And one day late, to boot. I've been preoccupied with being cold, hiding out under blankets, knitting, and rewatching the entire run of Gilmore Girls. I am so good at doing winter. My salvia 'Black and Blue' is still going strong, though the weather isn't always kind to the blooms. Mahonia x media 'Arthur Menzies' Salvia pulchella x involucrata looks like it might finally bloom. My Knautia macedonica is still pushing out blooms. In slightly troubling news, my hellebores are already blooming, which didn't happen until February last year. My Allium schubertii are poking out of the ground. Am I worrying over nothing? Am I going to lose these alliums once the really cold weather gets here? Will Luke and Lorelei ever figure out that they're in love with each other? Please visit our host Carol at May Dreams Gardens for a look at what's blooming in everyone else's gardens. I've been painting again. Greg and I always joke that whenever he goes away on business he comes back to find that I've painted a room.

I try and wait until he's gone so he doesn't have to deal with paint fumes. Also, I like to sing while I paint and Eternal Flame is still such a good song you guys, but Greg doesn't need to hear that. Hang on to your hats, this is dramatic (we're looking at the spot above the door).The old color was the off-white from Metro Paint, which smells terrible and is made from recycled paint, so the colors were totally different from batch to batch. The new color is White Chocolate by Benjamin Moore, a color that looks exactly like white chocolate. Why would I bother? For starters, there was a spot over the door where I started to paint three years ago, then realized it needed to be patched, so I painted around it, then spackled it, then never painted. And I guess I got rid of the paint can at some point? So I was never going to find a match for that spot. Then we installed baseboard in the kitchen, which I still can't show you pictures of because Tinkernation has neglected to publish my final post.

I am contractually obligated to keep it under wraps until they do. But I had to patch the wall, which means the kitchen really needed to be repainted. I bought a quart of White Chocolate and put up a swatch above the door, since Greg was away for the night. Then I was having so much fun I decided to paint a little further. Then I realized I was just painting the kitchen that night. I almost had enough paint to finish, too. Instead I had to pop over to Benjamin Moore the next day after work and hustle to get it finished before Greg got home.He walked in and I was behind the stove with a roller and I weakly yelled, "Surprise!" and he was like, "I see the roller and the paint can but everything looks the same," and I had to explain the minute difference between the two colors. All of the paint fumes with none of the dramatic impact! The good news is I really love the color and we have no visible patches. And it turns out I still know all the words to Eternal Flame and Walk Like an Egyptian.

When I decided to make curtains for the front rooms of the house I bought the entire bolt of fabric, or 20 yards. roc lon blackout drapery liner whiteIf I'm going to go to the trouble of making curtains that I'm just "meh" about, well I'm going to make 600 of them, damn it. argos bay window curtain pole - stainless steelYou don't change course mid-stream or something.okee curtains I finally got around to making panels for the big window in the dining room and hanging an Ikea Enje blind. eclipse curtains campaniaI ordered more hardware from JC Penny but screwed up and ordered one fewer than I needed. montgomery osaka curtains

I also ran out of fabric, so this corner still has ugly, broken, dirty blinds. Even though the room looks a little silly with just one set of curtains, the amount of extra light that pours through the Enje blind is dramatic. white tab top sailcloth curtainsOur house is south-facing and having extra sunshine during the winter (when we can get it) is fantastic.extra long shower curtains 210cm I think I might actually dye the curtains in this room, even if just to an off-white. I know, exciting times 'round here. Do you watch Ask This Old House? They have a section where they pull out a random tool or gadget and ask "What is it?" and the guys go around thinking up ridiculous ideas for what it could be ("It's a lazy susan for Tommy's sandwiches."). It's super cheesy and I LOVE it.

I could use them right about now. We have a bolt on our basement floor. It just sticks out of the floor, right in the pathway between the door and the washing machine. It has some sort of electromagnetic force field that draws your foot to it, which means there's a lot of swearing coming from the basement because I always step on it. It didn't correlate to any parts on the old furnace, though it had been retrofitted for gas at some point, so maybe the original configuration used it? Greg tried to unscrew it but the thing wouldn't move. It's all of one piece, which makes me think it was put there when the slab was poured. See how it's right where you want to walk when you're carrying a load of laundry from the dryer? Anybody seen anything like this is an old house? Is this a portal to hell? An important bolt for an underground natural gas line? Does it involve the post right there? My foot is bruised and sore and I'm ready to take a jackhammer to it.If you’re the human equivalent of a vampire, work night shifts or just hate the sun, blackout curtains are the way to go.

The thing is, if you’re on a budget, buying them off the rack might cost you more than an arm and a leg. So, how do you get the effect, or black out curtains on a budget? Get your own blackout curtains (even with eyelets or curtain rod holes) at places like Spotlight and have your measurements at hand. Generally, ready-made blackout fabric meant to be curtains tend to be cheaper than if you have someone source and install it for you. Get your desired length and width, and cut them to size in your own time. Grab some simple curtain rods from IKEA and you’re set! Just make sure to cut straight. Another method would be to pair blinds with thick curtains to get the blackout effect. You needn’t look for the expensive venetian blinds – regular off-the-shelf ones will do. Source for a thick, dark coloured fabric to have as your curtain, and you can switch between partial light or a complete blackout. Assuming you already have a curtain in place but want something a little darker for the brighter days, you can grab paper accordion blinds (or fold some stiff paper in a style of an accordion) and spray black paint on one side.