Before and After

We finished our makeover of the pine kitchen cabinet and hutch (see "Naughty Pine" post below) and we are very happy with the way it turned out.  Here's the before...notice the old-fashioned brass hardware and wooden knobs.

And here's the after... love the new hardware.  It's hard to see in the photo but they're a very rustic iron which goes well with the new Wine Glass Chandelier which is made of iron.  I'm also happy with the chalkboard grey background which gives it a really clean and neat look.  I'm going to be a bit more sparing in what goes back on it so it's not so cluttered.

Happy to have the time change since I like it to stay light later in the evening.  Update on my cortisone shot from last Wednesday...so far, absolutely no improvement which is really disappointing.

Jury's Still Out

The jury is still out as to whether the cortisone injection is going to work.  They say it can take several days and up to a week to know for sure.  It went fine and I didn't have any complications or side effects so that's good.  It took all of about 5 minutes total other than me waiting for almost an hour to go in.  Thank goodness for People Magazine's Oscar Gowns edition.  For the first 48 hours, I needed to use an ice pack every so often and that wasn't too fun with the cold, drizzly weather we're having.  It also slowed my painting since it was too damp and cold to paint.  Jeff brought the top part of the hutch into the boy's bedroom so I'll probably work on that today.

My Wine Glass Chandelier arrived from Pottery Barn on Wednesday just two days after I ordered it so I ran all over town yesterday finding 30 wine glasses.  I wanted all tulip shaped glasses but in 3 different sizes.  I found 16 (4 boxes of 4) large glasses for the top tier at Bed, Bath & Beyond, 10 medium glasses for the middle tier at Cost Plus and 4 small glasses for the bottom tier at HomeGoods.  They are all dishwasher safe and I paid around $2.00 for each glass which is pretty economical.  Jeff did a great job of installing it as usual.  So glad he is handy at so many things.  Here's a photo.

The chain swag part looks better than in the photo.  Since I was shooting from below you can't really see how it looks.  In addition to doing the electrical for my chandelier, Jeff also installed two new outdoor coach lights on either side of the garage door at our other house where Jessica and family live.  There wasn't wiring for them so he had to do all the wiring and cut holes in the stucco to install them.  

Kim asked to see our desk area from which we blog.  Here's a photo including Hunter taking up all my space.  He does that when he thinks I need to pay more attention to him and less to the computer.

Naughty Pine

Okay so it's really "Knotty Pine" and I'm in the middle of a pine kitchen cabinet and hutch makeover.  I have always liked country pine but it's really been out of popularity for quite a while now.  Since I'm replacing my pine chandelier with the new wine glass chandelier, I decided to paint my old china cabinet.  Jeff helped me wash it down with TSP (Tri-Sodium Phosphate) and then yesterday I gave it a coat of white primer.  I'm painting it a creamy off-white all except for the back of the open shelves which I'm painting a chalkboard grey.  I found some nice new hardware in a rusty iron that I'll use to replace the brass hinges, drawer pulls and cabinet knobs.  I don't want to spend any money on new furniture for the kitchen because, as I mentioned before, it all really needs to go and have a complete remodel from top to bottom.  I'd even like to remove walls to open it to the dining room and living room.  Every time I paint wordwork I realize how much I hate it.  I don't mind painting walls but I really dislike painting things with cracks and crevices.  I told Jacob to remind me how much I dislike painting the next time I have the brilliant idea to paint something.  I better post a before photo and hopefully I'll like the after.

  This morning at 7 AM, I'm having the cortisone injection in my spine for my ruptured/herniated/slipped disc/disk.  I've seen all terms and both spellings used for the same thing.  Hope it helps!

Merry March!

Didn't have time to do my Monday post last night as we were at a LAFD retirement dinner all the way out in Temecula.  It's about a 2 hour drive for us.  We had a nice time with lots of good Mexican food and Margaritas.  This is going to be a nice month with the time change coming next weekend, St. Patrick's Day on the 17th, the first day of spring on the 20th and Easter on the last day of the month.  Justin and Sarah are leaving next week for another whirlwind tour of Europe and we will be dog-sitting Sierra again.  Not sure of their final itinerary yet but I know they will be in Dublin close to St. Patrick's Day.  They may also be in Rome around the time a new Pope is chosen so that could be interesting.

The party we went to was at the home of our fireman's friend's daughter and she had the Pottery Barn chandelier that I've always liked.  It's really just a rack and you hang wine glasses from it.  I've also seen martini glasses used.  I like the idea because you can easily remove the glasses and wash them in the dishwasher.  I'd buy it but I really have no good place to use it.  I don't think it would work well in a kitchen and I have my made-over chandelier in my dining room.  Here's a photo of it.

Forget what I just said!  Pottery Barn sent me a coupon so I ordered it.  Who cares if it doesn't go in my kitchen... I need a new kitchen anyway!  It'll be here next week!  Now I have to shop for 30 wine glasses!

   

Good News!

I guess having a herniated disc might not be what most people consider "good news" but compared to my fears, it's very good news.  When I went in for xrays on February 19th, the Physician Assistant showed me what he called a "bony mass" near my spine.  Do not ever use the word "mass" without expecting one to immediately panic.  Although he said he wasn't that concerned, he did say, "You don't have cancer in your family, do you?"  So now I'm reeling!  The doctor is out of town so there was no one to ask for further clarification.  The PA sent me for the MRI on Friday so all that week and this week I've been fearing the worst!  The doctor says the "bony mass" near my spine is just a bone spur... a growth of cartilage near my spine that often comes as we age.  No big deal!  The sciatica pain I have been having is a result of a herniated disc.  He asked if I'd been in an accident or had an injury to cause a pretty badly herniated disc.  No!  Nothing.  I've never had back problems at all so it's a mystery to me how this happened.  I'm going in next week for a cortisone injection.  That's not as simple as it sounds.  I have to have an epidural just like women have when they're having a baby before they can inject the cortisone into my spine.  But compared to my fears run amok, I'm fine with all this!  Thanks for your prayers, good wishes and concern!  Phew!  

Looking forward to the boys being here tomorrow.  In my melodrama, I was wondering if I'd see them grow up!      

Worriers

My mother was a worrier, I'm a worrier and my son, Justin, is a worrier.  It's really such a pointless thing to do and there are so many sayings about it but this is one of my favorites.

Today I have my MRI to find out what's going on with my sciatica-like pain.  I'm trying not to worry about it but I'm not used to having any physical limitations.  I won't see the doctor until next Thursday so I probably won't know anything until then... so I'll try not to worry and I may or may not post again until I know something.  

Until then, I'm keeping busy today watching the boys.  I had Jacob with me for a few hours yesterday and he'll be back this morning.  We'll go to music at the library, shopping at Costco where we'll look for the forklift and big floor washer and then home for lunch and a nap.  We pick Ryan up at school at 1:30 and then Jeff will take them home when Jacob wakes up.  I'll be at my MRI at 3 PM.  Having them here keeps my mind off things.  Here's a photo from yesterday.  Jacob and Ryan both love all the kid's apps on my iPad.  I make then sit in the middle of a bed so the iPad is safe from being dropped.  In another month, Jacob will be 3 1/2.  He's such a sweetie!

As always, I'm looking forward to the Academy Awards this Sunday.  We've seen almost every nominated movie and performance.  It was a good year at the movies.  Jeff will bring me food and drinks.... it's my equivalent of the Superbowl!

  

Rainy Day Daze

Writing this as the rain is coming down on Tuesday afternoon but won't post until midnight so it shows up on Wednesday.  I was happy to have a visit from Jacob because he cheered me up after some not so great news.  I saw the Physician Assistant (of my orthopedic doctor) Tuesday morning and he took xrays of my back and I have various things going on that could be causing my sciatica pain.  I will go in Friday for an MRI and then see the doctor next Thursday.  I may need a cat scan as well.  Bottom line, it doesn't look like a simple fix to make this pain go away.  It's really not very painful- more of a dull ache- but I worry that it could get worse.  I've had it 24/7 since the beginning of January and finally had to admit that it wasn't going away on it's own.  I still do my exercise DVD 2 or 3 times a week so it's not bad enough to make me want to stop doing the things I normally do.  I am not used to having any health problems or physical limitations so it's frustrating for me.  Jacob will be back today and we'll go to storytime at the library.  I think our rain will be gone by then.

 Chris posted this on Facebook and I thought it was funny.  I don't know about in the UK but Downton Abbey is shown on PBS (Public Broadcasting System) in the US.  They depend a lot on pledges from viewers for support so that's the story behind this cartoon.  Not mentioning what characters they are referring to because I know some of my friends are just watching Season 1 and/or Season 2.  Our Season 3 just ended Sunday night.