My Work Here Is Done

Does she look lonely or forlorn?

To me, she looks proud.

I have to say, this was a hard thing to do. I have loved this gal since I first laid eyes on her. She came to our house feeling unloved and unwanted, but she soon grew to trust us and feel at home. Over time, with a little help, her true beauty came through. See her story here and here.

Alas, there is her little issue. (We all have our issues, don't we?) I think her odor is part of her who she is. But the more time we spent together, the more obvious it came to be that our time united was limited. We both knew that it would not work for us. And preparations were made for finding a new home for this old girl.

Hence, the curb.

But unlike when I found her on another curb, this was a dresser that was proud to display her qualities. The makeover gave her the confidence she needed to be on the lookout for the next adventure. She was ready for this move.

Lo and behold, she caught the attention of a thrifty, friend to the earth. He was just as happy to see her as she was to see him. He even called a friend to share the good news! I am sure he was in a quandry as how to get her home, since he was loaded up already with other treasure.

But he knew he must get her home. And so the next leg of her journey begins on the hood of the truck!

I am so happy for her to have found a new home. I am sure she will be loved and used to her full capacity, as she should be.

It is not easy being a foster family for furniture. We all got pretty attatched to her, and a few in my family questioned if we were doing the right thing (especially Colin, who helped me load and unload her a few times). But to see her new owner so excited makes it all worth it.

Wet Memories

We forgot the camera again.
Not sure how that seems to happen to us so often. The camera seems like such an obvious thing to pack - maybe that is why it gets left behind - so obvious that we do not need to worry about it.
This time the camera missed our mini vacation to Kalahari Water Park in Sandusky. A few years ago we went to Great Wolf Lodge, had a blast, and wanted to try Kalahari this time as it is geared to a little older kid crowd. Too bad our older kids could not make it at the last minute. Lauren and David had to stay at home with the camera.
Neat thing at Kalahari - You can use the water park starting at noon, even though you cannot check into your room until after three. So we pulled our swim suits out of our carefully packed (yeah, right) bags, checked in at the desk to get our blue wristbands, and found our way to the water park.
The place is huge! We passed a candy counter (all candy $20 a pound!), gift shop, little activity shops (stuffed animal making, pottery, hair wrapping, etc), and a cafe. To get to the water park, you must walk through the gi-normus arcade, which I thought our boys would really like. (As it turns out, it cost a dollar just to get the game card you swipe on the machines, and only Colin wanted to go to the arcade, and he only spent $5 - $1 for the card, $4 on a few games.)
Finally made it to the water - the place we had seen fabulous photos of and heard amazing stories about! It was pretty cool in there, in fact it was even a little chilly (after all, we only had our swim suits on and we were wet). Brenden and Colin went off on their own, to try out some swirl slide (think giant toilet and you end up going down the drain) and Liam, Hero and I started at a "warming"pool. Felt great, until you get out - then you freeze. We chose a slide at random and ended up in the line that took almost an hour to get through. On the bright side, while we were waiting, we saw where everything was and where to head next. Hit a few more slides, hopped in the wave pool (a huge Murphy favorite), found Brenden and Colin and relaxed in the hot tub (another favorite).
An early dinner was everyone's vote and we headed to Max and Erma's. While we were enjoying a tropic-like environment (minus the heat), the real weather took a nosedive. It was like 40 - Ugh!
After the yum dinner, everyone got dropped off at the door with all our luggage and we moved in to our home away from home, room 1429. The boys each had their own comfy bed, which they were happy to know they would be allowed to eat in. It was almost hard to leave, but we did get our suits back on to tackle the water park again (except Colin, who headed to the arcade. Later he lamented that he should have gone with us.) And we all ended up in the wave pool and hot tub again.
At home we do not watch much tv. We do not have dish or anything to get extra channels - we just have a few of the basics. Because of this, whenever tv is an option, the boys love to see what they have been missing. We spent the rest of the evening watching something (not sure what - I dozed a lot) and eating treats in bed. (Liam and I did pick up a late night game of Uno).
Breakfast in our room - not room service - $3.99 for a bowl of cereal from the Kalahari chefs! And then back to the pool. We are feeling like pros now. We know right where we want to go. And that attraction was temporarily closed. Rats. So much for the plan. Ok, moving on.
Hero did do the boogie board in the surf pool. Liam and I saw him from the top of a slide. He had to launch himself out on his belly, keep himself somewhat centered (on the board and in the pool) and follow the instructions of the coach to try different tricks. I think he stayed on for about a minute. I think he was pretty pleased with himself.
After playing for a while longer, it was time to think about leaving. We had a great time together as a family, but we all agreed that we could have had just as much fun spending less money. Good bye Kalahari!
As we had not ever been to Sonic, it was voted that was the place for lunch. Have to say, not that impressed. Good to know we have not been missing much. (Sorry to Sonic fans - just not feeling it here.)
And it was on to the next leg of our journey. We headed to Akron to see our good friends, Darryl and Shauna and their family. Had lots of fun visiting and catching up, and Lauren and David surprised us by showing up for dinner.
A great way to end Spring Break. Too bad the camera missed out on all the fun.

We Really Did Slumber...

Every now and then, our clan has a family slumber party. When the kids were younger, it was pretty basic - pizza for dinner, movie, fun treat, sleep downstairs. After a few years, Hero and I gave up actually sleeping in the basement, and went to bed after the kids fell asleep. Last year's party was especially lame - We fell asleep during the movie, and then went to bed.

This was the year to redeem ourselves. We put the event on the calendar and nothing bumped it - and we all looked forward to the blowout!

Everyone had a part in the planning:

Hero - Dinner - Chinese - Yum

Liam - Games - Cute and Fun

Brenden - Movie Selection - Wallace and Grommett

Colin - Bowling - Tried for Midnight, went at 11:30pm

Lauren - Karaoke - The Next American Idol May Be a Murphy

David - Ping Pong - Around the World

Mom - Treats, DDR, General Making it Happen - Just Doing My Job

Dinner was fabulous - Our favorite Chinese place is Ten Yen - They have the best Almond Chicken and Chicken Fried Rice. Accompanied by chocolate milk (in the jug, not mixed) and Faygo Rock & Rye and Cream Soda, it was the perfect meal - can fill up on it, and be hungry in a little while for treats!

Brenden and Mom actually on the mats, Colin practicing in the background. We got a new Dance Dance Revolution Game from the library. Great having new songs. What a workout! Brenden is a natural at this, and pretty much had the high score for the evening.

With all the practicing, Colin really had the advantage over Hero. Ok, so maybe it was not the practicing. Hero does so many things so well, but DDR is not one of them. Notice that Colin is actually focusing and moving. Hero, not so much. He is busy laughing and waiting to jump in, jumping being the operative word as he did a lot of that, hoping to get something correct on the screen!

Liam was in charge of games. First we had a treasure hunt, which had us going up and down stairs and searching high and low for clues. In the end, we found the treasure (Twizzlers) out of order of the clues as we stumbled onto them. Delish and fun hunt.

The next game was a paper maze that Liam learned at school. Had to start at one end and get to the other in order that we learned by trial and error. Um, tricky. But fun. Good game!

Ping Pong Around the World. Everyone plays by running around the table and taking turns hitting the ball. If you miss, you are out (after one freebie). The last two play regular, except when they hit the ball, they spin. Colin and David were usually the last two, although most of us got there at least once.

Singing in a Box. Liam started us off with "Don't You Forget About Me", a classic 80's song. We all took a turn, some a little more dramatic than others. Not everyone sat in the box.

After the performances, we made Pioneer Scones, deep fried  bread dough, with butter, honey and cinnamon & sugar. Oh, yeah. They were yum.

Bowling next. (Forgot to bring the camera). There are no natural bowlers in our family. I think the high score hovered around 100ish, and that was David. Colin and I tied for last at 65. Did I mention we went in our pajamas? Interesting going to a bowling alley that late at night - almost like a bar scene. And people really get into their bowling. Us, not so much. We get into fun.

Back home, it was time to take things down a bit. Mattresses came out, tons of blankets piled on and everyone got comfy. Not sure if anyone made it through the movie, maybe Colin. Everyone else passed out within 30 minutes. And actually slept all night together.

We kept the magic going the next day with Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast, but reality soon set in. There were jobs to go to, chores to do, commitments to keep. The 2010 Murphy Slumber Party had to come to an end. Too bad.

I hate when time is gone and I did not make the most of it. Sometimes that is just the way it is, but lots of time, it is because I did not try. I am so grateful that with this opportunity, we made it great. We all looked forward to it, we all loved it and we were all sad to have it end. I love that my family likes to do be  together. I completely understand - I love being with them, too.

Awesome Day

Today is International Day of Awesomeness. Wow - That is awesome!

I checked the official website (dayofawesomeness.com), and discovered this day was founded in 2007 as kind of a joke. Their tag line is, "No one's perfect, but everyone can be awesome." They sound like good guys, ran with an idea and made it happen. Awesome!

Inspiring awe, showing or characterizing awe, very impressive. These are the definitions on dictionary.com. I like to say awesome, but I guess I do not always mean it. Here's the thing - I always want to look for good and then when I find it, I am glad about it. Maybe I am just impressed by all the goodness around me!

Trash to Treasure

I really should stop bringing this stuff home.

But how can I resist? We wanted another chair for downstairs and here was this little beauty on someone's curb, hoping and praying we would stop by for it. By the way, Hero found this one. Just another reason he is my hero - he supports my habits.

I do not think this is a color found in nature, but it was quite popular in the 70's. Good bones, clean, not stinky (a bonus!). I can make it work.

I love using canvas drop clothes! Great color, fun texture and inexpensive! Love that!

This is the third slipcover I have made. I have learned a few things along the way:

1. Buy more fabric than you think you need. Man, it goes quick. Oh, and have lots of upholstery thread, too. It is thicker than regular, so get a bunch.

2. Wash the fabric before you cut it up. Then when you wash the slipcover in the future, it will still fit.

3. If you go for a little slouchy look, it is much less stressful than a tight fit.

4. Use the hemmed edge on the drop cloth for the finished hem on the bottom.

5. Spots that do not quite fit right just need a pillow.

Things I still have a tendency to plow right through and wing it:

1. Corners with more than two pieces of fabric coming together. I am sure there must be a good way to do them, I just have not mastered it yet. Ugh.

Whenever I sew, I hear my grandma's voice telling me, "The back is just as important as the front". Rats. That means I do go back and fix things I do not want to fix, clean up the underside and do a good job on the part that faces the wall. But I am not a perfectionist at all. I think a few lumps and crooked seams give it character and looks lived in and loved. Yeah.

It fits! I love the ruffle on the bottom. Totally makes the chair. And although this one took way longer than I thought it should, it was not too hard. I just plowed through those icky spots.
And hopefully, I will not find any of it's friends on the curb.

A Beauty, But She Stinks

How cute is this color?

Home Depot discontinued their Ralph Lauren line of paints. When I got there, the paint mixer told me only dark colors were available. No problem - This one is perfect!

Beauty to the eye is not this girl's problem. It is the nose she does offend.

At least she does not stink up the whole room anymore. She keeps it to herself.

After 2 coats of paint on the outside, and 2 coats of polycrylic on the inside (which sucked into the wood like none other), she still has an odor. I am afraid I cannot put anything in her that might absorb the scent. I have tried baking soda (nope) and dryer sheets (ever hear the expression, "it is like putting perfume on a pig"?) I did get a tip for odor absorbers that are to be found at Walmart, so that is my next step.

She is a beauty, is she not?
I can admire her all day, but if I cannot put anything in her drawers, is she worth saving? Should I put her out of her misery?
She does a dandy job of holding stuff on her top.

There Is Treasure Everywhere

Have I told you about this little beauty? I found her on the lawn, relaxing, waiting for me to take her home. Her drawers were stacked neatly on the curb, and everything fit so nicely in the back of the Explorer (Thanks to Colin and Brenden helping me load her up)

Look at these legs! She must have been working out all her life to keep those curves.

I think is a natural wood stain, but someone spruced her up with this great soft green color. It may have been a while back, though, as she definitely needed a little loving here.

And you cannot tell by just looking at her, but she has a bit of an odor problem. Ok, a big odor problem. I gave her a good bath last fall, had her sunbathing and airing out in the garage since then and just recently moved her in. And she still had that pesky odor problem.

Here is her birth certificate. She was born sometime between 1898 and 1925 in Grand Rapids Michigan. Her parents sound lovely. Too bad they are deceased now. From what I've seen, they had lots and lots of posterity.


You know how when one of your own children makes you crazy enough to say something like,"It's a good thing you are so cute!"?

That was me with this old gal.

I'll show you next time.