 The house is slowly finding its space again, after acquiring items that we may not have planned for or expected. Some things had sentimental attachments, like this photo of my Charles' grandfather. Though we're not family-photos-on-the-wall type people, I love the history and styling of this piece and decided to embrace it instead of hiding it in a closet. I hung it on a day when Charles was in Concord, and it startled him in a very satisfactory way when he got home.
 This china cabinet used to live in the kitchen of the Concord House. I love its wood tones and storage. We've lived with the piece next to the kitchen for the last month, but I'm planning on moving it to a corner closer to our dining table. In the spot where it currently resides, I'm planning to build a little island to further identify the kitchen space and create more work surface. Once I settle on a piece and a counter top, I'll explain the process of creating an island.
 I acquired the secretary's desk that Charles' parents purchased on an antiquing jaunt. The jaunt itself was uncharacteristic for them, so he likes to look at the piece and remember the shock when he heard they were taking a rather whimsical journey. I've always wanted a secretary's desk with its hidey holes and writing surface that folds away, and any place that holds more books is a plus.
 My last piece was something that I stumbled upon upstairs at my grandma's house, and she graciously gave it to me. I love this chair so much! It's the perfect height for my almost 5'3" stature. Its low profile doesn't take up much visual space in my little office, and it's the most comfortable chair I've ever owned.
So those are some of the furniture pieces we've recently acquired. My sister just gave me a small table that my grandpa built, and I'm using it as part of a creative console behind the couch. That will be shared at a later time. Have a wonderful week. The heat is perfect for a chilled white or rose. A good wine can take a temperature agony to a treat as the condensation beads on the glass and the chilled flavors roll across the tongue.
 Two gallons of paint later, the bathroom saga is over -- almost. We're still going to replace most of the items in the bathroom, including the floor, but the white paint is a huge improvement. I think the largest challenge was created by using a low VOC paint. I've noticed similar struggles recently on other blogs. Many coats and hours of frustration later, the painting is mostly done. Because of the better-for-us paint, I'm finding that there is some problem with bleed through, especially at the corners and around the shower.
 I'm actually going to wait a bit longer before doing the touch-ups because I want to know that I got it all. I did double the coats cutting in than roller, but I ended up losing track of exactly how many coats that was. Another thing that the white has accomplished, beside causing everything to feel more clean, is really making the natural wood pieces in the room seem richer. Here is the piece I picked up at the antique store the last time we were there. I love how it looks on the wall. It will compliment the medicine cabinet (once we get that installed) quite nicely, and it works with the "operation embrace the cabin" look I realized the house needs. It is, after all, a cabin in the woods.
Today is a work on painting day, and I don't mean walls. I have a show coming up in November, and I'm beginning to feel the pressure to GET THINGS DONE. As I finish pieces, I'll share those with you too. The theme of my show is all about my grandma, how she's inspired me, my memories from when I was younger, etc. I'm really excited about it, though nervous too, as she'll see the show. I hope she likes it, and I hope you all do too.
 This really happened this morning.
We get up for work really early in the morning. I take Bodie out for his morning ablutions around 4:00 a.m. Our porch light has been out for about a year, not because we haven't tried to fix it, it's just one of those things that we have yet to be successful in the attempt. Because of this, I'm used to taking the pup out in the dark of night to get his business done, no issues. This morning, I put Bodie's leash on him, and we walked outside.
"Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk," the sound reverberated in front of us. It sounded like a heavy man with steel toed boots walking down the steps toward us. I looked up into the black, turned tail, and ran back into the house.
Flick went the side light. Flick went the other side of the house. Now everything was illuminated except for the steps. I powered up the flashlight and focused the bright beam through the glass front in the door and peered out at the steps -- nothing. Bodie's bladder beginning to be strained, we went back outside.
"Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk," went the noise. "Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk," the rhythmic pounding continued. I focused the high beam at the top of the stairs -- nothing. "Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk." It was too precise to be an animal, but the flashlight showed nothing. Bodie went ballistic, sounding his intruder bark, straining at his leash to get at something. I flashed the light some more -- no eye shine, no dark silhouettes, no indication, except for the sound of a rock being pounded on wood, that there was anyone outside beside my pup and me. With no other choice, Bodie finished his business, and we went back inside -- my heart desperately pounding, my dog desperately defending our house.
When you live in the country, not everything can be explained, but you still have to go about your day. My Charles woke up, I told him what happened, we shrugged our shoulders -- if with furtive glances out the dark front door -- and went about our morning.
As we climbed the stairs to leave for work, I glanced around, searching for any indication of what it had been that scared us so thoroughly so early in the morning. Nothing showed itself, no odd smells, nothing out of the ordinary, until I turned around on my path up the driveway. There, at the top of the stairs, too large for an animal like a raccoon to pick up, was a rock. I had cleaned and organized the driveway the day before. I knew there hadn't been anything by the stairs, but there it was -- a rock, just sitting there, mocking me with its benign existence, waiting to sound the wood railing once more.
 Recently, I have been feeling like the Concord House has crushed me, Oz like. Work has ground to a standstill until we get my Charles' brother out of the house, and let's just say, he's feeling no motivation to go. Most of the stuff has been removed from it, but some of that said stuff has found its way into our house, and the chaos is driving me crazy. Add to that my recently developed aversion to all things computer when I'm not at work (monitoring Facebook and Twitter as well as blogging and doing the day to day at my job can get intense), and I have been feeling overwhelmed.Don't worry -- I'm bouncing back. The bathroom is shiny and white and clean and looks twice the size with the light bouncing off the semigloss walls. I have photos, though not very all-encompassing, since -- as I've mentioned before -- it is the size of a postage stamp. The play by play, as well as some pics of the pieces that my Charles inherited -- and I have found space for -- will be shared soon.photo from here
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