Lost and Found....

I found five working watches in the last jar of jewelry that I bought Tuesday at Goodwill... It cost me a whole eight bucks. Then I went to Dollar Tree and got Eveready watch batteries... Four for a dollar, this time of year!

These will keep me busy for quite a while.  When I have nothing else to do.... Later....








 I thought that you might like to see a couple of Christmas presents I received.  Walter got me a new toilet paper holder for the real sized bathroom... I probably have a lot of friends that will use the other bathroom... Oh well... I like him!

I got a whole garden in a Christmas ornament.  Now all I have to do is find somewhere to hang it.

I am thinking that it might go well on the end of one of the chains that hang from the fans.

Maybe the one over the dining room table...

Last but not least, I found a new 2" tall Spiderman at Walmart yesterday.  I think that it might find it's way into Amare's room box. We shall see...

We went to see the new Jumanji this morning.  It was way better than the first version.

Then I came home and cleaned out my half of the closet... Not done yet, but better than it was.

Back to work now. I am going to try to get some old stuff cleaned out this month.  Then I can fill the holes with new stuff...At least that's the theory.

See you tomorrow.

Happy Christmas to You!

Merry Christmas to All!

and

to All a goodnight!

 

See you Tomorrow.

First Cookie Delivery, Tomorrow at 10:00 AM

The room is for all intents and purposes finished. I may put the basketball hoop on the closet door if I have time, but probably not.

I found a cat to go up the ladder of the bed.  April's cat does that sometimes.

I still left him some spaces to fill up and all of the small things are just stuck down with wax.

If he wants to move things, he will be able to rearrange things himself. I am giving him extra wax.

The Terrible Two have found their spot in the Christmas tree. They are sitting there now relaxing and eating pizza.

They told me that I should have cookies and two kinds of fudge ready for them by tomorrow at ten AM.

It doesn't matter that that will be Christmas Eve.  They want to get an early start.

I still need to bake one more batch of cookies and then clean up the workroom.....

Can this be done by Christmas morning at 9:00 AM? I hope so... People usually want to see what is in the workroom.

Right now, it is a bit difficult to set foot in there. I did manage to get in to take the photo, but working there would be impossible.

Oh well. If worse comes to worst, I can always bar the door and tell them that the aliens are living in there.

 Back to business.  See you tomorrow.

Candy and Cookies! Oh My!!!

I finished the outside of Amare's box this afternoon.  The strips on the back are to cover up the area where I put the window.

They still need to be painted.

Kota was playing foreman on the building site.  He does that a lot, but I pay no attention to his directions. 

I would have windows on the roof  if I did...
I put the strips of chair rail around the front edges.

Waiting for them to dry.  That's why there is blue tape everywhere.

The Terrible Two disappeared before I finished.  I suspected where they were headed.  I was right.

I made two kinds of fudge and some cookies. 

They headed straight for the chocolate fudge.  Good!  More of the white chocolate pecan fudge for me!

I took the goodies and put them back in the fridge.

They disappeared. They are still trying to get the room box.  It isn't going to happen.

Let them dream for a couple more days. I think that I am going to have to do a thorough house cleaning in that room before I give it to Amare. 

They are determined to make a mess of it every time I turn my back.

Two more days to go...

See you tomorrow.

Little Things Left to Do...

I put a tray along the railing that Amare has in his real room.  It has a microscope on it in his real room... Which probably means that I should make one in mini for it... Here we go again...

This is the edging that came wit the kit.  I am not impressed. It is big, clunky and just plain ugly.

I think that I am going to go with some chair rail.  It is the same thickness as the wood and I think that it will look much more in scale than the clunky stuff.

After I finish the frame and paint it, The room will be done... Maybe a couple of little items here and there, but otherwise it is done.

And where was Tessie all afternoon? I was making two kinds of fudge.  She was not helping.  She was scouting out places to hide in the Christmas tree.

I imagine that we will have to put up with the little people hiding here and there, having their own celebration.  I always think that it isn't going to happen. 

Then I wake up on Christmas morning and there they are... Here and there all over the house. Partying in their own way.

I am just going to ignore them and keep working on making Christmas happen... See you tomorrow.

Star Wars! The Latest One!

I had to put another picture of the room in.  We went to see the latest Star Wars movie this morning.  BB8 figured prominently in this one.

Now I know about him... I feel like I know him a little bit better...

When we got home, Walter rented the proceeding one from Amazon.  We had a double feature.  Therefore I didn't get a lot done.

I did do a bit more cleaning.  This little greenhouse was a plain white one that I got from Walmart several years ago.  I painted the trim on it and fancied it up.

It never looks like I cleaned it. The finish on it is antiqued.  I could probably scrub on it for a week and it would still look the same.

The burglar's living room doesn't get very dirty. It is a closed box, so I have to do very little to it.

If I stay there too long, the burglar tells me to get out and stop interrupting his thievery.

This is also one that looks about the same. Clean or dirty.  I basically just use a feather duster on it, to get the big pieces. 

Zar keeps it pretty clean most of the time.

Anyway, I am going to have to make a couple of more pieces for Amare's box tomorrow and then it will be done...I am not adding anything from the movie.  It is just about full enough as it is. I am off to watch TV for a while.  Then I am going to turn in early.

See you tomorrow.

Finished!!!

With Amare's present anyway... I have a lot of other stuff still to do. 

Can you find the best present under the tree? Yup. Kota is spending a lot of time under there.  He likes to hid among the presents.

 I am pretty much finished with Amare's room box.  I still have to make the clothes hamper for the door.  It is a basket ball hoop with a bag under it. 

That won't take long... I hope...

I made the chair and the desk today.

I cheated on the chair. He has a child sized chair under the bed and a wooden sheet for a desk fastened to the bottom rail on the end.

Secret of a quick child's chair...

I had a Chrysnbon ladder back chair kit. 

I cut the top down to two pieces across instead of four.  I used my wire cutters.

Then I cut just under the second rung on the side on all four legs.

Instant child's chair. Worked like a charm.

I put everything in place with Mini wax.  That way he will still be able to move things around.

I plan to give him some of the Mini wax in an old container.  That way he can move things around and keep them in place.

I am sure that I will find a few other things to put in and I am sure that he will find some things to add on his own.

Now all we have to do is wait until Christmas!

See you tomorrow.

Wednesday is for Witches...

Kota looks like I felt after the witches left.  I cleaned up the house and cooked all morning. After they left, I cleaned up some more and all of it was done with a sore knee. 

When I was doing the Christmas tree the other day, I managed to pull something in my right knee. I have been fighting it since then.  Not fun.

Everyone liked what I did with the room box. After they left, I put it back in the bedroom.

Of course, the Terrible Two showed up.  They are still trying to claim it...

Not going to happen!!!!

I didn't do anything to it but straighten it up twice today.  That's not as much fun as working on it.  I will get back at it tomorrow.

I think that, for the rest of the evening, I will crochet.  I don't have to move my knee to do that.

I do believe that the knee is getting better.  At least it feels better than it did a couple of days ago.

I am going to try to do easy things tomorrow.

See you then.

Goodnight!

Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty...

I am starting to add the fine details. Amare keeps and collects all kinds of stuff, so I can put in a lot of things and knowing him, he will start collecting that kind of thing... He has such an imagination!

April commented the other day that he will probably want me to make him real furniture like the small stuff that I'm doing. 

She is his mother, and she knows him best.  I am in for it now.

He already likes dinosaurs so I don't have to worry about influencing him there. 

The box of paper is cut from post it notes. That is handy because they stick to each other and stay in the box.

The pencil box and the colorful one on the other side of the purple dino both rattle when you pick them up... They probably won't rattle for long.  Amare will probably have them open to see what's inside in a matter of minutes. 

No pencils... Just a bunch of beads.

The bench has a plate of fruit slices on it.  I think that they are behind the ladder.  Sorry about that.

You will notice that Tessie and Zar left.

 I hired Spike and paid him with a dinosaur bone to keep them out.

Hey! Whatever works!

I am pretty much done with the shelving unit.  I want to leave some space here and there. I want to leave some holes that Amare can fill with stuff that he collects for it.

I still need to cover the window on the outside of the back wall.  Probably more Star Wars material.

Back to work on the little things.

See you tomorrow.

In Stitches....

I worked on this off and on all day... I am just about finished. 

Nope. You can't see it. It's for Christmas.

I had an early doctor's appointment this morning.  Just the usual. Nothing wrong.

Anyway, I decided that I needed to get the shawl out of the way... I'm almost there.

I did absolutely nothing on the room box today.  I just worked on the shawl.  The room box is coming along nicely.

I have high hopes of having it finished by Christmas.

And yes. I am still trying to vacate the premises. Tessie, Zar, the TV set and the frog... Not a lot of luck so far...

I moved things around for Christmas and now Kota has three places to sleep in the bedroom... That's not counting the bed. 

A cat Bed. A Cat Tree.  A fake fur throw under my work table...

Where does he end up? Usually I have to fight with him for a place to put my feet on the bed... He's hopeless.

I'm giving up for today.  See you tomorrow.

Big Red Machine!

The Big Red Machine in question is the one in the poster on the right hand wall.  That is the first thing that you see when you walk in the room.

It wouldn't be Amare's room without it.

He loves machines that dig and carry things. 

Under it is the unit with the bins.  I still have to do some filling in those. I need two more bins to fill it. More jewelry findings  for me!

I am starting to get the shelves filled .  I need some children's books to scatter around.

Tessie is making a list of titles that I should include... I don't think that "Frankenstein" will be one of them...

She is trying really hard to get me into trouble.  She thinks that he should have a TV set and a poisonous frog... Look down in the left hand corner... I keep taking them out and she keeps putting them back in.

I will wait until we start opening presents and grab them really quick.  She will never know.

Here's a little closer look at the bench and curtains they came out ok after all.

It is starting to look lived in... It's not messy enough yet.

I'm getting there.  A little bit at a time.

Now all I have to do is devise a plan to get the Terrible Two plus One out of there before Christmas.

Any suggestions?

Wish me luck.

See you tomorrow.

Progress....

I didn't like the other bench that I made.  I started over and came up with this one.

It has a whole space ship covering it. 

We are moving right along with the room.  Making lots of progress.

I am finding toys and other accessories now.  I still have a way to go.

The wall on the right has a poster of a very large earth mover on it.  I may just attempt to do it myself or I will have Walter help me with reproducing it in the right size.

This is some of the jewelry that I have been working on.  A couple of the pieces will be gifts and a couple, I will keep for myself.

Remember when we got the new chair? The rules have changed. 
Now, if we put the foot part of the recliner up, it belongs to Kota.

We are allowed to reach down and pet him, but our feet have to be way over on the other side.  This is Walter following the rules.

This is Kota making sure that they are followed.

I am just the photographer.  Back to business.

See you tomorrow.

Minis? What Minis...

OK.  I found two books and a jar of very tiny sea shells...

That's It...

 I spent most of the day decorating for Christmas.

This is the centerpiece for the table... Simple.

A small punch bowl with greenery around the bottom and bells and small ornaments inside.

Hey! It's fast and easy.

This is what took most of the day.  That silly tree is about seven feet tall.  It is pre-lit.  That's not enough.  We have a string of colored bulbs that flash.  Those have to be strung on too. 

By the time I was finished, I think that it took about three hours, all by itself.

Now all it needs is LOTS of presents.

I still have the feeling that, If I don't hide this or wrap it up soon, Kota is going to steal it and keep it for his own sleeping pleasure.

I am within a couple of rows of being done...

Then I have to get really serious about finishing the room box.

See you tomorrow.

Other Things Happening...

Our back porch looks haunted! Plants covered in bed sheets all over the yard!

It is supposed to freeze tonight... This is the same place that, a couple of weeks ago, the weather was in the 80s and  breaking records for high temps.

So I spent an hour or so covering plants this afternoon.

I have put Albert and Daisy in charge of gift wrapping.  That is, they are taking care of the paper, boxes, ribbons and other wrapping things.

Amare's sock is almost full and that is NOT a small sock.

That should keep him busy for about ten minutes on Christmas morning...

I am still chugging away on finding things to fill the room box.

I did get a couple more rows done on the shawl that I am crocheting.

The Terrible Two plus One are holding down the fort in the room box.  I am going to send them in for some serious accessory hunting in the workroom tomorrow. I have to get busy on the rest of the furniture.

Wish me luck... Christmas is coming... FAST!!!

See you tomorrow.