HFM

We just brought this 6'x6'x2' beauty home from the Salvation Army for the kitchen project: The china cabinet, not the MMA dummy. No, the MMA dummy didn't come with it. Yes, I'm disappointed.

Last weekend, we had a house guest: the one and only StarrhillGirl, who AJ has known for 30 years, and who is a follower and frequent commenter on this blog. Pickles, as usual, did her best to be a good host. For example, after the bed was made, she immediately swooped in to perform turndown service: Thanks, Pickles! We spent the weekend relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. While StarrhillGirl and AJ read and napped on Sunday, I got some work done on the mural: Meanwhile, Pickles made sure that her spot on the deck didn't get neglected: It was a great visit, but so short! We can't wait until she returns for more fun! This week, it's going to rain all weekend, so there will be no work on the mural. That's just as well -- I have a paper due on Tuesday, so I really should be focusing on that anyway. I think another couple of weekends of work and the mural should finally be done, though -- can't wait to get back to it!

We had some warm weather this past week, so we got to go outside for some long overdue projects. AJ took some pots and pans and baking sheets down to the antique stove, to make a final decision about whether she wants to cook on it. If the decision is yes, we will seriously look into restoring it; if the decision is no, then will just use it as a piece of furniture, as originally planned. The decision is yes! We'll start making some phone calls and get a restorer out to take a look at it. On a related note, in the course of researching the stove, we found out that this thing isn't for burning wood, it's a trash burner: We also found out that the stove is likely from the 20's, based on the shape of the legs. The front yard also got some much needed attention. I took care of the weeding, and The Mars Estate Head Gardener moved some plants that were getting too big: Some of them made their way upstairs, into these planters: Others were moved to the back yard. Here is the e...