discovered that I hadn't even gotten a drop of rain. I guess the storm was centered over the southern part of the county. In any event, we all enjoyed what we saw. Unfortunately, we didn't get any football player/family pictures but Hud knew we were all there cheering him on. 

Here he is waiting to head into the game (#32) and a picture of our new sign - which started morphing right as I snapped the picture. lol Tonight we are off to Gainesville where we will meet the rest of the family for our varsity game. Right now the weather isn't looking all that great but things can change in a snap around here so we shall see.

 And then tomorrow, I am off with daughter #3 to an open house in one of the last whole house, new build design projects she just finished. The homeowners are so happy with the house they are holding an open house for everyone involved and I know my ears will be ringing as I hear many, many compliments on the design my daughter brought into this beautiful new home. I could not be more proud of her.

I had started to make my weekend list of to-dos but have decided to wait and see if we have more liquid sunshine in store or not. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Back to the Matter at Hand

Labor Day is over so I am getting back to thinking about autumn and all of the fun things to come. Of course there will be much football but, it looks like I also have a fairly long trip to St. Pete ( with all sorts of fun things while I'm there ), a trip to see Mannheim Steamroller in St. Augustine and an adventure down to Key West for my grandson's football game combined with a bit of a family vacation. All of that and my favorite season and Halloween to boot! Now if the temperatures would co-operate...even just a bit.

In any case, Hazel will be with me until tomorrow when we have a JV game at night and then we have a varsity game in Gainesville on Thursday so I guess I have another busy week ahead. With yesterday being a holiday, I am already confused as to what day it is and what is happening and then they throw in the football games on other than "normal" nights and I will be totally mixed up by Friday! Lol

Let's head into the family room while I can still tell what day it is.

Even though I still really love the traditional colors of autumn, I am being swayed just a bit to the softer more muted colors as well. I love the addition of the flowers to the mantle and the softer pumpkin that I made last year...and, of course, I am still in love with the pallet sign I made a number of years ago.

Since these shelves are so dark and deep, I am loving this year's addition of the light up pumpkin.

This room is always so pretty at night but I can never seem to capture a good picture. This one is the best I have so far but maybe you can get just a bit of a feel of the autumn ambience when the candles are on.

So that is the family room for this year. I'm off to tackle some chores but I'll be back soon. Stay safe and stay tuned.