Because everyone likes free stuff

There are many windows in the basement in varying stages of repair and accessorization. One has a serious metal screen on it to prevent invaders from entering... but no screen to prevent bugs from entering. Two in the bedroom have window screens. None had chains to hold the window open (until I can along with my handy tools). The bathroom and laundry room have no screens, which would be useful, since these are rooms you might want to air out without the threat of feline fleeing.

Anyway, I knew there were "things" in my crawl space. My (stupid, possibly mentally disabled) realtor wanted to demand these be removed. I told her to take a long walk off a short cliff. I suspected these might be old windows or other architectural elements of interest. So on a whim this evening, I crawled in. Well, I climbed a ladder to crawl in.

I never plan these kinds of things. I had no flash light; didn't even have sensible shoes (flip flops). Inside, I instantly pictured the first scene from the "Grudge", which still scares the poo out of me. But low-and-behold. There were old windows. Big ones. An extra door from the house (complete with hardware). There were bug-preventing screens for what looks like all the basement windows. There where metal security screens for several windows. There was a cardboard box (!) full (!) of smaller cardboard boxes (!?) which were taped shut but empty (?). And behind all of it (well, and some garbage in the form of left-over pipes and insulation) was a wood, glass and caned table, in perfect condition. It isn't an ohh-ahh table; I wouldn't have bought it if it was a dollar at the thrift store, but it was free! And I only had to drag it out of the crawl space!

As it happens, I am short a lot of furniture. In addition to nothing being on the walls yet, the sprinkling of unattended boxes, and the odd empty table, there are things missing, like side tables, media tables, reading corners, etc. These absences have the house feeling less-homey that I would like. I have been shopping over and over for couches, trying to find the perfect small, clean-lined but squishy-comfy couch for my bedroom, or for media furniture and an LED TV, or a small breakfast table for the wicker chairs in the sunroom, or clearance patio furniture. I could spend another $5000 filling the house up ($15000 to do it properly), which isn't really that much in the scheme of the cost of the house, but then what? What will I get to splurge on next summer? For now, I will be happy with this little table. Torah already is!


In shopping news, I did find a pair of off-white, sheer curtains on clearance for the living room. They are pretty long (96"), so I have to hem them, I think, so for now, a jaunty knot will do. And they are pretty wide, so I have only put one on each rod... but I have enough for two each. I actually bought 6 all together (sale!), so I could put 4 in the dining room and 2 in the living room. But then will all of them look too scarce?


I don't intend to not paint what I intend to paint, however. I am still having trouble with the color of the bedroom, and I don't know if painting the ceiling back will be enough. It's hard to look for inspiration for a room like that. All the magazines are "small space, big style" oriented, which is not the issue with the bedroom. Of course, all the kitchens in the magazines are "big space, cookie-cutter high-end finishes", which also won't work in my modest kitchen.

Bringing me to the kitchen, the next painting project I'd like to tackle. The kitchen has less furniture in it, so I feel like it will be easier to manage. I might even do it myself! I am thinking of a friendly green color.

Let's label them 1-5, clockwise, starting from the upper left. My initial favorite color was the top one on #5. But, when looking at it from the dining room so I can see it next to the aqua, it seemed a bit much (I think it gets too bubble-gummy). Subtle seems better. The left one on #1 (which you can hardly see) is good, as is the lightest one on #4. And part of me wants to go nuts and do the 3rd darkest one on #5! According to Home and Gardens, this color is the latest hip color to paint stuff. Thoughts?