To Turn the Corner

"To turn the corner" : to begin to find success or improvement after a particularly difficult or troubling period. 

" To see the light at the end of the tunnel": the end of a difficult situation or task, the solution to a difficult problem. 

Definition of an introvert:   see here  ⬅️  =  "me"  😳

Calli isn't missing any car rides lately. She's first up at the front door the instant she hears the coat closet doors open and car keys jingle.  I don't blame her a bit and I'm actually looking forward to my dentist visit Wednesday.    That and some time earlier in the afternoon with the girls from the guild at our "Sybil" day where I'll take along my Victoria wheel and spin.  The dentist appointment is to get my third crown this year installed so not an onerous visit, except for the paying part! 

I wanted to get the painting done. The painting needed to be done. It had to be done sooner or later no matter what. We also knew that we couldn't do it ourselves any longer  so it brings us to our current  home situation.  The studio and ensuite are done, and so is Bruce's den and office. We can only put back the larger items for now.  The main bathroom should be completed today or tomorrow..... and our bedroom is just getting under way with mending and patching done, and as I write this, the ceiling is getting its first coat.   Sounds okay right?   Just let me remind you that all this started on October 24th....

Take a good look around a room, any room in your house. Now imagine having to empty the room but the stuff can't leave the house.... now add a second room and even third room  to this.   The end result is you feel really discombobulated in your own home. Stuff is literally everywhere!   Add an introverted old lady (who is me )  to the mix and you have the ultimate in stress factors. (For extra fun, add a dog who is sick into the mix.)

Last night was our first night sleeping in the studio. Its like camping!  Did you know that looms creak at night? Scared the bejesus out of me!

And here's much of the bedroom dresser drawers on or around the dining room table....

There isn't one room in this house that doesn't look like these pictures either above or below right now. 😥

All the rooms showed various dings and scrapes, picture hanger holes and just plain tired, but the bedroom is the worse of them all.   Every little 'spot' of green tape dabs are holes or something that needs a repair. I think every owner who has lived in this house hung their pictures in a new spot, every time, (and twice on Sundays!)

The armoire is simply too large and heavy to leave the room.... and here the top of the walls are being prepped so they can paint the ceiling. They later added plastic sheeting that hangs down the walls to protect them.

and the opposite side of the room... more holes!

... and more holes... but they will be gone by the end of the week. Painters too.   A two maybe three week job will have taken four.  I must say they have done a beautiful job on all walls and trims, ceilings and doors, but we have a mountain of work and cleaning ahead of us. Then we'll have to catch up with Life and think about Christmas.

Do I need to say that there's been no weaving here?   Just me and my one good nerve left play with spinning and quietly reading when I can.  I don't think I even got this stressed out waiting for joint replacement surgery!

Snow on the Maple

So basically days after our first frost, we had our first snow fall this past Saturday.  Mother Nature seems impatient this year!   What was left of the chestnut leaves fell in quick order and the Japanese Maple leaves didn't get to finish their last show and have been falling thick and fast before their time. 

Once the sunshine hits it there's daytime melting ... and by this coming Thursday daytime temperatures will be back higher again. This was a wake up call to get ready for the main event(s) to come!

Some artsy shots taken as the sun started the day properly.....

Meanwhile, back inside we just had a glorious two whole days off and the first thing we did was sleep in and take full advantage of the extra hour with standard time being reimplemented.   With help, I  had the looms shifted into new positions and I think this arrangement will work better.

I needed more room down in the alcove but need to use the wall space too. This looks like a good compromise between  the Spring and the roll-abouts.  (The sewing table is gone and may not be back).

I straightened the Megado and now I can see about setting up the fly shuttle as the ends are not pointing directly at windows anymore!

The tapestry loom was shifted to this shorter wall by the window. I do plan to do something with it but other stuff always seems to come up and it gets pushed further and further down the list.  To stop this endless slide I'm not taking commissions for the time being and getting back to more exploratory type weaving, colour play and start using equipment that doesn't see any of my time.    To have more fun again.  I still need to get more handwovens into my shop so there'll be some 'bread and butter' work still to come.

I also need to find a good video of how to beam and set up this Leclerc tapestry loom and if anyone can steer me in the right direction I would be grateful....  my email address is in the profile.   

As you can see, the colour is brighter and fresher. The name is "Rambling Rose" but it feels more raspberry to me. Its an energetic, happy colour!   The opposite walls are done in a light touch of grey called "White Egret".  It could have been a bit more grey but the raspberry wall is a tough opponent.  So its quietly neutral.    It also worked best in the bathroom beyond.  There are white tiles and a row of decorative trim tiles that have light grey, the same malachite green as the floor and a dash of gold. I used the grey to play off from and since it sweeps from one room to the next, it was a leap of faith!

Now, please excuse this crummy picture below.... but its all I have at the moment....

This is the wall where the tapestry loom used to be and in the near future it will have a 'new to me' desk.   It has a larger desk surface and I plan to set the serger or sewing machine up here when needed, or just throw up a small folding table.  This shows the main grey wall.  

The painters are working in the den / office and main bathroom right now and when the time comes to paint our bedroom, this spot is where we'll set up our bed.

I'll be sleeping with  my babies !   

So things are progressing slowly here and fortunately the calendar is more or less empty to accommodate this decorating reality show  😜    There is going to be a ton of house work to do before this is all over and back to normal.  

By the way....  today is the 16th anniversary of me getting my first artificial hip back in 2001 at age 45.  I'm very grateful to surgeon Dr Boyce and Kelowna General  Hospital.    All three of my artificial joints have 'birthdays' as they gave me a new lease on Life!