DIY - Laundry/Mudroom redo

H and I have been busy this winter. First we painted the hallway off the kitchen. That took us some time, as we had to patch some dings and this was brought about by the installation or rather pending installation of some new doors. Our house is just about 24 years young and as such some things like, doors, need some attention.

When we first moved in, I bought this. A wonderful hallway system. Perfect for coats, storage of umbrellas and shopping totes, the diaper bag (which we gave up about 4 years ago), my purse and a great place to sit, to take off or put on your shoes. It was also a good place to set a kiddo. Across from it, I had a shelf for storing our shoes. When it was just H and I, and one little person with little tiny shoes. This worked. When it was H and I and one small person and one tiny person not wearing shoes, it worked. Now that it is H and I and two reasonably sized, not so small people, it has turned into a mess of coats, shoes, book bags, school papers, tote bag, cars, Lego pieces and so froth. It is a circus, pure and simple and it has slowly been driving me mad. Right over the edge.

Right down the hall, is the laundry room, which is nicely sized, if not oddly arranged. It once had a strange and random desk unit in it, which when we bought the house, I thought was a splendid idea, only, there was no phone jack and pre-wifi, no way to link up to the Internet. Also if the washer was chugging away, it was far from a peaceful work station. Also, with toddlers in the house, the laundry room  is as far away from the family room as possible on the first floor. Not good for keeping an eye on busy and inquisitive hands.

So we eventually took out the cabinet and counter top, which comprised the desk leaving some damage to the wall and clearly showing that the contractor who built this house, cut some corners. Like not finishing the entire floor. For a bit, we had a pine entertainment unit of my parent's functioning as additional storage in its place.

After tripping over more shoes than I can count and having nowhere for guests to hang their coats, I decided we needed to make some changes.

After looking at blogs, considering closet systems, paying attention to HGTV shows, I decided the solution was to convert the laundry room, to a laundry/mudroom combo. I don't fold or iron in the laundry room, there isn't room really. It is close enough to the door we enter and exit all the time, with a small change in traffic flow, and it would work.

So I convinced H we needed to go this route. This was the working theory this winter. H was less excited about the idea, but I was determined. Then we all got sick and that pushed the project back a bit. I shopped around, pricing out options. It is not a big space, but I wanted four cubicles or lockers, one for each of us. The room is not that big and I have to deal with the various doors, the window and the function of the space.

I also did not want to "over" do it. This is not the designer show house. This is about function. This is about teaching little people, well ok all of us, the discipline of putting out stuff where it belongs, every time.

I also, really wanted something not shipped here from China. I complain about globalization but I participate, we all do. So I did some searching, finding Sawdust City. An American company, making furniture to order, in America. Plus they will paint it a rainbow of colors. I was sold.

SawDust City was an awesome choice! I found them in a random google search one morning. They are a family owned business in WI. The customer service was A++. I custom ordered and they were awesome. They even called, letting me know the item had shipped when expected and that it should arrive in the time frame I had requested. It is the kind of service that says: we appreciate your business. I am not a country/cabin look kind of girl, but in this case, this is exactly what I was going for. It just worked. Some of their systems, their closet type systems are fantastic. I just don't have the space, but if you do, I think you need to give them a good look. They are also on Facebook.

I might have been able to find a carpenter local, but my limited searching had not produced much and this was close to what I had pictured in my mind. It also fit the budget if H installed it. He had said he was not up for this project, with so many of his own, lingering over the overly long and overly cold and snowy winter.

I convinced him.

He prepped the wall.

I cleaned up.

I primed.

I taped.

I painted with the assistance of my BFF.

We had to paint the entire room, we did not have any paint left, which matched the existing color. We also did not want to buy more paint. We have so many left over cans from the previous owners, so we went with this off-white color, which works. I agree with H, it brightens the space.


I ordered.

It came on this truck Thursday.

H unpacked it.

I took pictures.

H installed it.

I am happy. I need to clean up, shop for a rug and get things arranged. I am thinking extra storage baskets on the top shelf. We are not completely done. I am thinking of painting the existing cabinets and we have considered a new washer, but for now, we are well on the way to a more functional and organized entryway, mudroom, and laundry room.

I will post finalized pictures when I get done. For now, I see light at the end of my organizational tunnel. There will be incentives to get on board with my plan and trust me their will be consequences if people fail to get on board.

Spring in the Yarden

I was inspired by a few of the posts on By Night, and thought I would make one of my own. About weekly she features photos from I presume, around her yarden. All of her wonderful flower/yarden posts are titled balade au jardin.


So Monday, I walked L to school and then came home, grabbed my camera and took a walk around our yarden. Snickers was also very gung ho for the little walk about.

Snickers with her nose to the ground, pointing out the flowers that match her collar bling. We have a ton of violets. My mom gave us a few starter plants and now they dot the flower beds. If anyone wants some, stop on over, they transplant well and are easy to grow. Deer also eat them, which is fine as long as they leave my other stuff alone.

These lilacs are almost ready to bloom. I love them. They smell so good. These bushes are from H's mom. We moved them from Cleveland, to our house in Clintonville, to their current location at the edge of our yarden. This weekend I will cut a few. I might send some to school with L for teacher appreciation week. Each year the blossoms become more numerous.

Snickers engaged in a battle with the short branches and leaves and I am afraid to say, the branches won.

The bleeding heart is very lush this year and the blossoms on Monday were near perfect. I love this plant and its burst of early spring color. It is also very near the spot we buried Bundles, our beloved nutbrown, Netherland loop rabbit. She was our first pet and was with us for 8 years.

Lily of the Valley. H's favorite flower. His mother gave us this, dug it up from her yard, brought it to me in newspaper and I hurried to replant it. It took a few years but it is going strong now. I should be able to pick some tomorrow and have it in the house for the weekend.

In the fall H split these guys, even though you can hardly tell. All around the yarden are new little hosttas. They are so versatile and pretty. This bed used to have a crab apple tree, which I had taken down, as it made a mess on the deck and was good for a wandering toddler. In its place, I replanted these hosstas, some black eyed Susan's and other late summer flowering plants.

I have no idea what this plant is called (the purple is myrtle) but the long thin green leafed plant, will produce lovely yellow flowers in mid summer. I bought three tiny plants at Lowe's on super markdown, and lo and behold, it has morphed into this sea of green. This side of the house is FULL sun and finding plants who can take the beating sun all day has been a challenge.

My Peony plants. I should have glorious blooms by Memorial Day for sure. I think the white flowering things is a weed, but it is pretty enough, so I am letting it be. Some "weeds" are pretty enough to be flowers.

This is the first year in many, where our tulips have not been munched completely to the ground. We had always thought it was the deer, but perhaps it wasn't. Perhaps our vicious attack cat has scared off the rodent type vermin and that is the reason, I have been able to enjoy these lovely tulips. We covered them with chicken wire when we planed the bulbs, which keeps the bulbs in the ground. But... every year something munches them to the quick. Not this year.

These came from a live flower arrangement H got me for my birthday on year.

The tulips swim in a sea of lamb's ear. My mother gave us the start of this also. It has spread and that is a blessing. Out front is blazing sun most of the day and the soil is not fantastic and nothing has really wanted to grow.

Policing the yarden is tiring but important business.

And lest you think Snickers is sleeping on the job, here is a reminder that she always has her eye on the prize.

And when she is taking a nap, her new friends Hedgy and Edgy are on the job...

After our walk about, Snickers settled into one of her favorite spots and I went inside for some ice tea...

Music Monday: Spoonman, the case of the missing spoons...

This has to be where all my spoons have gone...

Soundgarden - Spoonman

I always seem to be short on spoons. Even though the set of everyday flatware has both tablespoons and teaspoons. I am always chasing spoons. Even more frustrating, I have back up spoons, from the various random spoons I have accumulated over the years. My parents old flatware, random pieces from H's bachelor days, spoons left by friends after potlucks and unclaimed, spoons brought home on accident from the crash pad in NYC, spoons from the college dinning hall, and other random spoons. The long and short of it is, I also have a set of silver, which had dozens of spoons. My MIL was a huge fan of spoons it would appear and bought a set of silverware with ample spoons. I never use the silver. It is tucked safely aware for special occasions.

I am seriously short on serving spoons. I just broke a cooking spoon the other day, I am short on those as well. Let's face it in a house where Indian is prepared often, sometimes those spoons are multi colored too. One would think they would stick out, if they were, I do not know, stolen or misappropriated.

I went to raid my stash of plasticware yesterday, those odd left overs from take out and picnics and school events, where I am inevitably assigned to bring plasticware. I have knives and forks to feed a gaggle, but in the mess there is nary a spoon.
 
I do have a plastic spoon in my purse. In a pouch with tissues, lip gloss and other important items. I keep this for on the go snacks. Thus far I have managed to keep track of it and not lose it or break it. This spoon has saved the day more than once. It is like my super secret spoon weapon, which isn't so much a secret anymore.

I will admit, I got rid of all the baby/toddler spoons awhile a go. My baby turned 6 last week, so we really haven't needed those type of spoons for a long time now.

What I am not at all short on are measuring spoons.

I have three full sets and then a few random measuring spoons, left behind by old college roommates and given to me when my mother moved or saved when my MIL passed away. I could bake all day and not have to wash a measuring spoon. One of these sets, might actually be my grandmothers, come to think about it.

When we remodeled the kitchen, we invested in this type of dishwasher. (Ours is not this modern and angular looking, but same idea.)

 (photo from Fisher Paykel)

So I could wash smaller loads. With H traveling so often, it is often just me for most of the day or me and two smaller people and we were often running the traditional dishwasher half full, mainly because we were short on spoons or sippy cups. This gives us options and I chase spoons less, but still I seem to be spoon poor and fork rich.

So for E's family birthday gathering I was chasing spoons and yesterday at our Easter egg coloring brunch, I was also searching high and low for spoons.

All I can say is it had to be the spoon man's fault. Where else could all of these spoons have gone? It's not like they could have hopped away...

Music Monday: Pink Floyd - We Don't Need No Education

Pink Floyd - We Don't Need No Education

The other day, my neighbor and friend, A and I walked the long way to school, to soak up some Vit D and enjoy one of the first very nice spring days. We are both writers and I mentioned my blog and noted I had been writing about a craft project. She mentioned I had been more crafty and less ranty and philosophical, I told her to check back, I was back to ranty of late.

Today is no different.

I will first say I have a t-shirt from the Wall Concert at the Wall, or what was left of it, in Berlin, the summer of 1990. It was an amazing time to be in Europe and Berlin. There was some deep meaning, the concert happening, in a city once divided. The perils of bureaucracy.

Lately I am feeling very vexed about the state of our schools. The No Child Left Behind Act seems like a good idea on its face. I am here to say that it isn't or at least in how it is being enacted.

This Act and the States push to make sure they qualify for all the federal dollars has turn our public schools into a factory. Everyone is focused on these various achievement tests. L is now in a test taking boot camp type class on Mondays. All to boost the schools numbers and the distract standings. None of this is being done to benefit L. Sure, they will force her into a a mold, they will make her a great test taker. All of which would be great if that were her goal in life as an adult, to be a great test taker. It isn't, so how is this process in her best interests. It isn't. If anything it is lately causing her to doubt her abilities and is turning her off from learning.

News flash she is 8 years old.

What we need to be doing is encouraging our children to wonder. To question. To learn how to find the answers to questions, which interest them. They need tools. They do not need to be crammed full of "test knowledge."

When I reach out to her school - I get predictably the party line. "We have to teach the State Standards."

If I hear about the State Standards one more time, I might go postal.

Here is the deal. I was a straight A student. I graduated college cum laude, while working two, sometimes three part time jobs. I did reasonably well on the ACT/SAT or whatever bullshit we had to take to apply to college. I had an A- overall GPA during MBA school.

Currently I am an underemployed writer and a full-time mom.

Wanna know something else... no one and I mean no one ever asked me what my GPA was after I got into college. Not one employer. Not a one. No one wanted to know about my test taking skills. Now that said, I think I passed the GSE - General Securities licensing exam, in part because I had decent test taking skills and I took a study prep course.

What my employers and clients have wanted to know, is can I get the job the done. Can I deliver results. Can I think on my feet. Do I have fire in my belly. (Seriously, I was asked that in a job interview once.)

I am going to say something that will make me unpopular - with most of my friends - on both sides of the aisle. European and Asian children do better in school for some of the following reasons -

1. Teachers are better educated and better paid in many cases. Even the elementary ones. Being a teacher is tough. In Germany, becoming a high school teacher is almost as difficult as it is to become a medical doctor. They have a highly concentrated degree in the subject they teach AND a degree in pedagogy.

2. Children are grouped by ability. This does not mean kids who struggle are labeled. It means kids are grouped by learning style and talent. Some kids have an innate talent in math or science or art. I do not see the harm in allowing kids to focus. By high school, middle school even, I think you need to continue the basics, but allow kids to focus some of their learning on the areas they excel at. Let's face it, unless you want to be scientist, Advanced math or basic Calculus is probably enough. Also college is set up differently.

3. Basics are drilled. There is alot of homework for the kids in Europe and Asia. There is also, more regular time off and there is no time wasted on school based sports. If kids play a sport, it is through a local club. At the German Gymnasium I went to, there was no football team or debate club for that matter. We went to school. We got out at lunch time and sometimes went back. My host sister had tons of homework. Tons. Languages are taught sooner (yes I said languages) and the expectations are high, the classroom is also high on content.

4. Cut admin. I am sorry, there is no need for these Central Offices and over paid administrators. It is sinful that in many cases the administrators make three times what a teacher makes. Sinful and a waste of my money, which should be impacting the kids directly. At my high school there was something like 4 principals. Even today, I am hard pressed to say what any of them did of any value.

5. Teachers should be tested not just the students. Teachers should be required to pass tests in their subject area annually. They should also be paid and promoted based on merit and not seniority. There is a kindergarten teacher at L's school who is not fit to be in the classroom. Everyone knows it. Ask anyone in our area and you are likely to be told a horror story. She keeps her job because she cannot be fired. That is wrong. Most of us in the state are at will employees. Within a certain set of limitations teachers should be no different. A year to year contract for continuity, a peer review board, a chance at additional training. Notice I am not saying they are being paid too much, they aren't. They should be paid more but based on merit. Nothing puts fire in the belly like really being held accountable. I also think they should be paid more, because they do alot of prep on their own time. I certainly don't want to do work and not be paid. As a tax payer, I also do not want to pay for someone who is punching the clock. There has to be a balance.

Just as in this video, I feel that we are grinding our kids into ground beef and for what? These achievement tests are not a measure of what they know. I think a Montessori approach would bring us better results. Let the kids work on units until they get it and it sticks. For some kids in some subjects that might take a week, others a day. Have a content test. Pass the content test, move on. I am also in favor of a National minimum curriculum. Same books, same content tests and same set of basic standards in every school in every State. The fact that L is learning something completely different than her friends in the town over is silly. States rights be damned. One set of clearly defined per grade standards. Schools can supplement, once the National standards have been met.

The reason we don't do this is it would be challenging to implement. Get over it. Clearly what we are doing isn't working. It is not achieving the goals intended. Children who do not test well are getting taught how to take tests and again, if we had a bevy of jobs in this country which required superior test takers that would be great. We don't. We need people who can think and solve problems, who think outside the bubble and who know that sometimes the best solutions are not contained in answers A, B or C but sometimes the answers are somewhere in between.

We Don't Need No(ne) of this kind of education....

More Necklaces with scarf like qualities...

L wanted a necklace with scarf like qualities. My BFF also really liked mine, so about 10 days ago, I made two more, experimenting with different fabrics and styles.

I found a too small long sleeve pink t-shirt in L's closet. It was thicker weight than the undershirts I dyed and used in my necklace and my BFF's necklace.

This thicker weight material, just did not "roll" as much when stretched tight and in many cases the seam snapped, but it worked. I added in beads for fun and did not double it over, as the shirt was small and this fit L just right.

For my BFF, I again used one of H's too small, never worn undershirts. I had some tie dye left over and so I loosely wrapped the t-shirt and dyed it.

Then I cut it up and added beads also. In this case, I did double it over just as I did mine to give it that scarf-like quality.

My BFF has been wearing it and it looks great on her. You really do not have a tie dye feel at all, just some nice color variation.

I think this would make a nice older tween sleep over party activity. I made these while watching TV, it is fun and easy and the results are fresh and fun.