Firewood Carrier

I made a firewood carrier following instructions from marthastewart.com.
It has already become so handy. Instead of making multiple trips to carry several logs and fatwood from the outside pile to the living room, the carrier makes it possible in one short trip. I made mine from a pretty piece of canvas that matches our living room.

Here's how to make your own:

Materials:

• 2/3 yards of 45-inches wide canvas (22- X 42-inch)
• 30-inches rope
• 4 grommets and eyelets
• Grommet tool
• Hammer

Directions:

• Cut the fabric to 22 by 42 inches.
• Fold the long sides over 1 inch, and then fold them over again to create a 1-inch double
• Press, pin, and sew.
• Fold the short ends over 1.5 inches, and then fold them over again creating a 1.5-inch double hem.
• Press, pin, and sew.
• Measure and mark 4.5 inches from the corners on the short ends.
• Make small holes where you have placed marks.
• Insert a grommet on one side and align the eyelet on the other side.
• Using the grommet tool and a hammer, install the grommets/eyelets.
• Repeat for all 4 grommets.
• To reinforce the knots in the rope, install washers between the grommet and rope knot.
• Cut the 30-inch piece of rope in half.
• Insert rope into each grommet and tie a knot.
• Repeat for all 4 ends.

Pillows

Mom bought us pillows that match our living room decor. Aren't they lovely?

That's my butterfly, Lillie, hovering above.

Living Room: The Interim

2008's Big Project: The Living Room
I thought as a Part II to my most recent blog, I should highlight what has gone into getting the living room to where it is.

The room originally had yellow walls and pink carpet.

First, with my mother-in-law's generous help on at least 3 or more whole days, we scraped all of the painted wallpaper off the walls.





















Next we bought a wood stove. It was probably 25 years old---we found it on Craigslist.










Then Bill ripped up the ancient disgusting pink carpet.

I scrubbed the walls with TSP and then patched the many, many holes and cracks with plaster compound.Next, in order to install the wood stove, Bill built a hearth pad. He screwed a cement board to the floor. Then using mortar he placed tiles on top of the board. Then he put wood trim around it.











Next Bill applied an antique finish to the floor.Then we had to bring in the 400 lbs. wood stove. Three really strong and generous guys from Bill's work helped haul it in and place it on the hearth pad. Finally, we had the wood stove installed. The chimney sweep installed a liner in the chimney and connected it with a T that attaches to the back of the wood stove.











Once the floors were finished and the wood stove was all set, Bill, my sister and I got down to the business of painting. Bill and I added sand to the ceiling paint and gave the ceiling texture to cover up the drywall joints and cavities from nails. Then Elise and I worked on the walls. We applied painters tape, used a high hiding primer, and painted three walls white and an accent wall the color Green Tea by Valspar. It looks fantastic as a contrast with the red couch.




Now check out the following entry to see the before-and-after photos. :)

The Living Room is Nearly Finished: Before and After!

Boy, the living room sure has undergone a transformation from when we first moved here. My mother-in-law helped me strip the yellow painted wallpaper from the walls. We now have three greenish-tinted creamy white walls and one green (green tea) accent wall instead of the overwhelming yellow all around. My sister helped me with the painting. Instead of the 1950s used-to-be-pink carpet which Bill pulled up, we now how beautiful wood floors that Bill finished with an antique finish. We also now have an excellent heating source in the room---a wood stove that sits out in the middle of the room on a hearth pad.

Of course, it's not completely done. There is a wire that goes across one wall that we need to place in a cord-hider. We still need to replace the socket plates. And I have to come back at some point and paint the trim white---probably this Spring.

Note the black boards behind the wood stove. They are put there during the winter months to provide a heat barrier for the wood mantle. Also, it has been rather gloomy around here so the after pictures do not have quite the glow I was hoping for. If time allows and the sun decides to show its face before too long, I will try to update these pictures.

Too Many Fruit Flies!

Fruit flies have been all over the kitchen and pantry in recent weeks. I saw a news broadcast last week that said the number of fruit flies has increased and it's probably due to more people recycling and not rinsing food containers well enough. We have good rinsing habits in this household. It's our trash can that is oh so popular with the fruit flies.

Well, my mother-in-law gave me a great tip to get rid of them. You create a trap that kills them. I tried it last night. They were swarming around pound cake so I put this "trap" next to the cake. This morning the numbers were: pound cake=0 v. trap=17 fruit flies!

So, you want to know how to create one of your own?

You will need plastic wrap, a dish, apple cider vinegar, plastic wrap, a rubber band, and scissors.

First, rip off enough plastic wrap to cover the dish and come part-way down the side. Next pour apple cider vinegar into the dish---enough to cover the bottom of the dish. Third, find the center of the plastic wrap and cut a small slit. The slit in my example was a little smaller than one inch. Now you are ready to put the plastic wrap over the dish and secure it in place with a rubber band. It's that simple. You're done!

More Progress...Ceiling Painted

Yesterday Bill and I painted the ceiling in the living room. We used Homax Sand-Texture texturizing paint additive in the white ceiling paint. We decided it was best to use some kind of texture on the ceiling because the joints where the drywall meet and the divots made by the nails are visible. I filled in the divots with joint compound, and now after adding the texture, they are barely noticeable.

The sand texture threw paint all over when you rolled it and made a mess. Here's a picture of Bill after he finished.

Lightning is nothing to be trifled with!

Wednesday night lightning hit the house. It was strange because the storm that generated this particular lightning was only one of three bolts of lightning. The third one hit our house and the storm was pretty much over besides a some rain.

We think the lightning hit the well and blew the cap off. It followed the lines into the house. It fried the well's submersible water pump. It fried the electronic control boards on the furnace (integrated hot water and baseboard radiator heat). It melted the cable lines.

It also damaged our electronics. It fried Bill's computer, fried the cable modem (which the cable company replaced), damaged the Linksys router, created color-burn on the screen of our 32" TV, fried two other TVs, and fried the photo printer.

In the yard, the lightning tore up the grass and left strike marks on the large sycamore.

You can follow the line it made from the well, to the tree, and across the yard.

Here is a view of the torn up grass leading away from the well.

The sycamore:




Leading away from the sycamore, across the yard.

The lightning tore up the grass, throwing clumps of grass as far as 10 feet away.



It disintegrated parts of the sycamore's roots, leaving shreds.
















Here it split the root and threw it in the air.