It's been quite a while...

We haven't been doing much lately as far as home renovation. This summer is kind of a wash as far as that goes for a few reasons...

1. Budget. We are being much more conservative about spending and borrowing for obvious reasons. I am proud to say that we have paid off all our credit card debt in the middle of a recession.

2. The house is in decent livable shape! Woo hoo! Oh, there's always something to do and we have a long to do list still on the fridge, but none of it feels terribly pressing.

3. I broke my elbow in June from a tumble off my bike and Steve hurt his back in July. Note: This did not stop us from enjoying some nice hiking in Manistee National Forest this summer we are now both pretty well recuperated.

4. Busy with the Glenwood Sunday Market.
5. Busy enjoying the fruits of my labor in my new vegetable garden. Think homemade pesto, simmered greens, lettuces that practically melt in your mouth, etc... (We built a raised bed early Spring this year.) And we yes, my vegetables are in a cage! When it comes to squirrels, we don't play around!
6. Just enjoying summer. Plus it's been too damn hot to work much anyway, right?

I sometimes miss working on projects and get restless about doing something, but mostly it's okay. I do hope this isn't the end for us though. I think we still have a few good years in us for DIY. We aren't that old and tired just yet!

Anyway, I just wanted to check in and say hello and happy summer to all my houseblogging friends. Thanks to blogging about our work, I will never forget those days. So many good memories of working outside in the sun and fresh air, in the moment and focused on a specific goal and craft. I absolutely loved it. And I love working side by side with Steve.  So, I am sure we will get back to it at some point. We have some BIG plans for the backyard that are percolating for next year possibly.

Getting creative

This was my $35.00 foreclosure sale purchase. It cleaned up pretty well. Basically, a day or so to strip it and then very light sanding followed by some small veneer repairs ala Steve and three coats of blonde shellac. Not bad for the money.

And then there's our recent acquistition of this artwork. It's a printed canvas reproduction of a work by Henri Rousseau named "Surprise." We found this UK company that has rights to many works in the National Gallery in London and selected this one because we really like it. I like Rousseau and it has a kind of primitive look that suits our style.

Steve used to work in a gallery back in the day and so we bought stretchers and he stretched it. Voila, a large artwork. Purchased with last summer's yard sale money.

So, we manage to do some little things to spruce up, but we are definitely a far cry from the past several years. But really, most DIYers can't sustain that super high level of project work.

We are trying to decide what to do this spring and summer. We may screen out wood floors to clean them up without sanding them down. If we do, I'll definitely post that.

We are planning another outdoor adventure this summer. This time to Yellowstone & The Tetons. That is our main indulgence this year.

And in case anyone wonders how Billie and Mojo are doing, they are just fine. Looking forward to spring and the end of the dastardly ice melt everywhere preventing their enjoyment of long walks.

What keeps me busy now that I'm not blogging so much? Well, the ever-present day job does take it's piece. And then there's my new mission, which is bringing a Farmers' Market to Rogers Park.  

That's about it for now...Happy end of winter to everyone!